Chapter 7

The waves licked gently against her feet, stroking them with a caress that she hadn't felt in a long while. She hadn't seen Tom Nook since revealing to him about her problem. It was quite strange, perhaps his absence has been the source of her depression, she thought. Maybe if she saw him again, she would feel better. The love they had for each other was still strong; this was ascertained in their phone call earlier in the day. Arranging to meet up by the sea at ten thirty wasn't as arduous a task as Sable had imagined. Tom's voice was still full of the warmth and understanding that she loved about him; still it bothered her that her stress had caused her to forget about seeing him. It felt as if there was so much to resolve in the small time they had put aside for each other. Her heart beat quickly; she could sense footsteps behind her. He had arrived.

Turning around, she saw the man of her dreams once again. Still dressed in his business suit stood Tom Nook, just as handsome. It felt like years since she had last seen him; the past few days had been agonizing and cruel to her.

They embraced.

"We haven't been in contact for some time, I was starting to get really worried" Tom Nook said, holding his love around the waist, his head rested against her shoulder.

"I'm sorry Tom" Sable whispered back. "So much has been happening to me lately"

He let go of her and sat down on the sand, undoing his tie. He let the two ends hang on his neck as he unbuttoned the top of his shirt. He had no mind for appearance now; he let the wet sand dirty his trousers. Sable sat down next to him; they sat close. How was she going to tell him?

"Are we going to talk about…that thing?" Tom asked. "The thing that made you so upset back at my place?"

"Y-yes, we are" Sable revealed, frightened of what the future held. "Tom, I'm scared stiff about this. I don't know how you're going to react"

She felt him take her hand and rub it softly with his own.

"I suppose we both have to know the truth" Tom said quietly, moving his head only slightly towards Sable. "I've been really worried as well. As much as I've tried to keep my composure…" His voice started to crack with desperation. "I don't think I can control myself for much longer. If there was a better time to know about your secret, it would be now"

Sable looked across to Tom Nook to meet his fearful gaze. It was quite sad to see; this was the first rock in their relationship, and neither knew how big it was going to be either. For the first time since being together, they felt scared of what was to come.

"Tom…" she said quietly, looking back out towards the sea. "…You spent many years in the city. I remember the day you left, when I came up to the platform and gave you the biggest hug of my life…I had the feeling that what we had between us was more than just friendship"

Tom watched her as she recounted her story, doing his best to be patient. It was working; Sable felt as if the floor was hers. She continued without hesitation, trying to build up to her revelation as well as she could.

"I remember the amount of contact we had, even when you were away" she continued, sighing. A slight smile escaped her as she though of the good old days. Even without his presence, the letters and presents they sent forged fond memories in her mind. "All the stuff we sent each other. I remember thinking that despite your absence, I was in peace…until you stopped sending letters" she explained.

"My business declined" Tom said quietly, fully aware of the story's damp course. "It was about…two years from that day before I was forced to file for bankruptcy. Another three months and I'd be back here" he explained.

"Tom…did you know how heartbroken I was when you stopped sending letters to me?" she explained, her gaze still fixed on the waves. "I thought…that you had stopped caring about me"

"No, it was nothing like that" Tom said quietly, putting an arm around Sable. "You wouldn't have known I was in decline at that moment anyway. I can understand how you feel, however we have gotten over that now, haven't we?" he asked.

"We have" Sable replied, closing her eyes. Her voice was soft spoken and wistful, but soon it become strained. "Tom, don't let anybody else tell you different. I love you, and I can only hope that what I say won't change a thing. After all, my secret…regards the past"

She felt his grip tighten slightly, as if to absorb the shock of what was to come. The shaking of his hand easily telegraphed his nerves; his breathing was a lot shallower.

"Go on…tell me" he said, mustering all his force.

"Tom…" Sable sighed her head drooping, almost in shame. "When you stopped sending me letters…I dated another man, named Mark"

Her heart almost broke as his arm jolted slightly. It felt terrible; it felt as if she'd taken a knife to her beloved's heart, to an innocent man. She cursed Mark to the ends of the earth for what she had just said. "I hope you're happy, Mark" she thought bitterly.

Nothing was more important to her than Tom Nook at that moment; it pained her to have to look up and examine his expression. It was rather blank.

"…Tom?" she asked, scared of how he felt. "…Tom, are you okay?"

Tom Nook slowly looked down towards Sable, his free arm dropping onto the sand.

"I…I'm fine" he said quietly, his eyes dropping as well. Sable didn't feel like crying, but her sense of pity had grown huge. She could tell the life had just been sucked out of Tom Nook, as if there were no energy inside to hold him up.

"I…"

"Sable, he's not…" Tom began to ask. Sable anticipated the question right away.

"No, Tom" she replied quickly. "He's not a part of my life anymore. You are"

Tom Nook started to stand up slowly, like a machine. Sable, worried for his well-being, stood up with him, trying to help him. He seemed somewhat unresponsive, not really reacting to what was happening around him. Sable tried to understand how he felt, but the more his gaze suddenly started to avoid hers, to worse she felt.

"Tom, please don't tell me you're mad" she asked. He gave no answer, and as soon as he brushed the sand from his trousers, he turned on his heels and started to walk. Sable begun to follow him, asking him questions, trying to get him to say something else. But no, he said nothing more to her. After a short while, Sable gave up in frustration, crying her eyes out as her one true love walked away from her into the darkness. It tore her to see such a good thing vanish into the night, and it was all Mark's fault.

As soon as she arrived back at the Able Sister's store, she stomped right past Mabel's attempts to console her and right to the phone. She dialed the dreaded number, fuelled only by her anger and rage. There was an answer.

"Hello?" the hoarse voice asked.

"You…bastard!" she yelled. She hushed her tone into a threatening growl. "I hope you're happy, I hope you're fucking well satisfied with what you've caused"

"You…told him?" he asked, a twinge of glee in his voice.

"He knows we had a relationship, nothing else" Sable spat. "Just the fact itself was enough to tear his heart out; he won't speak to me, and it's all your fucking fault!" she yelled.

"Now just calm down" Mark ordered. "Thanks for doing what I told you. Now, I'll pop over the shop tomorrow; we can visit my log cabin up north and…"

"Shut your goddamn mouth, you sadistic bastard!" Sable yelled, silencing Mark at once. Finally, she felt truly powerful and in control. Gritting her teeth, she continued to seethe out her hatred. "What kind of idiot do you take me for, Mark? You may have potentially shattered the only love I really had, but that doesn't mean I'm going to be some petty little bitch for you! I'll never stay with you, I never want to see you again and I hope you choke to death before you infest some other innocent woman's life with your…your lechery!" she yelled. She heard Mark take a breath to try and gain control again, but she wasn't going to let him win any more fights. With all her power, she slammed the phone down on the receiver, silencing Mark. Once, and hopefully, for all.

Within seconds she was crying again, knelt against her bed with her head in her hands, moist with tears. She didn't care for the image she was displaying. She didn't care if she was a fully mature woman who was crying like a child. Her communication with Tom Nook had gone silent at the beach, just like it did when he was in the city. Sable wasn't ready to return to her previous life. She wanted Tom nook to stay with her; but how could he after what she had just said? Tom Nook's pride was like glass and Sable had just picked it up and thrown it against the ground, smashing it into fragments, possibly never to be fully restored. Despite the consolation from her sister, Sable continued to cry well into the night, before her severe exhaustion threw her into a fitful sleep, never to wake up happy again.