Chapter XXXV

Dinner Date


Friday at lunch, Amanda arrived at Michael's office and knocked on his door. Michael looked up from his desk, saw Amanda, and said, “Come on in, Amanda."

Amanda opened the door and walked in as Michael was arising from his desk. She walked over to him and gave him a quick kiss on his cheek. He took her lunch and, holding her hand, walked her to his lunch/conference room. He placed her lunch on the table and retrieved his from the refrigerator and joined her at the table. As they ate, they talked about different subjects. It amazed Michael how, after all these months, he and Amanda still found things to talk about.

After eating, Amanda walked around the table, sat in Michael's lap. And laid her head on his chest as they looked out the window at the stream about 30 yards from the window. They saw an eagle soar past the window and make a shallow dive toward the stream. When it reached the stream, the talons lowered, it caught a large fish and flew off. A few seconds later, they saw an osprey dive into the stream and come up with another fish before flying off, too.

Amanda said, “It's fun watching eagles catch fish like that. Don't you agree, Michael?"

“I certainly do but, eagles are lazy birds. If that osprey had caught his fish first, the eagle would have chased him all over the sky trying to either outright steal the fish or make the osprey drop it. I've seen them do that. It's awe-inspiring watching such large birds flying less than 10 feet off the ground in their aerial dogfight."

“Really? I'd like to see that myself."

Michael just smiled as he lay his head on top of hers and enjoyed the intimacy of just holding each other.

About ½ an hour later, an alarm sounded letting them know that it was time to get back to work. Amanda grumbled a bit as she slowly got out of Michael's lap and straightened her dress. She turned and looked at Michael, who was still sitting, before she leaned over and gave him a semi-passionate kiss.

After the kiss, Amanda asked, “Are we going out tonight?"

“Unless you say otherwise, you know Friday night is our night on the town. All I need for you to do is decide where you want to go for dinner."

“I'm debating between 'The Blue Deer' and 'The Southern Buck'. Which would you prefer?"

Michael smiled and said, “It doesn't matter to me, Sweetie. I enjoy the menu at both places."

“Then, I think I'd like to go to 'The Blue Deer'. I haven't seen Mr. Barker in several months. He'll be surprised to see me in the company of such a handsome human.

“Mother doesn't really care for 'The Blue Deer'. The night that you and the Pantheras went there was the first time we'd gone there in close to a year. I don't know why she doesn't like going there, though, Mr. Barker has some fantastic food."

“In that case, 'The Blue Deer' it is. I'll pick you up around 1230. How's that sound?"

“Sounds good to me." She kissed him again and left.


**********


At 1230 Friday evening, Michael was climbing the stairs to Amanda's apartment. Once again, as he reached the second floor landing, the door to the Protelo apartment opened and Angelique, wearing nothing more than her birthday suit, was standing there.

“Hello, Michael." She said.

Michael continued climbing the stairs as he said, “Good evening, Angelique."

As she turned to go back into her apartment, Angelique smiled and said, as she was closing the door, “I must be losing my . . ."

Michael continued up the stairs and arrived at Amanda's apartment. He knocked on the door and was rewarded by seeing Amanda fling open the door and jump into his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist as she kissed him somewhat passionately. Michael wrapped his arms around Amanda's waist and returned her kiss. After holding the kiss for several seconds, Amanda pulled back, looked Michael in the eye, and said, “Mmm. I like it better with you enjoying my kiss than you avoiding it."

Michael said, “Sweetheart, I always enjoyed your kisses; I just felt guilty for enjoying them. Now that I can finally openly show you my love, I don't care if you kiss me any time you see me.

“Are you ready to go?"

“I most certainly am," Amanda said as she slipped from Michael's waist and started down the stairs.

Once again, as they passed the Protelo apartment, Angelique made her appearance and was, once again, surprised that Michael and Amanda weren't shocked at her appearance. “I've got to try a new tactic, I believe," Angelique said as she closed the door.

Inside, she heard Oskar saying, “What tactic, sweetheart?"

“Nobody seems surprised when I open the door stark naked, Oskar."

“Well, you do open the door naked every time you open it."

Angelique continued to watch Michael and Amanda until they left the building.


