The rest of the day, just like that morning, flew past in a blur. Hoppkins jumped from one interview to the next with the energy of a bunny half his age and a fraction of his weight, and Judy struggled to keep up. The next few hours were a jumbled mess of interviews, video shoots, audio recordings, and cruising down Mane Street at a snail's pace so Hoppkins could wave out of his limousine window to the five mammals walking along the sidewalk like he was in a parade.
Now that she had something special to look forward to this evening, however, Judy did not mind so much. She gladly accompanied Hoppkins to all of his appointments, managing to keep up with him and his lively schedule. She escorted him to all of his meetings, trailed his limo inside of her own whenever they traveled, helped him find his phone one time when he lost it in-between the cushions of a couch in a waiting room, and stood guard whenever he exited a building to make sure he would not get ambushed by his dozens of adoring fans—though she never once came across anyone who seemed to recognize the Hollywool rabbit.
Finally, five o'clock arrived. Hoppkins' timing was impeccable; he wrapped up an interview with ZNN just as the clock struck the top of the hour, and even the reporter who interviewed him praised him on his punctuality. Then, before she knew it, they left the building, walked over to their two limousines, and just like that, Judy's first day working for him was over.
Hoppkins did not give her so much as a wave before he left. He simply boarded his limousine and told Jonas to take him to the Palm Springs Hotel. The elephant drove the limousine out of the parking lot, and a few seconds later, they disappeared around a corner down the street.
For the first time today, Judy was free from Hoppkins. It felt like a giant weight had been lifted off her shoulders—a weight just about the size of Hoppkins, she guessed. She let out a breath of relief that she didn't realize she had been holding, and it brought her much joy to hop inside of her own limousine and sit in one of the seats again. Earlier today, she had counted all the seats in the limo, and had realized that she could sit in a different seat every single time she took a trip and never sit in the same seat twice; this time she picked one on the side opposite the door.
Ricky sat down in his own seat in front of her. "Where to now, Judy?" he asked.
Judy opted not to turn on the massager in her seat for once. Instead, she pulled her phone out of her pocket, made a quick Zoogle search, and held it up so Ricky could turn around and examine the screen. "I'm going to need to rent a dress for dinner. This is the store Hoppkins recommended."
The tiger looked at the screen for a second and nodded. "Yep, I know the place."
"Good, because I don't." Judy sat back in her seat and stared at her screen. "I don't even know how to pronounce this," she added with a murmur.
Ricky shot her an amused grin. "'Doe'."
She looked at him and blinked. "Seriously?"
"Seriously."
Judy looked at her phone again. The name of the store was two words long—or maybe three, it was hard to tell. There were, at minimum, twelve letters, and none of them were D, O, or E. She wondered for a second if Ricky was pulling her leg, but ultimately, she decided it didn't really matter.
She put her phone away and pumped an arm in the air dramatically. "Okay, then! To that place!" A moment later, she was flung to the side as Ricky enthusiastically accelerated the limo; her lap belt was the only thing that kept her in her seat. Once she caught her breath, she quickly added in the exact same tone of voice, "At a safe and reasonable speed!"
Even with Ricky driving within the speed limits, it was still a short trip to the store. Before she knew it, the tiger was pulling up to the building. It was a department store, connected to a shopping mall in an expensive area of town. The parking lot was full of luxury cars that made her feel poor just by looking at them. As she expected, most of the mammals that walked in and out of the front entrance were rabbits like herself, though there were also a few others as well—and all of them were dressed in much more lavish clothing than she had on.
She suddenly felt embarrassed at what she was currently wearing herself; her sweater and jeans were comfortable, but she knew she would stick out like a sore thumb once she exited the limo. But, at the same time, it wasn't like she had any other choice. She needed a dress for her dinner date tonight.
So, with some reluctance, Judy stepped out of the limousine when Ricky opened her door for her. The sun was set by now, and the air was much chillier than it had been the rest of the day. Judy let out a shiver and pulled the folds of her sweater closer to her little body. She was uncomfortably aware of a few wandering eyes staring at such a plain-looking bunny stepping out of a limousine, and she tried her best to ignore them.
Ricky closed her door behind her and tapped his hat. "I'll be waiting here. Please take your time."
Judy returned his polite smile with one of her own. "Can't take too long," she pointed out. "Dinner is at 7."
Ricky shrugged. "Time flies when you're shopping for clothes." His smile turned into a smirk as he remembered. "One time, I had a client who spent seven hours picking out a T-shirt after a Hyena Gomez concert."
"Seven hours?!" Judy wondered if she had heard him correctly.
Ricky nodded. "Yep, and here's the kicker." He leaned forward, and his grin widened slightly. "She only had two shirts to pick from."
A chuckle rose in Judy's throat against her will, and she quickly shot a paw to her mouth to stop it. She was too slow, however, and a single, loud cackle managed to escape her lips, causing even more passersby to stare at her in confusion. She still managed to stifle the rest of her laugh, and after a few seconds, she finally recovered and lowered her paw, though her amused smile remained. "Let me guess: sloth?"
"Yep." Ricky turned back to the limo and waved an arm as he walked back to the driver's side door. "I'll be here, Judy," he called.
Judy waved a quick goodbye, then turned around and sauntered over to the front entrance of the store. Even though the store's main clientele were bunnies, it was still large enough for animals as big as elephants and giraffes to walk around comfortably, so the huge automatic front doors still made her feel tiny as she walked inside. The standard lights in the ceiling were complimented by countless mood lights spread throughout the store, which immediately made it feel livelier and more welcoming than the darkness outside. Dozens of bunnies in employee uniforms were meandering about, offering assistance to customers in any way they could.
One such employee—a gray bunny doe who appeared a few years younger than Judy, and wearing a tag that indicated her name was Felicity—walked right up to her with a friendly smile. "Hello, and welcome to Doe. How can I help you today?"
Ricky had, in fact, been correct on how to pronounce the store. Judy allowed herself a chuckle at the realization, then she returned Felicity's smile with one of her own. "Hi. I need a dress for a date tonight."
