The Able Sisters

Chapter 47

Labelle laid awake at night as she heard the tires of cars roll across the road. Her room would become illuminated briefly with the light of a headlight, then fade back into darkness.

She groaned and rolled over, wondering why she couldn't sleep tonight. All was quiet except for the sound of those cars. It had never bothered her before, not in the twenty plus years she had lived here, so why tonight?

Think of a trickling stream, she thought, her eyes getting heavy. Think of crickets chirping and the slight autumn breeze.

Her eyelids drooped more, until suddenly images of her childhood flashed in her mind. She was playing with her sisters in the autumn grass and pointing out big dragonflies to Mabel.

Labelle's eyes flashed open, and she sat up. The sound of cars echoed in her ears again. That had been a strange little dream. Her heart was pounding heavily against her chest.

Labelle rested her head back down and sighed, her eyes gazing at the blank ceiling. It was going to be a long night.

"You look like you were hit by the 8:00 A.M. bus," Gracie remarked as Labelle set down her things for look. Labelle shot the giraffe a look, but she didn't seem to care.

"I didn't get much sleep," Labelle muttered.

"Noisy neighbors? You must rent out half the building for some quiet."

Labelle rolled her eyes and sat down. She had once congratulated herself for putting up with Gracie's attitude, but now she wondered why she had ever put up with it in the first place. The giraffe was becoming a pain in her neck, no pun intended.

"Well, chop chop! Working time!" Gracie announced, clapping her hooves together.

"Hey," Labelle said, glancing up at her boss. "I have some designs I wanted to show you for our new collection. Can we talk about them after work today?"

"Perhaps," Gracie agreed.

Labelle grinned a bit, hoping this could get her back on track. She'd been in a bit of a funk lately and unable to touch into her creative side. Plus, she'd had the same position at GracieGrace for several years and was hoping for a little more. A pay raise would be nice, but a promotion would be even better.

These thoughts kept Labelle going through the day, even if she was exhausted. But she listened to all the customers and sold many items, and soon enough, the doors were closed for the night.

Labelle met Gracie in their back room where they normally met to discuss sales and sometimes take inventory.

"Labelle, come in," Gracie said.

Labelle clutched her sketchbook to her chest. She'd had a pile of sketchbooks sitting in her apartment for years, and this was her newest, filled with designs she thought could easily sell.

"We had a little increase in sales today, but I suppose they'll sort of stagnate during the season as autumn draws out. We need to have those winter designs in by Friday, but you can take care of that, I suppose?"

"Oh...yes," Labelle replied. 

Gracie turned back to her work, seemingly not wanting to hear more.

"Um, Gracie," Labelle said, clearing her throat.

The giraffe glanced up at her as if she were bothered by Labelle speaking.

"It's just, you said I could share some ideas with you today."

Gracie glanced at the clock on the wall beside her. "I suppose I could spare five minutes."

"Oh, good!" Labelle exclaimed, energy filling her. She sat down next to the giraffe and plopped the sketchbook in front of her. She began flipping through pages and talking excitedly.

"I thought maybe we could implement these designs in future collections. We don't have to do winter, of course, but maybe spring. I've been working long and hard on these. I think they'd do well. I could even make some myself," Labelle explained.

Gracie studied the designs intently then turned back to her worker. "These are interesting."

"Oh. Are they good?" Labelle asked.

"I see potential," Gracie told her. "But this is so below us. It's so below you. GracieGrace is meant to embody the best of fashion. I can't believe you would offer to make some of these yourself when you know we have a perfectly good supplier."

"It's just...I've been working here a very long time. Over twenty years, actually. I've had little pay raises, no promotion--"

"Ah, is this your little trick to get me to promote you? You are already practically my business partner. Come now, Labelle. I have given you so much already. You were just a little girl I plucked off the street."

"And I thank you for that, but, my dream..."

"Ah, yes, I've heard it before, 'to become a fashion designer.' And aren't you one already? Very few make it in the fashion world, darling, and frankly, I don't see you making it there without some...assistance," she said.

Anger boiled in Labelle's veins. Gracie was rude, no doubt, but she had never insulted Labelle like this.

"Sorry for taking up your time," Labelle growled, snatching her sketchbook away.

"There is always room for improvement!" Gracie shouted as Labelle stepped out of the shop.

She stepped outside, immediately being pelted with rain. She cursed, knowing she had left her umbrella at home. She wasn't planning to ask Gracie to borrow one either.

That giraffe is an entitled know-it-all, Labelle thought as she ran back to her apartment.

She returned soaking wet. Even the pages of her sketchbook were bleeding ink. Her designs were ruined.

Labelle sighed and changed into a dry pair of clothes. It wasn't fair, she thought. She had put up with Gracie for years, and she had gotten nothing out of it.

Maybe I should've started my own business, she thought. But it was too late now. She was too tightly woven into the GracieGrace franchise. She would never be as successful as her employer.

Labelle glanced at the mirror, seeing her make-up had become splotched in the rain. As the make-up washed away, she looked at her features. She remembered her parents speaking of how Labelle and Sable looked the most alike. Labelle guessed she could see a little bit of her sister in her now.

She knew Sable was probably leading a better life than her right now. If what she guessed was correct, Sable was probably still running that old tailor shop, making what she wanted and not being kept awake by the sound of cars at night.

Labelle felt a pang in her stomach that she finally identified as homesickness. But why now? Why not twenty years earlier? For the first time, she felt as if she actually genuinely missed her family, even if she had spent a longer time away from them than with them.

Thoughts crossed her mind about returning home, but Labelle shook them away. She wouldn't be swayed by a little bout of homelessness. She had a comfortable life here, even if it was no longer what she had dreamed it would be.

Still, a little smile came to her face as she thought of memories of her back home with her sisters when her parents were still alive. Just once, she'd give anything to go back to that simpler time.

But I'm here, Labelle reminded herself. The city life was what she had chosen, and it was where she would stay.