Two days have passed since Sable's first official introduction to the new mayor. She and Ross had gotten along quite well. He would come early in the morning and bring Sable a cup of coffee to get her awake and moving. After the store opens to the public, Ross would come in and browse through all of the clothes. On one day he bought a pair of navy cargo pants because he had no other bottoms. On the second day, he bought something slightly more unusual.
"A... yellow plaid print apron?" Mabel was very confused.
Ross stood with a sheepish smile. "Well, I have a good reason to get this, but I'm not at liberty to divulge that information."
"What?" Mabel raised her eyebrows even more.
"It's a secret." Ross looked disappointed that he couldn't sound cooler.
"Alright then. That will be 395 bells."
Ross took the apron and stuffed it into his seemingly endless pockets. "Thank you!"
"You're welcome. We hope to see again soon!" Ross left the store happy and content and Mabel walked back over to Sable's work area. "So, how have you two been getting along?"
Sable's head lifted away from her sewing. She was currently working on a duck design for a hoodie. "He's nice. He's fun to talk to. He's also very considerate." Sable's eyes drifted towards the ceiling. "He's like how Tom used to be."
"Wow. Is he really?" Mabel was cracking a smile.
Sable's cheeks turned a warm pink color. "Well, he probably treats everyone like that so..." She was desperately trying to mask her emotions.
"I'm sure he does. Oh! That reminds me. A new store is opening up next to us, or should I say, ON TOP of us."
"In that empty building upstairs? Really?" Sable was relieved at the change in subject.
"Yeah. It's a beauty salon called Shampoodle."
Sable slightly chuckled because the name was somewhat funny. "Who runs it?"
"No clue. The inside is still currently being constructed. We'll see once the building is finished."
"Alright then. I guess for today it's still just business as usual."
"Yep. That means back to sewing."
"Yeah, yeah. I know."
The rest of the day went by with nothing of note to add. The constant noises from upstairs were beginning to become slightly annoying, though. The next day rolled around and there was a brand new facility above The Able Sisters.
Mabel followed by Sable and Labelle went up to the door leading into Shampoodle. An electronic bell rang with the town's tune as they entered. A pink haired poodle with long ears was standing next to a salon chair. She wore a purple dress underneath a blue, white, and red apron (A/N: Think the French flag) which tied behind her in a nice large bow. "Welcome! Are you new to my salon?"
Mabel was slightly taken by surprise at the poodle's sudden interjection. "In a sense, I guess we are."
"Well then, allow me to introduce myself. My name's Harriet, and I run Shampoodle. I do everything from simple washes to complete makeovers. What're your names, sugar?"
"I'm Mabel. These are my two older sisters Sable and Labelle, and we operate The Able Sisters clothing store underneath you."
"Is that so? Well, pleased to make your acquaintance, neighbors." Harriet seemed friendly enough. Her equipment was also state-of-the-art for stylings, so she seemed to be able to do a good job. "So, you girls just checking up on me or do you want something done?"
Labelle was very eager to be the first to try out Harriet's salon. "I want my hair ends done slightly darker as well as my eye shadow a different shade of blue." Harriet sat her down in the chair and proceeded to stylize Labelle. Once Harriet was done Labelle came out looking exactly the same, but she didn't even notice. "It looks great Harriet!"
"Thanks, sugar." Labelle got up and went back down to The Able Sisters and Mabel and Sable just stared in disbelief. "I did slightly change it like she wanted, but only slightly." Harriet gave a coy little wink and Mabel and Sable lost a shred more faith in their fashion crazy sister. "Anything else I can do for you?"
"No, thank you. We just came to see our new upstairs neighbor." Mabel and Sable started making their ways to the door.
"Thanks, sugar! Nice meeting you three."
After their little introduction to Shampoodle and how it works, the sisters continued to work throughout the day. Ross, as usual, came by and bought something to wear. He bought a long-sleeved red hoodie and a pair of party shades (A/N: Those glasses that look like slightly opened window blinds). Labelle wore a lilac in her hair to try to get a couple of glances from Ross, but she ended up staring more at him than the other way around. As Ross was leaving, he stopped by Sable's area to say something. "I'm gonna come by a little earlier than usual tomorrow. I want to show you something."
Sable looked surprised as no one had ever given her anything for a long time. "Um... sure! I'd love to see what you have in mind."
"Great!" Ross clapped his hands together. "I'll see you tomorrow then."
"Alright. I'll see you then too." Sable went back to work with a smile on her face while Mabel just smirked.
[The next morning...]
At around 7:30 am, Ross came by the not yet opened Able Sisters and knocked on the door. Sable opened the door and saw Ross with one of his hands behind his back. His other held the coffee that Sable likes. "Hey, Sable! I told you I would come a little earlier today." He handed Sable her coffee with one cream and one sugar; her favorite mix.
"Thank you, and you did." Sable took a sip of the still hot coffee and invited Ross inside. "So, why did you show up earlier than usual?"
Ross then revealed what was in his other hand. It was the yellow plaid apron that he had bought two days prior. "I brought this with me to want to take up sewing with you as my teacher!"
Sable just stared. What was only about three seconds of silence felt like an eternity to her. She finally worked out a resounding, "What?"
"I want..." Ross was tying the apron around him. "You to teach me..." He was finishing the knot on the back. "How to sew."
Sable still continued to look taken aback. She had nothing to add to what he had just uttered. "But I don't-." She was tripping over her words. "I don't know how I could teach you. It's just something I've always done."
