What is real?
She didn't cover her tracks well enough.
Breaths were becoming ragged, low-hanging branches swiped and snagged her cloak. Exhaustion was gradually taking a toll on her, making her legs feel like lead. Rhoda ran. But she stumbled more after –how long was she running again?
Sharp rabbit ears could still hear the persistent rhythmic clop of hooves, egging her to move. She knew what he was trying to do. He was hunting her down like an animal until she would be beaten by her own exhaustion.
Rabbit legs stumbled and stopped before turning around.
No more.
The drum of hooves slowed. The horse neighed, tossing its head as it reared back. Shadows played under the hood of the rider. If he noticed the rise and fall of her shoulders, he gave no response. Rhoda stood still on the spot as the hooded figure slid down the horse with masculine grace. His cloak parted, revealing uniform underneath.
The moon shone above them as they stood face-to-face.
She drew her sword in a flash of metal –shorter than normal and reminded Mina more of a lengthy dagger. Edna had taught her a little. With bravado she didn't feel, her thoughts focused on her friends who were far braver than the cowardly rabbit.
The hooded figure watched her for a moment. The rabbit jumped when he suddenly draw his own sword. Under the shadows of his hood, his eyes took note on her sword that she held more like a shield than a weapon. He swished his sword before flowing into a swordsman's stance.
Rhoda jerked her sword higher, arms tensed, when his sword slapped hers on both sides. He was testing her. Before she could recover, the metal swoop to her side and she blocked. Like liquid steel, the sword came at her again and again. She blocked reactively, her ears curling with every clang and hiss of metal.
She sidestepped and he turned around, his sword following with deadly grace. This time, she attacked.
Go away.
Go away.
Go away!
However, the hooded figure stepped back with every slash of her sword. Edna had taught her too little, too late. She may have the rabbit reflexes but he was far more skillful.
Rhoda barely had time to flinch when he counterattacked, their swords meeting with a clash. Her arms strained to hold her ground as she felt his strength push her sword aside. Brute strength won and she suddenly found his sword an inch from her chest, her empty hands raised up in surrender.
They stood still, the wind whispering in the trees.
She turned tail and ran.
"OOF!"
Something heavy collided on top of her and Rhoda struggled in his arms. Her legs thrashed uselessly in the air as he stood up. Her free arm flew and her elbow connected to his side. He grunted but his grip around her remained. Her elbow flew again and one arm caught it, trapping it against her side. She screamed.
"NO! No! Let me go! Let me go!"
The last word came out as a sob. Her throat tightened. This was all she was good at –cowering and running away. She couldn't go back. It's going to kill her. She just knew it. Her body stopped struggling as her eyes blurred. She bowed her head in defeat, unable to stop sobbing.
This was it. She was going to die.
"Please…"
She looked up numbly. That wasn't her.
The soldier's breath felt warm in her ear. His lips move against her temple, almost like a kiss.
"Come back."
RRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNGGGG!
"Wha-!"
There was a horrible crash and Rhoda opened her eyes, wondering why she's on the floor tangled with the sheets.
Groaning and stumbling with her blanket still twisted around her, Rhoda switched off her alarm clock.
She looked directly in the mirror beside the bed. Her head could be funny sometimes, and not in a good way.
"He's gone," she firmly told herself. "He's gone."
Rhoda looked worriedly on her abdomen. "I hope you're not hurt in there."
ToonTown, 1962
"You're hurt," Rhoda said, her hand flying to her mouth in dismay.
He stood frozen in the doorway. She moved as though to reach up but stopped.
"Are ya goin' to let us in or not?" a voice said irritably. Mina popped out from behind Rhoda, tapping her foot impatiently.
Jesse stepped aside to let them in and they went inside. The "baby" gave him a look reserved for yesterday's diapers.
"I'm so sorry for what my son did, Jesse," Rhoda said, turning to face him once they're inside. "They somehow found out and Jack got mad, I should have-"
"He's my son too, Rhoda. You don't have to apologize for him to me."
Rhoda paused and if Jesse saw her surprise, he didn't respond. She took a deep breath.
"What Jack did is irreversible," she said.
His hand hovered over his cheek. "It's just a bruise, Rhoda, it will go away."
"Too bad," Mina muttered.
Her rabbit ears swished as she shook her head. "I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about the paparazzi. You know how humans are when they hear about toons being violent outside the set."
His brows raised in thought. She's right; there would be more than just a scandal. Rhoda hopped to the sofa's arm rest to be more at his eye level.
"I want to make a public apology in Jack's behalf," she said. "Can you arrange one in Acme Studios?"
At her cerulean gaze, blue eyes darkened by hatred, sparked in his memories. "I can arrange one tomorrow afternoon."
The unease went away with a small smile. "Thank you, Jesse."
He only nodded wordlessly. Hate was unbefitting for those eyes but didn't he deserve hate?
Her eyes caught the sight of a small glass jar on the table. The glass was real, not toony with a real paintbrush beside it.
"Paint?" she asked, picking it up.
"It's for my bruise," he casually said.
She looked at it. It did match his skin color. For some reason, she glanced at his shoulder when she looked up.
"May I do it for you?" she asked, almost shy.
Jesse stared. She should hate him. She must hate him.
Mina's eyes widened in disbelief then narrowed suspiciously when he nodded. Her gaze followed Jesse when he sat down on the sofa and Rhoda hopped beside him.
The rabbit breathe deeply, her eyes trained to the jar of paint she's stirring with the brush. She brushed the excess on the lip of the jar before turning to him.
Jesse looked ahead when he felt the brush touched his cheek. It was featherlight with short strokes.
His hands momentarily clenched in his lap. She shifted closer as her eyes squinted in concentration. In the corner of his eyes, he could see her mouth move. One side of his face tingled with her breath.
"For Jack and Rose's sake, I hope we could at least be friends, Jesse."
Rhoda dipped the brush back to the jar. The small brush returned to his cheek. He determinedly looked ahead. Fifteen years ago, Rhoda would have used her thumb to spread the color while chattering about fingerpaint.
"Alright."
The brush was gone again. Rhoda had already scooted to a distance, looking at the jar of paint.
Jesse looked down on his lap, unmoving.
