Paris, 1960
She amuses him too much.
"L-like a date?!"
Her ears stiffen into exclamation points along with her surprise.
"I'm too old for that stuff," she squeaked.
Antoine hid a smirk, watching her fluster and babble. Toons are toons. But even the rabbit is childlike for full-grown inks.
"I- I mean, I'm too busy for that, Antoine! With my job and my kids and Jack! I don't even want to know what recklessness he will do-"
Please, her son doesn't have a thing to worry about. He's a gentleman… more or less.
Her arms gestured a storm, they were starting to blur along with her prattle.
"And I'm a natural disaster! You'll get hurt if you get too-"
Her arm flung to him and he caught it before it could throw him out of the balcony.
"You were saying?" he asked, holding her hand with the air of simply resting his elbows on the balcony's edge.
She carefully retracted her hand. He gave an inward chuckle when she started tweedling with her two fingers together.
"I'm just really not into dating right now," she awkwardly finished.
And ever, he could tell. For someone who is a single mother of two, she sure acts like she never had a lover. For someone who is a single mother of two, once bitten is twice shy. Briefly he wondered what happened with the father of her children.
He shrugged. "If that is so, mon ami."
She looked at him brightly. "But we can be friends, you can bet on it!"
He remembered moving in his apartment for the first time. A fox of his skills can take him almost anywhere. A different place to rent is just part of the routine. A rabbit bursting into his pad giving him a warming party was not.
Her eyes furrowed. "Don't look at me like that. I never know what you're thinking."
He could never believe the bubbly doe was the mom of his three surprise visitors, not until she gave the "mother look" on the strange young humanoid for scoffing at something.
A laugh escaped from her lips as she determinedly look over the village, rubbing her arm.
"Why did you even asked me?"
She was so… contradicting. A girl carrying a woman's weight, dealing with a woman's loss. Still sweet and chirpy despite.
He likes his women mature. Witty. Provocative and upfront. Naïve, sweet girls take too much work. That's why he likes them tough and independent.
Yet…
He shrugged, following her gaze.
"I like strong women."
In the corner of his eye, he saw her look down... almost sadly.
"I know strong women, Antoine. I'm not like them."
"A different kind of strong then," he replied.
He saw her look up in surprise and Antoine took the chance to take her hand and kissed it, wanting to let her know what he sees in her.
Because some people are just too stubborn to go wrong.
Mina's Manor, 1962
It's like being in the receiving end of Jesse's cold glaze –by the double.
Leroy shifted uncomfortably. There was nothing rude at the way the twins were looking at him- especially the girl. It was unassuming and yet… penetrating.
"Spill yer guts, buddy. I'm not really in the mood for company," the mistress of the manor said, sitting on the Master's chair with her lounging robe trailing below her.
He tried not to gulp. Mina's temper was infamous to those who work in Hollywood.
"What do you have to speak of, Mr. Hyena?" the doe asked softly, as soft as stepping on poison ivy, that is.
"It's- it's actually for Rhoda," he said nervously, his fingers clasped together to prevent them from twiddling.
"If it concerns our Maman, it concerns us," the young man that looks like Jesse said brusquely.
The Baby Mina calmly smoked a cigarette, leaning back on the Master armchair with the cigarette holder between chubby fingers. "Look, pal. Rhoda's not here. So if you got something to say," Her baby blue eyes glared. "Say it."
This time, Leroy closed his eyes, thought of Jesse, and spoke.
"Jesse did cheat on Rhoda."
"Out."
"W-w-wait!" Leroy protested, waving his arms when Jack was about to stride forward. "There's more than that!"
Sensing that no one is going to rip him into shreds, he took a deep breathe. "After Rhoda left, the better side of him also left."
The baby Mina scowled. The twins' looks was unreadable. "After Rhoda left, he came to me… and he told me everything."
ToonTown, 1946
Jesse stepped outside The-Ink-and-Paint Club, his coat folded in his arm. The door slammed firmly behind him by the toon gorilla bouncer.