"Ah, yes." Felicity nodded in acknowledgement. "We've all been there. Schedule a date, spend all day figuring out what to wear, and then decide…" She spread her arms out wide, vaguely gesturing to the store around them. "Screw it, let's get a new one!" She held her pose and grinned at Judy. "Am I right?"
Judy's smile faded a tiny bit. "Well, kind of, but—"
"And you've come to the right place!" Felicity spun around in a circle, her arms nearly colliding with Judy's head, and she only came to a stop when she reached the nearby section devoted to evening gowns. "At Doe, we believe clothes are more than fashion! They are a statement of who you are!" She looked to the sky, closed her eyes, and dramatically spread her arms out once again. "And you! Are! Perfection!"
Judy stared at her uneasily, worried what she might do next. After several seconds, however, Felicity kept her position, not budging so much as an inch. Judy glanced around, wondering just how many more prying eyes might have witnessed Felicity's overblown act, but thankfully, nobody else seemed to care.
She turned back to the bunny and cleared her throat. "Um…" Felicity opened her eyes and looked at Judy, but otherwise did not move. "I'm going to Le Bull l'Elise, and—"
Felicity's jaw dropped. "You're…" She relaxed her stance and stared at Judy in disbelief. "You." She pointed at Judy with a finger. "Le Bull l'Elise?" Judy nodded sheepishly. "But you're…"
Judy frowned. "I'm what?" she demanded.
"You're a bunny. Le Bull l'Elise is a restaurant for carnivores, isn't it?"
Judy blinked. She had expected Felicity to comment on her cheap clothes, or perhaps even about her less-than-feminine appearance, at least by bunny standards. But it seemed she had given the employee too little credit. She mentally kicked herself; of course Felicity was not going to judge her based off her looks, it was her job to make her look her best, no matter what she looked like when she first walked inside the store.
However, Felicity's bombshell still caught her off-guard. Somehow, when she had looked at the menu on her phone earlier in the day, she had neglected to notice that the dishes she had seen were not bunny-friendly. Perhaps she had been too surprised by the prices listed beside each of them, or maybe she had been too preoccupied with thinking about what to wear that she had not thought to give the menu a closer look.
In any case, it was not a deal-breaker. "I'm sure they have vegetarian options," she reasoned. "Or, if it comes to it, I can always eat fish."
It was Felicity's turn to blink in confusion. "You eat fish?" she asked, her voice much breathier than before.
"Yeah, I…" Judy stopped herself, held up a paw, and shook her head in embarrassment. "Never mind." She quickly decided to change the subject. "Anyway, I'm eating there tonight, and I need a dress—a really fancy dress, and I don't have one at home, in fact I've never owned anything even remotely fancy, I think the best I've ever had was that one dress I rented for prom, and even by Bunnyburrow standards that was—"
"Okay!" Felicity threw up her paws, finally bringing Judy to a stop. She lowered her paws—and her voice—and her friendly smile returned. "I understand completely." She gestured for Judy to follow her, and she strolled over to the nearby dresses on display. "If you're going to eat at Le Bull l'Elise, we're going to need to find you something really nice to wear." She stopped in front of a bunny-sized mammalquin wearing a deep blue gown. "What do you think about this one?"
Judy immediately shook her head. "Those shoulder straps look uncomfortable."
"Would you prefer no straps at all?" Felicity asked.
She thought about it for a moment. "I guess it depends on the dress, but if I can help it, no straps would be nice."
"In that case…" Felicity took a few steps deeper into the area and stood beside another mammalquin, this one wearing a yellow dress without straps. "How are you feeling about this one?"
Judy did not immediately reject it this time, but after looking at it for a few seconds, she once again shook her head. "It's a bit too poofy. I was thinking something a bit more…"
"Sleek?" Felicity offered.
"Yeah, sleek. And less loud." Judy turned her attention away from the yellow gown and glanced at a nearby orange cocktail dress. "I don't want to look like a traffic cone, you know?"
Felicity's courteous smile spread wider on her face. "I might have something." She once again led Judy past several displays and racks of clothes, this time taking much longer to reach the final destination. Finally, she came to a stop and presented her with her new option. "What do you think about this one?"
Judy stared in awe. The mammalquin in front of Judy was wearing a gorgeous red evening gown. It was a color identical to that of a rose, and she guessed that was on purpose, because the fabric looked almost like a single giant rose pedal as it caught the light. The dress hugged the mammalquin's bunny figure from the chest to the waist, then drooped on all sides equally down to the plastic ankles. There was a small v-shaped cut in the chest area, and a small hole in the back for a teardrop tail to fit through, but otherwise, the dress had no features that stood out—exactly what Judy was hoping for. She reached out and touched the edge of the dress, and to her amazement, it felt like it was made out of velvet. It was so soft, and it slid through the fur on her fingers like silk; she could only imagine how comfortable it would be when she put it on to wear it.
And best of all, there were no sleeves!
Judy had not realized that a smile had spread across her face until she turned to Felicity and opened her mouth to ask, "Can I try it on?"
"Of course!" Felicity eagerly ducked behind the mammalquin and glanced at a serial number tagged to the bottom of the dress. "We should have a few different sizes in stock." She turned back to Judy and once again gestured for her to follow. "Let's go find one that fits you!"
Judy followed Felicity to the rear of the store. A row of dressing rooms lined the long wall, most of them sized for bunnies but with a few outliers for bigger and smaller mammals. Several bunnies were walking in and out of the various dressing rooms, trying on a variety of clothes and sometimes modeling them for their shopping partners waiting outside. Felicity led Judy to one of the free stalls, asked for her to wait there while she retrieved the dress, then left Judy alone and walked through one of the employee doors in another nearby wall.
Judy only had to wait a few moments before Felicity returned, dress draped across both arms. "Let's try this one first. I think it's a good size for you, but if you need a different one, let me know."