Mina looked at Rhoda who was glancing at anywhere but him. Then at Jesse who was as still as a post.
She threw up her hands. "Can we go now?" she demanded, feeling like she was interrupting something.
"Yeah," Rhoda quipped, hastily putting the jar aside.
"Wait," Jesse said, "Someone may have already followed you here."
She looked at him quizzically.
"This building is a first-class high-rise tower, the paparazzi are not allowed here," he stood up, "But some will occasionally disguised themselves and station inside."
Mina nodded with grave experience. "Them twinkies may already have alerted the others waiting outside the entrance."
"That's okay, I'll just pin my ears like a dog again," Rhoda said, her ears folding themselves shorter.
Mina shook her head. "It won't work this time. With paparazzi on alert, they'll assume anything."
The rabbit glanced at the window. "Jesse, do you have a fire escape?"
Baby Mina shivered in the cold wind. "This is crazy," she managed to say with chattering teeth.
Rhoda beamed. "Don't worry, Mina! It would just be like Cartoon Short # 118."
"You mean the one where you crashed and burned?"
The bunny put her hands akimbo. "I did not crashed and burned. I landed on something that I crashed and burned." She paused in afterthought before correcting herself. "And was still on fire."
"That's comforting."
Jesse remained quiet, his hands in his pockets as he watched them. Rhoda bent over to pick Mina up.
"Rose still wants to meet ya," she said as she turned to Jesse.
He nodded, watching the moonlight play with her white fur.
She gave him a small smile. She knew she didn't make him happy anymore, but for Jack and Rose's sake…
"Well, see ya."
The wind blew and the air exploded with a rainbow horde of balloons. Rhoda held on tight to their strings as she was blown away with Mina in tow.
She could see him give a small wave from afar. Turning her back from the sight, she let the blossom of balloons float them further and further away…
He's gone, she firmly told herself. He's gone.
KLANG!
"OW! YOU CRAZY RABBIT!"
Until the balloons snagged on a billboard.
France, 1955
"You're my favorite sister, Rose!"
At an early age, Rose had learned the art of rolling her eyes. "I'm your only sister, silly."
"Yeah! You'll always be my favorite!"
Mina's Manor, ToonTown, Night 5 in Hollywood
Jack looked out of the toony night sky, the wind blowing his rabbit ears behind him. Blue eyes looked out from the roof of the manor.
Unable to endure the rambling voice inside his head, he had climbed out of his window for a new perspective.
The rambling voice inside his head was right. He was right. It was Rose who was not making sense. And Maman wanted him to apologize?!
But this… was tiresome. What's the point of being right when he and Rose were like this? He just wished Rose would stop being an idiot. He's supposed to be the idiotic one!
There was a sound of frustration as he threw out his hands in defeat.
It's not good to feel bad.
Jerks who check out his sister and his Maman he could handle. Idiots who remark Playtoon at the sight of his ears he could handle. This clawing, dull, bitter, stupid ache in his chest...
That cheating bastard.
A low growl rumbled in his throat. This feeling wasn't going away in a while.
His eyes slid to an open window below.
Might as well do something about it.
France, 1961
Fourteen-year-old Jack slouched on his seat on the outside table of a little café.
What on earth was taking his sister so long?
Ever since they were eight, their mother had trusted them to be on their own around their little toon community. By the time they were twelve, she let them go out on their own in the human city. As long as they're together, their mother serenely said –which emphasized that there will be consequences if they were not.
The problem was Rose liked shopping. Jack didn't. At all.
But rules were rules –at least the café served carrot-apple juice.
In his state of misery, he didn't notice that people were turning their heads at the figure approaching him.
Three cartoon toms swiveled their eyes in harmony with the natural sashay of hips before they all whistled in unsion. A moose, stared, oblivious to the tea he was pouring into his pants instead of his cup.
Legs like longstemmed roses catwalked towards the bunny-eared young man.
"I'm here," she said and the air was filled with sighs at the velvety purr of her voice.
The young man remained slouched, as though buttersoft bedroom voices were common occurrences.
"Enfin!" he cried. He turned around to face his sister. "Where have you –WHAT THE HECK IS THAT?"
Rose blinked, looking down at the dress she had recently bought. The reddish-pink number had a sweetheart neckline, cinched at the waist and flatters her legs. The elegance of the dress, matched her peek-a-boo bangs that always gave her a touch of mystery. She liked it so much; she bought it after walking out of the dressing room.
She spread her arms a little. "A new dress? J'aime beaucoup."
The grins of the young toms spread a little when her hips cocked to one side.
"That's a dress?" he asked, horrified. The thing didn't even cover her arms and her shoulders and her knees. He immediately death-glared at the toons ogling her. "Hey! What'cha all lookin' at?! Va te faire voir!"
"Jack, you don't have to yell," Rose chastised.
He didn't seem to hear her as he took off his jacket.
"Take it!" he declared, shoving the jacket to her.
She scowled. Her dress was perfectly fine. "No."
One of the toms called out. "You shouldn't be yelling at your lover!"
Jack had never wished so hard that he could project emotions. If he could just literally burn with his fiery temper, the idiot would be nothing more than a pile of ash by now.
"She's NOT my girlfriend! Ta gueule!"
Without another word, he stormed from them with her hand in tow.
The toms looked at each other. That might explain why the rabbit-eared guy couldn't see the bunny Aphrodite in front of him.
As soon as they were out of sight, Rose yanked away her hand. Jack whirled at her, holding his jacket. What was she thinking walking around in that thing?
"Just take it," Jack said in frustration.
Fourteen-year-old Rose scowled. All she did was buy a dress and Jack was acting like it's the end of the world.
Her rabbit ears could hear feminine titters and she knew some girls were checking out her brother's forearms. She ignored them as much as he was oblivious to them.
Rose put her hands on her hips, wondering when did Jack became such a fashionista. "Don't you dare order me around. I am older than you."
"By just two minutes," he retorted.
She mentally shook her head. Jack never had respect for authority. She lifted her chin. "I'm not going to take that."
"Fine," Jack shot back. "I'm giving it to ya."
Before she could speak, he lunged. In whirl of toon tornado, Rose found herself straightjacketed with his coat, the sleeves tied like a giftwrap ribbon in front of her.
"Jack!"