**********


As Michael drove to 'The Blue Deer', a song that Amanda loved started playing on the radio. Amanda sang along with the song; Michael smiled as he listened to her sing. Amanda's singing reminded him of a country music artist he had heard while he was growing up, Patsy Cline. Michael's grandfather had several Patsy Cline CDs that had belonged to his grandfather and Michael had fallen in love with her voice.

When she finished singing, Michael said, “You have a beautiful voice. I could sit and listen to you sing all night long."

Smiling shyly, Amanda replied, “Thank you, Michael."

“There used to be a human singer back about 100 years before I was born who had a voice very similar to yours. My great-grandfather had some recordings of her singing. I loved her voice. I would sit and listen to those recordings for hours on end. After my great-grandfather died, I inherited all of them. I wish I still had them. I'm sure you'd love her voice, too."

“What was her name?"

“Patsy Cline. Her voice was a mixture of country and uptown. She was a very popular singer until she died at the age of 30 in an airplane crash."

“Wow! That's so young."

“Yeah. But, it was always said that her music would last forever."


**********


After another 15 minutes of driving and talking, they arrived at “The Blue Deer". Michael, once again, looked at the sign out front. When he and the Panthera family visited on the day he was awakened from stasis, he hadn't noticed that the deer on the sign was wearing a chef's coat. But, nothing looked like it had been changed so he chalked it up to his not being as observant as he thought he was.

Michael held the door for Amanda who smiled appreciatively at him as she passed by. They entered the restaurant and saw Mr. Barker standing in his normal place right next to the register and greeting everyone who entered. When he saw Amanda, he smiled broadly which only made his English bulldog face look all the more grotesque but in a friendly manner.

“Amanda!" He said loudly and happily in his mild cockney accent. “It's been so long since the last time I saw you in here. Is your family with you?"

“No sir, Mr. Barker. You know I got a job at SoGa Industries. After a couple of months, I found a nice apartment and moved out. I'm on a date."

Buck had pulled Amanda into a friendly hug as she spoke. He said, “On a date? Does your mother know?"

“No, sir. And she won't if I have anything to do with it. She hates the guy I'm with."

“Really?" Buck replied somewhat sarcastically. “I just can't believe she hates anybody." Amanda and Buck both laughed heartily. “So, who's the guy you're with?"

Amanda pulled Michael in closer and said, “This is him, Mr. Barker. This is . . ."

Buck said, “Michael Thomson. It's good to see you again, my boy. So, you're the lucky guy who's landed this beautiful vixen, eh?"

“Yes, sir. That's me. How are you doing, Mr. Barker"

“Business is running as good as normal for me."

Buck called a dark gray rabbit over and said, “Ruth, please take Amanda and Michael to our best table and bring them a bottle of wine, on the house."

“Yes, sir."

Michael said, “Mr. Barker . . ."

“Ah-ah-ah. Mr. Barker is my father and he's living in Anglerland. I'm Buck."

“Yes, sir, Mr. Ba—uh—Mr. Buck. Mr. Buck, since I'm driving and I've experienced Amanda when she's drunk. I'd rather have a small bottle, if you don't mind."

Smiling, Buck said, “Of course, Michael." Looking at Ruth, he continued, “Ruth, make sure that's a bottle of our best wine."

“Yes, sir. This way, Amanda."

Ruth led Amanda and Michael to a dark, semi-secluded booth. “What kind of wine would you like, Michael?"

Michael looked at Amanda who said, “What kind of wine goes with fish?"

Ruth said, “Normally, the best wine to drink with fish is a white wine. Is that what you would prefer?"

“Yes, Ruth."

“Very good. What would you like for dinner?"

Amanda immediately said, “Grilled Mahi-mahi, baked potato, and corn."

Smiling, Michael said, “I'll have the same."

“Thank you. I'll be right back with your wine." A few minutes later she brought them a quart-sized bottle of white wine and a pair of glasses. She poured each of them a glass and left.


**********


After a few minutes, Buck walked up to their table, pulled up a chair, and sat down. “How is your meal?" He asked.

Amanda was effusive in her praise of how well her fish was cooked. Michael, while not as effusive, was very impressed. “I must admit that I'm somewhat surprised, Mr. Ba-, uh, Buck."

