Gracie was happily arranging furniture and clothing in her store the next morning when Labelle came storming in. Her eyes were blazing as she started shouting at Gracie.

"GRACIE! I can't believe you! I set you up on a date and I don't even get to know how it goes? Thanks a lot!" Labelle huffed and turned her back on Gracie.

Gracie hurried over to the hedgehog. "I'm so sorry, Labelle! I completely forgot. I'll tell you now, though. Will you forgive me?"

Labelle scoffed and didn't look at Gracie. "Too late..." Labelle glanced over her shoulder, then spun around, smiling. "…Not! So what happened?" She sat down on a stool to listen to Gracie's story.

"Well," Gracie began, grabbing a pile of clothes to sort, "I arrived at Ebbie and started getting ticked off at you, since you weren't there. I couldn't believe it. Then Shrunk arrived and we figured out that you'd set us up. So we went inside and sat down. By the way, did you know that Sissel was in the performance?"

"That wasn't Mayor Sissel. That was his identical twin, Shawn," Labelle said, resting her chin on her paws. "…I think. I'm still not sure, actually. Go on."

"We enjoyed the performance, then we walked home. We stopped at The Roost for hot chocolate, talked, and eventually we went home." Gracie picked up a shirt and scrutinized it. "I don't remember this design…"

Labelle threw her paws in the air. "Come on! That can't be everything! Tell me what you talked about at the café!"

Gracie shook her head. "A lot of it was personal. I don't want to say anything Shrunk would rather keep to himself."

The hedgehog shrugged in defeat. "I tried. But I can understand that. Just so you know, I was at the performance."

"Were you on a date?" Gracie asked, picking up another shirt that looked like the mysterious one. "Or were you on a family outing?"

"Both, really," Labelle admitted. "Sable got six tickets to the performance, so we went together. Tom went with Sable, and they sat in the middle of the Theater. Mabel went with Blathers and they sat in the front and tossed popcorn at the guy playing Aphie. I…" She took a deep breath, then announced, "I went with Kicks."

Gracie stared at Labelle. "How did you pull that off?"

Labelle grinned. "I asked him. It was really easy. After I talked to you that day, I went over to his shop and asked him, point blank, if he would go on a date with me. We knew each other in Larkrich, so it wasn't too awkward, but he blushed and stammered. In the end, he agreed, so we went." Labelle tried to lean back but fell off of the stool. "Forgot I was on a stool," she muttered, climbing back to her paws and sitting down again. "We had a great time."

"That's wonderful, Labelle!" Gracie exclaimed. "Have you had any other dates?"

"We had one two days ago, and I'm going to the Museum with him tonight," Labelle answered, standing up and grabbing a sorted pile of shirts. "It was his idea, but… I like the bug exhibits." Gracie pointed to a display stand. Labelle went to the stand and stored the shirts on it. "Maybe the mole crickets decided to come up this time! That would be really nice!" Labelle put her paws on her hips, then rearranged the shirts. "What about you and Shrunk?"

Gracie chuckled and picked up a pile of shirts. "We had a date every day after the play, and tonight we're going to Le Amiar. Which reminds me, I need to pull my ball gown out of the closet." She stuck the shirts in their assigned place, then pulled a piece of paper and a pen from her pocket. She scribbled herself a reminder before sticking the paper back in her pocket.

"That place is impossible to get into!" Labelle yelped. "How are you going to pull it off?"

"Maybe we'll just stand and bug the maitre de until he lets us in," Gracie said.

Labelle laughed loudly. "I would pay good money to see that."

Gracie yawned as she sat down again. "Excuse me… whew." She rubbed her eyes. "I might take a short nap before tonight…"

"Unlike you, I've been getting good rest," Labelle said pointedly. "But hopefully you can get more sleep soon." She picked up another pile of shirts, then set it down and shook her head in exasperation. "I completely forgot the second reason I came over here!" Labelle pulled a rolled-up paper from a pocket and spread it out on a table. "I think I figured out a good design for Sarah's wedding dress."

Gracie scooted a little closer and examined the design. The skirt of the dress was embroidered in a flower pattern, with a peculiar hitch on the right and left sides of the skirt. The veil was connected to the neck of the dress, with mesh lace making up the fabric of the veil. That wasn't it, though. The neckline was crop-cut, there was mistletoe stitching, and the sleeves were double-length. Those three things made the dress, and were enhanced by the skirt and veil. It was perfect.

"You kept the crop-cut, mistletoe, and double-length," Gracie said finally. She couldn't help but feel a little overwhelmed by the design, and that so much of it was what she felt needed to stick around. Sure, Labelle had wanted the crop-cut and double-length, but it could have changed. It didn't, though.

Labelle gave a little half-smile. "Of course I did. It wouldn't be the same dress without them. So…" she continued, drawing the word out, "do you like the design?"

Gracie shook her head. Labelle misinterpreted the gesture and sighed, but Gracie put a hoof out and stopped her. "I think it's perfect. This is Sarah's wedding dress."

"Woo-hoo!" Labelle shouted, jumping to her footpaws. She pumped her arm and spun around. "Whew! That was so stressful, but it's done!" She grabbed the paper and stuffed it in her pocket. "I'll put the measurements on it and then hand it over to Mayor Sissel. He's going to be so psyched! See you later, Gracie!" Labelle shot off and down the stairs as Gracie waved good-bye.

The giraffe stood and picked up another stack of shirts. She walked over to where those shirts sat and stored them on a shelf, then turned around and saw Redd standing behind her. He was carrying a stack of shirts. "Where do these go?" he asked, indicating the stack with his nose.

Gracie pointed to a shelf. Redd nodded and headed over to place the shirts on the shelf. "What was Labelle so excited about?" Redd questioned, straightening up from putting the shirts away. "She almost knocked me over as she ran out of the Emporium."

"We finally finished designing Sarah's wedding dress," Gracie answered, sorting a couple more shirts. "Labelle went to go finish up and hand the design off."

"Sarah is Sissel's fiancée, right?" Redd checked, accepting a pile of clothes from Gracie.

"Yep," Gracie affirmed. She picked up the mysterious shirts again and looked at them more closely. "I have no idea what these are."

Redd glanced over his shoulder. "Those are inkwell designs. I don't think you make them, but there's a relatively new designer who is trying to get high-end shops to sell his goods. The big deal about those is that each one is different."

Gracie looked at the inkwell shirts again. "Oh, I see. I wonder if I still have the shipping receipt for these. I'll worry about it later. Thanks, Redd."

"I'm the one who should be thanking you," the fox remarked, sitting down on the same stool Labelle had used.

"That's right! How did the gift go?" Gracie inquired, setting down the inkwell shirts.

She could have sworn he blushed furiously. "She liked it…" he replied quietly. Gracie gave him an incredulous look, and he chuckled. "All right, she really liked it. She liked it so much she gave me a hug. Then I asked her on a date." Redd smiled. "We went to The Roost for hot chocolate."

Gracie patted Redd on the back. "Good for you! Anything else?" He muttered something, but Gracie couldn't hear him. "What?"

"We're going somewhere tonight. She gets to pick," he repeated, blushing an even deeper red, if that were possible.

"Well, have a great time!" Gracie said exuberantly. "And keep me updated, please."

Redd got to his footpaws and murmured something. He hurried off to the stairs, then paused. Glancing back at Gracie, he smiled again. "Thanks, Gracie. I really mean that." Then he headed down the stairs.

Gracie folded her arms and nodded in satisfaction. "I bet things will go well for him. Now! Bring on the day."

Almost as if they'd been waiting for those words, Fauna and Victoria entered the floor.