Chapter 6: Who's Got You in a Tizzy?

Preparing for that first date can be stressful and Marie learns something about Jake.

"Well, I called her and we have a dinner date on Friday," Jake said to the fox as they leaned on the park's fence while tossing breadcrumbs to the ducks in the pond. The fox was once again wearing one of his tacky, but favorite green tropical pattern short-sleeved shirts and a red and purple tie.

"So, where are you taking her?" Nick asked his best friend. "The first date is always the most important."

"Le Chat," the raccoon shrugged. He was a dashing figure in a pink polo shirt and khaki pants.

"No!" the fox groaned out while he rolled his eyes at the raccoon. "You never go someplace like that on a first date!"

"Why not?" Jake asked. The raccoon's ears were drooping with concern as he looked over at the fox, who was now dumping the last of his bread into the pond.

"Because you started at the top and everything from this point will be anticlimactic!" the fox growled after he put his paw on the smaller raccoon's shoulder. "Why did you decide to go there?"

"I asked her where she wanted to go and that's where she picked."

"So she's going for the big meal before she dumps you."

"Whhaaaat?"

"She's just using you bud. She's only going out with you so she can go somewhere she'd never get to go."

"Do you really think so?"

"Yep, my friend, she is playing you and you've been hustled. But maybe if she has a good time, she'll at least give you some head or something as repayment."

"Oh, I hope not! I was hoping she'd be more than that."

"I don't think she'll go all the way on a first date!" Nick scoffed at the concerned look the raccoon was giving him.

"I wouldn't expect that and I don't even want her to do that! I was hoping she was classier than that and I don't want her to feel obligated to have to do anything," Jack replied.

They looked out over the pond for a few minutes, watching the ducks cruising across the water.

"That's why I hang around the ladies down on River Street," the raccoon finally sighed. "Except for faking an orgasm or two, they're at least honest with their regulars."

"It sucks to be you" the fox chuckled before he lovingly ruffled the fur between his best friend's ears.

Across town, a female raccoon in a worn, but comfortable oversized tee shirt sat curled on the couch reading a romance novel and sipping on a glass of sweet iced tea. She looked up when her roommate entered the apartment. "This city is full of jerks," the skunk snapped as she stormed through the apartment, pulling off her stained restaurant uniform blouse as she went. A few minutes later she returned in her robe and marched towards the bathroom.

"Bad day?" Marie called out. "You're home early."

"Yeah, I got this uppity giraffe who didn't like her shake and dumped the damned thing over my head. I almost lost my cool and sprayed her!"

"That's how y'all lost your last job."

"I almost lost my cool," Karen yelled before she closed the bathroom door. "But I didn't."

"I would have up and smelled if you had darling," Marie laughed. "Are you finished for the day?" The sound of the shower drowned out the skunk's reply.

After her college graduation, Marie was looking for an affordable apartment in the downtown area and it was a rather fruitless search for roommates who would live with a Class C predator, then she accidentally stumbled across Karen. The skunk was also struggling to find a roommate and the two girls quickly hit it off. The next major problem was finding an apartment that would rent to both of them.

Although it was illegal to discriminate against predators, most of the building managers seemed to find some questionable issues with their applications. The underlying unspoken concern mainly had to do with Karen being a skunk and her ability to spray a noxious odor. Finally, the two gave up trying to find a place on their own and hired an agency, it took the professionals just a few days to find their current apartment. The building was just off Herd Street, which was an excellent location, but they had the upper left side which faced a bright blinking billboard. The grumpy old landlord, a porcupine, grumbled that at least up there if Karen sprayed, she'd only stink up the top floor, and made then he made them pay a large cleaning deposit.

"I've got a date Friday night," the raccoon announced to her roommate when the skunk came out of the bathroom.

"Great, who with?" the skunk asked after she walked into the kitchen and pulled a beer out of the refrigerator.

"The raccoon with the medal," Marie softly answered. "Jake Runnel."

The skunk looked at her but didn't explode like she thought she would. Instead, Karen chugged down half the beer and burped. "Where's he taking you?" she asked.

The raccoon sat up and meekly replied, "Le Chat."

"Girl, remember what I told you! Are you going to let him rut you after dinner?"

"I'm not sure that if he asked to that, I'd say no this time? He is a stud."

"Huh, well maybe a good rutting is what you need?" Karen shrugged. "Lion knows that's what I need." Then with a grin, she added, "Maybe he'll hump us both if you ask?"

"Karen! I'm hoping he's not that kind of guy!" Marie giggled.

He was nervous and he had showered twice already. He had carefully placed across the huge bear-sized hotel bed three of his best suits. "Just pick one Jake!" Nick sighed while he watched the indecisive-acting raccoon. "You look good in all three."

