MOTHER, MAY I?
Gracie stepped back from the display stand, put her hoofs on her hips, and nodded in satisfaction. Her new designer shirt stood there, in all its glory, with cuffed sleeves, a popped collar, and multicolored buttons on a pale green and blue fractal design. Rummaging in a bag that sat next to her, Gracie pulled out a tag and stuck it onto the display stand: "Lu Fractalis, Number 3 in the Lu Elis line." A smile snuck its way onto her face at the sight of it.
These are the times I live for, the giraffe thought to herself. She kept admiring the shirt until a crash from downstairs snapped her out of her reverie. Voices floated up to where she stood; she recognized the voices as belonging to the Nookling brothers.
"What happened, Timmy? Oh, boy…"
"Sorry about that."
Shaking her head, Gracie picked up her bag and walked across the floor to the back room of her floor of the store. T&T Emporium boasted the finest selection of goods- household and otherwise- in Ebony Sands, and was the home of GracieGrace, the specialty shop that Gracie ran. GracieGrace took up the top floor of the Emporium, and despite how many stairs visitors had to climb, it did brisk business. Yes, since Kicks had become friendlier Gracie hadn't moved as many pairs of shoes, but that didn't mean she was losing money.
In the back room, Gracie put her bag on a stool and picked up a cup of hot chocolate. She tested the temperature and, finding it a bit too hot, blew gently on it while she looked over some papers. Then, sipping every so often, she studied the papers more. The papers detailed the next items in the Lu Elis line of clothing she was creating, but they weren't quite complete yet. Gracie grabbed a pencil and started making some notes to herself on the papers that needed changes or finishing.
The final paper in the stack was a modified version of the mod shirt she had created. It boasted a different color scheme than the mod shirt did, with yellow and red and white plaid instead of the original color scheme. The collar was embroidered in a herringbone style, as opposed to the mod shirt's two-line style. All in all, this new shirt was classier. Gracie was planning on calling it the Lu Sissel, after Mayor Sissel.
Mayor Sissel was the only reason she was even in Ebony Sands. When Gracie had come through on her way to Larkrich, she had promised herself that she wouldn't be there long enough to be disgusted with the backwater town's fashion sense. Unfortunately, Mayor Sissel knew everything that happened in Ebony Sands and met her at the plaza. She was sitting on the brick wall that surrounded the great tree, enjoying the breeze, when he appeared.
He was wearing a long-sleeved white t-shirt underneath a black plaid long-sleeved button-up, with a pair of khakis to round out the image. A pencil was tucked behind his ear, and a blue plaid fedora sat at a tilt on his head. Gracie had been thunderstruck; never had she expected such daring from someone in a small town. She would normally have frowned on such a bizarre combination, but the mayor had walked with confidence and a relaxed air. It worked, and Gracie knew that only this fellow could pull off that outfit. Not much later, she opened a branch of her store in Ebony Sands, one that she would run herself.
Gracie smiled slightly at the recollection. It had been a while since she had talked to the mayor; maybe she would slip off after closing and see what was up. That would be weird, but Mayor Sissel wouldn't mind. She hoped.
A little alarm clock started ringing and Gracie jumped. Breathing to try and bring her breath under control, she glanced at the alarm clock and turned it off. It was ten o'clock. Time to open GracieGrace. She stood and took one more glance at the design for the Lu Sissel shirt. Something was missing…
She shook her head and stepped out of the back room, flicked on the display lights, and steeled herself for the inevitable wave of patrons.
"If there's anything I don't like," she muttered, glancing at the clock as it flipped to 10:01, "it's-"
"What are you complaining about?"
Gracie started and whirled around. There was no one on the floor aside from herself, but she had heard something.
"You have good looks. What else do you need? Nothing ought to phase you."
The giraffe shook her head and started stepping backward. "I'm not phased…"
"Hey, Gracie! How are you today?" Julian asked, coming onto the floor. "Anything new?"
The voice fled, leaving Gracie shaken. But she was relieved, so she put the incident in the back of her mind. Leading Julian to the display with new arrivals, Gracie thanked him under her breath for coming in right then. "The newest item in the Lu Elis line is here. Would you like to try it on?"
Julian examined the shirt, feeling the fabric with his hoof. "Is this silk?"
Gracie nodded, folding her arms as she did so. "Of course, darling. I only use the best fabrics, as you know. Try it on if you like."
The unicorn pulled the shirt on and looked at himself in a conveniently-placed mirror. He twisted right and left, frowning at the hang of the fabric. "Do you have any sizes smaller than this?"
Pointing to a sizing chart, Gracie resigned herself to the fact that Julian wasn't going to buy the shirt. She knew that look he had on his face; it was the look that said, 'I like this, but it isn't my style.' Julian glanced at the sizing chart and grinned. "I'll take a large, please." He pulled the display shirt off, then glanced down. "Heh, I bet this would fit if I didn't have two shirts on. I'll just take this one."
