Chapter 3: Island Lunch and Sable's Story
Sable sat at her sewing machine in the Able Sisters boutique, it had been 10 days since Cless and she had that wonderful date at The Roost. He had been busier than usual since then. He of course still managed to come by the shop every day to see her. Construction had begun on the hot spring. Naturally he had picked the perfect spot for its location. It would be overlooking the beach which would be perfect, especially at night. She could just picture it now. Cless and her alone in the hot spring late at night after a hard day's work. Overlooking the beach, with the only sounds being the rolling of the waves washing up over the sandy beach. The stars and moon above in the clear night sky. Maybe a glass of wine. It would be the most romantic thing ever.
The bell over the door jingled to signal that someone had walked in. Sable looked up and smiled. It was Cless, he must be done work for the day. She stood up and ran over to him, throwing herself into his arms. He scooped her up and kissed her passionately. Mable who was straightening up some clothes looked up and smiled. It was time to close up and Cless had come to walk her home. He set her down, but kept ahold of her hand. "Hi sweetie," he said. "How was your day?"
She looked over at Mable and said, "The usual you know. Not much in sales, and I am still working on the new line of fall clothes." She led him over to the sewing machine to show off the finished dress. It was a pale green color with a dark blue trim. Cless thought it would look stunning on whoever was lucky enough to own it. Sable leaned in close and whispered, "To be completely honest, I don't want to sell this one." She winked at Cless, "I made it my size and just want to keep it."
Cless smiled at her and walked over to Mable. He leaned in and whispered something to her and she responded. Discreetly slipping her a coin purse he walked back over to Sable and picked up the dress. He slipped it into an Able Sisters bag and handed it to Sable. "For our date tomorrow," he said with a smirk.
Sable just looked at him with a kind of astonished look on her face. "What date tomorrow?" She asked looking over at Mable. Labelle had knocked off early that day.
Cless glanced back at Mable and she nodded encouragingly. "Well Mable said that she would work the store tomorrow with a little help from Labelle. I thought that we both could use a day off, so I want to take you out to the island for a day out and a picnic." He held out the bag for her to take, "And the dress is officially yours." He gave her a quick kiss and Mable smiled.
Sable threw her arms around Cless and squeezed him tight taking the air out of his lungs. "Oh thank you thank you thank you thank you!" She said. She ran over to Mable and hugged her too, quite hard and whispered, "Thank you my dear sister. This means so much to me; and if you ever need anything, just please let me know."
Mable just laughed, "Well when I manage to catch me a guy as good as yours, I'll be sure to have you watch the shop so I can go gallivanting off to a romantic island getaway." She held Sable out at arm's length and looked her over. "I have never seen you this happy before Sable," she said. "It warms my heart." She gave her a quick hug again, "Go on and get out of here," she said. "I will see you at home."
Sable walked over to Cless and took his hand. He waved to Mable, and they walked out of the shop. Out on Main Street a few villagers were finishing up some last minute shopping. The sun had set and darkness was taking over. Street lights were flickering on and off casting a shadowy light over the store fronts and the people walking around. Cless needed to get around to having those fixed before they went out completely. He just had too many things on his plate. Isabelle was doing him a favor tomorrow and overseeing the construction of the hot spring. She had all but insisted that he take off for the day when he let slip how long it had been since his first date with Sable. He still walked her home every day, but it would be good to have another proper date. Cless had sent Isabelle out shopping for him earlier in the day to get food for the picnic.
They turned off Main Street and headed in the direction of Sable's house. In the distance they could see the construction of the hot spring. It was coming along nicely and would probably be finished by the time the weather started to cool off. Cless had a feeling that a majority of the fall equinox festival would be taking place in it. He could just picture everyone enjoying a soak to warm up outside. More than that though, he could picture Sable and himself cuddled up alone in it on a cold dark snowy night.
They arrived at Sable's front door and she looked at him. Cless wrapped his arms around her and held her close, never wanting to let go. Things just felt so right with her. He knew that they had both dated in the past, but something felt different about this. It just felt right. It felt perfect. He kissed her passionately just savoring the sensation of being with her. When they broke apart, he looked at her and spoke. "Shall I pick you up at 9?"
Sable nuzzled into his shoulder and whispered. "That sounds wonderful." She planted a little kiss on his cheek, "I am so excited," she said. "I have not had a proper day off of work in ages." She kissed him one more time and squeezed tight. "Good night baby," She whispered. Opening her door, she walked in.
Cless made the walk back to his house daydreaming about tomorrow. It was not until he was unlocking his door that he realized that someone was leaning up against his house. It was Whitney. Cless wondered what she wanted this late. She looked at him and gave him a small smile. "Can we talk?" She asked.
