Like most nights she would be siting by the window, wondering about many things. She sighed, looking through the stained window, where the street was half lighten. The street lamps seem to flicker usual. The state seemed to be in a devastated manner as many buildings were worn down for a very long time. Properties have been vandalized in the artistic style of disgraceful graffiti. Boarded up windows where predators have long concealed themselves from the outside world, making them look secretive. The sidewalks were eroded by Mother Nature's rain, hail, and snow. Nothing but weeds dispersing all over the place. Every single night, delinquents would hide in the shadows and loiter around in this dark setting. Usually they are wolves, polar bears, and weasels hanging out in fireplaces, since the temperature is around thirty degrees. Early winter has struck to the town. Many mammals wore nothing but ragged coats, worn out scarfs and beanies to keep themselves warm as much as possible. Not many mammals seem to drive in this part of Zootopia as one would imagine the slummy district, Happytown, a place that was once a vibrant district. Where prey and predators use to live in harmony, prey seemed to have felt insecure when the predator population had started to flourish.
A fox has been sighing for almost every ten minutes, just thinking. Thinking about her life. Thinking about her home. Thinking about her family. Thinking about how she ended up in this house of misery. The home she lives in is a two bedroom apartment.
She stood right in the living room where the wallpaper is a blue and brown stripped pattern. The wallpaper seems to be peeling off recently. The fox has been sitting in her lounge chair right near the bookshelf. The bookshelf had some books, and a couple of picture frames of her beloved family. The living room was a split level design with the kitchen. The living quarters was very limited. The living room only contains a green, worn out sofa with antique pillows. In front of it was a twenty seven inch tube TV, facing at a horizontal direction where the family could enjoy some visual entertainment. Across from the living room came the kitchen; nothing but wooden cabinets with neatly arranged dishes and cups. The kitchen's counter appears to have a solid surface with a dish rack full of dirty dishes waiting to be washed. Aside from the dishes was a basic coffee maker, a bowl of fruits, and bread. The kitchen only contained a medium sized table for three mammals.
The fox decided that standing around isn't going to make things better. She forced herself up and headed straight to the kitchen so that she can take care of the dirty dishes. She grabbed the blue bonnet scent hand soap and a sponge, and she turned on the sink to get that moisture in the sponge to create that bubbly feel in her paws. Dish by dish, she hummed melodiously with a weak smile on her face. The song she hummed was at a slow, soothing tempo. It made her seem to go easy with the scrubbing as she became frustrated at first on how she kept being this self-conscious fox. She kept thinking about her husband.
"What's taking him so long," she murmured. Even washing the dishes, and singing a calming melody didn't seem to help much. After completing the dishes, she headed to the bedroom. It wasn't big, but it was fit for a couple. A queen sized bed covered by a blanket with a colorful zigzag pattern. The pillows didn't have pillow cases, but it seemed adequate for a husband and wife. In front of the bed was an expansive mirror dresser that took almost all the wall's space. It was nothing but lotions and hair brushes and deodorants bundled up. A small jewelry box was right at the end of the mirror dresser's edge.
Beside the left side of the room was another wardrobe. The fox opened the wardrobe and looked at the rack of hanged up clothes. To the left was full of collared shirts, a few slacks, and coats that were meant for suits. Neck ties were arranged by colors of the rainbow. Slacks were mostly kakis, and dark black. The husband's side of the wardrobe was nothing but neat men's clothes. To her right were tops, and skirts, and jeans. Below that were very few scarfs. The fox picked out a faded violet top with a navy skirt, and a white scarf. She dressed behind the wardrobe's door changing from her previous wet clothes. She tucked in her top beneath the skirt, and tied the scarf in a turtle neck loop. As she headed to the mirror, the fox squirted out some blossom scent lotion from her small collection of lotions to keep mammal's fur soft and have a long lasting scent. She doesn't normally wear makeup since buying them is expensive nowadays.
The fox glared at the mirror dresser for a minute. Starring at her lime green colored eyes, she sniffled. They were now bloodshot eyes because every night she would cry sorrowfully. She crossed her arms firm and sank to the floor. The fox grabbed a tissue from her mirror dresser, and she blew her noise, getting rid of the snot and tears that were in her face. She brushed her face from the snout to the forehead. She took five minutes of relief.
The fox headed straight to the other room, where it was about the same size as hers, except it had an underground basement. The underground basement is meant for safety precautions, especially for raising a family. She took a small peek in the room, seeing scattered toys and books all over the floor. The wallpaper was green, and it had illustrated plants from palm trees to oak trees. Towards the center of the room was a three year old toddler sleeping in his bed. He was orange, similar to the mother's fur. A cream muzzle under him, and he had ears that were slightly bigger than the mother fox. He was sound asleep, clutching his stuffed bear right beside him. He slept as gentle as an angel, with his nonchalant nature. He didn't worry at all. He was rather a calm, bright kit fox, but he can get sensitive at times.
