Chapter 68: Meeting

3 Months later

A few months after the case that was finally concluded with Mark and Caroline's trial, Judy and Nick were finally able to get on with themselves and their lives. Although they had enjoyed the police case, this one had been too drawn out and stressful for both of them. They spent a lot of time on this case at the time completely forgetting about themselves and their cases. Neither of them expected that a kidnap mystery could contain so many twists and turns! It was almost like a film - the further you got to the bottom of the case, the more intricate the puzzle became!

Over the course of 3 months, the relationship between Nick and Mark, in general in the Wilde family improved. Nick and his mother visited Mark very often and he had behaved much more calmly and considerately since his sentence. The fox also seemed to feel better after the case was over, no longer wanting to be involved and voluntarily submitting to a custodial sentence. He was fortunate that Nick eventually decided to destroy the most important evidence in the case deciding whether he would have a life sentence or not. Nick himself, over time, realised what a good decision he had made by listening to his girlfriend, who had advised him to destroy the evidence of the crime. He could see that his father was slowly returning to the path of goodness. It had been a long time since he had felt those positive vibes towards his family that really said it was going to be okay! Fox felt very proud of this, that despite his unexpected encounter with his father, he could actually acknowledge him without shame. As for Caroline - she also experienced humility, she didn't cause trouble in prison, Nick occasionally visited her to see how she was doing. He did not want to talk to her, even though she often tried to make contact with him he was constantly immeasurable and without a chance she explained to him that she had now really changed. It was over.

Over a period of three months, Judy also managed to rebuild a relationship with her parents, who, on finding out about her boyfriend's species, were completely heartbroken and distraught. How could Judy fall in love with a fox! It was unthinkable to them. It was unthinkable to them! Every rabbit in the area sincerely hated foxes, it was obvious to every one of them, Judy was the exception that shocked her family without hiding it. At first they didn't want to speak to her, trying to ignore her attempts at communication, but they understood that she was still their daughter and decided to give her a second chance to explain how she came to have a fox as her other half. Initially it wasn't easy for her to do this, Stu being the main obstacle to coming to an understanding, but thanks to the help of her sister Judy, she managed to persuade the two parents to get to know Nick better so they could see that not every fox is a ruthless cheat and predator. Judy's sister played a big part in the plan, as she was the one who told how Judy had been wooing her boyfriend, which prompted Judy's parents to meet up day by day.

That was the day - on 15 March, Judy and Nick decided to go to the Hopps family for the first time together to present in front of the doe's parents, with the aim of finally convincing them of their relationship, which seemed like something abstract to them. Both parties agreed to meet, it seemed that Bonnie had been looking forward to getting to know Judy's partner more closely for some time. As time went on, she was quite positive about the meeting, although she was the one who was most affected by the information about the relationship with the fox. After those 3 months of discussing it and constantly talking about it she came to the conclusion that she should give Nick a chance after all, if Judy is with him he can't be that bad, right?

Stu, on the other hand, was full of worry about how the meeting could go down, he imagined a bad ending every time, with both parties arguing. He himself didn't know why he thought that, from birth he had been told that foxes were the greatest evil one could meet, and their daughter was with him! Persuading him to change his attitude did nothing, the only solution left to find out was to meet fear face to face.

"Are you stressed?" Asked Judy as they drove in the car towards her family home. It was quite warm for spring, by this time the last of the snow was melting and it was getting warmer outside. The spring aura was bringing the woods to life by brightening them with sunshine, making it warm. The last vestiges of winter were slowly being washed away from the ground.

"A bit...it's the most important meeting I'll be at!" Replied Nick as always with a hint of sarcasm. Both of them had dressed remarkably smartly for the ceremony, especially Nick, who had put on his suit with a dark navy blue coat that he only used on special occasions. He wanted to make a good impression on the whole Hopps family, especially Judy's father. From what she'd said, he was the biggest opponent of their relationship.

"Don't worry, it will be fine. Just remember to think about the answers...my dad likes to ask trick questions sometimes" Communicated a slightly confused Judy. She didn't want to tell him exactly what questions she meant, but hoped he would guess.

"If he's going to ask about foxes then no problem. I'm prepared for questions like that," replied the fox confidently.

"May you be right..."