Felicity handed her the dress, and if it had felt comfortable when Judy had merely touched it, it felt downright cozy now that it was draped in her arms. Judy excitedly ran into the dressing room, took off her winter clothes, and stepped into the rosy dress. After just a minute or two, Judy found herself standing in front of the full-body mirror on one of the walls, admiring her reflection as she turned her body every which way.
Felicity was right: it fit her like a glove. It clung snugly to her fit bunny figure from chest to waist, then draped down the rest of the way to the ground so lightly she barely even felt it at all. It was not too tight, since she was still able to take a deep breath comfortably without straining any of the seams, but it was also not loose enough for her to worry about gravity pulling it down against her will.
More than that, however, Judy was awestruck at how she looked right now. Her dull two-toned fur provided a stark contrast to the ruby color of the dress. The light bounced off the dress in a more subdued way than it did the hair all over her body, which paradoxically made her appear more vibrant. The red in the cloth paired perfectly with her amethyst eyes, and even in the dim lighting of the dressing room, she felt like her eyes were the prettiest they had ever been.
It wasn't just her eyes. It was her—all of her. She was beautiful. She rarely thought of herself as such, and even more rarely made an effort to look it, but wearing this dress right now, she could not help but believe it.
A knock on the door startled her. "Miss? Is everything all right in there?" Felicity called from outside.
Judy must have been staring at herself in the mirror longer than she realized. "Yes!" she quickly replied. She looked once again at her reflection, making sure she was presentable, then reached for the handle and opened the door. She flashed a smile to the bunny waiting for her outside. "What do you think?"
It might have just been because she was being polite, but Felicity's eyes widened in amazement as Judy stepped out of the dressing room. "Oh, wow," she whispered. Her eyes moved up and down, taking in the sight in front of her. "You look amazing!"
It wasn't just Felicity, either. Several other bunnies in the area stopped what they were doing and stared at Judy as she emerged into view. They admired her silently, all of them dumbstruck by her beauty. Judy felt a blush appear on her face. An embarrassed smile crossed her face and she bashfully folded her paws behind her back.
Felicity clapped her paws together. "That's it. That's the dress." Her smile returned, and this time, it was a genuine smile of joy on Judy's behalf. "It looks perfect. You look perfect. It's perfect."
The thought crossed Judy's mind that Felicity might have only said all that to make a sale, but the genuineness in her voice still caused Judy's ears to burn. "Thank you," she replied in a small voice.
Felicity flicked her finger in a circle. "Turn around, I want to see the rest of it!" Judy spun around in a slow circle a few times, and Felicity's face beamed as she looked over every inch of Judy's body. "Yep. Like I said: perfect." Judy stopped spinning and Felicity added with a wink, "If you're not careful, the store might want to use you for advertising."
Judy waved a paw dismissively. "Oh, I don't know about that." Still, she was flattered by Felicity's reaction, and it only made her decision all the easier. She spread her arms out in a ta-da gesture. "I'll take it!" she proclaimed. A crowd of clapping bunnies around her forced her to flatten her ears against the back of her neck and bring her arms back to her sides in embarrassment, but her gleeful smile remained.
"All right! Let's buy you that dress!" Felicity held up a shopping bag that she must have grabbed while Judy was in the dressing room. "You can put your old clothes in here and wear that dress out of the store if you want."
Judy took the bag, stepped back into the dressing room, and quickly placed her clothes inside. Then she followed Felicity to one of the checkout counters near the front of the store. The whole way, it felt like every set of eyes in the building turned to look at her, almost like her dress was a magnet that pulled in the attention of every person she walked past. It only took a minute or two for them to reach the register, but in that short period of time, Judy was sure that over a hundred bunnies—and at least a dozen other animals—had looked upon her in admiration.
Once they arrived at the checkout desk, it only took a few seconds for Felicity to ring up the dress. The bunny's eyes widened as she stared at her screen, as if the price was exorbitant even by the store's standards. Without saying a word, she swiveled her screen in Judy's direction so that she could look at the price without drawing any unwanted attention.
It was, in fact, a very expensive dress. There were several prices listed on the screen, depending on factors such as if Judy planned to rent the dress for the night or for a whole month. Each of them were far more than Judy made in a year—and the final price, listed at the bottom of the screen, was probably more money than she would ever see in her entire life, even taking into account the money she expected to receive from Hoppkins after her current job was done.
So it was fortuitous that Hoppkins had given Judy his credit card. A credit card with no limit. Technically, Hoppkins had not told Judy it was okay to buy a dress, and she had no doubt that he would do everything he could to convince her to rent it for the evening instead if he was here. But he wasn't, and she was free to use his card however she wished.
She smiled slyly at Felicity. "I would like to buy this dress, if that's okay."
Felicity's eyes were already wide, but upon hearing Judy's matter-of-fact statement, they were joined by a dropped jaw. She stared at Judy in disbelief, but if Judy was honest with herself, she couldn't blame her; there were more zeroes in the cost of the dress than there were in the national deficit.
Judy calmly shuffled through the shopping bag with her free paw, dug Hoppkins' credit card out of her jeans' pocket, and presented it to Felicity. "I believe this will cover it."
It took a few seconds for Felicity to comprehend Judy's words, but eventually, she managed to take the card out of Judy's paw and swipe it into the cash register. Judy felt her heart skip a beat when the screen paused for an uncomfortable amount of time, and for a second she worried that Hoppkins had bamboozled her, but then the screen turned green and a big bold message flashed to inform them that the transaction was successful.
Felicity's courteous smile returned as she handed Judy back the credit card and her receipt. "There you go! You're all set!"
Judy breathed a sigh of relief. She had found a dress—a dress she absolutely adored—and she had managed to buy it without any issue whatsoever. She took the items from Felicity, stuffed them into her shopping bag, and flashed one final smile at the helpful employee. "Thank you so much."
"Anytime!" Felicity glanced at a giant clock that hung from one of the nearby walls. "What time is your date tonight?"
Judy followed her gaze. The clock currently indicated a time of 5:54. "Seven," she replied.
Felicity turned her attention back to Judy and wiggled her eyebrows. "Look at that, you've still got time to get yourself all made up!"