Jack put a hand over his mouth, laughing at the sight of his handiwork.
That's it.
"I will not hold back, Jack," she whispered.
He must have noticed she was serious because he suddenly stopped laughing. Rose jerked with surprise when he gave a defeated sigh before kneeling down to her eye level.
"I just want to protect you and Maman."
She remembered the three toms that were staring at her. As far as she was concerned, they could look but they mustn't touch. With Jack…
He ran a hand over his rabbit ears. "Since toons don't age, you and Maman look like sisters. I can't believe some men would still go after a mom! But at least her accidental slapstick-ery would kick their asses. But you… I know you dress the way you want to but guys are very visual! I don't want them thinking you're inviting or –or leading them on or-"
"Jack."
He looked up in attention.
Still tied in his jacket, she calmly spoke. "I like this dress. It feels like me the way you said your jacket completes you."
He became silent, remembering the first time he found his signature clothes. Then his ears twitched.
Jack slid hanger after hanger in one of the racks, pointedly ignoring the fact that he was in a boutique.
"Are you sure, you don't see anything else you like?" he asked. He couldn't believe he's helping his sister shop.
He grumbled, moving to another rack. One of the sales girls had offered to help but he found her too strange. She kept on squeezing her arms close to her torso as though she's keeping something in her armpits and she really needs to see a doctor for that double eye twitch.
"Sorry, Jack. I haven't found it yet," she called out as she stood in front of a mirror, modelling a lapis lazuli shawl.
Jack rolled his eyes. The shawl is plain blue, for crying out loud. The heck do they give colors fancy names?
Rose had a small smile in her lips, amused by her brother's exasperation to shopping. One of the sales girls had tried to flirt with him by clasping her hands together to push up her chest and batting her eyelashes.
Just like Maman with flirtations directed at her, it just went over his head.
Jack's hands suddenly stop sliding clothes from one end to another. He lifted the garment, inspecting it. The color reminded him of Rose's eyes.
"How about this one?" he asked, holding it up for her to see.
Jack gave a triumphant smirk when her eyes widened and she went silent. Standing behind her, he helped her wear the jacket.
She turned around, inspecting the jacket in front of the mirror. Rose was silent but Jack felt as happy as the expression in her face. She faced the mirror again.
"I… I think I found my signature clothes. Thank you, Jack."
He caught her eyes in the mirror, his face serious.
"For you and Maman… anything."
Mina's Manor, ToonTown, Night 5 in Hollywood
Rose wrapped her arms around herself. Her jacket had become more than a jacket. It was a symbol of her brother's love.
But that brother was now being an idiot.
Maman was being an adult by moving on. She, herself, was being an adult by following her lead. Why couldn't he just grow up and move on?
She was supposed to be the cold, critical one! What happened to that twin?
How could she even talk to him if he's going to be this childish?
TAP! TAP! TAP!
Rose turned to her window before frowning. Calmly, she poked her head out of the window.
Her expression became dry when she saw Jack on the ledge with his rabbit ears wrapped over his eyes.
"Are you decent?" he asked.
"Oh no, will you please pull my corset tight while I hold on to my bedpost?" she shot back with as much sarcasm as she can put on.
His ears flipped open to reveal his dry expression. "My brain just threw up inside my skull."
She folded her arms.
"Aren't you going to let me in?"
Rose stepped back. "Doors are invented for a reason."
He shrugged as he hopped inside. "I needed fresh air."
Her expression didn't change. "What do you want, brother?"
"You're still angry at me," he stated, his ear twitching at her last word.
She remained silent. Jack sighed, wondering why he got to be the twin of the most stubborn rabbit.
"I was not angry at you."
She raised her brow.
He fought the urge to rip out his ears. "I was mad at that gu –I mean, at our father. I don't know why you still want to meet him –but fine!" he said when Rose opened her mouth. "That's your choice. And this is my choice."
They stood apart, staring at each other. The air around them felt calmer but not in harmony –like a compromise. Jack frowned but looked steadily at her.
"And I didn't mean to say that you should go live with him. I never wanted to get rid of you."
The wrinkle between her eyes relaxed and Jack felt himself lighten up a little. He felt even better when she closed the gap between them and hugged him around the middle.
He ruffled her auburn hair. "No matter how much you give me a frostbite with your glare."
She gave his torso a light slap but her face was troubled. This was the first time that they had truly fought. He had surprised her by initiating the make-up. Did he change or did she change? Would things changed because of their separate decisions?
"And you're still my favorite sister, Rose."
She finally smiled. Nope, it didn't.
France, 1953
Mina smoked from a fat cigar, looking over the ocean. Another vacation leave and it's a good day in France once again.
"Why so blue, rabbit?"
Said rabbit was fixated with the sand that she was stubbing with her toe. There was an ocean before them and years ago, Rhoda would have been enthusiastic going to the beach.
Rhoda looked up from under drooped ears. "I've always been one to tell humans that just because toons act stupid, doesn't mean they are. But…"
Her gloveless hand squished the sand beneath them (its bothersome to have sand inside gloves).
"But in the end, I was the fool."
A cherubic hand delicately tapped the ashes off her cigar. "You're the silly rabbit, Rhoda. You always the play the fool on TV."
Rhoda threw up her hands, almost knocking down the umbrella. "That's not the point!" She sighed, composing herself.
"I know I'm not that smart. I know I panic easily. I know I act like a kid. But those were so good qualities for being a natural comedy," Rhoda said quietly. "But not in real life."
Mina glanced at her, wondering where was this all coming from.
"I didn't mind them at first since it was doing a lot of good, making people laugh. But now that I don't have the security of the set anymore, they're now faults."
She turned to Mina and Mina saw the expression of someone who saw the ugly truth. It was the same face she saw in the mirror fifty years ago, realizing that she will grow old but will never have a woman's body.
"I try so hard to make up for them..."
And the "baby" knew that. She had never seen the rabbit so happy when she was able to drive for the first time without destroying the car. She had never seen the rabbit pushed herself so hard till dawn just to understand the simple math of budgeting and paying bills on her own.
And she had never seen the weathered determination that would sometimes flash in the rabbit's eyes.
Not since the twins entered her life.
"...Sometimes I feel like I shouldn't have been so stupid."