An hour later they reached the village where Judy lived. Here, the GPS was out of range, so the doe had to direct the fox herself which dirt road to turn onto in order to reach Hopps farm. Nick, meanwhile, was looking around the area they were in and was a little surprised that there were practically only fields around them...having lived in the Fox District most of the time, he didn't even think about the kind of small villages they were in. He didn't say it out loud, however, so that it wouldn't be unpleasant for the doe. Apart from the fact of solitude, he liked the place. There was a forest nearby, there were nice views in the hills and there was total silence all around...compared to the Fox Quarter, where some fights (in the days of the fox's youth) were the order of the day. However, he felt that living in such an 'isolated place', could be a bit boring and a bit depressing. He had been brought up in the City Quarter all his life, maybe that's where he had these thoughts from.

Finally, they arrived at Judy's family's farm. Nick drove extremely slowly onto their property, not because he was worried about the car, it was more because of the stress that took him at the thought that he was about to see Judy's parents. The flurry of thoughts even made him start to sweat slightly through the stress! However, when they stopped he knew that this was the only chance to make a good impression on the Hopps family. Getting out of the car, he adjusted his unbuttoned coat, and together with Judy, holding hands, they headed for the door of the house. This was the moment.

Nick knocked, the decisive moment had arrived. For a few moments of standing still waiting for someone to open for them on the other side of the door appeared a couple, Stu and Bonnie, who were also suitably dressed to greet their guests. Nick noticed at first glance that the doe's parents were a little uncomfortable with the sight of a fox at the threshold of their door.

"Good morning, I'm Nick Wilde, Judy's boyfriend" greeted the fox first extending his hand towards his parents. Bonnie immediately greeted the boy, while Stu had some reluctance to do so. As he looked at the redhead's face and sharp teeth it made him a little weak, but he managed. He reached out shaking Nick's hand.

"We've been waiting for you! Please come inside," invited Judy's mum warmly. Judy in front of Nick went inside the house to introduce the fox to the rest of the family. Walking through the chol the fox felt like he was going to have to bend over to fit the height of the chol, but luckily his height matched the height of the hall perfectly. Waiting for them in the living room was Judy's entire family, who upon seeing the fox their face got a little grumpy, despite being warned that they would have an unusual visitor, they were embarrassed to see a fox in their home. It was...something new. However, Nick tried not to lose his positive energy and greeted everyone with a smile on his face. Most greeted the fox without any problems, the youngest ones were even afraid to reach out towards the fox! Judy was worried that Nick would be discouraged by this, but he laughed at their reaction without approaching them!

"Say hello to Mr Nick, it's not nice not to say hello to a guest like that," Bonnie ordered, but Nick reassured her.

"You don't have to force them, I understand I'm a rather unusual guest, it's fine" replied Nick calmly. These words even surprised Stu, who cast a brief glance at Judy, who was proud of his words.

"Sorry, they're just little...and they don't understand some things...come on into the dining room, I've prepared something for you" replied Bonnie leading the guests into the dining room. There, a table was already set up with various dishes waiting for them, which immediately caught Nick's attention. They looked very appetising, colourful and inviting to eat.

Everyone took their seats and the feast began.

Nick sat next to Stu, Judy and opposite Bonnie. This was probably a possible worst-case scenario for Judy's father, who did not want to sit close to him. His negative attitude towards the fox was evident almost from the very beginning of the visit. He looked at him with an angry gaze, said little, and when he had to ask a question the questions were, as Judy predicted, about foxes and their interests. Nick was too often bullied when it came to the breed, so he didn't allow himself to be provoked one bit, which caused Stu's admiration a second time. He was impressed with how emotionally stable a fox could be. Bonnie, on the other hand, boldly spoke to the visitor, they had a good conversation and established a rapport almost immediately. Even Judy was impressed to see her mother so willing to talk to the fox! She knew she had managed to convince herself about her partner, but she couldn't imagine such a good relationship between them! As for the other attendees, Nick's presence bothered them less and less as time went on, after 3 months of the topic being discussed the figure of the fox as Judy's boyfriend was not so shocking if they were to hear about it for the first time right here at home. They were curious about the fox's behaviour and watched him, but the fox quickly gained the sympathy of the Hopps family making an impression of a mature, emotionally stable and sensitive man. Nick could see that Stu was secretly watching him all the time, he knew that probably the slightest mistake would be pointed out to him, but to his surprise he was performing really well! His biggest surprise, however, was that he felt comfortable among the Hopps family. At first he had stage fright, but once he started talking to Bonnie, he felt practically at home! He felt relaxed, he openly shared his experiences, he even talked to Bonnie about the food she had prepared! He was so happy because he rarely had such a good atmosphere at home that allowed him to open up... Some people were a little uncomfortable sharing a seat at the table with the fox, but Nick was showing off his better side, which was gaining sympathy among most of the Hopps family.

