More Precious Than Money
Synopsis: First 'Raccoons' fan fiction. Cynthia Snipe (an aardvark) finds herself interested in Cyril Sneer's stock only to find when she meets her stockbroker, she falls in love with him. Cedric hopes for the best since she brings out his pop's gentler side.
Chapter 1--Vested Interest
Cyril had been going over his recent profit index with the help of his three pig assistants, Lloyd, Floyd and Boyd. Each had 'most magnificent', 'most marvelous' news to share that his stock had jumped twice in the year despite the recent depression and the shaky, unstable economy. Cyril couldn't have been more ecstatic, but he was curious as to who had purchased stock recently. As far as he knew, no one, except the courageous made any purchases during a rocky financial period.
"Did you happen to inquire as to the name of the shareholder ?", he said, taking a puff from his cigarette. He was interested in meeting this person. Cyril could imagine him as a rather shrewd, clever, cautious and penurious businessman.
"Of course we did.", Lloyd began, with a courteous smile.
"And she is very inquisitive about you, Sir.", Floyd added.
Cyril nearly choked on his cigar but after banging a fist upon his chest, he regained his regular breathing cycle.
"She ?!", he blurted. The image he had in his mind began to shatter, but he collected himself. He had been alone for so many years that he had almost forgotten what it was to have the company of a lady. Only question now was would he know how to act in the presence of one and if he fell in love would he even know what to do ? He lowered his head momentarily and sighed, kneading his throbbing temple.
"Could you use a glass of wine, Sir ? It'll help with that headache.", Floyd offered.
"Brown snout.", Boyd mumbled, narrowing his eyes at his brother.
"Y-Yes. Of course, Ferrell, that will do nicely.", Cyril said. He almost cringed at the words coming out of his mouth. What on earth was wrong with him ? He had never been that kind to the pigs before and now he was actually taking their advice for once. Maybe allowing this dame into his mansion wouldn't be so bad after all.
Chapter 2--Knocking Knees
Cedric had headed off to the Blue Spruce Café to visit Bert and the rest of the gang as usual. He had caught wind that his father would be meeting the shareholder that the pigs had spoken of. Apparently, she too was an aardvark with tremendous business sense and a flair for the finer things in life. He hoped that she wouldn't be as manipulative and callous as his own pop could be at times. But he knew his father's tender nature and when it came right down to it, his dad could be a real teddy bear.
"Say, Cedric ! How are you doing ?", Bert said, glad to see his best buddy once more.
"Oh, I'm swell, Bert. But, dad's got a date tonight.", Cedric said, looking pitifully at the ground for a moment.
"That's great…Wait a minute. WHAT ?!", Bert said, shocked. He couldn't believe that Cedric's dad was actually going to be dating someone.
"Do you know anything about her ?", he asked, wanting to know all the details.
"Um, no. I don't. She's coming tonight and I fear she'll be just as bad as he is.", Cedric admitted. Bert hugged his friend to comfort him.
"Maybe she won't be. I know what'll take your mind off of all of it. What say you and I pack a lunch and go for a hike through the forest. I know some really neat trails where we can see some beautiful countryside.", Bert said. As usual, he would be packing peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as well as grape sodas for the two of them.
"That sounds great, Bert. Anything would be better than to stay cooped up in the mansion all day listening to pop go on about his fortune.", Cedric said, finally grinning for once. And with that, the two friends set out the door, saying goodbye to Ralph and Melissa as they came in from a day at the office, shutting the door as they left for the forest trails.
Cedric usually didn't cook for himself because the pigs usually did it for him and surprisingly, he found that he could make a meal fairly well. It wasn't four-star quality but the taste was quite good. He hoped that his date would feel the same way about his first experiment in the kitchen. Not too soon after he had set the table, there had been a honk at the door. He rushed downstairs in his finest suit and took a deep breath.
"If I am so calm, why do I feel like my knees are still knocking ?", Cyril wondered to himself, swallowing hard. He opened the door and his jaw nearly dropped to the floor. Not only was the aardvark who stood at the foot of his door splendidly gorgeous but her eyes were the richest shade of violet he had ever witnessed. She smiled graciously and complimented Cyril on his taste in decorating as well as the opulence of his mansion. Then, her senses heightened on the meal she could smell from the kitchen upstairs.
