After Mr. Snatcher had exploded and the Boxtrolls were accepted by the citizens of Cheesebridge, the town had a new glow to it. It was as if happiness was prickled like pixie dust over everyone, and things couldn't be better. This was evident in just about everyone in Cheesebridge. Lord Portley-Rind was more caring for his daughter and took his responsibilities as mayor more seriously, Herbert Trubshaw was back to inventing whacky machines, and all the Boxtrolls were no longer afraid of the world above their cavern.
One person this change became evident in was Mr. Pickles, one of Archibald Snatcher's loyal henchmen. After he redeemed himself and officially became a good guy, his confidence was at a new high. He felt that he was finally ready to step up and do something he thought he could never do. He was going to ask Ms. Molly Monte Cristo on a date.
The walk from the Red Hat factory up to her house on Milk Street started out simple enough, but as he got closer and closer to her house he began to regret the decision. Something inside him kept his feet moving forward though, and once he reached her front door he had to take a moment. Staring at the door, he took a deep breath and held it as he knocked on the door with his bandaged knuckles.
Still holding his breath, he waited. A lock unhinged and the door swung open, but instead of the tall blonde he expected, there was short old man with a long beard in a top hat and trench coat. "May I help you?" he asked, eyeing the odd, tall man on his doorstep.
Mr. Pickles finally released his breath and cleared his throat as he removed his hat, "Good day, I-I'm here to see Ms. Monte Cristo. Is she home?" He couldn't help but fiddle with his hat as he awaited an answer.
The man gave a sly smile. "Maybe she is, maybe she isn't… Who's asking?" He crossed his arms with a playful look across his face.
"… Um, Mr. Pickles is asking." the tall man answered sheepishly.
The short man's eyes shot open, he knew who he was! "Ah, you're that tall fellow Molly won't stop talking about!" he grabbed Mr. Pickles hand and shook it almost wildly, "Pleasure to meet ya, boy. I'm her father, Ernest Monte Cristo!" Mr. Pickles' arm flailed as Ernest shook it. It almost made him lose his balance. As soon as the grip was released he went back to fiddling with his hat. "N-Nice to meet you, sir. So is Ms. monte Cristo-"
"Oh, she's here alright! In fact she just sat down for tea, why don't you come in and join her!" Mr. Monte Cristo pulled Mr. Pickles into his house enthusiastically. Any friend of his daughters was a friend of his. Although, he wasn't as handsome and bold as Molly had stated before, but she was quite the storyteller, so her father just shrugged it off.
As soon as he was inside, Mr. Pickles knew there was no turning back. He looked around the house, it was much bigger than it looked from the outside. Mr. Monte Cristo led him to the living room where Molly sat on a chaise lounge couch sipping tea. "Molly dear, you've got a visitor!" Ernest announced proudly.
The girl turned and beamed at the sight of the tall Red Hat. "Oh, it's you! Please sit! I just made some tea, would you care for a cup?" she stood up and grabbed his hand, guiding him to the couch as she spoke quickly. It seemed like he couldn't respond fast enough, before he knew it he had a cup of tea in his hands and he hadn't even said hello. "Now, what brings you here, Mr. Pickles?" she asked, this time waiting for an answer. She gazed at him intently as he took a moment to compose himself.
He loosened his scarf and cleared his throat again before speaking, "I just… wanted to come by to… say hello, how are you? I mean, I- I haven't seen you in a while, and there's been so much change in town lately, I just thought that it would be nice to… to see you again." He smiled to hide his humility.
Molly's face continued to beam with excitement. She couldn't believe he was here, in her house, without invitation. She thought it was a one in a million chance he would actually show interest in her. Who knew she'd be that one? If he came to visit her then that's surely what it meant, that he really truly liked her. He said so himself that he thought it would be nice to see her again. Her heart fluttered and he couldn't help but bet her eyes a bit just thinking about it. "That's… That's very kind of you." was all she could mutter out. "Why I was just beginning to wonder myself what you were up to and when i'd see you again."
Mr. Pickles perked up, "You- You did?" his smile became more genuine as he too felt his heart give a small flutter. Molly nodded and looked down at her feet bashfully. Mr. Pickles felt ready to say something, but then he felt something soft brush his leg. He gave a small shriek and dropped his tea. A white furball jumped into the air and shrieked too, then proceeded to run under the couch. "What was that?!" he asked, lifting his feet as if there were a rodent crawling on the floor.
"Oh my! It's alright, that's just my cat!" Molly quickly set down her cup of tea and got on her hands and knees on the floor, searching for her cat. "Sibella, come here pretty kitty." She pulled the cat out and sat back on the couch, a fat, white, fluff of fur now on her lap. She had a few trickles of tea on her fur, and glared at Mr. Pickles vengefully.
"Oh, hehe, hello pretty kitty." he hesitantly reached to pet the cat but it hissed at him hatefully. He jumped back in his seat, but Molly held the animal back. "Sibella! That is no way to treat our guest. Especially Mr. Pickles, he's a very special guest you know." as she talked to the cat her voice progressed into baby talk.
Mr. Pickles caught what she said, "I- I am?"
"Of course you are!" she said without any hesitation or humility. She let the cat down and it ran around the corner out of sight. "Anyway, where were we?"
"We're in your living room." he answered the question literally. At this, Molly burst out laughing. It was rather unladylike but she couldn't help it. Even Mr. Pickles was surprised by her reaction. He watched her as she laughed for a good five minutes, she looked cute when she laughed. She was hunched over, trying to catch her breath, but whenever she did she just went into another fit of giggles. Finally she eased out of it and was calm. "A- Are you done?" he asked seriously.
She cleared her throat, a big smile still on her now pink face. "Yes. Sorry."
"Oh, it's alright. Was I really that funny though?" he asked. No one ever laughed at his jokes before. What he said wasn't a joke necessarily, but he had never made anyone laugh that hard before.
Molly had to contain herself from giggling some more. "Oh it was hilarious! I hope i'm not being rude though… I just can't help it!"
"No, no! It's fine, I- I like seeing you laugh." the words slipped out before he even processed them.
Molly's big green eyes suddenly got bigger and full of stars. "You- You like my laugh?" Mr. Pickles gulped and nodded, embarrassed he had said something so bold. "That's so nice of you, thank you." she smiled, her eyes still as bright as the moon.
"You're very welcome." he smiled.