Judy blinked in confusion. "Isn't that what this is for?" She spread her arms along her sides and looked down at her dress.
"Yeah, but what good is a dress like that without some makeup and jewelry to go with it?"
Felicity asked the question innocently enough, but it still stunned Judy into silence. It was eerily similar to what Hoppkins had told her earlier that day—that her date would undoubtedly expect to see her wearing all kinds of beauty products. Judy had ignored him when he had suggested it; she was used to being a plain girl who put very little thought into her appearance beyond grooming her fur. She could count on one paw the number of times she had ever worn makeup, and when she had first put on this dress, she had thought that she looked perfectly fine without any.
But now…
Felicity realized that Judy was staring at her in silence, and she quickly cleared her throat. "But, you know, that's not really my place." She gestured at Judy's dress, and her smile once again transformed into one of genuine kindness. "You look absolutely beautiful. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."
Judy was so lost in her thoughts she hardly heard her. "Thank you," she managed to whisper. Then she turned around and walked out the store. She heard the vague call from Felicity behind her, inviting her to come back any time, and then a few steps later, she stepped through the front doors and out into the open air. It was much colder now than it had been before, and a shiver ran down her spine as her exposed shoulders took the brunt of a gust of wind. There were fewer wandering pedestrians than when she had entered, but just like inside, every single one of them did a double take as she strolled past.
Ricky was still parked in the same spot, and as Judy walked up to the limo, he emerged from the driver's door and ran over to open hers for her. Even his eyes widened a bit as he took in the sight of her in her new rosy evening gown. "Wow, that's really something," he remarked.
Judy quickly hopped inside of the limousine. The warm interior welcomed her, and she took a moment to stand still and bask in the heated air after Ricky closed her door behind her. She set her shopping bag down in one of the empty seats, then sat down herself in the seat beside it, taking extra care to rearrange the folds of her dress so it would not tangle.
A second later, Ricky opened his own door, sat down in the driver's seat, and turned around to look at her. His smile glowed on his face as he took in the sight of her. "Whoever your date is," he stated, "you're going to make him real happy looking like this."
Judy barely heard him. When she had been inside the dressing room, she had looked at herself in the mirror, and she thought she had looked perfect. But once Felicity had mentioned the idea of making herself up before her date, that mental image of herself had been shattered in an instant, and now she had a hard time getting the suggestion out of her head.
She grabbed her phone from the seat beside her, opened up the camera app, and looked at the face that appeared on the screen. It was still her. She looked exactly the same as she had looked inside. The red dress still accentuated her lupine features, and perfectly complimented the colors of her fur and eyes. She was still undeniably beautiful, even she had to admit it.
But as she scrutinized her face on the phone screen, she couldn't help but notice that there were a few hairs above her eyebrow that were a different shade of gray than the rest. There were the faintest hints of crows' feet just starting to form at the edges of her eyes. Perhaps some eye shadow could add some extra color to her face, if she could find the perfect shade to match the dress. And a tiny bit of perfume couldn't hurt either, right?
Ricky turned back around and rested his paws on the steering wheel. "Well, we're not in any rush," he called to her. "Just let me know when you want to leave, and I'll take you straight to Le Bull l'Elise."
Judy continued to stare at her reflection in the phone. The more she looked, the more flaws she saw in her face—flaws she had never noticed before, but now that she was in a fancy dress about to go eat at the best restaurant in the city, they were impossible to miss. She could not ignore her imperfections, no matter how much she tried. Suddenly, she wanted to fix her appearance. She was no longer content with how she looked. She wanted to make herself look beautiful again, just like she seen herself in the dressing room mere minutes before.
If anything else, she was sure her date would appreciate it. After all, he deserved nothing less than the best.
"Actually…" Ricky looked at her in the rearview mirror and patiently waited for her to continue. "Do you know any beauty parlors?"
"Here you are, Madame, the best table in the house."
Judy stared in awe at the sight in front of her. The timber wolf hostess stood beside a small circular table that would otherwise look quite ordinary anywhere else. But beyond the table was a gigantic glass window overlooking the cityscape outside; dozens of skyscrapers spread out below, not a single one of them matching the height of the restaurant. The table itself was already set, with two matching sets of dinnerware sitting perfectly opposite each other. The center of the table was adorned with a single tall candle, flanked by two roses that perfectly matched the color of her dress.
The hostess waited for her to sit down, then presented her with a two-sided paper the size of a postcard. "These are our special drinks tonight. Jean-Claude will be your server. He will come soon to deliver your first round of appetizers."
She felt her mouth begin to salivate, and only barely managed to swallow it long enough to thank the hostess. After the wolf left, Judy laid down the card and took a good look around the restaurant.
Located near the top of Zootopia's tallest building, Le Bull l'Elise was one of the few businesses Judy had encountered in the city that was not built to accommodate animals of all sizes; giraffes and elephants could never fit inside, and she guessed that rhinos would have difficulty. Instead, the rooms were sized to more comfortably fit predators the size of lions and tigers, which gave it a smaller, more intimate feel than most places Judy had visited. The lighting in the ceiling was dimmed all the way to the lowest setting, allowing for most of the illumination to come from the candles on the tables. A live four-mammal orchestra was playing music in a far-off corner, loud enough to be heard all throughout the restaurant but quiet enough to not be distracting.
About half of the tables were filled right now, each of them with exactly two occupants, and just as Felicity had said, all of them were predators. All the males were wearing tuxedos, except for a polar bear that was wearing a business suit and looked like he had come straight here after his job that day. The females were wearing some of the fanciest dresses that Judy had ever seen. When she had first walked in, many of them had paused their conversations in order to stare at her, and while she had been nervous that they disapproved of her appearance, it soon became obvious that they were actually impressed with her looks—some of them, perhaps even jealous. The staff were dressed up just as well, with males and females alike wearing tuxedos with the restaurant logo stitched on the chest pocket.
