Who's the Fairest of Them All?
The answering machine automatically picks up the call, and immediately Angie Morelli's calm but nevertheless furious voice sounds and somehow manages to make her son's 2-story house shake like a wobbling pudding. An wide-eyed Rex Manoso shovels his second pack of Pop-Tarts into his mouth and tries not to shiver while listening to the upset woman's message.
"Joseph, what is this nonsense I heard about Vincent Plum leaving his wife and moving in with you? Is it true that he went over to your place last night with nothing but his red silk sleeping robe on and spent the night? And what were the two of you doing at the station this morning? Why are you taking time off? Where are you going? What are you thinking? Have you lost your mind? Is this some trick to get back at Stephanie? Or are you still trying to get her back? Do you not know what kind of person her husband is? Are you trying to get yourself killed? You—"
Rex aims the magic remote control Vincent gave him before leaving at the answering machine and mutes it. So this is human life. He finishes chewing, licks the crumbs off his lips, and thinks. Wake up. Eat breakfast. Go to work. Go home. Watch TV. Eat Snacks. Feel sleepy. And have issues with your mother. It's definitely not as fabulous as you think, and it's boring. He casts another longing look at the Tastykakes and all of a sudden becomes homesick. He misses the bright, airy and spacious serene 7th floor apartment. He misses his hamster wheel and hamster ball. He misses Ella's smile and her beautiful Spanish songs. He misses Stephanie. He misses Ranger. He's really happy and very grateful for all those Boston Cream doughnuts, French fries, Coke and Pop-Tarts, but he misses his life as a chubby hamster so, so much. And now he just wants to go home...
A large, snowy-white and grumpy-looking duck materializes out of a beam of light through the kitchen window and blows a sigh. Life is never easy for ultra-talented and capable Magical Creatures like him. Sometimes he just wishes Vinnie can sweep his wife off her feet and move to a place where people are not so into gossiping and messing up other people's life. Now—thanks to Lucille's over-talkative cousin, who happens to be Morelli's neighbor across the narrow street—he has to drop everything else to address this issue in Vinnie's place. He casts another pitying look at the lonely and distressed hamster and takes out his Blackberry—yes, Doc the Duck prefers Blackberry to iPhone for he's never a Jobs fan and he LOVES berries. You got a problem with that? Nope? Good. I know just how much you treasure your life—and places the call.
At the other side of the city inside the vet clinic, Kitty—no, trust me, you really don't want to go there—flicks his ear and falls silent for a fraction of a second. He then holds the trembling hamster captive with his shining mesmerizing eyes and in a most beautiful and charming voice almost gleefully says, "Face your destiny and enjoy your last moment, Mr. Morelli. You are not going to end up as a hamster for the rest of your life after all. Ain't that a pity?"