"That's not a big deal. I learn things quick." Ross picked up a stool at sat it down next to Sable. "Just start from the basics and I'll eventually get it."
"But-" Sable tried to protest, but Ross seemed so excited that she couldn't help but sigh and smile. "Alright well. First, we're going to work with a needle and thread." She took out a spool if thread and a needle. She also took some unused fabrics and stacked them next to her and Ross. "Since you need to learn everything, you have to thread the needle. I'll demonstrate." Sable carefully took the thread at the closest point to the tip as possible and stuck it through. "See? Simple."
She gave it over to Ross after removing the thread from the needle's eye. Ross tried several times, but with each miss, the thread's end became more and more split. "I can't do it now."
"That's fine. A good, short-term way of fixing that is licking the end back together. It'll make it stay long enough to thread."
Ross eventually made the eye and the thread meet. He seemed so happy of his accomplishment, that Sable couldn't help but giggle. They went on to start sewing with to swatches of fabric. Sable showed him how to do basic loops and Ross did it but pricked himself several times. Sable had to get him about six bandages and a metal thimble. The two continued laughing and talking until about 9:30 am. Ross deemed it a good a time as any to stop the lesson there. They both said their goodbyes and they both went back to work. Once 10:00 rolled around, the other two sisters began to start working.
Mabel came Sable's workstation because she saw the squares of fabric that were sewn together with little rhyme or reason to how it matched with each other. "So... new designs? Experimenting with which tacky patterns match with others to make then look, eh... less tacky?"
"No. Someone came in and wanted me to teach them how to sew. That was some of their needle-and-thread practice."
"Is that why you have a box of bandages on your desk?"
"They tend to prick themselves quite often. I even had to get out my thimble. I haven't needed the thing in forever." Sable just sighed and smiled at the thought of Ross wearing the thimble and still somehow pricking himself. "They're picking it up quite nicely, though."
"So who is this apprentice of yours?"
"Ross."
Mabel stood wide eyes for a second and cracked a large, almost evil looking, grin. "This doesn't sound like teacher and student here. It sounds like lover and potential lover."
Sable's entire face glowed a bright pink and she stared at the floor. Her shoulders tensed up and her speech was stuttering. "Mabel! Would you quit that?! I'm not into Ross like that!"
"Suuure you don't. Sure." Mabel went back to her post and continued working.
Sable was left at her area still steaming with embarrassment at Mabel's blunt comment. She got up from her post and walked over to the door. "I need a break." That was the last she said before exiting the store.
Sable walked upstairs to Shampoodle and entered the salon. Harriet greeted her sweetly. "Hey, sugar! What can I do for you today?"
"I just want a nice relaxing wash. I have a lot of stress I need to let out."
"No problem!" Harriet brought over a salon sink and a styling cape and proceeded to drape it over Sable and lean her head back. She used a shampoo that lathers nicely and began to make conversation. "So what's biting at you?"
Sable began her retelling of the story with a sigh. She recounts how she and Ross first were introduced, the times they've spent just talking, and the persistent annoyances, courtesy of Mabel. She then says how Ross is also now getting lessons in sewing from her. "Ross is nice, but I don't really think of him as a potential boyfriend."
"Hmm. Sounds like you got a lot weighing on your mind, sugar. Why don't you talk to Ross about this?"
"Well, I don't want him to see me as some weirdo." Sable put on a pouty face when she said this. "And besides, he probably feels the same."
"Do you know that for sure, though?"
The question really hit Sable. She mostly assumed that Ross was just being nice. "Well, not really."
"Well, why don't you see him as your potential important someone?"
"... Tom."
"Tom? You mean Tom Nook?"
"Me and him used to go way back, but ever since he became used to the city's way of life and became even greedier than usual, we've never spoken. I still have his letters and the birthday gift he sent me, but he doesn't remember a thing from then. I haven't become attached to one guy since. Then Ross came and changed everything. I feel so confused and as if I had been missing out on something and now is my chance."
Harriet kept washing, listening intently to Sable's every word. "Mm. Well, maybe you just need more time to sort everything out. As I see it, you're unconsciously trying to push him away because you don't want to end up heartbroken again. I could be wrong, but I've heard enough people's stories to pick up on some things."
Sable sighed. "I hope something resolves itself. This feeling is killing me."
After Sable's wash, she stood up feeling lighter than usual, as if a weight came off her chest. As she went for the door, Labelle rushed in and slammed into Sable. Labelle was hurt in her forehead and Sable got a bruise on the bridge of her nose. "Sis? You really have to watch where you're walking."
Sable got up holding her nose still making her way for the door. 'I could say the same to you,' she thought angrily to herself. She exited the salon and made her way back to the Able Sisters.
"Harriet."
"Yes, sugar?" Harriet seemed slightly troubled as to what she just witnessed.
"I want a new hairstyle, one that looks flirty but professional."
'That's a weird combination to ask for.' "Alright, sugar. Have a seat."
[In the Able Sisters...]
Mabel noticed Sable's nose bruise as she walked in. "What happened?"
"Our sister happened. I ran into her leaving Shampoodle."
"Ouch. You feel better, though?"
"A little, yeah."
"Oh. Ross came by while you were out. He asked where you were."
"He did?"
"Yeah. He seemed pretty disappointed when I said you were out, but he bought a flame-print shirt on his way out and a monocle."
"Alright. I'll say that I'm sorry next time I see him."
"I'm sure he'd like that."