"You're not stupid!" Mina blurted out suddenly.
Rhoda looked at her in surprise. Wasn't Mina always calling her an idiot?
Mina inwardly cursed, torn between covering her mouth to shaking the rabbit.
"Yeah, you got the proficiency of a grade-schooler! But you're not stupid!"
The "baby" stubbornly glared at her jolted expression. As though that would make the rabbit understand.
"Remember how you knew I wasn't really an infant?"
She knew she was a diva. A brat. An old bitch in a baby's body. She had thought Rhoda was one of those bright-eyed amateurs in showbiz. The rabbit had confused and annoyed her with her bubbly cheeriness that persists off-camera. Sarcasm and insults just bounced off her. She even seriously thought they were bringing joy through television when it's all about corporate profit!
But curiosity finally won over hostility after months of working together. Mina had asked her how she saw through her baby act the first time they met.
Rhoda shrugged. "Yeah, I said, 'I just felt it. You feel old.'"
"And I hated you for it," Mina deadpanned.
Rhoda's eyes brightened into stars, clasping her hands to her chest. "Aaw... was that the time you started to like me after?"
"Dream on, Rhoda," Mina said, raising a magazine over her eyes, hiding her face.
Mina's Manor, ToonTown, Night 5 in Hollywood
"Thanks for coming with me, Mina."
"No problem, rabbit."
"I don't want to go to Jesse's apartment if Acme was also in there," Rhoda said, rubbing her arm. "I was surprised Jesse still lived in ToonTown."
"Yeah, I thought by now he'd be living with that couger," Mina said.
Rhoda glanced at her reproachfully for her choice of words. But Mina only rolled her eyes. She couldn't believe how chic his apartment was compared to the rundown that Rhoda lived with her children. "That guy keeps his life under wraps so who knows?"
"Yeah," Rhoda said absentmindedly, pushing the front door open. Her demeanor changed as soon as she stepped inside. She squared her shoulders and took a deep breath.
He's gone. He's gone.
"Enough about that."
Slender rabbit feet walked down the hallway. An apron suddenly appeared in her hand and she tied it around her waist.
"It's time to make dinner."
Mina stared at the feminine knot tied just above the rabbit's fluffy cottontail.
The bunny nanny in the set had now indeed become the bunny mommy in real life.
ToonTown, 1946
This was just a crush, right? This thing he had for her?
"I'm an embarrassment to all rabbits!" she cried, pulling her ears in distress so far, they stretched to waist level.
Jesse stared at Rhoda from across the table.
He was happy with his friendship with Rhoda. She's this happy bubble of joy. This ray of sunshine that wanted to make people laugh.
There was a whipping sound when she let go, the force of her ears knocking her backwards off her seat.
Bystanders nearby cringed at the terrible crash.
Her hand suddenly appeared above table level. "I'm okay!"
But as time passed, he knew he was getting greedy. Walking her to her trailer after filming, being with her even in his day-offs. Was he wrong for wanting more?
Yellow gloved hands clutched the table and Rhoda clambered it for support before sitting back on her chair.
"Why does everything I bake explodes?" she whimpered, unmindful of the turmoil of her friend.
"I know how to bake a carrot cake," he said in his silent baritone.
Her blue eyes suddenly looked up to him in wonder, sparkling with hope that if she asked him to rob a bank with that face, he'd do it without question.
"You do?"
He shrugged. "Yes." Since yesterday.
Jesse remembered her sharing woe to Mina. So he had decided to be a solution to her problem by going to the library and reading the recipe.
"I can bake you one if you want."
With a squeal of delight, she threw her arms around him for a quick hug that always felt too short before she happy-hopped-danced on her seat. It just felt natural to be happy seeing her happy.
Rhoda was a rabbit. White fur. Long ears. A poofy cotton-like tail. Feet slender but unlike human. She stood four feet tall minus the foot-long ears.
So why didn't he found himself caring?
Mina's Manor, ToonTown, Night 5 in Hollywood
With the plates washed and the table clean, Jack and Rose looked at their mother from across the table.
Mina whistled, checking her fingernails. She felt like she's in some kind of a family meeting.
"I'm glad you two are in speaking with each other," Rhoda said. "Because we're going to need to work together."
Jack looked at her questioningly, his rabbit ear cocking into a question mark. Rose nodded in understanding.
"Jack, what you did have some consequences," Rhoda said. "Humans don't feel comfortable when toons would get unpredictable."
"What consequences?"
"It means humans don't like it when something stronger and faster than them would get violent outside the TV," Mina said bluntly. "The media feeds on fear, Jack and what humans fear..."
Rhoda put her hands on the table. "That is why your father and I are going to work together to fix this," she firmly said.
"Tomorrow, I'm going to make a public apology on Jack's behalf."
Jack sat up straighter, his hands outstretched as though to brake the conversation. "Wait, wait, wait. You're going to apologize… for me?"
"Yes."
"To the public?"
"Yes, Jack."
"For something that I did?"
"Yeah, son," Mina said impatiently.
He looked desperately at their mother. His mother didn't have to pay for what he did.
"Why can't I do it?"
Mina laughed, leaning on the table. "You can't handle them yet."
"Who?"
"Jack, there are reporters out there who seek the truth for the greater good," Rhoda said, "and then there's the kind that… do more harm than good."
Mina waved her hand. "You gave 'em a good show with that KO. The news event would be littered with people wanting," she held a chubby thumb and pointer with the smallest space in between, "a liiiiitle more scandal."
Rose's eyes widen with understanding. "They're going to try to rile him up."
Mina snapped her fingers in approval. "Got that right, sister."
"Your Aunt Mina and I already talked about this," Rhoda said solemnly. "My appearance would shift the lemonlight away from Jack."
"Limelight, Rhoda."
Rose didn't need to look beside her to see Jack sinking into his seat. She simply put a hand on his lap underneath the table.
"The media –both toons and humans, would now have made assumptions of who you are. If you don't like what the papers are going to say tomorrow, just ignore them," Rhoda continued.
She looked at her daughter. "Rose, you're going to meet your father the day after tomorrow. That place is secluded but your father will drive you home."
A firm look was sent to Jack's direction. "Jack, please don't hit your father again. In the meantime, avoid public places. The paparazzi will come after you."