“What do you mean, Michael?"

“Catlanna is a long way from the ocean and yet your chef managed to grill this Mahi to perfection."

“Ah. Well, because my restaurant has become one of the best restaurants in all of Catlanna, it isn't hard for me to hire chefs that specialize in different types of food preparation. So, I hired the best seafood chef in the Southeastern region that I could find. She's a mink and knows her seafood. She's also trained in the proper usage of spices and cooking techniques."

Amanda said, “She's wonderful, Mr. Barker. It's too bad that Mother isn't fond of seafood. She might actually like the way this mahi-mahi is cooked."

“Speaking of your mother . . ."

“Please, Mr. Barker, I'd like to enjoy my meal."

“It's too bad you didn't know your mother before you were born, Amanda."

“What do you mean?"

“She was a lot different back then."

Looking at Buck with a bit of a shocked look on her face, Amanda said, “Really?"

“Yes. Let me tell you a bit about my experience with your parents.

“When I was a pup, I had this dream to come to Amurica and open an Anglerfish style pub. When I got old enough, I had saved enough money to book passage on a ship to Amurica. I was going to live in the friendliest part of Amurica, the Southeastern region."

Michael said, “The Southeastern region? I grew up about 270 miles southeast of here. While I'll admit that we were considered friendlier than almost any other part of the country, we were also a wee bit clannish. We viewed strangers with suspicion. However, once we got to know you, we were friendly to the extreme."

Buck said, “The Humanimals are very friendly, even to those they don't know."

“Oh, don't get me wrong, Mr. Buck, we'd help someone in need, even someone we didn't know. We just didn't trust strangers."

“Well, as I said, Humanimals from this area are very friendly. Anyway, I wanted to live in the Southeastern region of Amurica and I chose Catlanna as the city I wanted to live in. I opened my pub and named it, 'Buck's Fish and Chips'. I thought that Amuricans would love to enjoy authentic Anglerfish food.

“About 3 months after I opened my pub, I was having a hard time getting people to visit. I was making enough money to pay my bills but that's about all I was making. I was getting a little frustrated. Then, to top it all off, I met Linda and we were dating. One day, a rather dapper looking red fox and his young wife entered my establishment.

“As you've no doubt noticed, I'm a bit of an overly friendly sort. That's because my father was just as friendly. He was always hugging someone, usually my mother, me, or my siblings but, he didn't have a bit of a problem hugging a complete stranger. When I first opened my restaurant, I hugged every female that entered much to the consternation of their date or husband but, when I explained that it was just in my nature, it didn't take long for the women to actually start looking forward to the hugs.

“When your parents came in for the first time, I walked up to your mother with my arms open wide, and, believe it or not, she accepted my hug. While I was hugging your mother, I shook hands with your father. I thanked them for visiting and told them I hoped they enjoyed their meal. Because of the fact that the dining room was almost empty, I was able to visit your parents and talk with them.

“Your father said, 'Buck, is this normal here? I mean, is it normal for your restaurant to be virtually empty on a Saturday night?'

“I frowned and said, 'Unfortunately, it is. I can't understand why more people don't visit. I know the food is good because I'm always receiving compliments about it. I just don't understand. Do the people of Catlanna not like Anglerfish food?'

“Your mother said, 'Buck, I noticed that on the menu you don't have a large selection of dishes and, to be honest, some of the food doesn't sound appealing to me.' I looked at her queerly and she continued, 'What I mean is, Bangers and Mash? Toad in the Hole? Black Pudding? Bubble and Squeak? Haggis? The name of that dish alone is enough to put off most Amuricans. I'm guessing that, unless you're Anglerfish, you're not likely to know much about those dishes.'

“'What would you suggest, Ophelia? I always wanted to have a fish and chips type of pub here.'

“'There's no reason why you couldn't continue to offer the traditional foods you're used to enjoying but, why not add dishes that Amuricans enjoy, too.'

“I thought about what your mother said and, with Linda's assistance, I created a more eclectic menu. I included a lot of local dishes done with a bit of an Anglerfish angle. What I mean is I'd take venison, for example, and cook it in a manner similar to how we'd cook beef, mutton, or pork in Anglerland. I called it Anglerfish venison.

