Chapter 2: A Donation and Date

Sable never did go to bed when she went inside. She was tired, yes, but wanted to do something else. She would regret not sleeping when it came time to open the shop later, but this had to be done. Reaching under her bed, Sable pulled out a nice sized metal lock box. Opening it up, she looked inside. It was her rainy day fund. A little over 500,000 bells. She counted out 15,000 and put it into a small coin purse. She sat at her desk and pulled out a piece of her best stationary; she had a letter to write.

Cless awoke to the sound of his doorbell ringing. He looked at the bedside clock and saw that it was 8 A.M. The doorbell rang again. Cless rolled out of bed and stumbled his way downstairs. He was still in his clothes from yesterday. The bell rang a third time as he reached the bottom of the stairs. It had to be Isabelle; no one else rang the bell like that. "Coming," he shouted.

He opened the door and sure enough there she was. Bright eyed and bushy tailed, Isabelle walked in. Cless yawned by way of greeting her. She laughed and said, "Good morning to you too Mayor."

Cless just yawned again. He was dreading going to the town hall this morning. "What do I have on the schedule this morning?" He asked.

Ever prepared, Isabelle pulled out a pocket day planner from her coat pocket and flipped it open. She looked through it for a moment before snapping it closed. "You are wide open until the afternoon," she said. "But you do have a package waiting for you at town hall. It looks like someone dropped it off before I got there. I naturally placed it on your desk." She said all of this very fast.

Cless yawned and said, "Thank you. Let me shower and change, and we will go." He started back upstairs before saying, "Help yourself to anything in the kitched."

Back upstairs Cless grabbed his clothes for the day; a simple polo shirt with a vest and slacks. He never dressed too dressy unless it was a very important meeting, but he still wanted to show that he took his post seriously. He walked to the bathroom and showered and dressed quickly.

Once back downstairs he found Isabelle dancing around the living room to a K.K. Slider album that she had put on. An empty glass of juice sat on the coffee table. He smiled and picked up the glass; she could be so adorable at times. Isabelle kept dancing as Cless cleaned the glass. He walked over to her, took her hand, spun and dipped her. She laughed and turned the music off. "You look refreshed and ready to go," she said.

"Mmm, still tired. I was out late, but let's get this day going," Cless replied. They headed outside and Cless shielded his eyes from the morning sun. A few early morning animals were out and about already; running to and fro trying to get errands done early. Probably hoping that they could enjoy an afternoon at the beach or shopping. The only time Cless seemed to have any time off anymore was on holidays. Maybe he would just take off one day soon and make a trip to the island for a day trip.

As he was walking towards the town hall he saw Whitney and Mira whispering in an excited fashion under a blooming peach tree. They both had to-go cups of coffee and bags from the Able Sisters in their hands. They saw Cless as he was passing, and waved to him. Mira let out a girlish giggle. Cless just waved back. "Good morning ladies," he said. Mira giggled again and Cless just shook his head. "What's with them?" he asked Isabelle.

Isabelle smiled and said, "Oh, you know how the rumor mill goes. Only this time it is about you Cless." Isabelle couldn't help herself, she giggled. "Mira swears that she saw you walking home from the Able sisters house in the very early hours this morning."

Cless shook his head and groaned, "Is that all people have to talk about anymore?" They had arrived at town hall he walked in. There it was; as Isabelle had said, a plain brown cardboard box on his desk.

"So, is it true?" Isabelle asked. She seemed way too excited about this latest rumor.

Cless just sighed and looked at the package. There was nothing written on it. "I suppose that it is," he said. Isabelle made an excited squeal. He was cutting the tape that held the box closed. "I saw her sitting alone on the beach, we talked, and I walked her home."

Isabelle frowned, "Oh, is that all?" She seemed greatly disappointed.

Cless nodded, "Yes, Isabelle, that is all." He opened the box and peered inside. A coin purse sat inside with a letter next to it. He pulled out the purse; it was heavy. He opened it up and gasped out loud. It was full of bells. Way more than enough to finish funding the hot spring. He sat it down and picked up the letter just as Isabelle came running over.

"What is it Mayor?" She asked, and Cless just pointed to the open purse. She looked down and squealed. "Oh this is wonderful! We can pay off the hot spring! I cannot wait to enjoy a nice soak when the weather cools off!" She jumped up and down; Cless had never seen her this excited. "But who sent it?" She wondered out loud. Cless held up the letter and opened it, reading it silently to himself. It was written in elegant script on beautiful green stationary.

My dear Cless,

I want to thank you for walking me home this morning, and for keeping me company on the beach. I was also happy that I was able to help you feel better. I could tell that you have been very stressed lately. Take this money as my donation to the hot spring and use it to finish paying for it. I know that the whole town, myself included, will love it when the cold weather arrives. You probably slept in this morning, but I would love if maybe the two of us could go to The Roost for a cup of coffee. I will be at the shop, come by and we can walk together.

S.

Cless sat down and read the letter again, and then read it twice more before folding it and putting it in his pocket. "Oh Sable," he whispered. Cless always knew that she was good, but this was just too much.

Isabelle tapped him on his shoulder and when he turned around she was smiling the biggest smile that he had ever seen. She had obviously read the letter over his shoulder. Great, as if the rumors were not bad enough as it was. He knew that Isabelle was a little gossip. "Well," she said, "you better get going! And just let me know if you want me to cancel your afternoon appointments. Have fun!" And with that, she practically pushed him out of the door.