Jack folded his arms, slouching into his seat with his mouth a tight line.
She gave a look to both of them.
"Strangers are going to make assumptions out of the two of you. Rose, you will be judged on your looks and Jack, you will be painted as someone rebellious and dangerous."
Rhoda sighed.
"I don't want you to be exposed to them at this age. But the best I can do is prepare you at what will happen. Let's try not to make it worse."
She stole a glance to Mina and her friend nodded.
"Also, I owe you the truth."
Both ears of her children perked.
"Kids, the day that I found out about your father's affair was also the day I found out I was pregnant. I… I didn't tell your father."
Jack found Rose's hand with his and he clasped it.
"Your father has someone else. But I don't want to tie him down because I was pregnant when he wanted out. So I moved to France."
Rose stared. "You moved to France alone? Why didn't you just move to another part of the city?"
"What about support? You could have told him so that he could chip in," Jack asked, unconsciously gripping Rose's hand tighter.
Rhoda shook her head. "I can't," she simply said.
Jack and Rose looked at each other. Rhoda's heart drummed. With the two together, they were too perceptive.
They can't know yet.
"Hey, kids. What's done is done," Mina quipped. "Your momma's got a big day tomorrow. Why don't we all just rest up?"
Late in the night after the bedroom lights have been turned off, the television blared in the Master bedroom.
"Ooh, that looks nasty," Mina said as the screen showed a series of pictures showing Jack's arm a blur of fist connecting on Jesse's cheek.
She turned to look at Rhoda who didn't seem to be paying attention to her "homework" for tomorrow.
Mina chucked a pillow at her. "Hey, you're supposed to be knowing what they know, remember?"
The pillow bounced off her head and Rhoda fumbled with it for a moment. She arranged her notes and paid attention to the screen again. When the commercial ran, Rhoda finally spoke.
"I never thought they would need a father."
Mina chugged whiskey from her flask. "Is that why you never hooked up with anyone in the 'City of Luuuurve'?" she asked, emphasizing the L-word with much-deserved sarcasm.
Rhoda pouted. "I'm serious, Mina. I feel like I just deprived them of something."
The "baby" shrugged. "No mother is perfect, as far as I know."
She shook her head. "I'm not." She wrapped her arms around her. Her ears drooped, hugging the pillow as she looked down. "I just wanna know if I have been good enough."
WHAP!
The whole world was suddenly tilted on one side. Mina stood beside her in post-pillow whacking position.
"Excuse me?" the "baby" asked.
Rhoda sat up and shook her head, her rabbit ears slapping away the stars spinning around her cranium. Mina put a hand on her hips.
"You've done what you could. Heck, how many mothers would be willing to be friends with cheating ex-husbands?"
She sat down to her master's armchair again. "Friends who used to be married," Mina tilted her head to the side, studying her. "I would never have expected that."
Rhoda's mouth turned poutier. "Hey! I can be mature too."
Mina held up a hand. "Not that, rabbit. I never thought it would come to this."
Indignation turned to confusion. "Never thought what could come to what?"
"That you two would end up failed," she bluntly said.
Rhoda reacted as much as a wall would react when kicked.
Sensing her unaffected, Mina spoke her mind. "I seriously thought I was wrong about him."
Rhoda remained still. Just when Mina was about to go back to her whiskey, the rabbit spoke.
"He liked eye contact whenever we do it."
Mina blinked, wondering what she's talking about.
"He said he liked seeing me reached the high note."
Mina stared, her jaw dropping. Was she talking about…
Rhoda shrugged, her voice toneless. "It was never a problem since I'm stretchy."
The "baby" looked like a reddening deer caught in headlights. Never in a million years did she thought Rhoda could make her feel like running out of the room and freezing at the same time. She was supposed to be the lewd one between them.
"But the last time we were doing it, he buried his face into my neck. Like he couldn't look me in the eye."
Oblivious to the fact that Mina was resembling a tomato, Rhoda continued.
"So I held him closer and told him that I love him."
She remembered his arms wrapping around her after he came home. It was surprising but welcomed after weeks of growing distance. The rabbit held up a hand as though grasping something.
"But when I said it, I got the feeling I made him feel worse."
She wrapped her arms around her knees, her ears wrapping around her shoulders.
"Ever since I found out, I always wondered when did everything stopped being real."
Maroon Studios, 1946
"AAAAAAAUUUGHH!"
Mina calmly stood there, covered with splotches of real ink.
Rhoda yanked her ears, running around.
"WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO?! WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DOOOO-"
Something soft and stinky hit her in the head and she caught it.
"Mina! That's gross!" she exclaimed, throwing away the used diaper.
The "baby" walked towards her, wearing a new nappy. "Well, it did calm you down, didn't it?"
Rhoda yanked her ears anxiously again. "What are we going to do, Mina? Ink splotches don't come off easily on toons." One hand began to gesticulate frantically. "We've got a show to film! The director's gonna have conniptions! This can set back the entire season! Think of all the disappointed kids out there! We can't-"
A cherubic hand waved offhandedly. "We'll cover it with skin-colored paint until my own paint absorbs it. Geezus, Rhoda. I hate to imagine what would happen if a real crisis happened."
Acme Studios, 1962, Day 6 in Hollywood
Jesse leaned on the background, watching the reporters gather before the stage. A lone rabbit stood behind the pulpit, speaking.
"-light of the events yesterday, I would like to apologize on my son's behavior," Rhoda said on the crowd before her. Cameras flashed. "What he did was reckless and I'm sorry for-"
"MISS RABBIT!"
She blinked at the sight of one of the reporters waving his arms around.
"Where have you been in the last 15 years?"
Rhoda paused and the reporter took this as a cue to go on. He looked around at his fellow reporters.
"A lot of fans have been worried when you suddenly disappeared, Miss Rabbit. I think," he looked at her, nodding and confident, "your fans have the right to know what happened."
Jesse scowled and stood up. But then Rhoda beamed.
"Aw, thanks for the concern, Mister. But I've been fine all these years!"
She turned her head around to the others which ignited them to raise and holler their questions until the initial reporter got lost from the standing crowd.
Rhoda held out her hands, the bright yellow color of her gloves standing out. Everybody quieted down.