“Linda tried my venison stew with Anglerfish ingredients and she raved about it. Thanks to your mother, I had a hit on my hands.

“Since pub style food was no longer the main drawing card here, I changed the name of my restaurant to a typical Anglerfish type of name, 'The Blue Deer'."

Amanda asked, “How is that typical of Anglerland?"

Michael said, “Over there, they name their pubs and restaurants with names like,' The Fox and Hounds', 'The Queen's Slipper', 'The Grey Parrot', 'The White Hart', 'Dog and Duck', 'Dog and Gun', etc. It's just the way they name public houses over there. The naming convention, if I recall correctly, started back when most patrons were illiterate and could only know where they were by what they saw on a sign outside the building."

“You're quite right, Michael." Buck leaned over and whispered loud enough for Michael to hear, “Amanda, he's a smart one. I'd grab him and never let go." Michael smiled as he heard this and saw the smile on Buck's face.

Amanda whispered back equally loudly, “Don't worry, Mr. Barker, he doesn't know it yet but he's my future husband." Michael rolled his eyes and Buck laughed loudly.

Buck continued his story, “Anyway, your mother was a very friendly woman back then. She even offered to help Linda and me with our dish selection. She often tasted the dishes and offered her suggestions on improving the taste.

“Your father had just started . . ." Amanda gave him a hard look. “His new job and he was making pretty good money so, he and your mother were associating with the upper crust. Some of those Humanimals were speciesists and, while your father agreed with what they believed, your mother took it completely to heart.

“One day, your parents visited us and saw how well we were doing. Your father smiled and said, 'I see that our idea seems to have been accepted by the residents of Catlanna.'

“I said, 'It sure has, Jacob. I want to thank you and Ophelia with a bit of a gift.'

“Jacob asked, 'Gift? What kind of gift?'

“'Because of your help, I'm giving the two of you 5% ownership of “The Blue Deer."'"

Amanda looked shocked at this revelation. “5% ownership? I wonder why Daddy hasn't told me about this."

“Perhaps because he didn't want it to go to your head, especially when you realize that my net profit each year is in the neighborhood of 1,250,000 Yenars which means your parents receive a check for 62,500 Yenars every year."

Amanda and Michael looked at Buck with open mouths. Finally, Michael said, “They could just live off of that money and have everything they need."

“That they could. But, Jacob would soon get bored so," He looked at Amanda before continuing, “he's still working at the job he had when we first met.

“Not long after your parents started visiting us, you mother giddily told us that she was pregnant. She was practically bouncing on her toes as she told us. Her happiness was contagious and Linda and I were as happy as she was. A few months later, your parents came to visit us and Ophelia was holding a little bundle and smiling ecstatically. She brought her new kit, you, over to Linda and me and showed us a beautiful kit, although I noticed that your muzzle didn't look quite right. It seemed a bit short and broad like a cat's muzzle but, I hadn't had a lot of experience with fox kits so I wasn't sure if that was normal or not.

“The next time your parents visited, Ophelia's attitude was different. She wasn't as happy as she had been. The look on her face was about as expressionless as I could imagine. She held you but not as lovingly as she had when she first brought you here.

“I said, 'Ophelia, what's wrong?'

“She looked at me as if she'd just noticed that I was there. 'Wrong?' She said. 'Oh, I'm sorry Buck. There's nothing wrong with Amanda. Why would you think there's something wrong with her?'

“That surprised me since I hadn't even mentioned you. So, I said, 'Can I see how big she's grown?'

“Ophelia looked at me and held you out to me. That was something she hadn't done the first time she brought you here. I took you and uncovered your face. I saw the stripes on your face and I realized what was going on. I returned you to Ophelia and said, 'Ophelia, you're absolutely right. There's nothing wrong with Amanda. She's as beautiful as she was the first time I saw her.'

“Ophelia started tearing up and said, 'Buck, I did not cheat on Jacob. We've got tiger ancestry on both sides of our family and those genes came together in Amanda.'

“I said, 'Ophelia, I know you didn't cheat on Jacob. I can see the love you have for him every time you look at him. You adore him just as I adore Linda.'