"Krupnik."
He looked up to see a silhouette of a finely dressed gentleman with a suitcase. Even in the dark alley, the tip and head of his cane glinted silver in the moonlight.
"Poppins." What's Mina's butler doing in the human city at this time?
"I've resigned."
"In the middle of the night?"
"The winds don't wait."
Jesse nodded as though that made sense. Then Poppins spoke.
"You're going to hurt her someday."
He felt himself sucked in air and his muscles tensed at his words.
"Who?" but then he already know the answer.
"The company you tend to attract, Jesse, can be quite obsessive about you."
Jesse gritted his teeth. So much for sentimental goodbyes, Pops was going away with a shiner if he keeps along to that vein. "I can pro-"
Poppins continued on as though he hadn't spoken. "You see her as a pure soul. But you?"
Mina didn't have to order him to get a background check on the male toon. Jesse's ToonTown registration started the same time the shady side of toon showbiz had boomed in the 1920s before it was loosely banned. If he had been drawn for just singing entertainment, Poppins doubt it.
"You see yourself tainted. Someone who had seen too much. Probably been too much."
Jesse was too surprise to even glare at him. Poppins was talking in that I-know-better-than-you manner but his voice was bordering to sympathetic.
"And you're going to sacrifice anything and everything you've got just for her. Because you don't think you're worth it."
Poppins' dark eyes shone at him in the night. "And that's what's going to hurt her."
The wind whistled by, flapping their suit jackets. Poppins twirled his cane over his head. His feet lifted off the ground and the wind carried him away like a floating dandelion seed.
Jesse had disregarded his words after. He wouldn't let anything hurt Rhoda.
1962, Day 10 in Hollywood.
"Are you sure about this?" the fox whispered, tying her back to her chair.
Before she could answer, the door slammed open. A burly figure filled the view outside, before he stepped in, crouching momentarily below the doorway.
"Ah, Mr. Hornose. I see you're awake," Antoine said with a charming grin.
Her fur fluff reactively at the menacing scowl on the rhino's face. Two large pieces of tape were placed as an "X" on top of a very prominent crack on his horn.
In one swift movement, he yanked her up with her ears, chair and all.
"I don't like you," he simply said. Rhoda can only yelp when he proceeded to step out of the room and into the interior of the house with her in tow. Crashing and yelling echoed.
Antoine pushed passed the gorilla henchmen and hurriedly followed his boss. The sight of a rhino trying to pull a chair-tied rabbit off a chandelier greeted his eyes.
"This is no way to treat a lady!" she yelled, her legs wrapped around the ceiling fixture for dear life.
"You're not a lady!" he roared, pointing at his cracked horn.
"Perhaps I could carry the guest to our client instead," Antoine suggested, smoothly landing on his boss' broad shouldars, and plucking Rhoda off both rhino and chandelier, before anyone else could blink.
Mr. Hornose snorted with a tug on his business suit. "Fine."
Rhoda began to squirm against the ropes and chair, "You know I can just walk." She sighed in resignation when the fox carried her easily like a throw pillow.
Yellow glove hands worried the toon-proof ropes around her. Is this really a good idea? She do understand why their client would want to take her by force.
"Madam has been expecting you," a human butler said, raising his brows as though confirming the ruckus earlier.
Mr. Hornose simply grunted. Rhoda looked down at the ornate carpeted floor, feeling like she swallowed a boulder. She wanted to face her. She really does.
But just the very memory…
Her eyes clenched shut. This is a bad idea. Look what happened when she met Jesse again! Why would she even-
Antoine gently settled her chair on the floor. Reluctantly, slowly and almost painfully, Rhoda looked up.
She gasped.
"It's been a long time," the elderly woman said.
A lot of people would expect anger. A lot of people would expect her to scream, to rage at the woman in front of her for taking a husband away.