"What my son did was reckless. I'm really sorry if he scared anyone. But I can assure he didn't intend to and he won't do so in the future."
She stepped back from the pulpit but one voice rang clear and loud.
"Miss Rabbit, why did you leave your husband?"
She knew it was coming. But that didn't stop the sensation of a cold stone in her stomach.
"She didn't leave me."
Rhoda sharply turned her head to Jesse who had appeared on her side.
"As a family matter, we respectfully ask that we care for our own privately. This conference has now ended."
Jesse turned away from the frantic reporters and Rhoda took it as a cue to hop off the stage.
"Ms. Rabbit! Did your son punched Mr. Krupnik because of abandonment?"
"Is it true you left Mr. Krupnik for an actual rabbit but found out you were pregnant with Mr. Krupnik's kids?"
"What is the name of your daughter, Ms. Rabbit? How old is she?"
FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!
Rhoda looked steadily ahead, trying to ignore the reporters waving their mikes between the gaps of security guards lining the walkway on both sides.
A hand clamped on her shoulder from behind and she startled. She looked up to see that Jesse had put a hand on her opposite shoulder, guiding her away from them and into one of the studios' cars.
Be neutral in the face of cameras, rabbit, she could hear Mina's voice.
As soon as they reached the car door, she shrugged off his hand and climbed inside the door. She breathed a sigh of relief behind the tinted glass.
Then the car door opposite from her opened.
"You don't have to accompany me, Jesse."
He adjusted himself on the opposite side. "You're right."
There was silence after that. Rhoda checked it off as keeping with appearances. Her shoulder still felt heavy with his touch, like a mark that won't go away.
She scooted further away from him, looking at the window.
Jesse trained his eyes on his window. Of course, she would act like he's diseased. He remembered how she shrunk back from his outreach arm, how she backed away as soon as she was done painting his cheek. How she yank her shoulder away from his hand.
The one person whom he didn't have to prove that he wasn't a cad had finally joined the bandwagon.
"You're disgusted with me," he said quietly.
Rhoda startled and turned her head to Jesse. He kept looking at his window. Her gaze went to the driver only to realize they were separated by a tinted fiber glass window.
Her ears drooped as she tried to remain small in her side of the car.
"I'm not disgusted with you, Jesse," she said, suddenly feeling weariness down to her bones. Asking why he even cares seemed to be more fitting. But that wasn't a nice thing to say.
"Seeing you, being touched by you just bring back the old memories."
Memories that were not that important to you anymore, she wanted to add. Rhoda took a deep breath. He wasn't the one being affected, she must make him understand.
"I'd rather forget," she said, giving him a small smile as a peace offering.
Jesse said nothing.
Rhoda looked back at the window again, resisting the urge to sigh. He could have at least made an effort to be a friend for the sake of their kids.
Besides, I don't want any more conflicts. Martha Acme might get jealous, remember? She wanted to ask.
The drive back home was silent as they stare at their separate windows.
ToonTown, 1947
"Rhoda, I'm home."
"Jesse?" the voice seemed to come from the kitchen before the soft pattering of rabbit feet was heard. Rhoda appeared in the living room before giving a pause. "You look tired."
Jesse uncovered his eyes from where he sat on the couch. "It's nothing, it's just one of those days."
She padded over to the couch before settling beside him. "Wanna talk about it?"
He shook his head. "It's not a big deal. I got into an argument with the photographer because he called Leroy a degrading name."
Rhoda put a hand on his shoulder sympathetically.
"Then he told me to stay out of his way because we're just toons. So I left the photo shoot."
She laughed, surprising him.
"You wouldn't be you if you didn't," she said, a certain light in her eyes that told him she wasn't upset that he rejected a wage.
"Remember the boy with the kite, Jesse?"
Jesse shook his head.
"We were still just friends back then. We were in the park. You were reading My Little Prince. But then this little boy cried out when his kite was snagged in the highest tree. His father and his friends just laughed when he cried."
He watched her, remembering that incident.
"But you put down your book, climbed the tree and gave it to the little boy," she shrugged. "Then you went back to your reading like nothing happened."
Oh yeah, he remembered that. The father was a prick.
"I think that was the first time my heart gave a thump."
Jade eyes went back to her.
"Maybe it was too early for me to realize but that was the start."
She knelt down on his lap, her heart racing. Rhoda was rarely brave enough to make the first move. But Jesse remained stock still, his eyes on her and her alone.
She put her hands on his chest, leaning in close. Underneath her palm, he was warm, his heart beating erratically.
"You're a good man, Jesse. I'm glad I married you," she whispered before she closed the gap between their lips.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
Jesse opened his eyes blurrily, wondering where he was. Morning sunlight streamed from the windows as wisps of sleeps left him. He sat up on the edge of the bed, his red locks tumbling down his forehead as he massaged his temples.
He never thought it was possible to feel worse after sleeping. His hands closed into fists. He couldn't live in this house anymore. It was haunting him too.
Mina's Manor, ToonTown, 1962, Night 6 in Hollywood
"In a shocking turn of events, a young hybrid toon attacked Jesse Krupnik –board director of Acme studios-"
Jack fixed his eyes on the evening news, his mouth a determined line. Rose seethed at their description of him. Jack has rabbit ears but that word is used for stock animals!
The TV showed flash and flash of photos of Jack's blurred swinging arm directed at their father. Comments from bystanders were also recorded.
"He just came at him like a flash! If looks could kill, Krupnik would have been dead," a human reporter said, pushing his glasses.
A grinning wolf shook his head. "I don't know who that dame of a doe was, but she sure was HOT."
"She's underage, you sicko!" Jack exclaimed at the screen.
"-Witnesses claim the young toon looked like Jesse with rabbit ears. Artists suspect the young man and the doe with him could be possibly related to both Jesse Krupnik and Rhoda Rabbit-"
The screen showed a photo of Jack carrying Rose, alongside a cartoon screenshot of their father carrying their mother in the same position. They both groaned, slapping a hand on the face.
"-15 years after her disappearance, Rhoda Rabbit appeared to make a public apology for her son's actions this afternoon."
The screen then flashed their mother standing on a stool behind the pulpit. Their mother's voice reverberated out.