"Four thousand twenty Bells," Gracie informed Julian, and he dug in his pocket for the coins to make the payment. "Would you like that wrapped up?"
Julian shook his head. "I'll put it on right when I get home, so no thanks. Take care!" The unicorn waved and left the floor, clip-clops ringing up the stairway as he headed down to the second floor of the Emporium.
Gracie smiled slightly and put the Bells in a little purse behind a shelf. "Already a profitable day," she said quietly. "I'd love to see Julian wearing it right. Maybe I'll check in on him."
"Your obligation to the peons ends when you receive the money," the voice reminded her. "One of the benefits of being high-class, dear."
"Who's there?" Gracie asked, looking around the floor. "Don't play games like this."
"We don't play games, dear. Remember that." The voice faded away. Gracie felt even more unsettled than she did the first time, and she knew why. That voice was one she knew, almost better than she knew her own voice.
Determined to push it away, Gracie walked to the stairs and descended to the second floor. Maybe company will help this, she thought. Thankfully, Julian was still on the second floor, trying to decide whether or not he actually wanted the modern wood bed that Tommy said he wanted. Victoria was sitting at a table, drinking something from a bottle. Mitzi was doing a crossword puzzle with Fauna, and Apollo was measuring a cabinet. It was just the hustle and bustle that Gracie needed.
There was an empty seat next to Victoria, so Gracie took it. Victoria put the bottle down and greeted Gracie with enthusiasm. "Hi, Gracie! I haven't seen you in forever!"
A small smile appeared on the giraffe's face. "The feeling is mutual, darling. By the way, what are you drinking?"
"Oh!" Victoria handed the bottle to Gracie, who turned it around to read the label. Redd's Fruit Medley, the label proclaimed in an elegant script. Beneath that, more of the elegant script wrote out Ginger Ale.
"Has Redd started making drinks?" Gracie questioned, handing the bottle of ginger ale back to Victoria. The horse nodded and took a quick sip, then explained that he was down on Main Street, outside of the Emporium.
"Do you want some?"
Gracie shook her head. "Not right now. I may get some later." Then, stifling a yawn (she had been up since three in the morning), she stood up. Victoria had turned her attention back to her ginger ale, so Gracie started wandering around the items for sale. "Good quality, though it is not quite top."
"Well, we try!" Tommy piped up from next to her. He frowned. "I didn't mean to startle you, Ms. Gracie. Sorry about that."
"I should have been more attentive," Gracie replied, looking down at the little raccoon. "Forget it."
Tommy shrugged and started to walk away, but Gracie stopped him. "What?" Tommy asked when he heard what she said.
"I wanted to know if Mayor Sissel has stopped by today," Gracie repeated, biting the words a little bit. It really wasn't that hard of a question… She had to stop herself from tapping her hoof as Tommy thought.
"Not yet," the raccoon finally said. "Do you want to talk to him? I can send him up a floor if you do."
For a moment, two conflicting wishes warred in Gracie's mind. But one quickly won. "No. If he comes up on his own, then that's fine. But don't tell him to come up." She hurried away and scampered up the stairs to her floor, her sanctuary.
When she had caught her breath, Gracie began to consider what was going on. She was surprised at herself. Hearing voices was one thing, and she couldn't really control that. Hurrying up the stairs though? Scampering? That could be controlled.
"Oh, Mother would have some words to say to me," Gracie muttered. She shook herself.
Then, right on cue… "High class animals do not scamper, dear. There is no suitable adjective for moving quickly, so we do not move quickly."
The giraffe rolled her eyes. "I know that, Mother."
"The lesson doesn't seem to have sunk in."
Portia made an entrance at that exact moment, followed by Whitney and Freya. The three began admiring the clothes and furniture that were on display, hiding their admiration through vociferous criticism that didn't even make sense.
"Can you believe this? This shirt has herringbone stitch, when it should have souffle stitch!" Portia exclaimed, feeling the seams of a purple and blue shirt.
"No, no, no, this cannot be this shade of maroon!" Whitney nearly shouted.
Freya gently put a clock back on the wall. "Terrible choice of gears," she noted.
Gracie smirked, and the three others winked at the giraffe. "Portia, the shirt is two thousand. Whitney, that carpet is twenty thousand. Freya, that clock is forty-two thousand."
Still making a fuss, the three animals winked again, paid Gracie, and left the floor, laughing. Gracie put the money in the purse and put the purse back into its hiding place, then took a moment to silently thank the three for coming in when they did.
A/N: Well, look at this. This story is gargantuan, and my second-longest story! I'm so grateful for Heavenly Father's help in articulating what I wanted to say.