As Nick was talking to Bonnie an interesting suggestion came out from Stu, who interrupted the sentence for his wife.

"Nick, why don't we take a walk around our farm? I'll show you some stuff if you should visit us more often," Stu suggested. Nick looked uncertainly at Judy, who nodded boldly with a movement of her head.

"Great idea! Go with Dad to see what working in the fields is like. You won't see machines like that in town," nodded Judy eagerly. Fox had no other choice - he agreed to the offer. He and Stu left the table, took his coat off so as not to dirty it and left the house with Judy's father.

In the yard it was very sunny and warm for the beginning of spring. There was a palpable spring aura, young leaves were growing on the trees, flowers were beginning to bloom, the fox could even hear birds singing in the garden! The only drawback was the mud, which dirtied Nick's slippers to a small degree, which the fox tried to be careful of, but walking the next few metres with Stu dirtied his shoes more and more.

"Actually, where are we going Mr Stu?" The fox asked. They were heading towards a large red wooden barn from which small seeds were visible from under the door.

"I'll show you the equipment we use to cultivate our fields," replied Stu. The rabbit grabbed a huge handle opening one leaf of the door wide open. With a clattering sound against the hard pavement, the door opened presenting a huge space landscaped with sacks of seed and farm machinery.

"Please, let's go inside" Stu communicated. The fox was the first to enter the building and immediately noticed the bags of seed stacked to the left. Some of the sacks were already a bit worn, you could see by the holes cut in them and the seeds that lay underneath them on the floor. There was also a small combine in the barn, and two tractors to which a plough and cultivator were attached.

"These are wheat seeds and carrot seeds. These are the two things we grow most often. In front of us is the combine harvester, which we use to cut the grain ready for harvesting, and next to it are the tractors, which have ploughing and cultivating tools connected to them," Stu briefly recounted, and together they approached the vehicles. Fox had admittedly heard of farm machinery, but had never had the opportunity to stand so close to it. He had grown up in the Fox District, not far from the largest city within 300 kilometres!

"You know, I know a little something about agricultural machinery...but their size is impressive!" Said Nick appreciatively. To see the cockpit of the combine he had to lift his head up!

"Hehe, they're not the biggest models, but they're easily enough for us in our fields" laughed Stu. He slowly walked away from the machines and Nick moved behind him. They approached the open seed bags, Stu took a few seeds and poured them onto the fox's hand. Nick was surprised to see the small seeds, according to Stu - these are what wheat, or carrots, which were the Hopps family speciality, are made from in the field.

"Both wheat and carrots are made from these seeds. They are planted in a field where the ground is ploughed and loosened. You have to wait quite a long time for the grain to grow, but when it does grow the wonderful sight is a field full of wheat ears! When it is ripe with this combine harvester and the heder connected to it, we mow the grain."

"And what do you harvest the carrots with?" Nick asked curiously.

"By hand! That's the best method! Come on, I'll show you the field that's already sown" said Stu. Nick poured the seeds back into the bag and set off after the rabbit.

Not far from the Hopps' farm was a small field that belonged naturally to them. They left the farm and had to walk for a few minutes along a dirt road which, fortunately for Nick's boots, was dry and there was no mud. His slippers had turned from a dark navy blue to a cloudy grey anyway, but the fox was worried that his boots would be ruined!

Stopping by the field Stu pointed out the rows where the carrots had been sown, the fox could see green shoots sticking out of the ground, the rabbit explained to him that this was just the beginning of the sprouting of the carrots which would be ready for harvest in less than 3 months. Stu eventually decided not to go to the field seeing that the ground was very wet and bearing in mind the fox's clothes he didn't want to get him more dirty, so Stu told him some interesting facts about growing carrots and an effective method of growing them. Nick was curious about Stu's words, his style of speech, interesting, short but yet deeply explanatory meant that although Nick had never had any contact with farming ever most of the terms pronounced by Judy's dad he understood or guessed what they could mean. Sometimes he wondered what a word meant, but he didn't ask for the meaning because he was afraid he would come across as stupid.

