Chapter 8: The Day After
Jake gets some bad news about his weekend plans and Marie faces prejudice before being cheered up by a familiar fox.
Jake stripped naked before he slipped under the sheets of his oversized bed and snuggled into his pillows with a sigh. He had a good time with his date Marie, the food was sublime and the company even better. Smiling he hugged one of the pillows when he remembered her cute smile and for once, when he finally nodded off, it was her brown eyes peering from her dark grey fur mask and not those of his old infatuation from collage, a red panda named Sonya, he dreamt about.
The male raccoon slept soundly that night, waking with a yawn and a stretch. He didn't have time for jogging this morning because he had breakfast with his partner Jimmy Ratzolli and then afterward, he was going to work out at the gym. Lazily he rolled onto his back and grinned while he thought about Marie, her body's curves, and her sexy southern accent. She had a mouth ready to be devoured by his kisses, her tail…he felt himself stirring and reached down to use his paw to stroke himself. The pleasure increased while he stroked faster, he was imagining seeing her naked and willing in his bed. With a groan and a gasp, he exploded and sprayed a sticky mess onto his belly and chest. He panted and sighed before reaching for some tissues to wipe up his spent seed.
After showering and grooming, he put on his chocolate brown suit, a light yellow dress shirt, and a brown and blue striped tie before happily heading downstairs for his morning meeting. He gleefully laughed when he caught himself almost skipping while he walked towards the elevator and wanted to twirl in his happiness.
Breakfast with Jimmy Ratzolli was downstairs in the hotel's restaurant. "Jake you're in a good mood today," the brown rat in the grey suit observed before he sipped his coffee. "I take it your date went well."
"Yes, we had a grand time!" Jake gushed. "Now, I've got to come up with something for this weekend. Something that is very special for our next date!"
"Ah Jake, when are you planning to have this date?" Did you forget that this is the big trade convention weekend? You are booked solid with meetings and dinners with our clients and suppliers."
"Shit!" the raccoon growled in disappointment. "I forgot completely about the convention."
"Yeah, you're thinking with your wrong head. If you would come to the office more often and not disrupt our staff's productivity by climbing into trash bins and fighting with city employees…wait...on second thought, just stay away from the office."
"A lot of help you are, rat."
"This has to be the rockiest beginning of any relationship," Jimmy snickered. "Now we've got a lot to cover this morning, so you can worry about your love life later on."
With his ears now drooping, the raccoon glumly picked at his eggs while the rat began covering the weekend's agenda.
Across town, Marie awoke in the early morning with a yawn. She had overslept and did not even hear her roommate leaving for her morning shift at the restaurant. She rolled over and dreamed of the handsome raccoon with whom she had dinner last night, the touch of his paw, the gleam in his eyes, how his slim body moved, and that oh-so-sexy tail. She imagined his paws upon her body, caressing her nipples. With a sigh, she moved her paw under her pajama pants and between her legs, finding that golden spot which she frantically massaged until she gasped and moaned at her endeavors. Finally panting, she blushed because it had been a long time since she had done that to herself.
After several minutes of just enjoying being lazy in bed, Marie finally climbed out from under her covers and stripped off her pajamas before she took a shower. She hummed a happy tune while the hot water cascaded down her body. She chose her favorite body shampoo, which had a hint of strawberry scent, and scrubbed herself clean. All the time while she groomed, she thought about Jake. A female raccoon didn't have to use makeup or eyeliner, her fur mask made such endeavors unnecessary. Unlike some prey animals, such as zebras who painted their hoofs different colors, predator animals usually left their claws unpainted, but Marie did take time to trim and buff hers.
Dressing in a simple light blue blouse and a pair of khakis, she decided to go shopping at the nearby grocery store in the square. The store was renowned for its organic produce and as a farmer's daughter, she appreciated her vegetables. She snatched up her purse and shopping bags before she walked the five blocks to the square. The green space across from the store was full of children playing and she giggled while she watched a tiger cub kick a soccer ball back and forth with a young antelope. The two children's laughter was infectious and already in a good mood, she began to hum Gazelle's latest song while she entered the store. Picking up a basket, she went straight to a bin filled with one of her favorite vegetables, sweet corn. The ears were green with golden silk tassels on top, she peeled back some of the corn to reveal the mouthwatering yellow kernels, they were perfect.
"All I'm saying is that they are running off my regulars!" a fat rabbit in a dirty dress shirt and jeans loudly complained to a smaller female police officer, who was also a gray rabbit. "Good mammals won't come shopping here with their types hanging around."
"Their types?" the uniformed doe snapped back in an exasperated tone. "The square is a public place and is open for the use of all citizens regardless of their species."
"You know what I mean? Those preds are ruining my business! Sales have been off these past few weeks."
"Maybe it has to do with the way you treat your customers. No one is breaking the law, so what do you want me to do?"
"Come on, this used to be a pred-free zone!" the shopkeeper whispered a bit too loud. "Now look at what I have to put up with!" Marie was astonished when she realized he was looking at her! "You know that coons are thieves!"
