Part 2

Disgusting: Cruella had no other words to describe the coffee that the girl with absurd roller skates and tasteless clothes gave her. Sure, coffee had never been her favorite beverage – she prefered gin, for example – but she had tasted many better than that one during the period spent in New York and, honestly, she couldn't understand why that place was always so crowded.

She took another sip and another dismayed expression appeared on her face: it was really disgusting, maybe even worse than the doctor's whiskey. She didn't have the time to reflect about the comparison though, since a slice of cake was placed on her table and lupus – or rather gryllus – in fabula Archie Hopper showed up in front of her.

"Good afternoon, Cruella. Can I sit here with you?"

The woman slowly looked up and let her look travel for some moments on the new comer, noticing immediately a certain particular.

"It seems that you already did, without asking my permission. Anyway, where is your lovely friend?"

"Oh, I've left Pongo with my friend Geppetto" Archied replied, pretending to ignore the sinister tone she had used in the question "His son Pinocchio love spending time with him" added then with a spontaneous smile, finally taking seat in front of her.

Cruella would have liked to say ironically that she loved Pongo's company too, but then she decided to stay silent and just raised an eyebrow, starting again to sip – with the usual disgust – the drink in her hands. But that silence was starting to become too long for her tastes and most of all annoying, since the stare of the man had never left her in the meantime.

"Shouldn't you eat that cake?" she said all of a sudden, not loosing the chance to show her cronic irritation and giving a quick glance at the piece of cake.

It was a lemon cheese cake. She had always heard talking well about that, but never tasted it anyway.

"Actually, I had ordered that for you. The last time we saw each other, you said that you don't eat much and so I thought that-"

"If I had said that I don't eat much, then give me a cake isn't the smartest thing to do, is it?" she abrutply interrupted him, with an annoyed glance.

It was an immediate and impulsive answer and it let win the usual diffidence over the sensation of surprise that she had felt in the first moment. She wasn't used to receive free acts of kindness, after all, and she didn't know what was the best way to react.

"But there is no need that you deprive yourself of this pleasure… You already are a beautiful woman!" he replied with a convincted tone, without realizing himself what he was exactly saying.

Cruella couldn't help but let her surprise show this time, opening her green eyes wide for some istants; then she shook her head and slighlty chuckled.

"Instead for you there is no need to make fake compliments to me just to convin-" she tried to reply, but the words stopped on her lips when, raising her eyes, she noticed the man's expression. "Oh, but you really mean that. You have become redder than your hair!"

Archie looked down, unsure if feeling more guilty for the thought or terribly awkward for having been caught. However, she seemed the most upset; the unknown taste of strange joy that she was feeling was completly clouded by the irritation – this time toward herself – for letting her unfriendly character and her sharp tongue ruin a likely nice moment with another human being. So, after some moments full of uncertainty, she found herself doing the unexpected: slowly, she grabbed the fork and let it sink into the yellow cream; then, not without some reluctance, she brought the little mouthful to her lips.

"It isn't bad" she allowed, forcing herself to make a smile.

That cake was actually good, so much that she didn't waste other time before reaching for the plate once again. And in that moment she changer her mind about Granny's diner. And also about doctor Hopper.

"Your umbrella has finally the chance to be useful!" Cruella exclaimed in an ironic tone, pushing the door of the diner.

Archie simply smiled in reply and preceded her in the way out, ready to open the umbrella, indeed. It was about half a hour since their meeting and in the meanwhile there was another piece of cake and the rage of a sudden storm outside. And what a storm! The rain fell thick, there were already some pools on the road and the thunders let predict that the worst was yet to come. Once found shelter, the man grabbed with a gentle yet decided grip the woman's arm and attracted her under the umbrella with him, silently offering a lift for the short way she had to walk through.

"I've seen your car – not that it was difficult since your way to make you notice" he started off with spontaneous and unusual irony, moving the hand to the direction of the Panther De Ville on the other side on the road and alluding to the woman's odd – almost illegal – way of parking. "But in the meantime you won't risk to ruin your… particular hair"

Cruella slowly turned her head to him, letting the raised black eyebows and the annoyed huff that came out of her mouth show her annoyance, but Archie wasn't paying the right attention, looking in front of him with a half smile on his lips. The thing was somehow annoying her even more; it wasn't usual that someone mocked her so openly and most of all she would have never suspected that that someone could have been the nice and shy Jiminy cricket. However, against every instict, she succeeded in staying silent and it was instead again his turn to speak.

"I have to admit that you have actually been a kind person today" he revealed in a more cordial tone, probably realizing that his attempt to joke and make conversation had vanished in thin air.

But this time the answer didn't take long to be said.

"Well, you haven't! You have just insulted me twice in the same sentences!" she replied, finally expressing explicitly her previous disappoval.

The doctor chuckled sincerly amused and shook slightly his head. "It was a joke, Cruella. But now I'm serious: today you have been quite a good company and yes, kind too."

After that new insistence, miss De Vil let out a joyless chuckle and quickened her pace, how much she could with the high heels on the wet asphalt. After having finally reached the car, she placed herself in front of the man, creating an intimate vicinity which the narrow area of the umbrella forced to.

"Doctor Hopper, let me clarify something. I am not a kind person" she said, spatting almost in a hiss the adjective and rolling at the same time her eyes "The point is that for some strange reason… I like you… And then you have offered me a piece of cake and told me I am beautiful! But the fact that I'm trying hard to have kind manners with you doesn't mean I'm kind."

They remained for a while just looking at each other in silence, only broken by the sound of the rain that didn't seem to fall off. Cruella had the strange feeling toh ave said too much, Archie on the contrary toh ave not said enough; anyway during that afternoon both of them started to consider the other one as a sort of "exception" in the respective lives.

"I would like to stay here chatting with you, but I'd rather not have a pneumonia tomorrow morning" she said at some point, breaking the silence and opening the door of her car. "Do you want a lift?" she asked then, fiding herself again to show a kind side, that not even her was probably aware to have.

Archie, still under his umbrella, smiled instinctively hearing that offer, but the smile soon disappeared at a second thought. It took just a look at the Panther De Vil for him to have a flash of the likely animated travel inside it.

"No, don't worry about it… I'd rather have a walk" he answered in a fake joyful tone, trying clumsy toh ide the real reason behind the rejection.

"Well, do as you like" she replied slighlty annoyed, letting grasp that she had actually understood more than he would have wanted her to "I really hope that a thunder hits you!"

After saying that sinister and malicious wish, Cruella entered the car and immediately set it in motion. However, before leaving, she thought about it and lowered the glass of the window, not caring at all for the rain, just enough to show her face. Watching the still confused and almost sorry Hopper, she gave him a strangely complicit smile.

"That was me not being gentle!"