But Rhoda could only stare. Blue and green veins crawled in the woman's liver-spotted and translucent skin. Her hair was sparse and brittling with wrinkles etched on her face. The green elegant nightgown she was wearing was stretched from her expanded tummy and drooping breasts. Her arms were thick but hanging in fat, with her fingers held stiffly, swollen in some joints.
"It's rude to stare, you know."
Rhoda blinked, feeling herself gulp. She's familiar with human aging. Seeing her human friends age was scary. The way they couldn't catch up when they could before. The way they hurt when they don't hurt there before. The way they left when they retire. And years later…
"What happened to you?" was all Rhoda could ask.
A lot of women would pay a bucktooth just to get a piece of the woman who stole their spouse. But as far as Rhoda was concerned, she never thought about Acme. Whoever was the woman who helped ruin their marriage, didn't matter. Their failed marriage is between her and Jesse, and it had been Jesse's choice to be unfaithful.
The old woman snorted. "Old age. But it's better than having a piano land on me." She glanced at Mr. Hornose and Antoine from her bed. "Well, what are you waiting for? Untie her, she's a guest."
Rhoda grimaced, looking down. What was Ms. Acme playing at?
"Then you two can leave," she heard her say.
She could feel Antoine squeeze her hand reassuringly while untying her. The door clicked close, leaving her with the now old woman.
"What do you want?" she asked tiredly.
Acme scoffed. "No righteous anger? You got every right to be."
Rhoda did not respond. If Acme was trying to snag her, it's not going to work.
"You don't have to play the sweet persona every time, you know. Do you see a camera here? No."
The rabbit didn't respond.
Acme sighed. "You're not the only one who's tired, Rhoda. Fifteen years of 'fine living' can take a toll on bodies made of clay."
The rabbit kept looking down on her oriental carpet.
"It has been fifteen years, isn't it? I know you're a dumb blonde for a redhead. But I never expect you're dumb enough to run away at a couple of photos."
That made Rhoda looked up. If she was just going to insult her, she could always leave, "Why did you brought me here?"
"Jesse."
"Jesse and I are over. You have nothing to worry about," Rhoda said, unable to keep the bite in her words.
Acme shook her head sadly. "What you see and feel isn't the only reality, you silly rabbit."
Her clawed fingers stiffly flexed and extended. "Your husband did came on to me. But not at his own will."
Mina's Manor, 1962
"When your father came to my home, he was… beyond sad," Leroy said, gazing at his shoes but seeing a void in emerald eyes. "Like something was taken from him."
He shook his head. "Your father is not the most openhearted person. But at his state, he broke."
Acme's Manor, 1962, Day 10 in Hollywood
"Fifteen years ago, contractors had been after my land where I let ToonTown reside. Everyone is always after their best interests, RK Maroon included."
Rhoda straightened at the name. Mrs. Maroon was a philanthropist for toons.
Acme laughed, a dry cough, more like. "You think Maroon is looking out for the toons? She may think so."
Rhoda could almost hear Mina's voice. "You think so, rabbit? Look around you, it's always down to the money!"
Mina's Manor, 1962
Leroy took a deep breath. "Your mother was at the top of being an A-list toon star at that time. Getting commercial roles, movie roles, she was in demand! At that time, there had been talks about the land Where ToonTown was in."
Rose looked up, feeling Jack's gaze. He was frowning in question but Rose shook her head and looked back at the strange man.
"Yeah, I know about that," Baby Mina said. "But Martha Acme let the toons inherit it."
Leroy shook his head. "But the others didn't, Acme kept her will too well before. Too well, that even her friend and neighbor, RK Maroon, didn't know it."
"And what's our ex-boss got to do with this?"
Rose looked at Baby Mina. "Who's RK Maroon?"
Acme's Manor, 1962, Day 10 in Hollywood
"My infatuation in your husband was infamous," Acme said, a wry smirk on her cracked lips. "And RK Maroon planned to use it against me."