After a trip to the field and talking by the side of it, the two men started walking home. The sun was slowly starting to set and they did not want to worry the whole family with their disappearance, so they decided it was a good time to start heading back. The day was slowly starting to wind down. Looking at the fact that there was some washing up to do, the men expected that the girls had probably started cleaning up after dinner.

"And how Nick...how do you like our farm? The surroundings in general? Living in the city probably makes you wonder how you can live in such... wilderness" chuckled Stu dryly, pointing with his hand at the area around them. In fact, apart from the farm to which they were heading, there was practically nothing of interest. Mostly fields, other houses could be seen in the distance and behind them the dark outlines of a forest that stretched across the entire view.

"Judy has told me a lot about your farm. I honestly like it here! It's quiet, peaceful...maybe the poor range can be a problem, but it's survivable," replied Nick. Stu silently nodded, he didn't even look at Nick until he stopped right in front of the entrance gate to their yard. Before he started to say anything he looked around suspiciously, as if checking to see if anyone was accidentally eavesdropping on them.

"All right, Nick. Now let's be serious," Stu said. Fox was a little embarrassed by the sudden seriousness of Judy's father, but stopped and listened to him. He adjusted his coat and straightened up. The expression on Stu's face turned bitter, sad and serious, which caused the fox to become serious as well.

"I know that whatever I say, I won't stop Judy from anything she wants to do. She's my daughter and I know her very well. You seem like a really good person Nick, I thought you would be quite...arrogant, but I was wrong! I didn't think I would ever meet such a nice fox! Fortunately, I was wrong! However, I do have one request for you."

"What is it?" Nick asked.

"I don't know what your future plans are, you've been together for almost six months as far as I know, but I do have one request...if you don't love her sincerely, or you're not sure of your love for her, don't plan any further steps...break up with her if you're not sure you want to be with her...Judy is a sensitive girl, break up with her if you don't feel completely happy with her...you are a fox and she is a doe, there may be a day that you find another fox to fall in love with and betrayal may hurt my daughter the most!"

Nick stood stunned for a moment. They were both embarrassed by this, but the fox's embarrassment quickly turned to anger, Nick lowered his eyebrows low, looked aggressively at Stu who was struggling to make eye contact. Stu realised that his words were hurtful and betrayed his dislike of Foxes and his stereotypes of them being deceitful and hypocritical.

"Of course I love Judy! If I'm a fox, does that mean I'm less loyal? I've been with her for over six months and I've never doubted my love for her! Just because I'm a fox, does that mean I have to leave her? If that is what you meant to say, I declare that I will not do it. I will leave if she wants me to," chuckled Nick. He was exasperated by Stu's words, almost furious! He didn't believe he would hear such words from the girl's father, he hoped he wouldn't at least say them out loud, but he had no reluctance to do so! The fox, having dropped the truth, moved towards Hopps' house, leaving a confused Stu behind.

Together with the sunset, Nick and Judy decided to leave the doe's home grounds. Upon arrival at the house by Nick and Stu, the two men tried to hide the emotions that had occurred during their walk, which they did quite well. It was rather unlikely for anyone to see the rather contentious exchange of words between them, as they had both hoped. They didn't want to ruin the humour for the others, who looked to be enjoying themselves while they were not present.

Before saying goodbye, Bonnie handed a couple of jars of homemade jam for Nick and Judy so that the fox could get a taste of the homemade produce. He found it rather strange seeing Judy's mum carrying a bag of jams and syrups, after all such things can be bought in the shop, but out of politeness he didn't refuse. He packed the bag in the back in the boot. For a few minutes, the parents stood with the young couple talking about various little things, just as a farewell. After them, they said their last goodbyes, hugging the fox and their daughter. During Nick's farewell to Stu, the rabbit's face said that he regretted his words, but Nick was too swollen with emotion to react in any way. After saying goodbye, Nick and Judy set off towards the house.

A new year, means a new challenge, but also new episodes of stories of your favourite characters! With the first chapter in 2023, may you have no shortage of stories to read this year, Happy New Year!