Cless walked into the clothing shop at half past 9. Mable and Labelle were talking in an excited whisper about the new fall clothing line coming soon. Labelle smiled and waved him over. He walked across the shop and joined the two sisters. It was Mable that spoke first. "Cless! Sable is in the back working on something. She honestly was not expecting you for hours." Labelle stood next to her nodding.

Cless laughed and leaned against the wall. "Well, Isabelle was kind enough to assault my doorbell at 8 A.M.," he said shaking his head. "And then, it would seem that Mira is trying to be the gossip queen of the town now."

Labelle was laughing now, "Yeah, her and Whitney were here earlier asking questions, like it was some huge deal that you walked with Sable last night."

Cless nodded and walked back over to the sisters. "It was so sweet of Sable to make that donation. I don't even know how to thank her enough." He sighed, "She really helped me out of a tight spot. And the things that she told me last night, she really made me feel better." Cless was letting it all out now.

Mable hugged him and spoke again. "She likes you sweetie, and has for a long time now." She smiled and went on, "Sable never forgot how you stopped in everyday when you first arrived; even if you had nothing to buy, you still came in just to talk to her. I never forgot that either, and even after two years, you still do it."

Labelle looked at him now and smiled, "Just show her a good time. Sable does not get out much. I'll go get her." Cless nodded and she walked off.

A few minutes later Labelle came back with Sable in tow. She smiled as soon as she saw him. Cless walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her. "Thank you," he whispered. "Thank you so much. Seriously, I do not know how I can ever repay you."

Sable smiled, "Think nothing of it." She took him by the hand, "Come, let us go have coffee."

"Have fun you two!" Labelle and Mable called in unison and laughed. Sable just shushed them.

Cless' heart was pounding as they walked down Main Street hand in hand. He was not thinking of this as a date until just a few minutes ago; although he did like the idea of a date with Sable. She was kind, sweet, caring, and compassionate. Sable gave his hand a little squeeze and said, "I was not expecting you until this afternoon," she smiled.

Cless laughed and proceeded to retell the story of the great 8 A.M. doorbell assault by Isabelle. Sable found it highly amusing. "That is so like her," she said. "Even on Saturday she does not think that anyone should be allowed to sleep in."

They were off of Main Street now and Cless turned to look at her. "She also read your letter over my shoulder."

Sable blushed, "I kind of figured that she would. I suppose that is one reason that I did not use the word date in it." She laughed and went on, "Well, everyone will know by the time that we drink half of a coffee." She felt Cless squeeze her hand. "Let them talk though. Some of them are probably just jealous that it is me going out with you and not them." This made Cless blush and Sable laughed.

The arrived at The Roost and Cless held the door open for her. Sable smiled and led him over to a table for two. Cless pulled out her chair and she sat. He sat across from her and put his hand on hers. His heart was still pounding. Brewster came over a couple of minutes later to take their order.

"Blue Mountain black," she said. Cless smiled and ordered the same. He liked the taste of coffee straight. Brewster left to go make their coffee and Sable leaned forward to speak. "I have wanted to go out with you for some time now," she said quietly. "I suppose that I just never had the nerve to ask you."

"You never have to be nervous to ask me anything. I mean, if I were not so blind, I would have asked you ages ago," Cless said this very fast. He was still nervous and hoped that Sable did not notice.

Brewster walked back a minute later with two cups of piping hot coffee and sat them down. At that very moment the door opened and Whitney walked in. She was alone, but Cless felt sure that the moment they left she would be rushing off to find Mira to tell her everything. He squeezed Sable's hand and nodded his head towards the bar where Whitney had seated herself. Sable looked over and made eye contact with Whitney. "I swear, her and Mira both have nothing better to do than try to figure out who is seeing whom," she laughed and took a sip of her coffee. "I mean come on, get a hobby."

Cless sipped his coffee and smiled, "I think that is their hobby," he said. "The need a new one though." The spent the next hour sipping coffee and making small talk. Sable wanted to know all about his life prior to coming to Airithan. He told her all about his life in the big city. His years working in various shops, and traveling around. "So in the end I decided that I was just ready to settle down in a small town. I had grown tired of the city," he finished.

Sable smiled when he was finished talking. "Wow," she said, "I would have loved to have been able to do that. Maybe not the city living as I have never been much of a city girl, but the traveling sounds wonderful."

The sound of a cough came from the bar. Cless glanced over and then looked back at Sable. "Would you tell me your story?" He asked.

Sable smiled sadly. "That is a story for next time sweetie," she smiled. "There will be a next time right?" She asked shyly.

Cless squeezed her hand and stood up, "Of course there will be a next time." He looked straight into her eyes. "I had a wonderful time."

She stood up and blushed. "I did too," she said. Sable reached up and stroked the side of his face. She closed her eyes and leaned in, pressing her lips against his. It was not a long kiss, but it felt amazing. They broke apart after a moment, and Sable was blushing bright red. "Wow," she said.

"Wow," Cless agreed. Sable took him by the hand and led them past Mira who stared as they passed with her mouth hanging slightly open.

Sable decided to take the rest of the day off of work, so Cless walked her back to her house. At the front door Cless leaned in and kissed her. It felt just as amazing as it did back at The Roost. Sable wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close. "Thank you," she whispered. "You are wonderful." She walked inside and closed the door. Falling on the sofa, Sable closed her eyes and just tried to commit everything from this entire day to memory. She never wanted to forget this feeling. "Wow," she whispered.