The Able Sisters

Chapter 43

As it got into August, the summer thunderstorms were replaced with a hot and humid environment. Sable looked forward to autumn more and more as the hot days continued.

There were always little bits of fun that came with the hot weather though. The Fireworks Festival was this Saturday, and Mabel had been talking excitedly about it all week.

Even though Sable was a little too old for the festival, she had to admit she was still excited. Things were pretty boring around here, but at least the fireworks brought some fun for her and Mabel to do.

As Sable closed up shop for the night, she fixed her and Mabel a quick dinner and they headed out. Though the sun had set and the stars were out, the air was still hot.

"I wish it'd cool down," Mabel muttered. "It's still hot at night."

"It'll be September soon enough," Sable promised.

Mabel nodded, and together the two walked to the town square. Tortimer stood out front of town hall and grinned at them.

"Good evening, ladies! Nice night for Fireworks, huh?"

Sable glanced up at the sky. It really was clear tonight. She nodded while Mabel began to ramble about all the types of fireworks she was hoping to see. Tortimer smiled and listened, and Sable smiled a bit too. 

"Here are some poppers and sparklers for you," Tortimer said, laying out a bunch of items in their hands.

Mabel excitedly grabbed her share of items and they found a nice spot to stand and glance up at the sky. Sable's younger sister jumped in place excitedly. Sable shook her head and laughed. Fireworks would be continuing every week for the next month, so it wasn't like this was Mabel's only time to see them until New Years.

All at once, a loud pop resounded in the sky. Sable glanced up, watching fireworks stream across the sky. Mabel let out a squeal of joy, and together, they set off lighters, watching as the sparks danced underneath the colorful sky.

"Look up there!" Mabel shouted, pointing to a firework that had just gone off. "It looks just like the town flag."

Sable smiled and nodded, watching as streams of blue, red, and green danced in the nighttime sky.

"I'm going to get some more sparklers," Mabel said.

"Okay," Sable replied, remaining where she was. She watched the fireworks up above, remembering the summer she had spent with Tom watching fireworks every weekend in August. Had it really been so long ago?

Mabel returned with more sparklers and handed on to her sister.

"You know, you could design a fireworks shirt," Mabel said.

"A what?" Sable asked.

"A black shirt with a lot of colors. I think it'd look pretty," Mabel said as she lit her sparkler.

Sable thought for a moment and nodded. "Yeah. You're right. That would look nice. Thanks, Mabel."

Her sister grinned and turned her attention back up to the night sky.

The fireworks were done all too soon, and Mabel led out a sad "aww" when the sky became dark again.

"There'll be more next week," Sable promised as they disposed of their goodies. There was still the lingering scent of smoke in the air.

"Fireworks make me sad," Mabel mentioned as they headed home together.

Sable glanced at her. "What? Why?"

"They mean summer is coming to an end," Mabel explained before skipping off ahead of Sable.

Sable paused for a moment and continued. She supposed summer was ending soon, but that's just how the seasons went. There didn't seem to be anything really special about them like when she was a kid. She supposed Mabel enjoyed swimming and the fireworks and all the good things summer brought.

"What's your favorite season?" Mabel asked as they stepped back inside.

"I don't really know," Sable admitted.

"I like summer."

"I think I could guess that," Sable said, grinning at Mabel. "I really don't know though."

"How about fall? That's your birthday season."

Sable shook her head immediately. Every time she thought of fall, she thought of that one fall when her parents had died, when Mabel was too young to understand, and when Label had become increasingly more distant from them. Even winter reminded her of Label taking off right before Toy Day.

"Spring," Sable decided.

"Spring? Why?" Mabel asked.

Sable grinned. She remembered back to Mabel's birthday, when she had first met Tom while the cherry blossoms were falling and all the fun memories that ensued.

"Just...reasons," she said.

"Okay...By the way, Pete dropped off a letter while you were working," Mabel told her. "It's on the table."

"Oh!" Sable explained, rushing upstairs. She had only gotten one other letter from Tom back in June, and her heart raced with excitement. What would he have to tell her today? She couldn't wait to rip open the letter.

Mabel sat on the couch as Sable viciously tore into her letter.

Dear Sable,

Wow, I guess summer is almost over. That went by fast. 

Sable couldn't help but laugh a little bit at that. Back here, it felt like the slowest summer of her life. She supposed the city was a bit more exciting though.

I'm doing fine. Don't worry about me. You don't need to send all those letters either. I assure you that I got them all. You should focus on your business instead.

I've learned a lot about business and dreams in the city. Maybe I wasn't thinking right when I first left. Oh well. I'm still trying my best.

I don't know if I mentioned Mabel's birthday in my last letter, but tell her "happy birthday" for me. I've been kind of busy just figuring things out. 

That's kind of all I have to write. It's same old here. 

Tom.

Sable threw the letter down in anger. What kind of letter was that? They had become increasingly worse over the months, but this one had to be the most awful. On top of the incredible ambiguity, he apparently seemed annoyed with her later and was wishing Mabel a belated birthday three months later.

"Is everything okay?" Mabel asked, noticing Sable's distress.

"Fine," she muttered.

"If Tom is annoying you, then why don't we go to the city and see him?" she asked.

"No," Sable immediately said.

Mabel glanced at her weird, but Sable was dead set on her answer.

"I don't like the city. I don't want to go there. If he doesn't want to make an effort, then fine. Maybe I'll just stop writing him letters," she complained.

Mabel giggled. "You know you won't."

"Will too! I'm going to bed," Sable grumbled.

"Me too." Mabel followed after her sister and got in bed. Sable stayed up with the lamp on for a bit, thinking of the fireworks festival, her sister's ideas, and Tom's letter. Against her wishes, she grabbed a piece of paper and began to write a letter in response.