Chapter 4
Tom Nook woke up to find that Sable was absent from the bed. His night had been sleepless, as he had imagined. His thoughts had been focused upon Sable's worries. He was anxious; he had no idea what was causing Sable so much grief. Additional pressure came from her refusal to tell him what was wrong. Tom Nook had initially surmised that it was a family matter that was bothering Sable…but then again, he couldn't be so sure.
Putting himself through the usual morning routine, he prepared himself for work and locked up his house. The morning was grey and windy; typical autumn weather. Walking upon the carpet of dead leaves that lines his path to the town, Tom Nook set about to his day with a little more care and consideration. Questions reveled in his mind: when would Sable reveal her problem? What was the problem? Was she ill? Had somebody hurt her? And most importantly, how long could Tom Nook contain his patience before it dwindled to temptation?
He entered Nookington's, looking at his watch. 7:30 am, it read. Seeing no reason to stay outside in the blustery weather, he activated the electricity from outside and entered the store. He remembered that today was Timmy and Tommy's day off, and in addition, the hairdressers' salon was under repairs for a broken chair and a new sink. It looked like he would be taking on the day alone.
A few minutes passed as he set about cleaning the floors of the ground level. Checking that his stock was in ship shape, he sat himself down by his desk. Pulling out a chart detailing his economical situation, he began to update it when the door opened.
Looking up, he saw a large, bulky grey wolf walking in, wearing a brown leather jacket, jeans and big black boots. There were sunglasses perched from his snout, hiding his eyes, but they could not disguise the man's intimidating mass. His fists were clenched; he turned his head slightly towards Tom Nook.
"Good morning!" he greeted. "You're a little early, but you can…"
He wanted to finish his sentence, but the man paid him no heed. His boots stomped against the ground as he walked slowly over towards the shop's merchandise.
"…Browse if you…want to" Tom finished quietly. He got the impression that this man didn't want to waste time with civilities. He watched as the man approached the tools section and decided to follow him, like he would with every customer.
The man slowly approached the tools, breathing out with a deep grunt. Turning his head, his eyesight seemed to fall upon the axe that was positioned on the table. He unclenched his great big hands and knelt down to grab the axe by the handle and hilt, lifting it up effortlessly. Tom Nook felt a little scared at watching such a big man wield an axe, and for a minute, he felt as if something bad was going to happen. The man turned around to face Tom Nook, wielding the axe tightly, the price tag still hanging off of the blade. The two remained still for a few seconds.
"Um…" Tom Nook hummed, trying to break the silence.
"How much for this axe?" he asked, unaware of the tag. Tom Nook breathed a quiet sigh of relief, glad that the man wasn't a psychopath. His voice was husky and hoarse, not as deep as one would expect from a man his size.
"That'll be 500 Bells, please" he said quickly. The man released one arm from the axe and dug it into his back pocket. Fishing out the tokens, he handed them to Tom Nook, dropping the coins and notes into his hands.
"Thank you very much" Tom Nook said quietly. Suddenly, the man moved forward, forcing Tom Nook to move back quickly to avoid a conflict. The man made a sharp turn for the exit, wielding the axe in one hand below its blade. He walked without stopping, exiting the store and eventually vanishing from sight. Tom Nook looked on in intrigue and a little fright, watching the man clutch his axe as if it were a weapon.
"I've never seen him around before" he murmured to himself. "He must be new in the neighborhood" Moving back towards his desk, he resumed his day, seeing no more strange occurrences.