Cless just looked at her and nodded. "Sure," he said. She sat down on the bench on his front porch, and Cless asked, "Can I get you something to drink?"
"That would be wonderful," she replied.
Cless walked inside and came back out a minute later carrying two glasses of water. He handed one to Whitney and sat down next to her. It was a few minutes before she started to talk. "I just wanted to say that I am sorry about the teasing and gossip that I was spreading around about you and Sable." She drank half of the water in a single gulp. "I honestly did not mean anything by it."
Cless took a sip of his water before he responded. "Oh Whitney. Thank you, but there was no reason to apologize."
Whitney smiled and finished her water. "I see how happy the two of you are, how Sable has a new bounce in her step, and how less stressed you have seemed these past couple of days. I guess I am just a little jealous." She looked out at the ocean, "I just wish that I still had that."
Cless was speechless. "Wow Whitney, I really don't know what to say."
She just laughed and handed Cless her empty glass. "Don't say anything, just be happy and keep making her happy." She stood up and stretched. "I should get going, I am meeting Mira and Keaton at Club LOL tonight.
Cless stood up and looked at Whitney. "You all have fun tonight, I should probably get to bed anyway. It was a long day." He waved to Whitney as she started walking off and went inside. Setting the two glasses in the sink, Cless opened his fridge and looked inside. Freshly picked fruit and veggies for the picnic tomorrow sat at the very front. A note was stuck to the front of a container from Isabelle. 'Have fun tomorrow, and try not to even think about anything here. I have it all covered.' He smiled and walked upstairs to try to get some sleep.
The alarm went off at 7:30 in the morning and Cless jumped out of bed. He did not sleep much, but was wide awake all the same. He dashed off to the bathroom for a quick shower and dressed. He sprayed on a shot of his favorite cologne and it was out the door to make a quick trip to The Roost. They were busy this morning, so it took a lot longer for Cless to get the two coffees that he ordered than he anticipated. By the time he got to Sable's house and knocked on the door, it was 10 minutes to 9. He was almost late. Sable's voice came through the closed door. "Come on it, the door is open!"
Cless opened the door and walked in. The living room was pristine. He wondered if it was always like this, or if the sisters had a late night cleaning spree. Sable stuck her head out of the open bathroom door and smiled. "Just make yourself at home sweetie, I am almost done." Cless smiled and blew her a kiss.
He sat down on the sofa and put the two coffees down on the table. A few minutes later Sable walked out of the bathroom and walked in front of Cless. She did a little twirl in her new dress and said, "Well what do you think?"
She looked amazing. He stood up and wrapped her in a tight hug. "You are the most stunningly beautiful woman that I have ever laid eyes on."
Sable blushed a deep red. "Oh stop it," she said, but sounded pleased. He handed her a cup of the coffee and she took it, taking a small sip of the still piping hot liquid. "You know, you look pretty striking yourself sir," she said smiling. "I'm not going to have to fight off any of the other ladies around here for you am I?"
Cless just laughed and offered her his arm. "I don't think so sweetie. I'm all yours." He picked up his coffee, "Shall we be on our way?"
Sable took his arm and they walked out of the house. It was a short walk down to the beach and pier where Kapp'n stood waiting to ferry them to the island. Cless had sent the food ahead of time that morning, with instructions that it be laid out under one of the many tropical fruit trees. He wanted everything to be perfect today. The boat ride was a smooth one as Sable sat and leaned against Cless' chest and he wrapped his arms around him. Kapp'n passed the time by singing a few of his old sea shanties. They were not particularly romantic, but they enjoyed them all the same.
They arrived at the island at half past 10. Kapp'n coasted to the dock and the boat stopped with a gentle thump. Cless stepped off first and held his hand out to help Sable out. They walked through the little hut together and out into the small tropical paradise that was the little island owned by Tortimer. It was absolutely beautiful. Banana and coconut trees everywhere, a quaint little beach that led to the ocean where you could swim. It was a perfect day for this, not to hot, but still not a cloud in the sky. Sable was just looking around like there was no place that she would rather be right now. Cless felt exactly the same way.
He found the spot where the food had been laid out fairly quickly. It was under the largest palm tree on the island. It provided the perfect amount of shade. Sable looked down at the spread. It was wonderful, everything that you could want. Bunches of grapes and cherries, kiwi and peaches, sliced apples and oranges. And to top it all off, a bottle of the best wine that you could get on the island.