"What my son did was reckless. I'm really sorry if he scared anyone. But I can assure he didn't intend to and he won't do so in the future."
Jack let out a frustrated, embarrassed groan; sinking down the armchair he's sitting on. He felt like a wimp who's hiding behind his mother's skirts.
"I should have been there," he muttered.
The newscaster's voice could be heard again when the video showed their mother being ushered to a car. Jack scowled at their father's hand on her shoulder.
"Rhoda Rabbit was an A-list toon star of the mid-1940s before disappearing from Hollywood. Fans of the Baby Mina show ask, why did Rhoda left? And who are the young man and the doe officially? Before her estimated disappearance, there have been rumors circulating-"
"Okay! That's enough TV for today," their Aunt Mina said, ambling on her baby fat legs to plug off the appliance.
Rhoda stood up and began arranging the today's newspapers into a neat pile with Rose helping her. The pages around her were full of ridiculous headlines.
SON SUCKERPUNCH!
KRUPNIK'S KIDS?!
RABBIT-EARED RED HOT JACK FROST: THE PRODIGAL SON?
CROSSBREED CREATION: HUMANOID-RABBIT OF-
Rose didn't bother to read the rest of the ridiculous headline. She ice-glared the paper until it was nothing but soggy bits. How dare they! Stooping so low to have their tabloids bought!
Behind the fuming Rose, Rhoda gave a once-over to another newspaper.
The front page exploded with photos of Jack giving Jesse a punch, Jack glaring coldly at the cameras and a blinded Rose blocking the cameras.
Rhoda smiled. Even when unintentionally caught on camera, her daughter still looked beautiful.
Rose hastily crumpled the picture comparing their parents' anatomy to theirs. Their mother dumped it all into the wastebasket.
"Well," Rhoda said, letting herself fall on the couch before giving them all a weary grin. "That was over."
Rose nodded, still seething. Calling Jack with inter-breeding terms. No wonder their Maman left Hollywood! Racist, invasive, judgmental-
She took a deep breath, composing herself.
"Ya think you should all do some family interview to make them go away?" Mina asked.
Rhoda shook her head. "Let them wait. Jack? Are you okay over there?"
Jack was still withered on the armchair and in one of his rarest moments, silent. Heavily, slowly, he stood up. With the very air around him drenching with something akin to regret, he plodded slowly towards Rhoda, before kneeling in front of her, resting his arms and his head on his lap.
"E suis vraiment désolé, je suis navré…."
Rose stared at him. She had always scoffed at his overprotectiveness, marking it off as being ridiculously gallant. But was Jack more mature that he lets it on?
"It should have been my consequences, not yours," he continued.
Rhoda stroke his ears. "Get here in the couch, Jack. You two, Rose, Mina."
"Don't order me around my own house, rabbit," Mina grumbled but nevertheless sat beside Rose.
Rhoda stretched her arms until she's has one arm around Jack's shoulders and the other arm around Rose and Mina.
"We're family, Jack. We're all in this together."
Jack was beginning to smile…
"Including your father."
What tear was coming out from the corner of his eyes, instantly shied back in.
France, 1955
Jack's ears drooped down so low, he looked like a basset hound –the saddest one at that.
Rhoda looked at the spaghetti that her eight-year-old had managed to splatter all over the room.
"I messed up again, didn't I?"
He flinched when his mother turned to her but she just grinned.
"Jack, with messes, you just learn how not to do 'em!"
He gave her a weak, hopeful smile when he started to realize she wasn't mad at her. "Really?"
"Yup and how to clean them up," Rhoda said, giving him a mop.
Jack groaned.
"Don't worry, Jack. I'll help ya! That's what Mamans do."
The Nut Bar, 1962, Day 7 in Hollywood
"Table reserved for Ms. Rose Rabbit and Mr. Jesse Krupnik?" Rhoda asked the maître d'.
Rose adjusted her jacket nervously. She wished Jack was here. Jack was the icebreaker with new people, making anyone feel at ease with his humor.
But then he did assault their father.
What would she call him? Papa? Father? Dad? Mr. Krupnik?
Their mother held her hand and tugged her along. She took a deep breath. She could do this.
But still, she wished Jack was here.
Rhoda pushed a door open to a more private section. Rose stole a glance at their surroundings. The ceiling itself was already a work of art, lit up by a sparkling chandelier. Velvet curtains adorn the windows while crystal glasses and exotic flowers on vases were placed on every table.
Their father must have lived well to afford meeting here.
"Jesse…"
She froze, her gut clenching when she finally trained her eyes back to the front. A man with emerald eyes were already seated on one of the tables, his hair as red as hers.
"This is Rose."
He gave her a small smile. "Hello, Rose."
She matched his and nodded. "Hello… father."
Rhoda looked at each of them in turn. "Have fun, dear," she kissed her daughter before giving a nod to Jesse and walking away.
Rose sat herself on the other end of the table. Play it cool, Rose.
"How are you?"
She looked up at his words. "I'm good… father."
"How is Jack?"
She kept her face neutral. "He's doing well."
Their father raised his brows, getting the message.
ToonTown, 1946
Whenever Jesse would introduce his girlfriend, people would imagine a beautiful woman, probably a model or a Hollywood movie actress who would match his allure.
They most certainly didn't expect a bouncing, happy bunny that even though cute; was still a furry, long-eared lagomorph.
Mina's Manor, ToonTown, 1962, Day 6 in Hollywood
He should have come with her.
What if that guy became a total prick to Rose? Who's going to defend her?
Jack sat with his arms wrapped around his legs inside his dim room. He shook his head. He didn't deserve to go outside.
"Jack?"
"Maman?"
There was knocking and Jack reluctantly opened the door.
"Do you want to come with me to ToonTown?"
Jack shook his head.
"Are you punishing yourself for what I did?" Rhoda asked, taking note of the closed curtains and dim room.
Jack didn't answer. She put her hands on her hips and put on her most authoritative voice.
"Then I punish you by coming with me to ToonTown!"
His lips still felt too heavy to smile but they twitched. "I thought I should stay low until everything's cooled down."
She grinned. "Not if we're in very high places. But this time only."
ToonTown, 1946
Whenever Rhoda would introduce her boyfriend, they were expecting another rabbit –or a clown. It just seemed to suit her better.