One of them walked up to her. He was a brown bear, with a hint of gray beginning to form near his ears. He had two menus tucked under one arm, and when he approached her table, he made a small bow. "Good evening." His voice was not as deep as she expected, and he spoke with a strong foreign accent. "My name is Jean-Claude, and I will be your server tonight, Miss Hopps." He politely handed her one of the menus and set the other upright in front of the seat opposite her. "Shall I start you off with something to drink?"
Judy felt a mild panic as she realized she had completely forgotten to look at the card the hostess had given her. "Oh, yes!" She grabbed the card and quickly scanned it. "I'll have…" However, she remained silent for several seconds, as she realized that she did not have a clue what any of the drinks were; the card only had the names of the drinks with no descriptions of what they were made of. She sheepishly presented the card to Jean-Claude. "Could you please explain these to me?"
"Certainly." Jean-Claude leaned over her shoulder and examined the card. He pointed at the first option. "This is L'Étoile d'Or Éphémère, a précieux choix du cœur éternel comprised of perle verte ensoleillée and a subtle hint of eau pure."
Judy stopped understanding after the word "certainly". Jean-Claude started to move his finger down to the second option, but she shoved the card into his paw before he could say anything else. "That sounds great, I'll have that," she quickly blurted.
Jean-Claude seemed to be caught off-guard by her sudden assertion, but after a second or two, he gave another short bow. "Very good, madam." He glanced at the empty seat on the opposite end of the table. "Shall I wait for your second half to arrive before bringing you your appetizers?"
She shook her head. "No, he should be here soon anyway." She lowered her voice and added in a whisper, "Besides, I'm starving. I'm so hungry I could eat a triceratops."
Jean-Claude looked at her in a way that indicated he did not know whether to take her seriously or not—a look that he held for several long, uncomfortable seconds. Finally, however, he gave another bow and walked away from the table without any further comment.
With the table once again to herself, Judy took a moment to pull out her phone and admire herself in the camera app. Her appearance now was the polar opposite of how she looked an hour ago. Back then, she was a plain-looking bunny from the sticks who just happened to be wearing a fancy dress. Now, she hardly recognized herself—and she liked it.
Her fur had been treated at the beauty parlor to clear it of any small imperfections, which meant her gray hairs and white hairs were now perfectly separated from each other with no overlap at all. Her eyelids were now coated with a thin layer of purple eyeshadow, a perfect compliment to the color of her eyes. The edges of her eyes were accented with eyeliner, and the very tips of her lashes were now curled upwards ever so slightly. Her lips were coated in scarlet lipstick, her cheeks were powdered with a hint of blush, and the faintest smell of lavender filled the air around her thanks to the perfume she had put on.
If she had looked beautiful before, now she looked spectacular. She had never felt as pretty in her life as she did at this moment, and if she was this blown away by how she looked right now, she could only imagine how her date would feel when he showed up.
"Ms. Hopps?"
Speaking of…
Judy looked up from her phone to see the hostess had returned. And this time, she had brought someone else with her: Judy's date for this evening.
The wolf raised an arm and held it up to the fox beside her. "May I present Mr. Nick Wilde."
Judy had to stifle a laugh as Nick dramatically brought an arm to his chest and gave a bow so deep he nearly touched the floor with his nose. Then he stood back up straight, adopted his usual sly smile, and folded his arms behind his back. "Ms. Hopps," he said in greeting.
She put her phone away and raised her paw, palm down, and presented it to Nick. "Mr. Wilde," she responded in an equally posh tone.
Nick took her paw in his own, closed his eyes, and gently kissed the top of it. Then he opened his eyes again, glanced at the hostess still standing next to him, and whispered, "So, how long do we have to keep acting like this?"
The wolf could hardly contain her amusement as the two of them theatrically greeted each other. Upon hearing Nick's question, she finally cracked, and a quiet laugh escaped her lips. "You never had to in the first place."
Nick's smile faded from his face. "Really?"
"Really." She held a paw to her mouth, trying to keep any more involuntary noises from escaping. "People don't really act like that anymore."
Nick stared at her in confusion. "They don't?" She shook her head, and he turned his attention back to Judy. "Well, they should." His smile returned, and his tone of voice turned sincere as he stared into Judy's eyes. "Because the best person in the world deserves the best that this old fox can possibly offer."
Judy's heart fluttered at Nick's words, and she couldn't help but avert her eyes and smile bashfully as he once again affectionately kissed the top of her paw.
The wolf let out another noise, though this one was not a snicker, but a more subdued "Aw." She was holding a paw to her heart, as if the scene in front of her was too much for her to handle. After a second, however, she realized that Judy and Nick were now staring at her, and she quickly cleared her throat and returned to her professional posture. "I'll leave you two to your meal," she said, and then she turned around and walked away.
Nick looked back at Judy, and his smile reappeared on his face as he examined her appearance. "Wow, that is some dress." He walked over to his chair and brushed the front of his outfit before sitting down. "Makes this old thing look like I got it at a yard sale."
Judy took a moment to look him over. He was wearing a tuxedo, just like most of the other males in the room, but his was a deep shade of green. She had seen him wear it once in the past, when they attended the wedding of a fellow ZPD officer. He had received several judgmental stares at that event, but those paled in comparison to the disapproving glances he was currently enduring from a dozen wandering eyes across the room. The fox did not seem to care, however, as he simply ignored them and continued to stare at her with a smitten grin.
She narrowed her eyes at him playfully. "I thought you did."
Nick shrugged. "You know me, Carrots. Never one to pass up a deal." He tugged at the folds of his jacket and proudly held his head high. "And this was one amazing deal."
"Hey, you won't hear any complaints from me." Judy's gaze lingered on the tuxedo and she let out a happy sigh. "That green really compliments the orange of your fur."
Nick swatted the air playfully. "Oh, go on." He lowered his paw and drooped his eyelids. "No, really, go on." Judy giggled, and he took the opportunity to return her compliment with one of his own. "And that red really compliments the purple of your…" His smile slowly faded, replaced by a confused frown. "Cheeks?"
Judy raised an eyebrow. "My cheeks are purple?"
