If there was one lesson that Nick was currently learning, it was that he should never take Judy shopping for books. According to the observations he most recently made, it starts as a quick stop into the store just to browse and ends with her purchasing more than enough.
Who knew Carrots was such a bookworm? he thought.
As Judy happily placed her purchases on the large, polished check-out counter, Nick made his way over to another spot in the store where a good amount of other mammals were congregated. Along with being a popular bookstore in the heart of the district, the shop the two were also had what seemed like a nice little cafe inside of it.
The vulpine made his way over to the small establishment that was within the building. According to the obvious title on the sign, it went by the name of Elinor's Cafe. Even though the fox normally to went to more notable places for his daily dose of caffeine, it was always nice to try a cup of coffee and maybe something sweet from a different place within the city.
The pleasing aromas circulating around the fox seemed to capture everything that presumably made the menu so delectable to its customers. The scent of coffee beans being brewed filled the air, mixing with the scents that came from whatever desserts and small pastries they still had prepared for the afternoon.
A line of mammals of all sizes congregated near the front register, patiently waiting their turn to purchase whatever decadents they wanted. Nick managed to get in line, ordering two coffees and a box of desserts. Within a few moments, the black bear working there handed him his purchases.
Nick walked over to where a few small tables were positioned to the large windows of the shop were. Puling out a chair, he looked over at Judy getting all finished up with paying for her haul of books. As Nick gestured for her to come to where he was seated, the doe walked over with two large bags of books in both paws.
Setting her bags down to the side and pulling out a chair, Judy sat down and looked out of the spacious window. The doe exhaled and lifted the cup of coffee that Nick ordered for up to her mouth. Taking a gentle sip, she put on smile at the refreshing taste of the beverage.
Nick opened up the to-go box he had down on the table, revealing the sweet treats that were packed inside of it. Within the box was a small set of tarts. Nick's tail wagged excitedly as he took one of the sweet treats and happily popped it into his mouth. His face had an expression of euphoria as he savored the taste of blueberry. Once he finished the first tart, he quickly stuck his paw back into the box and grabbed two more for him to enjoy.
Judy shook her head as she took another sip from her cup of coffee. Gosh, she said to herself, he's eating those things like there's no tomorrow!
"You gonna save one of those for me, Slick?" Judy asked.
Nick, who was ready to put another dessert in his mouth, paused and looked over at the doe, who smiled at his childish antics once again.
"Doesn't look like you're willing to share those," the doe joked.
Nick chuckled, handing Judy one of the small desserts. "Where are my manners? Here you are."
The doe giggled as she took a bite. It was no doubt why Nick was in love with the way they tasted, considering that there was a touch of blueberry added to the miniature dessert.
"Should've known you wouldn't be able to walk outta here without buying something sweet," Judy remarked.
"These had blueberry in them, how could I resist trying them being the blueberry connoisseur that I am?"
Judy let out another innocent laugh. "I guess so. But if that's the case, how does the 'connoisseur' rate these here desserts?"
"Guess I'd give it four out of five, give or take. Even then, nothing ever comes close to the taste of the berries from your family's farm."
Judy turned her head over to her side, reaching into one of her bags to grab one of her newly-purchased books. The doe smiled as she held the hardcover book in her paws, opening it up and flipping through the first few pages to get an idea of how it was going to start.
"Woah," she murmured, pertaining to what was undoubtedly an intriguing start to what she was reading.
Nick looked over at his companion, surprised at how she almost immediately seemed to be invested in whatever story it was. "Reading that already, Carrots?"
The doe lifted her nose out of the book and looked over at the vulpine beside her. "Just need to see how it starts is all," she said. "Been waiting to get this one for awhile now."
"From the size of those bags," Nick replied, "it looks like you got a good bit of reading material for now, if I do say so myself. Besides, where are all of those going to go on the shelf? They're all almost full."
"One does not simply stop buying books just 'cause there's no room on a shelf," the doe stated before returning to the page she had stopped on.
"If you say so, my book-loving bunny," Nick said, managing to get a giggle out of Judy. "What kind of book is that you have there anyway?"