"But is the blue pinstripe too business-like?" the raccoon asked. "I don't want this date to look like a business dinner. I want her to feel special!"

"At what you'll be paying, she better feel special."

"So we're down to the brown suit and the dark blue suit," Jake added before he picked up his phone.

"Who are you calling?"

"I'm calling someone with some fashion sense, I'm calling Fru Fru."

"Hey, what's wrong with my sense of fashion?"

"Oh yes, I'm supposed to be taking fashion advice from a guy who wears tropical shirts with mismatched ties? The Wilde style is not something I want to embrace."

"It sets me a step ahead of the rest of the foxes!"

"Yeah, and what does your mother do for a living? Oh yeah, she is a seamstress, so you don't get your fashion sense from her."

Nick just frowned at the raccoon.

"Hey, Fru Fru!" Jake said when the little shrew answered. "I have a big date Friday…not Melinda, she moved back to the Cape…no, she's a raccoon…no, she doesn't work for your dad…I'm taking her to Le Chat…no, I'm not…look it's the first date!" The raccoon rolled his eyes while the shrew excitedly began giving him dating advice. "I think the brown suit…the dark blue, are you sure? Okay, with the light blue shirt and blue and grey checkered tie…I'll muzzletime you so you can look me over before I go… love you too."

"That made her day!" Nick laughed after he came back into the room. "Now you did get her some flowers, right? You just can't show up on a date without flowers. Judy likes daisies, especially with salt."

"I don't think Marie is going to eat her flowers, isn't that a rabbit thing?" Jake asked.

"Yeah, you're right," the fox shrugged. "But you still have to get her flowers.

Marie paced back and forth. "Can you fix it?" she pleaded to the vixen sitting at a sewing machine and holding a black dress. It was the best dress in the raccoon's wardrobe and had been her favorite since college. It wasn't anything fancy, just a simple black silk dress that she saved for special occasions.

"Calm down, of course, I can," the red fox assured her. "Now sit down and tell me who has you in such a tizzy."

"He's a real handsome raccoon who I met in the park one morning," Marie replied while the vixen began to repair the torn dress seam.

"Does this prince charming have a name?"

"He's the raccoon who was on television with the mayor and he got a medal for saving the city from the feline distemper outbreak. His name is Jake."

The much older vixen acted startled when she said the name. "Are you telling me you have a date with Jake Runnel?"

"Vivian, is that a problem?" the raccoon asked the seamstress.

"No, that's wonderful," Vivian Wilde answered with a grin on her muzzle. "He's my son Nicky's best friend."

Marie sat down in shock, "Then y'all know him?"

"He's a very nice guy. So kind and generous, he stops by with Nicky and takes me to lunch sometimes. Both Nicky and his wife Judy think highly of Jake."

"So he's not a bit of a jerk?"

"Dear me, why would you even think that?" Vivian replied. So, Marie proceeded to tell the vixen her version of the story.

"Well, if Jake said he lost your phone number then he lost it!" the vixen told her while she began to repair the seam. "You'll have to forgive the poor boy, he grew up without a mother and his father was killed by a drunk driver when he was in college. After that he was dirt poor and took up being a burglar just to survive, they say he was very talented but only robbed the homes of those who were…well, not very nice people. Nicky says he only did it for the thrill of beating their security, just to prove it can be done, and really didn't take too much."

"So I have a date with a thief? Just my luck, I reckon he's another lowlife!"

"No sweetie, he's not at all like that! He got caught and went to jail, so he did his time. When he got out, he saved a wealthy businessmammal named Mister Big from an assassination attack. Nicky said that Jake singlepawedly took down a rhino gang member with just a shovel. After that, he started his own security consulting firm."

"So has your son been his friend for a long time?" Marie tentatively asked.

"Just over a year, Jake punched him after he saved Mister Big. But, they dropped all the charges."

"What was he charged with?" Marie asked. Her head was cocked with curiosity in a manner similar to what a canine does. As a farmer's daughter, she had grown up playing with the coyote migrant workers who were hired by her family to harvest the apple and fruit crops and had picked up some of her playmate's habits.

Vivian looked over at her with a smile. No wonder Jake wants to date her, she's so cute! The vixen mused. "Nicky is a police officer," she proudly stated. "Jake was charged with assaulting an officer, but in all fairness, he was disoriented having just been pulled from under an unconscious polar bear."

"Oh my!" the raccoon exclaimed.

"Of course, the truth is that Nicky was a hustler before he was a cop and had conned Jake out of some of his money. But now they are best friends."

"We are talking about the same raccoon? I don't see how the fella I have a date with could do all of that?"

"There is only one Jake Runnel," Vivian laughed. "Now please try this dress on for me."