Nick blinked a few times, as if trying to make sure his eyes were working properly. Then he squinted and stared for several seconds. "Maybe it's just the lighting," he mumbled.
Realization came to her. "Ah!" She chuckled as Nick's face contorted into further confusion. "It is just the lighting." She patted a cheek with her paw. "This is just some extra blush I added for tonight. Do you like it?"
Nick was quiet for several long seconds as he continued to look at her. She had a hard time reading his expression, but at the very least, it was clear that he was not as blown away by her extra makeup as she had hoped. Finally, however, he adopted his usual smile and nodded. "Sure," he said, but then seemed to realize how rude that sounded, and he hastily added, "Of course. I like you no matter what."
Whether he had intended it or not, that sounded even worse. Judy's smile disappeared. She once again rubbed her cheek with a paw, though this time her touch lingered. "Is it really that bad?" she asked.
Nick quickly threw his paws up. "Oh, not at all!" He leaned forward, took her paw off her cheek, and held it between both of his. "Judy, believe me, nothing can ever make you look bad. You'd still look beautiful even if you had a nose like Sarah Jessica Barker or hair like Mule Brynner." He kept staring into her eyes, emphasizing every word that came out of his mouth. "You will always be perfect to me, no matter what."
In all her life, Judy had never heard anyone speak to her in such a way. Her family never spoke like that to her, and she had never had a serious romantic relationship while growing up. She was not used to hearing anyone compliment her, so when she heard Nick say things like this, she almost wanted to brush it off as just overly polite.
But she knew better. The kindness in his voice and the genuineness in his eyes told her otherwise. The words he spoke now managed to push past the self-doubt in her mind, and reached all the way to her heart. Nick could never lie to her, and if he said she was beautiful, she could not help but believe him.
The sound of someone clearing their throat took Judy out of her trance. She turned to her left, and found Jean-Claude once again standing beside the table. He was holding her drink in one paw, and a small basket filled with breadsticks with the other. "Your drink, madam," he announced.
It took her an embarrassing amount of time to realize that he was waiting for her and Nick to let go of each other so he could set the items down on the table. She awkwardly pulled her paw away from Nick's grasp and sat back in her seat while Jean-Claude placed the drink in front of her. Whatever it was, it was mostly clear, tinted orange, and columns of bubbles floated from the bottom of the wine glass to the top of the liquid.
Jean-Claude put down the breadsticks beside the candle centerpiece, then turned to face Nick. "Good evening. My name is Jean-Claude, and I will be your…" His voice faded, and recognition crossed his face. "Wait a minute…"
Nick's smug smile returned in full force. "Heya, JC. Been a while, hasn't it?"
Jean-Claude's expression contorted into one of disgust. "Heya?" he repeated. His head shivered for a second, but he was able to regain his composure and once again resumed his polite demeanor. "Hello, Mr. Wilde," he managed to say through gritted teeth. "I shall be your server this evening."
Judy was not at all surprised by the bear's reaction to seeing Nick. The fox often boasted about how he knew everybody in Zootopia, and she could only guess what unfortunate incident had happened between these two in the past. Thankfully, Jean-Claude managed to keep himself professional, and it seemed Nick was not interested in embarrassing either of them in front of her.
Nick looked at the drink that had just been delivered to Judy. "Oh, that looks good." He turned back to Jean-Claude and smiled. "I'll have one of those, too."
Jean-Claude nodded. "Very good, sir." He folded his paws behind his back and stood at attention. "Tonight's dinner will consist of seven courses, including a main dish of your choosing. Your choices are granchio reale del mare, granelli di mais esplosi nel cielo, and our special dish tonight: linguine al arrabiata."
Finally, something that Judy understood—or at least, partially understood. "Oh, I love linguine," she said excitedly. She turned to Nick. "But what is arrabiata?" she whispered.
"Allow for me to educate you," Nick replied. He spread his paws wide as he began to dramatically explain. "It's a kind of…" He paused. "Um… It's rather…" His arms came back to his sides as he found himself dumbfounded. "Really, it's a…" He turned to Jean-Claude in desperation. "What is it, exactly?"
Jean-Claude smirked meanly. "Sauce," he flatly replied.
Nick stared at him for a moment while his brain processed this new information. "Oh." He turned back to Judy. "Sauce," he repeated.
She offered him an exaggerated look of understanding, as if she had only heard it from him and not their waiter first. "Oh!" She regarded Jean-Claude. "I'll have that one," she said.
"Same," Nick piped up. With a mumble, he added, "I can't even remember the other choices."
Jean-Claude nodded again. "I will bring you your drink shortly, sir, and your first courses in a few minutes." He gave a short bow. "And please let me know if you need anything."
Nick's eyes narrowed mischievously. "How about fetching me a wet towel?" he joked.
"Almost anything." Jean-Claude shot him one last look before turning around and heading to the kitchen.
Judy chuckled at their friendly banter—at least, she hoped it was friendly—and decided to finally try the drink that Jean-Claude had brought her. She picked up the glass, brought it to her lips, and allowed a tiny amount of liquid to pass into her mouth.
Her eyes widened and she had to throw her free paw up to her mouth in order to prevent herself from spitting it back out.
The reaction caused Nick to raise an eyebrow. "Well, now I'm sorry I got one for myself," he murmured. Then he raised his voice and asked, "Are you okay?"
Judy managed to swallow, which she regretted immediately, because it caused her throat to suddenly feel like it was on fire. She tried to give a reassuring nod, but it felt like her muscles had completely seized, and all she could manage to do was look at Nick with watery eyes, force a half-smile, and give a weak thumbs-up in-between small involuntary coughs.
Nick reached for her drink. "May I?" Without even waiting for a response, he raised the glass to his own lips and took a sip. He sat back in his chair for a few seconds, stared at the ceiling in thought, smacked his lips once or twice, then finally looked back at Judy and smiled. "It reminds me of my grandmother's cooking."