Yellow gloved hands clutched the edge of her seat. She knew they're going into a very taboo subject.
"Inkwell, they call the man who fucks toons. But what about the women? Pen-peddlers perhaps?" Acme laughed. "Whatever the case, Tooniphiles cause more of a scandal than a cock in a manhole. So I flirted around the edges."
She ignored the way Rhoda wouldn't look at her. She's an old woman with sand trickling down the bottom of the hourglass, she could say whatever she wants.
"But one night, Jesse decided to accompany me after his performance. And the next and the next." She shook her head. "I was such a fool."
Mina's Manor, 1962
"RK Maroon told him to get closer to Martha Acme," Leroy said, very aware of their eyes trained on him. "And threatened to fire Rhoda if he won't. Based on Rhoda's contract, her being on-demand depended on her company. So Jesse did."
Mina grimaced as Leroy looked at her pleadingly. She knew he wanted her to stop him from continuing. She glanced at Jack and Rose, not sure if this was something they should hear about their father.
"Maroon needed something to threaten Acme with. But she also needed to cover her tracks."
Acme's Manor, 1962, Day 10 in Hollywood
"I really thought I was getting the happy ending," Acme said sourly. "Even at that age, I could still be so flighty. Can you blame me? There were stories before of men leaving their first wives and living happily with the next. And I got the financial statement to prove that we could."
Acme grimaced, reflecting on her own words. "It sounds ugly but it's true anyway."
"But one night, in my own factory, RK Maroon came to me and shown me pictures of Jesse and I playing patty-cake."
Acme looked ahead, folding her withered hands on her lap. "Maroon used the photos to blackmail me. But she didn't need to. I had already signed my land to the toons in my will. But I humored her just the same."
She stole a glance at the rabbit. "You know about those, didn't you?"
Rhoda didn't answer.
"Of course you do, Maroon also need to hide her tracks. She wanted to get rid of Jesse through you."
Mina's Manor, 1962
"So she hired a detective," Leroy said. "The night she instructed Jesse to… stage the evidence, she also instructed a detective to investigate on him."
He ran a hand through his scraggly hair. "Your father couldn't bear to go home after… the staging. So he stayed with me. But when he finally did came back. Rhoda was gone. He told me, she left a letter saying she saw those photos."
"Maroon expected her to cut all ties from him with such solid evidence. Who would believe Jesse even if he told the truth? Maroon had always shown so much good will to toons. But instead, Rhoda left."
The twins gave each other the briefest glance, knowing the answer why.
"And Jesse stayed," Leroy continued, "Ever since then, Jesse was bent on paying Maroon back."
Acme's Manor, 1962, Day 10 in Hollywood
"I knew I was crazy when homicide didn't even faze my joy," Acme said. "But when I heard that you were gone, I thought Jesse was free from you." She laughed loudly, then coughed. "But he didn't appear until a week later."
"That's when he told me everything," she continued, "But truth wasn't the only thing he told me."
"I know you wanted something more from me," Jesse said. "But I can't."
Acme stared at him, her mouth agape.
"I'm sorry for leading you on. But I can only offer you friendship…" his emerald eye pierced through her soul. "And profit."
"It turns out, Jesse is an insider of Maroon Studios. He knew of Wallace's ambition to be the head. All he needed is an opportunity." She shrugged. "What can I say? I love the game of monopoly. It took a few short years before I got Maroon Cartoon Studios. It's their job to run it and mine to own it."
Acme shifted in her pillows. "But truth be told, I don't need the extra money. I just wanted him to be close."
Mina's Manor, 1962
"After becoming one of the board directors, Jesse's focus was on giving toons better opportunities." Leroy breathe, feeling a strange weight coming off of him. "Truth be told, it was a positive way of dealing with his loss. Although he might have gained enemies on the way."
He looked up determinedly. "I don't care if y'all believe me or not. But I have to find Rhoda."
