On a rainy afternoon, a good number of years ago, a middle-aged vixen and her kit walked into a small diner that stood humbly on the corner of the town. After the unfavorable weather put a dampen on the plans that had been made, she quickly thought up the idea of taking her son here to dodge the shower that came in.
The diner had a quaint atmosphere that just didn't compare to the chain restaurants outside of the town, with a nostalgic style that made one feel as if they had stepped back in time and were in an entirely different decade. Although it wasn't exactly too much to talk about, the food that they served was always delicious. The menu had a simplistic variety to choose, and it was quickly prepared and inexpensive to purchase.
The vixen lead her son to the long sit-down counter nearby. Considering that it was both the weekend and a rainy kind of day, the diner was a bit busier than it normally was. Once they had both taken there seats, her and her son both looked up at the menu, which was displayed on a wall that was above where the kitchen area was. She told her beloved kit with a smile that he could choose whatever he liked from the menu.
After both of their selections had been made, they watched as the cook got to work on preparing their food. Their food was served, and the kit was the first to taste what had been ordered. His mother distinctly remembered his reaction upon tasting food from the diner, which had obviously been a pleasant one.
"Delish!" she could remember him remarking with a grin, and she simply responded with a chuckle.
From there on in, whenever it was possible, they went back to the diner. Sometimes it was for the breakfast when it was being served, and sometimes it was for supper. And a couple occasions she would even treat her son to the strawberry shake that they served, a small reward for the good grades he had gotten on his school report card.
But years started to pass by, and life started to make some changes at very same time. Her son started to grow up, and eventually lost interested in heading to the diner despite going there together for quite some time. So when he had left the house, it had been just her that started to go there. And she found herself, after some time had passed, awaiting the day that he would come back, so they could perhaps visit this little spot once again.
His bunny by his side, Nick stood just outside the entrance of the diner he had memories of from when he was young. The railcar-style construction looked like it hadn't changed a bit, along with a good portion of the town he grew up in (with the exception of improvements made to the grocery store and the building that housed the old flower shop now being up for lease). From what he could see through the windows to the restaurant, it didn't look like that many mammals were in there at this given moment.
"What is this place?" Judy found herself asking her fox.
The vulpine looked over at her and answered, "This, Carrots, is somewhere that used to have a lot of significance when I was young." He then let out a sigh. "It's been quite some time since I came here and ate. I almost wasn't sure if it would still be in business."
After he had said that, he lead the doe to the doors that opened up to the diner. A recollection of this particular place filled his memory some time ago, which lead him to visiting the area and taking Judy to this spot.
Upon taking a step inside, he was immediately greeted with the sounds of food sizzling on the small grill. But as he got a good look around the place, he started to notice that some changes had been made since the last time he had been here. Even though it was quite obvious that any business eventually made changes to their interior in time, it just managed to catch his eye.
The place had gotten a completely new paint job; the originally plain white walls had been coated with a gentle shade of yellow. Some of the retro decorations weren't where they used to be any more. But the thing that remained the same was that sit-down area and the cooking station.
They both found themselves seats, and Nick looked over to see someone very familiar walking by. In the outfit he always wore when preparing the customers their meals, the jackal that had cooked all of the meals he had eaten here before looked over at him. Both the fox and him were both surprised to see one another in the same location.
"I'll be darned," the jackal remarked. "Never expected ya to drop by."
Nick replied, "Just thought I'd revisit this place." He looked over at the gray lagomorph sitting to his right. "And I brought my companion here as well."
"So what'll it be?" the cook asked. "Your favorite thing off of the menu?"
The vulpine nodded his head. "You got that right. Shake one in the hay for me. Same for the lady."
"Got it! Be right back with your order in a hop, skip, and a jump."
As the jackal walked away and started to prepare what Nick had ordered for the two of them, Judy looked over at her fox with a little bit of confusion.
"What did that mean?" the bunny inquired.
"What did what mean, Fluff?" Nick asked back.
Judy responded, "'Shake one in the hay.' What does that mean?"
"Oh, that was just diner talk. I was ordering us two shakes."
The doe nodded. "Never heard it being spoken before."
"I guess you just start learnin' it after eating here for a good bit of time. I can still remember some of it. Like if you want a bowl of their veggie soup, you ask for a splash from the garden. If it's breakfast time and you're craving pancakes, you say you want blowout patches. And if you want somethin' to go, you tell 'em to put it on wheels."
"You sure know the diner talk," the gray leporine beside the fox said with a giggle.
"Yep," Nick answered slyly. "I like to think of myself as being bilingual and that being my second language." Changing the subject back to the food served at the diner, he remarked, "Anyway, the strawberry shakes they serve here are absolutely amazing. The ones that they serve in the fast food places just don't compare to the ones they make here."
After a momentary pause, Judy simply replied, "Huh."
"What is it?" the tod asked his bunny.
"It's just a bit different that you ordered us something flavored with strawberries. When you said to me that you ordered us both shakes, I half-expected them to be blueberry ones."
"As much as I wish they offered that, it doesn't say they do on the menu. If there's a suggestion box 'round here somewhere, I'd be more than happy to give them my recommendation. But I don't think the menu here is gonna change. It's exactly the same as it was when I last ate here." He paused a moment. "And to let you in on a little fact about me, I was actually a big fan of strawberry desserts prior to becoming the blueberry fanatic I am today."
"Are you serious?" Judy replied with a pretend sense of shock. "Wow. And you think know everything about somebody."
Nick couldn't help but laugh alongside her. Just then, the mammal that took their order came back to where they were seated, a tall glass in each paw. He set them down on the counter beside the two of them and walked away with a kind smile, the kind the fox could recall he gave everyone who visited the diner.
They both took a sip of their drink through the straws that was in their glasses. Just as he had anticipated, Judy's face indicated that she was enjoying the refreshing taste of it.
Not even a few moments after Nick took another sip of his shake, the door to the diner opened up. For a quick second, the fox turned his attention towards the entrance and saw just who had walked in. When he realized who it was, his eyes widened in utter surprise.
Standing near the entrance, looking over at where he was sitting, was none other than his mother. The look on her face had the same amount of astonishment that her son's had, as neither of them had planned for them to be here.
Nick's mother placed a paw over her mouth as her son got up from his chair walked over to where she was. As he approached her she wrapped her arms around him, producing a delighted tear at the fact that she was seeing her son again after so long. And Nick himself didn't know that she had been coming here regularly, and that he happened to be here the moment she decided to stop by.
There was a good bit of catching up to do between the tod and his mother. But what better place start said catching up than at the diner they used to always visit?