Judy finally recovered enough to grab the linen napkin off of her side of the table and wipe her eyes. "You can keep that," she offered, her voice sounding scratchier than normal.
Nick's smile faded as he continued staring at her. "Um…" He set the drink back down on the table and quietly cleared his throat. "Carrots, your eyeliner is…"
She was confused for a second, but Nick brought a finger to one of his own eyes and made the motion of a falling tear, and she understood with a gasp what he meant. She quickly whipped out her phone, opened the camera app, and stared at her reflection in horror. Her tears from the drink had wetted her eyeliner, and thanks to her napkin, she now had large streaks of black extending in numerous unflattering directions away from both eyes.
"Oh no!" She cried out in a panic, so loud that the mammals sitting at a few of the other tables turned their heads to glare at her—which only made her panic all the more. She grabbed the napkin again and covered her face with it, trying her best to hide from all the prying eyes staring at her imperfect face.
She heard the sound of Nick's chair scraping against the carpet, then a second later, his paws were on her shoulder. He pulled her close to his chest, though she kept her napkin pressed firmly against her face. "Hey," he whispered. "It's okay. It's no big deal."
More sounds filled Judy's ears, though she had a hard time identifying them. A passing set of footsteps, a glass being set on the table, something being wetted—and then Nick pried the napkin away from her face. Before she could bring it back up, however, he rubbed something else there instead: his own napkin, damp with cold water.
Nick had obtained a glass of water from a passing waiter, and now he was using it to clean Judy's face. She felt her cheeks flush red, and not just because of all the blush she was wearing. She hung her head in embarrassment, and a new volley of tears threatened to fill her eyes, but she managed to blink them back.
"I'm sorry, Nick," she whispered. "I'm not used to wearing all this makeup. I guess I got careless."
"No apologizing," Nick ordered. He continued rubbing the napkin against Judy's fur, softly but firmly. "I won't hear it. You have done nothing wrong."
He only needed a few seconds to fully clean her up, and as soon as he was done, he went back to his chair and sat down, as if nothing at all had happened. She still had her phone in her paw, though, and one glance at her face informed her that most of her makeup was now completely gone. Her brilliance had been extinguished, replaced once again by her old, plain, dumb bunny self.
She turned off her phone screen, slumped in her chair, stared at her lap, and let out a sad sigh. "I just wanted to be beautiful for you," she said in a quiet voice. "You deserve the best in the world…" Her ears hugged the back of her neck. "And I'm not."
Nick was quiet for a few seconds, undoubtedly contemplating how to respond, but eventually, he reached his arms across the table and rested his opened paws in front of her, silently beckoning her to take them. She obliged, and he gave both of her paws a gentle, reassuring squeeze. She looked up at his face, and was surprised to see a warm smile welcoming her.
"Judy." Nick's soft voice, quiet enough for only the two of them to hear, filled Judy's sensitive bunny ears and drowned out all that surrounded them. "I love you." He squeezed her paws again. "I love you. You don't need a fancy dress and powder on your fur to impress me. I didn't fall in love with all of that. I fell in love with you. And as far as I'm concerned, you are perfect, just the way you are." His smile spread from ear to ear. "My bunny."
He might have been known for his wit and sarcasm, but he also knew exactly what to say when it mattered the most. It was not the first time Nick had said something like that to her; in fact, she had gotten used to hearing Nick say such things over the past several months. Nowadays, hardly a day went by without him mentioning how beautiful she was, or how lucky he was to be with her, or her absolute favorite: how much he loved her. And even though she had grown used to hearing it, his words now still touched her deeply.
As Nick talked, the cloud of sadness that filled Judy disappeared. Her heart lifted in her chest at his words, and even fluttered at his final sentiment. She felt a new wave of blush in her cheeks, though this time it was anything but artificial. A small smile appeared on her face, and she bashfully averted her eyes away from the fox.
He chuckled at her reaction, then gave her paws one final tight squeeze and let her go. His voice dropped even further, all the way down to a whisper. "You're cute when your ears turn red, you know that?"
Judy returned her gaze to Nick and sneered at him, though she let her embarrassed smile linger a few seconds longer. "You do remember what happens when you call me cute, right?" she replied in an equally quiet whisper.
Nick's eyelids drooped, and his smile twisted mockingly. "My, my, my, Carrots, you mustn't threaten me in front of so many innocent bystanders."
She glanced around the restaurant. She was happy to see that everyone who had previously been staring at her had returned to their meals by now, and aside from Jean-Claude, who was just exiting the kitchen and headed their way with a tray balanced on one giant paw, nobody seemed to pay any attention to them.
She turned back to Nick. "Consider this a rain check," she threatened cheekily.
The fox nodded in agreement. "Deal." He snatched Judy's drink off the table once again and leaned back in his chair, returning to his usual smug behavior. "Well, since it seems you won't be needing this anymore…"
Just as he started to take a sip, Jean-Claude walked up behind him, took a dish off of his tray, and dropped it onto the table. Nick, who had been completely oblivious to the bear's presence, jerked his glass away from his mouth mid-gulp. His eyes widened in alarm, and he let out an aggressive cough—an involuntary reaction to his drink going down the wrong pipe in his throat.
Even as he brought his napkin to his maw and coughed into it over and over uncontrollably, Jean-Claude calmly set more food down on the table. Even his voice remained professional and relatively quiet while Nick was busy hacking his lungs out. "Your drink, Mr. Wilde." He put Nick's fresh glass of whatever it was off to the side, ignoring Nick's desperate whoops. "And for your first course, I present this caprese salad for the madame…" He rested the plate directly in front of Judy, then looked back at Nick, the corners of his mouth curling upwards. "And nut terrine for the monsieur." He placed the dish in front of Nick just as the fox was finally able to clear his throat. "With extra nut," he added.
Nick glared at Jean-Claude, unamused. Judy was sorely tempted to call their waiter out on his behavior, but he was already on his way back to the kitchen before she had a chance. She turned to Nick, who seemed to be all right other than his reddened eyes and one or two residual rasps. "Are you okay?" she asked.
