I'm dead this movie killed me boys and girls
Blue
It's a nice day out. Not too cold, not too hot, just the right amount of clouds in the sky. It's been a little slow for my tastes, but hey, someone's gotta place those parking tickets.
Carrots fumed about it, of course, but parking duty goes in a cycle, and, let's face it, city-wide crime sprees don't go on every day anyway. I don't understand why she complains about it so much when she goes on to tackle the task with more enthusiasm than I can muster in a week. Must be that bunny metabolism.
I've been on my five-minute break for about 20 minutes now, and I'm pretty much just waiting for her to notice. There aren't a lot of cars parked in this part of town, and even if there were, she'd get to the overdue ones before me anyway.
She's gone far enough down the line that I should probably get a move-on myself, but right before I consider doing so, I feel a tug on my pants.
I look down, and I'm already wondering what kind of scam this raccoon kid is pulling. I know this trick, he's gonna give me the sad eyes, tell me he lost the money his mommy gave him, and I'm supposed to ju-
And that's when I get a look at the color of the fabric pinched between his fingers.
Blue.
Oh yeah, that's right.
"M-mister officer?"
"Something wrong, kiddo?"
The little raccoon's lip quivers, and I can tell it's hard for the kid to get his words out.
"Hey, hey, it's okay little man. Just tell me what you need help with."
He wipes the tears from his eyes and speaks. "I-I lost my dad. We were in an ice cream store, and I walked away, an-and I can't find my way back."
The kid's about to start bawling, and honestly I don't think I could take a sight.
Man I've gone soft, haven't I?
"Hey, it's okay, here." I wipe the kid's tears and put my hands on his shoulders. "Look, I know you're a little scared, but your dad's gonna wanna know you were brave about this. No need to cry, we're gonna get this sorted okay?"
The kid's eyes are a little shiny, but he nods at me, and it looks like the waterworks have been delayed.
"Good. Now, do you remember where you and your dad were when you wondered off?"
"I think it was called Caramel's"
Caramel's Creamery, now there's place I haven't been to in a long while.
Mostly because the owner swore she'd have my hide if she ever saw me again.
And while I'm certain that she's put all that behind her and we've both grown as people since then, I'm still thinking of a way to send this kid in to look for his dad without having to walk in there myself.
Just being cautious.
The kid's pretty quiet as I lead him back to the shop. It's a few blocks down and around a few corners, but I can eventually sigh in relief when the kid yells "Dad!"
He rushes away from me into the arms of a relieved looking raccoon who'd been pacing worriedly down the street.
They both look happy enough to burst into tears and I'm even fighting the urge to cry a little. Good thing Judy can't see this.
The kid and his dad come up to me and the kid doesn't even hesitate to hug my leg, and it felt…
You know about the Grinch and the whole heart-growing-three-times-its-size thing?
Yeah it felt like that.
"I can't thank you enough, officer, really." The dad's shaking my hand and I can hear sincerity in his voice. Still not quite used to that, but I don't find it unpleasant by any means.
"All in a day's work, really."
I crouch down and get to eye level with the kid.
"Hey, you remember to stick to your old man like glue, okay?" I ask, and he nods at me.
And really, I don't know what possessed me to do what I did next.
"Here, kid." I took off my shades, and gave them to him. He looked at them like I'd given him the Holy Grail. "They'll make you look tough."
He put them on and I couldn't help myself. "Woah! Look at that tough guy! You're not gonna beat me up are you?"
The kid laughs and I stand up to shake hands with the dad one last time before the two are on their way.
Those shades were only about 10 bucks but I think they're worth a lot more now.
I'm feeling pretty good about myself, which usually means something upsetting's about to happen.
"Five minutes, huh?"
There it is.
"Judy, how's parking duty?"
She's tapping that cute little foot of hers on the ground to let me know how annoyed she is, but that little smirk on her face is annoying me so I'd say we're even.
"Oh it went fine, not that you would know since you were too busy being a big ol' softy, helping little lost kids."
"I was doing my job, Judy."
"You're eyes lit up like fireworks when that kid found his dad and you know it."
"How would you know? I was facing away from you."
"I could hear it."
"You could hear my eyes."
"Yes, and they sounded like a huge sap!"
"Okay, you know what? You owe me new sunglasses for making fun of me."
"Nick you have like five more pairs."
"And each of them serves a distinct purpose. I can't wear my relaxing sunglasses while I'm doing police work! That sends the wrong message."
And Judy just rolls her eyes, clearly showing she doesn't respect the fine art of sunglassery like I do.
"Nick…" She put a hand on my arm suddenly. "You did a good thing. I'm proud of you."
She smiles, and once again I see the color of our uniforms.
Blue.
"It's a part of the job, Carrots."