"They are not!" the doe snapped back. "The law…"
Marie didn't hear the rest of what the officer said, because she had put the basket down and fled from the store. Sure she had faced species group discrimination before, but this was aimed specifically at her. As a country girl, she grew up sheltered in a community that knew her, because her family had been farming the same land for over two hundred years. Predators and prey grew up together for centuries and she and her mother were always welcomed when they would go shopping in the nearby village of Warrenton. But here in the city, she had faced discrimination firsthand from both those who hated predators and those who used her to justify their social awareness, the "I have a friend who's a pred and she's even a raccoon," crowd.
She slumped down on a bench in the park and sniffled, feeling sorry for herself. "I think there is a law against pretty ladies crying in the park?" a kindly-sounding male voice said from behind her. She turned and looked up at the smiling officer. "Are you okay, miss?" the handsome red fox in a police uniform asked.
Marie's eyes widened when she read his name badge. "I reckon that I'm just feeling a little tired of being signaled out for being born a predator, Office Wilde," she replied.
"I know what you mean. Try being a fox! You know we are sly and dangerous, I once heard a priest say we were responsible for the first sin."
"And I was up and branded with this fur mask because of my ancestor's thievery! Why can't others just see us for what we really are?"
"Because it's easier to stereotype someone than it is to get to know them. When I show up on a call, it's not uncommon for someone to call the office saying that there is a fox impersonating an officer."
"But aren't you the only fox currently in the police force?" she asked. The very presence of the uniformed fox buoyed her spirits.
"Guilty as charged," he mockingly sighed, before he put a paw to his forehead as if fainting.
"So just how did a lil' old con-artist become a cop?" Marie giggled.
"Do I know you?" Nick replied in a confused manner, his once genuine smile now became a defensive smirk.
"No, but I know your momma," Marie replied with a grin. "She makes some of my clothes. In fact, she repaired my favorite black silk dress for a date I had last night."
"My, what a small world?" Nick replied as a genuine smile returned to his face. "Say, you didn't go out to a fancy restaurant last night?"
"I did with a fella named Jake."
"You're Marie Millbrooks! I don't believe this!"
He sat next to her and pulled out his phone, "I've got to get a selfie with you, it'll drive Jake crazy."
"I leave you alone for one minute and you're hitting on girls," a voice spoke from behind. "Really, Slick!"
The fox looked up at the rabbit, who Marie recognized was the same police officer which had been arguing earlier with the store manager, "Carrots, you need to get in this shot too, this is Marie. You know, the girl that Jake had a date with last night!"
"I saw you earlier in the store, that guy is a jerk. My name's Judy Hopps, actually, it's Hopps-Wilde."
"Nick is your husband?" Marie asked before she shook the rabbit's paw. "Y'all are married to a fox?"
"Someone has to keep an eye on him," the doe over dramatically sighed. "The burdens we females take on for the good of civilization!"
Marie giggled and it was as if the presence of these two was washing away the bitterness that she felt from her earlier bigoted treatment within the store. With Nick and Judy around, there was hope again that despite biological differences, everyone was the same deep within their souls. She gave a genuine smile when Nick took the photo.
"Well, I sent it to Jake now let's see what he does?" Nick laughed. "That is if he has his phone on and it's charged…not broken…left on his dresser….well the guy has a problem with cellphones."
They waited for a few minutes and Nick's phone rang. "Yep, we're with Marie and I am planning to interrogate her about your date since you haven't bothered to call me yet…I told you, I know everyone…please, I can keep a secret…you do know she's standing right next to me?…hello?"
Nick gave a grin while he looked at his phone, "He hung up on me. One…two…three!" he counted before he pointed towards Marie. "It's your turn."
Marie jumped when her phone rang. "Hello, Sugar," she giggled when she answered. "I'm sorry what?... I shouldn't believe anything out of the fox's mouth? Now y'all got me curious!... Okay, but don't lose my number again…Bye, Sugar."
She looked at the laughing fox and rabbit. "So, what is it I'm not supposed to believe?" she asked.
Before he could answer, Judy nudged the fox. "Are you seeing what I am seeing?" she asked him.
"You mean that truck blocking traffic while it unloads at the grocery store," Nick replied with a broad grin. "Blocking traffic, I think that's a traffic violation?"
"You're up, Slick," Judy laughed before the fox casually strolled towards the truck while pulling out his ticket book.
The rabbit and raccoon watched when Nick approached the truck and waved his digit at the driver, a younger rabbit wearing the store's logo on his shirt. The older rabbit ran out of the store and was literally so mad that he was hopping up and down while yelling at the officer. Neither of the females could hear what was being said, but the fox's cool smirk told them volumes while he filled out the traffic citation and handed it to the distraught driver. The still-full truck rumbled down the road until it found a legal parking spot.
Nick didn't return immediately, instead, he walked down the alleyway behind the store and returned a few moments later to watch while the driver and the angry shop owner manually began to unload and haul the truck's contents crate by crate down the street. Finally, he returned to Marie and Judy, while he was talking on the radio.
"What did you call in?" Judy asked him.
"So after he called me a damn fox, I thought I'd poke around some more and it seems that the emergency exits are blocked," the fox shrugged. "I'm pretty sure that the store owner's day is going to get a little worse because I made a call to the fire inspector."
Marie giggled.
"Actually a lot worse, because Pedro's on his way over," Nick laughed. "He's a maned wolf, so he looks like a red fox on steroids."
"You're evil, Slick!" Judy chuckled.