The doorbell rang. Jack got up and rushed. Rose followed. Praying it's their Maman, Jack opened the door.
"Oh hello, Jesse Junior," a human in a trenchcoat said. Rose blinked, recognizing her face in one of the photos in the detectives' office. "I'd like to have my picture back."
Acme's Manor, 1962, Day 10 in Hollywood
"I had been such a fool," Acme said. "Fifteen years and it seems like Jesse didn't want to be with anyone else again."
She looked at the rabbit dryly. "But then you came back."
"I've been friends with Jesse for such a long time, I know when something got him even if he won't show it. I don't know what he sees in you."
Rhoda stared at her. "Why are you telling me all of this?"
Acme hacked out a laugh. "At least you understand that I'm not doing this since it's the right thing to do. I'm just doing this for him. And all this time, I thought you're too stupid to even sin."
Mina's Manor, 1962
Rose's hand instantly swoop down on Jack's arm before he reacted… too much.
She blinked. "What photo?"
The detective folded her arms. "Come now, don't play innocent. I got your footprint casts out of the dust on my floor." Contrary to popular belief, Edna is a slob for good reasons.
Jack studied her. "Some footprints on the floor and you're turning on us?"
"The day someone broke into my office was the day you slugged your father," the detective said. "The photo now or I'll be forced to report you for breaking and entering."
"Proof first that we got your photo," Jack said, folding his arms this time.
"Foot prints and a coincidental circumstance aren't enough to point your fingers at us," Rose said, "And even if we do got your photo, what do you think will happen to it when you go and report us?"
The detective regarded the two.
Acme's Manor, 1962, Day 10 in Hollywood
Rhoda looked down on her hands. "In all those years…"
"I had a stroke at least thrice these fifteen years. Even with a doctor and caretakers, who knows when will the next one will come?" Acme said. "When I'm gone, Jesse would still be here… and Jesse needs to be free, if not happy."
The old woman looked at her, the bitter crass she had been directing at her, gone. "Now that you know the truth, what are you going to do about it?"
"You were lonely," Rhoda simply stated. She looked at this woman. The woman that had been involved. Rich. But alone.
"This isn't about me, bozo," Acme replied impatiently.
"I..." the rabbit hesitated. She wished she could say something to make her feel better. Acme wanted a companion for life. But it seems Jesse stayed but not as she wanted.
But Rhoda wasn't in the position to ease her frustrations. Not in a situation like this.
Valiant and Valiant Private Investigators Office, 1962, Day 10 in Hollywood
"I know I agreed to an exchange," Edna grumbled. "But do they also have to come along?"
"I'm their caretaker when their mom's not here, lady!" Aunt Mina growled.
"And I'm Jesse's friend," Leroy said bravely under Edna's scrutinizing glare.
Edna rolled her eyes and proceeded inside her office. "You two did a great job rooting out your father's file. But you missed a follow-up of that case."
She turned to her proudly organized file cabinet and plucked a folder out.
"Show me the photo first."
A decision was made at the twins' brief glance. Rose held up the photo, face up.
"Before we give it to you, let us inspect the folder."
Edna frowned but passed it nonetheless. It was musty from age, the typewritten ink faded, with only three papers in it.
August 30, 1950. Jesse Krupnik came to the office asking for the photos taken in Case #13, 1947. Mr. Krupnik also said RK Maroon set up the whole thing for blackmail against Martha Acme. Paid in full upon agreement. One kept for safekeeping.
Below it was the details of the check. Rose turned the page, lazily scribbled but the ink stronger than the last.
June 6, 1953, RK Maroon came in the office demanding to buy the photos of Jesse and Martha Acme. Maroon is refused.
Below it are newspaper clippings announcing Acme's takeover to Maroon Cartoon Studios, Maroon being ousted and the surprise of having the first ever toon board director, Jesse Krupnik.
November 12, 1953, RK Maroon came again with a higher price. Denied.
