Chapter 29: Table Conversation


This chapter shows the friendly interaction between three friends.


The small diner was located just a block from the city's court house and the Cardinal Café wasn't anything fancy, its worn steel and sea foam green tile decor hearkened back to the late 1960's. The place was far from being trendy and modern, but it was a working mammal's grub joint and it served affordable comfort food to the lunch crowd.

"I still can't believe he walked free!" Judy fussed as she shoved her unfinished plate of roasted vegetables towards her husband, a handsome red fox in a dark blue police uniform. Her ears had drooped over her back and she looked angry as she pulled her tie loose. Like Nick, since she had been in court, she too was dressed in her so called Class A uniform instead of the tactical patrol uniform which she usually wore. "We had him dead to rights and still Judge Hoofstadter let him off with probation and a slap on the paw!"

"A five thousand fine isn't a mere slap on the paw," her husband Nick mumbled as he chewed on the roasted chunk of squash he had speared from his wife's plate with his fork. His plate of scrambled eggs with fried crickets was already half eaten. "That's a hefty fine in my opinion."

"That's pennies on the dollar to a guy like Munsee!" the rabbit doe protested. Her nose was twitching in frustration. "All that hard work was for nothing."

"He was just a street bookie," the raccoon in the blue pin stripped suit replied as he slapped the bottom of the ketchup bottle with his paw and shook it again. Jake frowned when nothing came out of the bottle. "He only worked the numbers racket, that's all."

"You're doing that wrong," Nick interjected as he snatched the bottle from his best friend's paw and jammed a clean dinner knife into the hole, a large glob of the red condiment plopped out onto the raccoon's plate. "There you go!" he triumphantly proclaimed.

"Gee thanks pal!" Jake sarcastically sighed out as he looked down at the pool of ketchup that covered half his plate. "I was trying to get it on my worm burger, not my fries."

Before the raccoon could react, the fox grabbed the top bun and wiped it through the ketchup before setting it back on top of the burger. "Problem solved!" Nick smugly said before he popped another roasted vegetable into his smirking mouth.

The raccoon threw an agitated look at the fox before he returned his attention back to the pouting rabbit. "Judy can we get you something else to eat?" he asked as he picked up a ketchup soaked fry. "Would you like some of my fries?"

"I've lost my appetite," she winced as she watched as ketchup dripped from the fry before the raccoon ate it. "It's just that the judge was so unfair!"

The raccoon had picked up his burger, but hesitated before he took a bite. "Unfair?" he asked. "Munsee only worked the numbers and those who play the game know the risks, you either win or lose. If you think about it, no one really gets hurt unless you don't cover your bet."

"Gambling is illegal Jake!" Judy angrily snapped back. "Just what part of breaking the law do you not understand?"

"Oh I perfectly understand," the raccoon replied with a thin smile as he sat his uneaten burger down. "But, why is it illegal for Munsee to do it and not for the city? The Lotto is almost the same thing…no, it is the same thing! Gambling is gambling whether it is done privately or sanctioned by the government, it's still the same."

"But the Lotto pays for schooling," Judy protested as she reached over with her fork and speared a roasted vegetable from the plate in front of Nick.

"Why do you do that?" Nick asked as he watched his wife nibble at the carrot.

"Do what?" the rabbit said with a giggle when she saw the look her husband gave her, his head was cocked to one side in confusion. "Oh that! It's because your food always tastes better than mine."

"This is your food," the fox replied as he shoved her plate back towards her.

"But the Lotto…" Jake tried to continue their conversation, but he stopped when the rabbit shoved the plate back towards the fox. "But…but…" he hesitated again as the plate was pushed back and forth between his two now laughing friends. "Just never mind."

The raccoon was just about to bite into his burger again, when he heard Judy say, "I still can't believe he walked free!"

"A five thousand dollar fine isn't walking free," Nick quickly responded before he shoved a fork full of eggs into his mouth and briefly chewed.

"Are we going to start this again?" Jake huffed out as he sat his burger back on the plate.

"Start what?" the rabbit tried to innocently answer without smiling. "I was just saying that the judge…"

The raccoon let out a groan, while the fox just gave him a smirk.