Nick adopted his smile again. "Oh, yeah," he assured her, though another small cough broke the smile a second later. "It's all this fancy food, that's all." He looked down at the plate in front of him and spread his paws wide, as if he was about to scoop the food up all at once. "When you have the palate of a peasant, it can taste a bit overwhelming."
He was joking, and she decided to play along. "Oh, of course. I'm not used to eating such extravagant foods as…" She looked down at the plate in front of her. "Cheese and tomatoes."
"But of course not!" Nick's voice shifted, and the words that came out next were performed with perhaps the worst attempt of a foreign accent that Judy had ever heard in her life. "My dear Ms. Hopps, I would be privy to indulge in my delicacy of choice this fine day…" He dropped the accent, as well as his smile, and finished with a straight face, "If only I knew which fork to use." He grabbed two forks on his side of the table—leaving behind three others of various sizes—and held them in the air with both paws. "Seriously, who came up with this?"
For once tonight, Judy actually knew the answer. "Oh, that's easy." She looked at the forks that were spread out before her, took hold of the one farthest to the left, and held it up for Nick to see. "This one is the salad fork. We use this one for the first course."
Nick blinked, stunned at Judy's knowledge on such things. "How did you know that?" He looked at the two forks in his paws, lowered one of them back to the table, and held the other up to his eye so he could examine it more closely. "Do they teach Pigtorian etiquette in Bunnyburrow?"
"No, I Zoogled it on the way here," Judy casually replied.
A look of disappointment flashed across Nick's face. "Ah, I should have thought of that…" He quickly shook it off, and returned his attention to the food in front of him. "Okay, let's dig in and see just how good this stuff is."
The food on Nick's plate was mostly brown. It reminded Judy of the "veggie loaf" she had been forced to tolerate at her school's cafeteria growing up. And even though that veggie loaf had left a repulsive imprint in her memory, she honestly wondered if she would prefer it to whatever it was that Nick was currently poking with his fork. Her own food looked much more appetizing: several slices of tomatoes, forming a circle along the edge of the dish, with tiny cheese squares in the center, all of it covered in a special sauce.
Nick took a nibble from his food the same time as Judy hungrily shoved one of the tomato slices into her mouth. Immediately, she regretted her decision. It might have looked like a tomato, and maybe at one time it might have even been a tomato, but what Judy tasted was absolutely not a tomato. The sauce that caked it had changed its flavor considerably, and Judy's taste buds did not appreciate the mixture of sweet and sour that invaded her mouth. She forced herself to quickly swallow her bite, and had to fight off the urge to grab her napkin and wipe off her tongue.
The look on Nick's face indicated that his feeling about his own food were similar to hers. At least he had only eaten a small sample of his dish, unlike the mouthful she had consumed. He took several long seconds to chew his food and swallow, then he slowly lowered his fork back to the plate, left it there, and placed his paws in his lap.
"Not a fan?" she asked.
He shook his head. "You?" She shook her head as well. He looked down at his food. "Maybe we really are too peasant for this place," he mumbled.
She hated to admit it, but Nick was probably right. She could buy a beautiful rosy-red dress, and Zoogle all the proper etiquette, and pretend as much as she could that she was a high-class citizen, but when it came down to it, she was just a simple bunny, and she did not belong here. And now, not only did she feel out of place—and more than a little embarrassed from her tearful outburst a few minutes prior—but both she and Nick did not even like the food, no matter how expensive it was.
She let out a sigh. Why are we even still here? She paused. Why are we even still here? No answer came to her, and instead of despair, her heart filled with excitement.
She caught Nick's attention again and flashed him a smile. "Do you wanna get out of here, then?"
A look of eagerness rushed to his face. "Seriously?" he asked. "But what about this dinner?" He looked back at his plate, and his enthusiasm disappeared in an instant. "This very expensive, very lavish dinner," he grumbled.
Judy was already starting to stand up. "It's not like we're paying for it anyway." She walked over to him and tugged his arm, urging him to his feet. "Come on, Slick. What are you in the mood for?"
Nick, now sure that she was not kidding, happily walked alongside her as they made their way to the exit. "Do you trust me?"
Judy bit down on her veggie wrap, and let out a giddy squeal as the taste filled her mouth. Beside her, Nick happily munched on a burrito the length of his arm, occasionally matching her noises of satisfaction.
He had brought her to a hole in a wall—literally—just a block away. The hole was just big enough for the vender, a mole, to sell an assortment of foods wrapped in tortillas. Not only were their new meals far more delicious than the food at Le Bull l'Elise, but they also cost a fraction of the price.
And best of all, there was outdoor heating. So even though Judy felt a little silly standing on the side of the sidewalk in a strapless evening dress, next to a fox wearing a green tuxedo, they were still perfectly comfortable, even with the air temperature close to freezing.
She swallowed her current bite and flashed a happy smile at Nick. "Good choice!"
"I aim to please." Nick took another bite from his burrito and savored the flavor for several seconds. "Fancy shmancy dinner, check." He looked back at Judy. "So, what's next? You've got your fancy shmancy hotel room to get to, don't you?"
His question made her pause mid-chew. Hoppkins had booked her in the best suite that the Palm Springs Hotel had to offer, and in all the hubbub and excitement from the rest of the day, she had completely forgotten all about it. Her mind had been focused entirely on preparing to dine at Le Bull l'Elise—and that had been a complete disaster.
After that experience, heading to a resort hotel for the rest of the evening did sound nice, though it made her slightly uncomfortable to know that Hoppkins was staying there as well. If he had been slimy enough to propose taking her to dinner, despite the many warnings in their contract, then she could only imagine what he might be willing to do if he knew where she was sleeping that night…
She shook her head, brushing the thought aside for the time being. "I'm not in any hurry." Eager to change the subject, she decided to ask him a question instead. "So, how was your day? Did you learn anything new about Skye?"
Nick froze mid-bite, caught off-guard by her question. He pulled the burrito away from his teeth, looked back at his bunny, and adopted his patented sly smile. "Ah, yes. Skye…"