February 18, 1954, RK Maroon came again. Denied. Maroon made threats.
There were more notes of dates when Maroon came back but was again refused. The last one said that Maroon asked her to investigate on Jesse again but Edna refused.
Aunt Mina took it and scrutinized it herself. Behind her, Leroy read over her shoulder.
Jack glanced at Rose and he knew she was confused. Leroy and the detective are coincidentally saying the same thing at the same time.
"Mr. Hyena, do you know that woman?"
Leroy looked up, his eyes giving a once-over to the detective before looking back at him. "She's the famous toon detective."
"What about you, Miss Valiant? Do you know this guy?"
The detective looked at him questioningly before shaking her head.
Rose caught Jack look, confirming that he could sense they're telling the truth. But it wasn't enough.
"The photo now."
"Not so fast."
They turned to look at Aunt Mina. "They will return it. But nobody said when."
Rose nodded. "We thank you all for taking the time to talk. But we need to speak to our father first."
Edna's mouth formed a thin line. What else can she do?
ToonTown, 1962, Day 10 in Hollywood
People shriek as a blur zoomed, billowing dust in her wake.
It was too much, it was just all too much.
She sped past the revolving doors of the high-rise tower, ignored the elevators and zoomed up to the 21st floor, pushing the door buzzer in a blink.
No answer.
She sped down again and out into the road.
Where could he be? Where could he be?
The blur turned three hundred sixty degrees before turning right.
She zoomed past the singing trees and dancing flowers.
Past the dark tunnel.
And out to the human town.
Ignoring the Studios' gates, she bolted over the walls and looked determinedly at the main office.
She sprinted through the fire escape.
Her hands splayed across the glass, her feet screeching into a halt at the sight of a shocked Jesse who was looking out of his office window.
She flung the window open with the most determined but weary eyes Jesse had ever seen in her.
"Take us to your suite. Now."
Genderbend Movieverse, 1947
Edna wiped her bloodied lip before manipulating the control to lower their crane. Lady Doom dead, the Toon Patrol out, and the giant Dip Machine stopped; it was time to rescue those two.
"Jinkies, Edna!" Rhoda said, leaping up to hug her as soon as Edna untied her, "For a moment I thought we're going to get buttered!"
Edna then untied Jesse next.
"Thanks," he said, dropping down on the ground.
He straightened up to find Rhoda in front of him. She looked up to him with a teary-eyed smile.
"Jesse."
Edna flinched at the sound of someone having debilitating dyspepsia or a bloody scream. Rhoda flunng herself at him and Jesse catches her around the waist just in time. She begun to thump him hard in the chest with both fists.
"Don't you ever do something that stupid again, you… you misguided martyr! You could have told me about Maroon! We could have done something about it together! You're a-"
That's beating him into a bloody pulp? Edna thought watching them. She decided to check the Dip Machine of Death to give them some privacy. Of course, it didn't stop her from hearing Rhoda or the pounding she's giving with every word she's saying.
"I thought you were a –I thought you have –Eaarrgh! I'm so mad at you I can divorce you right –" she makes a muffled gasp.
Edna turned around to see Jesse kissing Rhoda like there's no tomorrow. She shook her head, turning around again.
Rhoda let him kiss her before she gently pushed him away with a hand on his chest.
"You're still sleeping on the couch tonight," she said with that cute angry pout before the toons came in to the scene of the crime.
ToonTown, 1962, Day 10 in Hollywood
"Why did you do it?"
Jesse blinked. After driving them back to the high-rise tower, Rhoda led him on top of the building. She turned to look at him, her bunny ears swishing in the wind.
"Why were you with Acme that night in those photos?"
He bowed his head. Would she even believe him if he told her?
"RK Maroon."
He sighed. "She wanted to make sure Martha will give her land to ToonTown. Maroon knew she was my biggest fan. She told me if I won't do it, she'd fire you."
There was silence. When Jesse looked up, Rhoda was staring at him, her arms drooped uselessly at her sides along with her jaw.
