The Able Sisters

Chapter 37

Summer came and went, and soon, it was the beginning of October. The trees had begun to change color, and the air got cold. And for Sable, it had been over six months since Tom had left.

His letters were still frequent. She got a couple a week. And she was content with that. The sadness had faded some, but she still wished he was here with her. He had not yet secured the business of his dreams, but he wrote with a bunch of optimism that it had to happen soon.

Sable tried to remain positive though. She grew excited for all the fall and winter activities. Her and Tom's constellations would become visible beginning in January, as Celeste had told her.

But with the new year in only a few short months, Sable would be sad to know that she'd be starting a new year without Tom. Her new year was always plagued with negative thoughts regarding Label, but now, Tom seemed to have taken a place in that too.

But it was only October, and Tom had even mentioned that he might try to slip back home for a quick trip for Toy Day. She grew happy when she read that, but she wasn't so sure it would happen. She knew how much the city meant to him, and a trip back home might deter him from following his dreams.

Sable still had Mabel though to keep her company. Her younger sister continued to bring her endless amounts of joy. The shop was doing well, and all was quiet and peaceful.

Sable should've been happy that everything was going so well, but she always felt like she had a sister-shaped hole and friend-shaped hole missing from her life.

Sable closed down the shop one Saturday night. It was late and cold, and she mostly wanted to go to bed, but she had promised Mabel she'd take her down to The Roost in the museum.

They had made frequent visits to the museum since its opening, and the coffee shop as well. Mabel seemed to get along very well with Brewster, the barista. He apparently had a failed business in the city and found a coffee shop in town worked much better.

"Ready to go?" Sable asked her younger sister, zipping up her coat for her.

She nodded and grabbed Sable's hand. They began the trek down to the museum with Mabel blabbering the whole way about how excited she was for a cup of hot cocoa from Brewster.

Sable grinned and listened to her speak. Her sister seemed so oblivious to all the negative things that had happened to her. Sable wished she still had the mind of a child. It would be nice to forget about all her troubles in life.

They stepped inside the warm museum and headed down to The Roost. The smell of coffee drifted in the air, and there was a quiet chatter among the few villagers there.

A white dog with a guitar sat on a stool, playing little tunes. Sable had thought she'd heard of him before. There was supposedly live music here on certain nights, but she'd never gone at the right time to see it.

"Two hot chocolates," she told Brewster.

"Brewster, Sable let me sew today!" Mabel exclaimed to him.

"Did she?" he asked as he whipped up the sweet concoction.

Mabel nodded.

"Soon, I can help work around the shop a lot!" she exclaimed.

Sable laughed and nodded. Her sister was six and a half years old. She was becoming more easier to talk to, and more intelligent. Sable looked forward to when Mabel could work just as well alongside her, but it would be many more years before that.

"I'll have to visit," Brewster said. He set two piping hot cups of hot chocolate with a mountain of whipped cream in front of them.

"Careful, it's hot," Sable warned before handing the cup to Mabel. Her younger sister took a long, slow slip and hummed in delight.

"Who's that performing?" Sable asked Brewster. 

"K.K. Slider? He's here every Saturday. He likes to give out copies of his songs sometimes too. If you ask, he'll play you something."

"You want to hear a song?" Sable asked Mabel.

The other villagers had cleared out now, leaving just Sable and Mabel alone in the coffee shop. Mabel nodded and grabbed a seat near K.K.

"You looking for a song tonight?" he asked.

Sable nodded.

"You got any requests?" he asked.

"No," Sable told him, a bit embarrassed that she'd never heard him play before and didn't know any of his songs for that reason.

"Well, why don't you tell me your mood?"

"I-I don't really know if I'm feeling anything--"

K.K. paused and focused on her. "I got it. I can tell by the way your eyes sparkle."

"What?" Sable asked.

"Sit back and relax. Here's a little song for my lovesick friend--say what's your name?"

"Sable"

"Sable. It's called K.K. Love Song."

"Hey, what? I'm not--how could you even tell that--" But her words were drowned out by K.K. beginning to sing. A quiet, peaceful sort of song began to play out. K.K. plucked at the strings and began to whistle.

Sable leaned back a bit. She really did like his song. She had never heard him sing before, and she was a bit upset she hadn't come to watch some of his performances earlier.

Despite her embarrassment that K.K. could clearly see what she was feeling, she fell herself growing deeper into the song. Memories flooded through her brain, and she thought of the letter she had received from Tom only that morning. She hadn't been expecting a letter today, and just the thought that he had taken the time to write her made her grin.

K.K.'s song began to slow now, right as the faintest bit of tears began to gleam in Sable's eyes. Slowly, his song came to an end.

"Yay!" Mabel exclaimed, clapping her hands.

"Thanks. That was...pretty amazing," Sable told him, trying to hide the choking sound in her throat.

"Here, take a copy of it," he said. He rummaged through a box of CDs and handed her the exact same song he'd sung.

"How much?" she asked.

"Not a bell. I'm not in it for the money. I just like to play. Give it a spin on your stereo," he told her.

"Thanks," Sable replied, clutching onto the CD. 

Their hot chocolates were close to empty, and it was getting late. She said good-bye to both Brewster and K.K. before slipping back out into the cold night with her sister.

"Did you like that? We should go again sometime," Sable told Mabel.

Mabel nodded. "Only if we get hot chocolate though."

Sable laughed. "All right. Deal."