The mother smiled at her child. "Nick," she spoke softly. The toddler curled into an orange ball. He wore his blue and white stripped PJs. The toddler cooed in his sleep, squeezing his toy bear so hard. The mother shut the door with ease; rest assured that her child is safe. She walked back to the living room. She starred at her wall of family pictures. Right in the middle was a wedding photo of her and her husband. The husband held the wife in his paws with a dapper looking smile. His eyes were a shade of dark clover. His fur was orange rust than the wife's modern looking orange fur. His suit was classic black with a bright red bow tie around his neck. The wife's dress was pure white with pearl trims in each edge of the dress. Her veil was like a pearl crown that came from the sea. She held a bouquet of summer daisies and gold roses. A plaque contained an inscribed message.
JOHN WILDE AND IDA HOPE WILDE
The rest of the Wilde memorabilia contained most of their fox kit boy. In one photo frame, the mother held baby Nick in her arms. She held him with maternal security. Another picture contained Nick and his father savoring the moment at the docks. The father had the one year old Nick above his shoulder. Nick held his paws as if he was trying to grab the scarlet sunset right to him. Another photo contained Nick and his parents at Zootopia's Botanical Gardens. The family was right below rich green ferns as they smiled directly at the camera.
Ida sighed as she cherished those moments when Nick first came to this world. She remembered how small he used to be. Where she always held him gently, feeding him some milk from a bottle. How she sang lullabies near his crib. And how he said his first word: paw. At the age of two, Nick was paw painting a picture for the refrigerator while Ida was baking pie for dessert. Nick enjoyed the art of paw printing; he mixed and matched colors with his left paw. When mom wasn't noticing, Nick said the word "paw" right when he was painting in all four paws. Ida was in shock but was in tears of joy when Nicolas said his first word. Despite him roaming around the apartment with dirty paws, Ida didn't seem to care. As a mother, she would put ahead of her son first.
Ida kept her eyes closed as she kept the happy memories inside her mind. Abruptly, someone opened the door into the Wilde residence. Ida quickly turned around and saw her husband. Dressed in khaki slacks, brown trench coat, a black tie, and a matching fedora, he dropped his briefcase with fatigue. His baggy dark eyes were visible under his green clover eyes. He hanged his hat near the coat rack, and his coat. He stretched his back and sighed with relief, not noticing the stern look on his wife's face.
Ida, with an annoyed facial expression, coughed loudly with her paw covering her mouth. The husband stopped from where he was doing, looking at his wife with an oblivious face. It happens almost every night when he comes home.
"You're late," Ida said, crossing her arms sternly.
"Sorry," muttered the husband. He tapped his foot nervously. He's used to the fact that his wife would give him a hard time with his presence at home. John could never deny the fact that he's comes home late every single night, not knowing how upset Ida gets waiting for him to come home safe and sound.
"Do you not know that it's not safe for you to stay in these streets where scoundrels loiter around the alleys in this slum? I find it inexcusable for you to do this routine every single time," Ida said hoarsely.
"Honey, as a husband and father it's my job to support the family."
"What? Becoming a street hustler?"
"You could say that."
"When are you ever going to find a job that is civilized and meant to show you are a worthy mammal? Of all the men I have met, you are sly when it comes to cheating off animals."
"Well what could I do? Foxes aren't as trustworthy nowadays. Ida, it's not my fault that other mammals see us differently," said John. "The last job I worked at was a local office, but I was accused of stealing a pair of diamond earrings from my coworker. Eventually everyone at the office turned away from me, and Mr. Bay fired me."
"Well you could've stood up for yourself," said Ida.
"No," said John, pausing her wife.
The city never bothered trying to interfere with Happytown's conditions as most prey feared that predators are considered a major threat. Mayor Arnold Furrington said that predators were considered negligible to society, and they are seen as a negative point of view. John Wilde never liked his use of prejudice for political power.
"Why waste time trying where no one wants to hire me? I have a bad reputation due to false accusations, and I would rather be doing something than nothing, like being a hustler. It's my way of supporting our financial needs. I make two hundred bucks a day without question darling."
"Couldn't you find job offers in the newspaper? I hear that they're looking for mammals with good business skills. Perhaps you can become an advertiser or accountant."
"Sorry Ida, but I choose to stick with what I'm doing. For us and for Nick."
"What we're doing is at rough shape! I can't believe you dragged us here into this house of depression!"
Ida began to tear up. She missed the old house. The house used to be her home, where her parents paid rent. Eventually they saved up for retirement, and offered the house to Ida. It was a three room bedroom, two story house. It also had a decent backyard where Nick used to play hide and seek with his father. A small back patio was there for Ida to relax and read her books. The house was indeed expansive. However, due to financial problems, the Wildes did not kept up with the rent. John struggled to find a job at that time. Ida was the only one trying to pay the bills. Eventually they had no other choice but to stay at Happytown. The apartment where they had to settle in.
Ida crossed her arms, turning her back on John. John rolled his eyes, sighed, and held his wife's shoulder, trying to console her woe. "Honey, please do not tell me that you're still upset about giving up the house. I'm sorry, really I am. I know how much that house meant to you. It was where you grew up since childhood. I know it held some of your memories. You came from a decent family background but I didn't."