"That's it?!"
Jesse nodded, there was an emotion swelling up in her, to what and whom particularly, he wasn't sure yet.
"You could have told me about that! I would have quit before I would let someone use you!"
Rhoda was all out yelling, she was red in the face. This was the passion hiding behind the sweet rabbit lady. Briefly, he saw Jack in her.
"You were in a top of your career-"
"Shut up!"
Rhoda bit her trembling lip, tears threatening to spill. "Do you think I had cared about that more than you?"
She furiously wiped off her tears with a bunny ear. "I… I wasn't there to notice. I'm so stupid. I swore you'd never be used again, Jesse… and I wasn't there… I…" She yanked both ears over her eyes, her shoulders shaking.
Large, warm hands took her by the arms and Jesse held her close. She struggled, but he stubbornly held on, before she finally gave up.
When her sobbing stopped, she firmly pushed herself off him, wrapping her arms around herself. "Why did you let yourself be used, Jesse? I don't want that to happen to you again. All this time, I thought…"
She knew of his past. He told her once, blankly, simply, like it happened to another person. To say that she had been horrified was lacking.
Maybe it has been the best that they were separated. Maybe this way, Jesse wouldn't allow himself to be used to protect others.
"You're worth more than that, can't you see it?" Rhoda asked quietly.
Jesse stared at her back that she had turned on him, her arms wrapped around herself protectively.
He looked down. "I…"
They stood there in silence. The wind filling in the gap between them.
"I'm sorry."
The wind just sighed.
ToonTown, 1962, Day 10 in Hollywood
"Your mother isn't here yet and we're going to force your father to talk," Aunt Mina said. "I've already called the Loony Tunes to help in the search. I'll have my chauffeur drive me all around the city to look for her." She sighed, scratching her rotund baby tummy. "Think you can handle your father?"
Rose nodded, holding the paper with their father's address on it. Jack shrugged, "Of course, we can."
Mina had no doubt that they could. They weren't cowed easily by the detective's threat. Plus, Jesse would be more loose around his children, especially Rose.
"I can just lead them there," the strange man, Leroy said. "I called his office. His secretary said, he's not available in Acme Studios right now."
"Sure you can tag along," Aunt Mina replied. "But if they got so much as scratch, believe me, I can make you uglier."
Leroy just looked at her dryly, as though he got that all the time.
ToonTown, 1962, Day 10 in Hollywood
It seemed like hours had passed when Rhoda broke the silence.
"I could have confronted you about those photos before."
Jesse looked up, not sure if she had spoken.
"Maybe if I had, none of this would happen," she said, waving her hand to an invisible set of past events. "But I have to."
He remained silent, letting her speak.
"When I found out I was pregnant, it was the same night I saw those photos."
She looked up at the pink sky.
"Did you know that real-life rabbits mate for life?" Her finger reached out for her bunny ear cocked up on her head. "Turns out, we were also drawn that way."
"If I stayed in ToonTown, I'd end up like those rabbits with failed marriages: obsessed, desperate and mad enough to do the unspeakable."
Her legs curled to herself and she hugged her knees. "I would have risked it if I wasn't pregnant… But with Jack and Rose… they needed me more than I needed an explanation."
Rabbits mate for life? Does that mean… Jesse inwardly shook his head. He didn't dare ask.
They stayed there, a gap still in between, with only the wind as their other company.
"Now what?" Rhoda asked in no one in particular.
The door that lead downstairs slammed open.
"Maman!"
There was a blur before Rhoda collided unto Rose, hugging her tight. Then Jack scooped them up into a fierce hug, laughing in relief.
"Leroy?" Jesse said in surprise, seeing his friend follow after.
The ugly man smiled sheepishly. "I knew I'd find you here." He cleared his throat; looking at him, at them. At the reunited family.
"I'll... I'll wait downstairs."