Closing the book up for a later time after reading its prologue, Judy set it on the table and slide it slightly over to Nick so he could read the description on the back of it.
"A mystery novel, Fluff?" he inquired, feeling slightly surprised at his bunny's literary selection.
"Yeah," she breathed. "What about it?"
"Well that can't be too fun, those detective skills of yours will probably know who did the crime a few pages into it."
"Maybe, maybe not. Guess I'll just have to read and see about that. Always been a fan of mysteries since I wanted to be a cop. Was always a big reader, and there was this one series I used to read about a kit who went around her town and solved little mysteries with her classmates."
Judy smiled and leaned back as she continued to reminisce. The memories of her youth replayed in her mind, sitting relaxed in her bedroom after homework had been done, reading from among her small collection of fun stories. Donning the police officer hat that she wore when she proudly proclaimed her ambitions, she would read as she dreamed about how one day she could possibly be able to crack cases like the kit in the stories.
"I can remember it like it was yesterday," the doe continued with a smile, "I'd refuse to put those books down until they came to a close. I even got a signed copy of my favorite one, too."
"Really?" Nick said, his attention being piqued.
"Yep," Judy replied. "Gosh, holding that book back then felt like I was holding onto pure gold."
Nick simply nodded his head in response to Judy's little anecdote. The fox turned his head back, looking around at the rest of the store behind him.
"And how about you, Nick?" Judy asked.
Nick turned his head upon the doe's inquiry. "What was that, Carrots?"
"What about you?" Judy repeated. "What kind of stories do you like?"
Nick shrugged his shoulders. "Honestly," the vulpine said, grinning slyly, "there's this one that I personally think is the best story ever. And to make it even better, it's all true."
"Oh, yeah?" Judy said, intrigued. "Please elaborate."
"It's about a sly bunny that takes on a big case," Nick continued, intertwining his paw with his companion's. "And by her side, thick and thin, is a slick, witty fox."
The doe snickered and innocently grinned at Nick bringing up memories of all of their previous perilous adventures. "You forgot to mention that the fox was handsome."
"Good thing you brought that up, Carrots."
Judy giggled as the two of them gazed into each other's eyes for a brief moment. The fox and rabbit turned their attention back out to the window, where they continued to get glimpses of the admirable sights of Tundratown. The weather conditions, from what the two of them could observe, were basically perfect around the area. Large piles of snow blanketed the streets of the district's wondrous cityscapes, and mammals of all sorts could be seen strolling up and down the sidewalks highly bundled up in layers of warmer clothing. Throughout the downtown area that the windows looked out to, Judy could glimpse at the faintly illuminated signs on top of the notable buildings that surrounded her.
"Such a great view from here," Judy said, staring back at Nick.
"That's the wonder of Tundratown, sweetheart," Nick remarked with wit. "It's a heavenly spectacle for all of the senses."
"Wow, Slick. Coming from you, that sounded pretty sophisticated."
"Nah, that's not me. I was just reading the words off of that sign over there," the fox admitted, pointing over to a small billboard meant to attract customers into buying desserts.
Judy didn't hold back the laughter towards her fox's antics. "Dumb fox," she giggled.
Nick even managed to chuckle at himself for a quick moment. As the gentle conversation carried on, the vulpine's eyes dotted back out to the window.
Even though a day like this was not the most eventful in terms of activity, it was the simple, little moments like this that he and his companion still cherished. Clear skies, coffee, and his bunny by his side was all he needed right now to enjoy himself and have a good time.
Author's Note: I'm a self-proclaimed bookworm, so this story was inspired by my own love and fascination for reading stories of all kinds.
I also like think of Judy as the kind of mammal that enjoys reading, so I personally thought this would be a potential scenario between her and her companion. :)
This was also another attempt to better my abilities at creating dialogue back and forth between our duo, so I'm hoping I did a decent job at that.
As always, let me know your thoughts. Your feedback, good and bad, is gladly appreciated. Hope you enjoyed this little story of mine, and thank you to everybody who's been giving my stories a read.
'Til next time! :D