"It's not that," whispered Ida. "I'm worried about Nick. I don't want him to grow up in a place like this. A place where there's barely enough child mammals to play with. A place where violence is held daily. A place where Mayor Furrington won't fix up. I'm worried about his memories being built here. I don't want Nick to experience this traumatic place." The two couple sat down at the sofa, talking about how they're going to do it. Ida wants the best for her son as much as John would, but John is being stubborn with the law. Due to the mayor's prejudice against predators (especially sly foxes), what more can John do? It's entirely hopeless for him. John sighed, and he headed to the kitchen, opening up the diminutive refrigerator. It had very few edible choices. A jar of cricket pickles, ham, blueberries, nuts, and milk. John grabbed the jug of milk, and opened the cover's door. He picked ground coffee for him to keep him rested.
It was a very busy week as a street hustler: gambling at the nightclub, selling ivory rugs illegally, and making bargains with ruthless gang leaders. He was reluctant to do this, but fate had other plans. Ida didn't like the sound of his husband dealing risky situations like this. As much as she loved him, Ida did not want to be associated with the savvy life of cheating. She worked as a nurse assistant, and she is doing her best to work hard for the family's living. Apparently both parents make the same amount of money weekly. Still, it wasn't enough to pay the loans from the previous home they used to own.
John handed an extra cup of coffee to Ida. She held out her paw, saying no. John shrugged, but he decided it was best for him to gulp another cup of ground coffee. As he took sips, he groaned. "Remind me to find a new brand for coffee this weekend," he joked.
"Very funny," Ida said. She ran her paw to her forehead, sighing deeply. "I suppose I should do some grocery shopping in the morning. We're pretty low on food so it's going to be a rough winter."
An awkward silence broke the conversation. Ida didn't look at John. She was just too afraid think of something to say to him. She didn't want to offend his job because John did have a point. He would rather be doing a job than just be at home. It was past 11 o'clock. Ida has the nightshifts as a nurse assistant. The wife headed to the bedroom to get her nurse outfit on. John on the other hand was lying on the sofa. He took his tie off and put his feet up on the small footstool. Just as Ida was about to grab her purse, a small yawn came across the hall.
The couple turned their heads to see their three year old son, Nick. Rubbing his eyes and holding the bear at the same time, Nick came to his parents with half close, half open eyes.
"Hey there champ, why'd you wake up in the middle of the night," asked John with a bright voice.
Nick hugged his father. "I had a nightmare, papa," whimpered Nick. Ida kneeled down to Nick's height, and consoled her son. She shushed him gently, stroking his head with her paw. John wrapped his arms around Nick's shoulder. "Hey, it's okay. It's going to be okay Nick," said John in a comforting voice.
"Nick, there's nothing to be afraid of," said Ida. "We're here for you. We would never let you be scared of nightmares."
"Your mom's right, Nick." The toddler kept breathing he couldn't seem to stop his fretting. "I-I dreamed about a bull trying to push me." The parents gave Nick a group hug. "Can I stay up with you guys?"
"No, sweetie I need to get to the hospital," said Ida. "But your father will put you back to bed."
"But I don't wanna sleep."
"Nick, listen to your mother," said John in a stern voice.
"Besides, I only get to see mama in the day, and I only get to see you late at night." The couple felt a little shock. They have never seen their son say the words out of his mouth before. Ida's schedule has been getting a little rigorous now since she started as a nurse assistant. John couldn't take Nick to his job either. At least not until he was twelve.
"Nicolas dear, I know things have been getting really tough. But you need to understand, mommy and daddy are doing our best to support the family. Why do you think we are working so hard," questioned Ida.
Nick looked down for a second. "To spend less time with me?"
"No, no," said Ida "Without work, how would we be able to pay for food. Or the water, or the gas? There are some hardships in life, but you'll understand when you get older, okay?"
"Okay mama," said Nick. "I have to go to work now, but I'll see you in the morning, okay sweetie?"
Nick kissed Ida in the forehead, and Ida did the same thing. She waved goodbye to her family, and left with haste.
John carried Nick back to his room, putting him on the bed. Nick squirmed with his will, not wanting to go back to sleep. "Boy, you're a tough one," chuckled John.
"I said I don't wanna sleep," cried Nick. "Nick, you need to get your sleep. Don't you want to be big and strong like your old man?" Nick nodded slightly. "Well that's why you need your sleep so you can grow."
"I'm scared."
"It's going to be okay son."
"Stay with me tonight, papa." John sighed deeply, knowing Nick will never get back to bed. He didn't want to sleep in the tight toddler sized bed since he was so tired from his job. He really did want to sleep in his own bed, where it was comfortable, and warm. As a father, he had no choice.
"Alright, then," said John tiredly. He squeezed himself through the bed. Nick giggled, pouncing on his dad and hugging him really tight. At first John find it really uncomfortable. But with the warmth of his son's fur skin, he felt secured as well.
"I love you, papa."
"I love you too, Nicky."
And as the winter passed by, the two foxes sleep in peace.