"I'm so sorry you have to find it all like this! I'm such a terrible mother!" Rhoda cried, tears… as well as snot… gushing out.
Jesse silently lend her his hanky, unperturbed by the bodily fluids, while the twins comforted her.
They had talked for hours. Maroon, Acme, Valiant, the photos. The sun had set and the bags under Maman's eyes were growing darker from exhaustion.
"Maman, you need to rest," Rose said, rubbing her back.
Rhoda blew her nose with a trumpet blast of an elephant.
"No Rose, there's one last thing to do."
Valiant and Valiant Private Investigators Office, 1962, Day 10 in Hollywood
"Rhoda Rabbit, been a long time," the detective said, opening her door.
"I'm here to bring back the photo," the rabbit said, stepping in before Edna could say anything. She paused.
"Jack, Rose. I told you to wait outside with your father," she called out.
Edna could only roll her eyes when Jack dropped down the ceiling with Rose on his back.
"Sorry," Rose said quietly.
Rhoda regarded them with a tired smile. "Come in, anyway. I know you two are going to try to pry."
"All I want is what's mine," Edna muttered, closing the door. "Where is it?"
"This belongs to you." Rhoda held up the photo.
And she flicked open a lighter.
Jack and Rose's breathe hitched. Ever since they told Maman of the exchange, this was not what they were expecting.
But the detective leaned back, unimpressed. "Really? You could use that to divorce him, you know."
The twins froze, bracing themselves. She was right. After everything that had happened. Too much damage had been done already.
The detective peered at their mother's face, asking the question resonating in their heads. "Do you still want to?"
"I don't know," Rhoda simply said. "But this photo has done enough."
With that she set it on fire and threw it in the bin.
Jack and Rose tensed, wondering what the legendary detective would do next. But the detective simply snorted.
"That's that. Now excuse me while I make my report."
She showed them to the door.
"That's it?" Jack blurted. This crazy lady just went through all the trouble just to let it go like that?
Rose frowned at her in suspicion.
The detective scowled at them impatiently. "No one steals from the detective. At least I know what happened to it. Now out! I don't take toon cases anymore."
Jack resisted the urge to stick his tongue at her as they filed out.
"Oh and Rhoda?"
Rhoda looked back. Edna hesitated. The rabbit might have forgotten already but Edna doesn't forget an act of kindness.
Even if it was fifteen years ago.
"Thank you," she said, before shutting the door.
Jesse and Leroy waited by the car, outside the office building. Footsteps were heard and they turned around.
"What happened to Rhoda?" Leroy asked anxiously.
Jack was carrying their mother as she snore softly against his chest.
"I think everything took a toll on her," Rose said quietly, feeling their mother's forehead. She caught Jack's eye. When Maman's exhausted, they have a standard routine: take charge.
"I'll look for a pay phone," Rose said, already striding away.
"Hey wait! A lady shouldn't be alone at this time of night!" Leroy said worriedly, following her.
"Wait-" Jack began to step forward too, but then remembered he got Maman in his arms.
There was an awkward silence as he realized he was left alone with the man he punched across the face.
The man who was his... father.
He turned around, unable to look at his... father in the eye.
"I-I can find Aunt Mina and the others by travelling on top of those buildings," he said. "Maman... Maman needs to rest."
His father. He looked up as though finally seeing him for the first time.
"I..." he sighed, "I try to look after them but I'm not always enough." His jaw tightened, refusing to tear. Damn, he was tearing. Alright, he wouldn't let one drop.
"I get it. The desire to do anything. Anything." He looked up to his father's eyes again. "For her. For them."
Jesse said nothing but Jack knew he understood what he was trying to say.
"I'm sorry, too. Jack," he said softly.
He watched his son's mouth tightened.
Jack straightened up, inhaling. "I'll be going now."
Slowly, carefully, as though he was giving Jesse his mother in more ways than one, he placed Rhoda in their father's arms.
"Take care of her."
End of Chapter 6, Part 2