"I absolutely adore Italian food.", she said, cheerfully. Suddenly, Snag had awoken from his slumber and instead of his usual 'rip, tear, gnaw and bite' routine he came up to the stockholder and investigated her.
"What a lovely dog you have. What's his name ?", she questioned.
"That's Snag. Might I ask as to what your name is ?", Cyril responded, feeling foolish that he hadn't asked her until this moment.
"I'm Cynthia Snipe. I am the head of a philanthropist organization. I figure if someone has more money than what they know what to do with, why not give some away to those who really need the help ?", Cynthia admitted with an infectious smile. She offered the back of her hand to Cyril's dog and Snag licked it. Cynthia giggled, scratching the dog behind the ear. Snag nearly melted into a puddle of goop at the affection.
"You are awfully good with animals.", Cyril said, bashfully as he led her upstairs to the kitchen.
"I have a dog of my own. Her name is Princess. Perhaps she and Snag could become acquainted someday.", Cynthia offered.
"I think that would be a splendid idea, Cynthia.", Cyril agreed, blushing lightly at the way her name rang in his ears when he said it.
The evening was splendid and seemed to pass by much more quickly than Cyril ever imagined. Cynthia and he were different in personality but he felt so comfortable and peaceful around her that he wasn't afraid of admitting some of the events of his past that had caused him to be so bitter in the present.
"Did you enjoy your meal, Ms. Snipe ?", Cyril asked, after having cleaned up and taken her the balcony to watch the stars.
"Yes, it was outstanding. You are a fine cook. If you're always like this I'm afraid I'll continue falling for you.", she said, looping her arm around his. Cyril felt his whole body become stiff and his knees became gelatinous.
"I have more trouble of that, Cynthia.", Cyril said, chortling.
"You mentioned your boy quite a bit. I'd like to meet him someday.", Cynthia chuckled in response, hugging him gently from the side.
"He'll be home in a bit so your wish will be granted.", Cyril said, looking at his watch. Like clockwork, Cedric arrived home and began talking to Cynthia. The two had an immediate rapport and Cedric could see there was sizable chemistry between his dad and the wealthy altruist. He also noticed that his dad was a bit softer and his voice less forceful as usual.
"Dad's being kind, and that I could definitely get used to.", Cedric felt to himself and realized that Cynthia might be just the cure that his dear ol' dad needed for his miserly condition.
Chapter 3--Wedding Bells
The residents of Evergreen Forest were beginning to see a change in their long-feared rival when they had seen less protesting in Sneer's backyard and more generosity from him. For a moment, many of the forest dwellers believed that Cyril had been abducted and replaced with a gentler doppelganger, but such wasn't the case.
"Bert, guys, everyone ! I have terrific news for you !", Cedric said one slightly chilly autumn afternoon at the local cafe.
"Well what is it ?", Shaffer questioned. Just like everyone else, he was inquisitive about why Cedric had a grin 10 miles long upon his face.
"Dad's getting married !", Cedric announced. Bert, who was drinking a strawberry soda, sputtered it everywhere, regaining from nearly strangling himself on it.
"Seriously, Cedric ?", Bert responded, acting as if he had heard news of an impending Armageddon.
"Is it serious this time ?", Bentley piped up. He and the rest of them had remembered the debacle with Lady Baden-Baden that almost caused Cedric some unnecessary grief and much embarrassment.
"It's definitely serious. He and Cynthia have been dating for a year now. Gosh, I can't believe a year has gone by so quickly. It doesn't seem that it's been that long.", Cedric stated with an awed tone.
"Congrats !", Lisa exclaimed jovially after a pregnant pause that woke everyone up. Cedric mentioned that they had all been invited to the wedding and he would be his own father's best man.
"I've never felt this important in my entire life. Everyone in the Snipe family as well as the Sneers will be there.", Cedric said, beaming with pride. The raccoons were pleased to see how much Cedric's life had transformed. Surely it had been challenging learning about his first mother, Mimi, who unfortunately had contracted liver cancer not too long after Cedric had been born. The disease had been swift and progressive and fortunately Cedric had been too young to understand his mother's illness. It had effected Cyril drastically because once Mimi died, he transformed into a bitter, withdrawn misanthrope.