The Nut Bar, 1962, Day 7 in Hollywood
"You mean the founder can be fired by his own company?"
Jesse nodded.
"The shareholders of the company –the ones that finance have representatives inside the company. They're the board of directors. If they think the founder isn't doing well, he can get ousted."
"So which shareholder do you represent, father?"
"Ms. Martha Acme."
There was a silence.
"Oh."
Rose took the time to pick on her salad. She had pretty much sidestepped questions that would lead to their state of living. They pretty much were lower-middle class. But she never foresaw that question leading to another subject she'd rather avoid.
She cleared her throat. "Maman told me you're a singer."
"Was," their father corrected. "I have no desire to sing anymore."
Her eyes widened. Maman told them their father loved singing. Music, to him, was life.
"I love singing," she said quietly, looking down at her salad. "When I sing, the air suddenly has colors, there was suddenly a world that I can reach, and I get this feeling that everything feels more-" she mentally slapped herself, wondering why she's sharing this so early.
"Alive," he continued for her.
She looked up, surprised. Behind her, her tail swished happily. "Yes."
"Jack would usually play the instruments and I would sing," she rolled her eyes but her lips were turned up in a smile. "But with his energy, he's more at home with an African drum."
Emerald eyes smiled at her. "That sounds rather familiar."
France, 1960
Long fingers played the keys, his face somber.
C'est une chanson qui nous ressemble. (This song is like us.)
Toi, tu m'aimais et je t'aimais (You used to love me and I used to love you)
Rose glided across the stage, her face solemn as she crooned. She wrapped her arms around herself, looking up as though remembering happier days.
"Et nous vivions tous les deux ensemble, (And we used to live together,)
Toi qui m'aimais, moi qui t'aimais. (You loving me, me loving you.)"
Jack continued to play, trailing after her voice, blending and wrapping notes with her song like dancing lovers.
"Mais la vie sépare ceux qui s'aiment, (But life separates lovers,)
Tout doucement, sans faire de bruit (Pretty slowly, noiselessly,)"
She spread her arms, her voice colored with the pain of what-could-have-been.
"Et la mer efface sur le sable (And the sea erases on the sand)
les pas des amants désunis. (The separated lovers' footprints)"
Rose bowed her head, the notes lingering in the air.
Her ear twitched when the piano suddenly sprung to life with fast tempo.
"C'mon, baby! Let's do the twist!
Like we did last summer, yeeeeeaah!"
Jack twisted inside his seat, his fingers flying over the keys. His ears bobbed in time of the music as Rose stared at him.
"Let's do the twist! Like we did last year!"
Rose opened her mouth to chastise but then her mother slid to the stage and into the piano's side.
"Heeee, and round and round and up and down we go again!"
Jack beamed, his fingers still hitting the keys in tandem.
"Yeah, Maman!"
They both sang together, Rhoda bouncing to the beat.
"Oh, baby, make me know you love me sooooo!"
Something cracked under Rose's strict demeanor. Jack and Rhoda perked happily when they hear a familiar voice join in.
"Twist again,
Like we did last summer!"
Rhoda grabbed Rose's hand and twirled her as they all sang.
"Come on, let's twist again,
Like we did last year!"
Rose laughed as their mother twisted her around and they kicked their feet in time with the music.
"Come on, let's twist again,
Twistin' time is heeeere!"
Jack mashed the keys in a barrage of notes just in time that Rhoda twirled her daughter again into a finishing pose.
ToonTown, 1962, Day 7 in Hollywood
"Is that a bird? A plane?"
"Geezus, Larry! You need glasses."
Jack laughed unmindful of the people below. He ran the length of the building's roof before shooting for the sky. He opened his arms to the rush of air fluttering his ears and jacket.
This. Is. Freedom!
His hand shot out to grab on to a billboard, swinging himself through it.
"Easy, Jack," their mother simply said, loping beside him with ease.
He landed on a narrow ledge and ran the whole length, feeling his body struggle for speed and balance.
He leapt!
Landing on concrete roof, he looked up to the view before him, his heart still pounding in his ears.
ToonTown –a whole different terrain for him to explore.
Rhoda landed nimbly beside him. She had hoped the change of view would distract him from his grudge. Apparently, it seems to be working.
Jack turned to her, their rabbit ears blowing with the wind.
"Remember how I used to be afraid of heights?"
France, 1952
"AAAAUUUGHH!"
How five-year-old Jack managed to end up in the top of the Eiffel Tower and fall off it was anybody's guess.
"AAAAAAAA-"
"JAAAACCKK!"
He never noticed the sky exploded with a rainbow blossom of balloons.
"-AAAUUGH –OOF!"
"Gotcha!"
Jack opened his eyes when he felt himself stop falling. The first thing he saw was the relieved expression of Maman's face. The second thing he saw was balloons by a hundred or more, their strings tied on Rhoda's waist.
Rose clasped his forearm, held in Rhoda's other arm.
"Rose!" Jack exclaimed. He stole a glance below and with a squeak, buried his face in their mother's chest.
"Don't look down, Jack," their mother gently said. "Look up."
It took a few moments but when he finally did, it stole his breath away.
"It's beautiful, Jack," Rose said, as they gently float in the sky.
"Yes it is," their mother agreed.
Then Rhoda sang while they look out to the world before them.
"Jack and Rose,
For you, the whole world, I will oppose
It's you and you and me against the world
Two kits and a rabbit girl"
Rose stared in wonder, the voice of their mother sweet and clear. It sounded like a lullaby and a love song curled together beautifully like a treble clef.
"You are my all and everything I have is yours
My love for you cannot be match by any force
Your happiness is mine –it simply glows.
Je t'aime, Jack and Rose."
Jack's face scrunched up in concern after a moment's pulse.
"Why are you crying, Maman?"
Rhoda used her rabbit ear to wipe her eyes. "I just got a dirt on my eye, Jack. Nothing more."
ToonTown, 1962, Day 7 in Hollywood
Unnoticed by them, a pair of binoculars glinted in the sunlight inside a dark limo. Dark eyes squinted, watching mother and son on the top of the building.
Rhoda suddenly shuddered.
"Something wrong, Maman?"Jack asked.
She shook her head. "Nothing. Let's go."
End of Chapter 4