Cless sat down and Sable gently placed herself in his lap. He picked up a couple of grapes and placed one into her open mouth. She giggled and leaned back into his chest. It was such a wonderful feeling, and at that moment, Cless felt like the luckiest person in the world. He kissed her on top of her head, and she snuggled in closer. Sable picked up an apple slice and popped it into her mouth. Cless reached down and popped open the bottle of wine. He poured each of them a glass and handed one to Sable. She held her glass up to his and he said, "To a wonderful day and many more to come." The each took a sip, savoring the sweet taste of the grapes.
Sable sat down her glass and looked at Cless. "I am going to tell you a story," she said with a sad smile on her face. "It is my story, the one that you asked about at the coffee shop."
Cless nodded, and Sable continued on. "Mable, Labelle, and I lost are parents when Mable was very young." She took Cless by the hand, and went on, "Sable only has one memory of them, and that memory is from a photo that is hung up in the shop. Labelle and I being the older ones were left to raise Mable from the time she was very young." She took a sip of her wine and ate another grape. Cless was just listening, not saying anything. "It was not long before Labelle tired of this and left to try to make a life in the big city. I was left alone to raise my younger sister. It made me have to grow up and mature very quickly. I will not lie, I became very frustrated at times, because I had dreams of my own. But of course I could not follow them. I had to do right by Mable." Cless saw her wipe a single tear from her eye, and he grasped her hand gently. "I received letters from Labelle on occasions, she had made it in the city and was working for the world renowned fashion designer Gracie. All these letters did was make me even more upset. I felt that she had abandoned both Mable and me. The years passed and Mable grew to become a very responsible young woman. We never did leave Airithan, and opened our little shop right there on Main Street." She stopped for a minute to eat a few more apple slices, and Cless ate a few cherries. "We were never that well off, but we were making it. One morning as we were getting ready to open the shop, we were surprised to see Labelle walking up from the train station. She had told us that she had tried to start her own line of accessories, and had fallen on hard times in the city. Naturally we were very excited to be reunited with our other sister, and offered her a place in our shop. She hopes to make the Labelle brand a name to be known one day."
Cless did not know what to say. He reached up and wiped a tear from his eye and just held Sable as close to him as he could. He was utterly speechless. Sable held him as close as he held her. He heard her let out the quietest of sniffles before she pulled back and looked at him. She had a smile on her face and her eyes were dry. "It just made me who I am today," she said. "And it has a happy ending. I was so happy that Labelle rejoined our family." She leaned in and kissed him, "We should go for a swim," she said. "It is such a beautiful day." Sable decided to leave out the part about her past with Tom Nook. Not that it was anything to hide, but with him back in Airithan, and things going so well with Cless, she did not want to take a chance of messing it up.
"Swimming sounds like a wonderful idea," he said. Truth be told, Cless was not even thinking about swimming when he came out here. "I need to go and buy some swim trunks though; I did not bring mine."
Sable got up and said that she was going to the changing room, while Cless went into the little cabana and purchased a pair of green swim trunks. He walked into the men's changing room and came out a minute later holding his clothes and looking ready for a day in the ocean. Sable was waiting outside for him, neatly folding up her dress and setting it on the blanket under the tree. Cless was breathless. She looked stunning in her bikini. He had never seen anyone so beautiful; he had a hard time believing that she was his girlfriend. The just looked at each other for a moment before Sable ran off splashing into the water with Cless just a few steps behind her. The hours passed at what seemed to be lightning fast speed, and before he knew what happened the sun was starting to set.
They were laying on the beach cuddled up. Sable had fallen asleep with her head on Cless' chest. She looked so peaceful with her deep slow breathing, and the cute little smile on her face. It killed him to wake her up. This kind of day should never end. He would give anything just to stop time and be stuck in this moment forever, but sadly all good things must end to make time for even better moments, he thought. Cless gently nudged her shoulder and she mumbled something that he could not understand. Sable stirred and blinked her eyes sleepily. She looked up at Cless and smiled, "Can I just wake up to the sight of you every day?"
Cless leaned down and kissed her. "Nothing would make me happier," he said.
She got up and stretched, "I suppose that the day is over now." She sounded as sad about it as he felt. All Cless could do was to nod. He began gathering up everything that they brought and took Sable by the hand. They walked back through the little cabana, still in their swimwear and saw that Kapp'n was by the dock waiting on the. The boat ride ended too quickly for anyone's liking, and before long Cless was standing at Sable's front door once more.
Cless held her close and kissed her goodnight. "Thank you for such a wonderful time," he said.
Sable had an internal battle going within herself. She wanted to invite him inside, but she knew that Mabel and Labelle would be home soon. That and part of her thought that it was still too soon. She did not want to rush this and screw everything up. She just kissed him again and whispered, "No, thank you baby. This was one of the best days of my life." With one more little kiss she bid him goodnight and walked inside and collapsed on the couch. She would never forget this day as long as she lived.