The wedding was picturesque and Cyril had a smile on his face for the first time. It was evident that he had tears in his eyes when Cynthia promenaded down the aisle in her resplendent gown. The two were soon joined in holy matrimony and Cyril rushed down the aisle with Cynthia in his arms. The pigs were surprised that at his age he could even lift anything, but Cynthia wasn't heavy at all, in fact, she was quite svelte and healthy for her age.
The reception was sensational. There had been plenty of desserts, fine dishes and punch to go around. As a special treat, Cynthia and Cyril sang a duet that brought many people in the audience to tears. Even Princess and Snag had been snuggling together, as if they had meant to be this way since they were puppies. It was something magical to see the two of them so happy.
Bert wrapped his arm around Cedric.
"Boy, it sure is good to see your pop in such a good mood. I never thought I'd be saying this but I think that Cynthia has been grand for him.", he confessed. Ralph and Melissa definitely had to agree.
"Neither did I and I couldn't feel any better than what I do now.", Cedric said, his huge smile glistening in the lights. Bert excused himself to grab a bite of cake and accidentally bumped into Lisa. It was nearly a disaster because she had been carrying a plate of cake as well as a glass of tropical punch and had been wearing a robin's egg blue party gown.
"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry !", he stated, noticing she had spilled just a tiny drop of the punch on her face. Lisa laughed.
"It's no trouble, Bert. It's just a dress. Care to dance ?", she asked, offering Bert her hand. Cedric gave him an enthusiastic thumbs up.
"My dear, I thought you would never ask.", Bert responded, wriggling his eyebrows in a dashing fashion. He took her hand, kissed it, and placed the desserts aside on an abandoned table for later as he led her to the dance floor and proceeded to boogie the rest of the evening away.
Cedric felt a tap on his shoulder, which nearly startled him. When he turned around, he saw a very attractive aardvark.
"Would you like to dance with me ?", she said, looking down a bit bashfully. Like Cedric, she wore glasses, but they were square and accented her emerald eyes. She had long fiery hair.
"Sure. I'm Cedric, who might you be ?", Cedric said, offering his hand to her to shake it, which she did, firmly and thoroughly.
"I'm a friend of the Snipe family. I'm Amelia Klondike.", the cute aardvark said. She wasn't rich like the Sneers or upper-middle class like Cynthia but a normal, everyday aardvark. As they danced, he could feel himself falling for her.
"Say, do you like stamps ?", he began.
"Stamps ? Why, you just can't lick 'em !", Amelia answered, and Cedric chortled heartily. Not only was this cute girl intelligent but she also had a sense of humor. Something told him they were meant to be together and he hoped that this dance between them would never end.
Chapter 4--A New Arrival
Cedric couldn't have been happier since he had gotten a mother in his life and had started seeing Amelia more often. Unlike Sophia, she was a better conversationalist and enjoyed the same activities as he did. Sophia had moved on as well, but the two of them had remained friends despite their break up.
Cedric had always been used to being the only child, but he was getting used to having a baby sister in the world. Her name was Sylvia and she was just as radiant, intelligent and gorgeous as her mother, right down to her violet eyes. Sylvia looked up to her big brother for advice and had big plans of being a lawyer when she grew up.
"It's a grand profession. Should I ever have any legal trouble, Sylvia can get me out of a pinch.", Cyril stated with a hoarse laugh. Strangely, he had given up smoking cigars since the baby was born and he had been much healthier thanks to that. Of course, Cynthia had coaxed him out of smoking gently in her gentle, convincing manner. Even though Sylvia was seven, she knew exactly what she wanted and how to go about achieving it, but despite her driven attitude and determination, she was still a kid at heart and loved having fun around the house, particularly with Snag and Princess, who now had seven adorable little puppies running around with them.
Epilogue
Cyril became less of a tyrant as the years continued and more peculiarly, he was less of a miser and more giving. It seemed that all he had needed was someone to show him that being gracious had its own rewards which meant far more than money. Now he was an even more blessed man than before. Sure, bumps and bruises came every now and then but Cyril had discovered something far more precious than material gain and that was love itself.
The End