“Ophelia's tears started flowing as her emotions became too strong for her to control. Linda came up to her and, after putting her arm around Ophelia's shoulders and led her to the back of the restaurant while she was carrying you. While she was in the employee lounge, Ophelia told Linda how all of her speciesist friends accused her of cheating on Jacob the night before they got married. So Amanda, please don't judge your mother too harshly."


**********


About this time, Ruth returned and asked, “Would either of you like to have some desert?"

Michael said, “Yes, I would. Could you bring us a desert menu?"

“Yes, sir. I'll be right back."

As she walked away, Michael was staring at her causing Amanda to become a little nervous. Michael pointed at her and Buck said, “I know what you're going to ask, Michael, and I can't say. She's very dark gray, almost black, and has that white stripe on the back of her neck. It's said that it goes all the way down to bottom of her spine. I've also heard that just below her shoulders it splits into two stripes like a skunk."

“Hmm. It could be that she has skunk ancestry."

Just at that moment, Ruth returned. She had overheard Michael's comment and said, “No, sir. My family did a family tree back 75 generations and there are no skunks in my ancestry, period. However, my father is a white rabbit and my mother is a black rabbit. It's possible that my back stripe is genetic caused by the coloration of my parents."

Michael smiled sheepishly and said, “I'm sorry, Ruth. I really shouldn't notice how people are different from 'normal'."

“Oh, that's fine, Mr. Thomson. It's only natural to notice when someone looks different from what we would consider normal. I can see that your lady friend has some fox ancestry because of her gloves, and ears."

Michael winced and Amanda looked at Ruth for a second before saying, “Actually Ruth, I am a fox."

“A fox? But . . ."

Amanda smiled and said, “I know what you're thinking. About 200 years ago, a tod on my mother's side married a Siberian tigress and a tod on my father's side married a Javan tigress. As you probably know from genetics study in school, after 200 years, tiger genes came together when I was conceived and gave me my stripes, amber eyes, round pupils, and feline muzzle."

Now, it was Ruth's turn to smile sheepishly as she said, “I'm sorry, ma'am. I guess I'm just as guilty as Mr. Thomson was at noticing a difference about you and making an assumption.

“Oh! Here are a couple of dessert menus. Take your time deciding and I'll be back in a few minutes."

Buck looked over his shoulder as Ruth walked away and said, “She's a wonderful waitress. Normally, she doesn't make that kind of mistake but, I can understand her making it. After all Amanda, you do have some beautiful stripes.

“Oops. I see a new customer and it's time for my customary greeting. I'll see you two later. Michael, you be good to this wonderful lady. I don't want to have to look for you."

Michael smiled and said, “Don't worry, Mr. Buck. I'll do anything in the world to protect her."


**********


After they finished eating, Michael paid for their meal and left a nice gratuity for Ruth. They thanked Buck for the nice meal and enlightening conversation. They left the restaurant and got into Michael's car. After a 30 minute drive during which they discussed what Buck had revealed to them, they arrived at Amanda's apartment building. They walked up the stairs so close to each other they looked like conjoined twins. They passed the Protelo apartment and casually noticed that Angelique didn't open the door and there was no moaning coming from inside.

They climbed the next set of stairs and stopped outside of Amanda's apartment door. They embraced and kissed. After kissing Amanda, Michael laid his forehead against hers and looked into her eyes.

“Would you like to come inside, Michael?"

Michael thought for a couple of seconds before saying, “I'd love to but, I shouldn't."

Amanda replied, “Just because you think you shouldn't doesn't mean you shouldn't."

“I know. However, I'm afraid of what would happen if I did."

“Aw, Michael. Nothing will happen that you don't want to happen."

“I know; that's what I'm afraid of. Besides, Mr. Ingwe contacted me just before I got off work. He told me that he's going to the gun range tomorrow and wanted to know if we wanted to join him. I'm going to go with him. What about you?"

“I'd love to go."

“Then, you need to get to bed . . ." When Amanda started to say something, he quickly added, “and get some sleep."

Amanda looked at him and then kissed him again. She turned, opened her door, and went inside. After she got inside, she turned around and looked lovingly at Michael and blew him a kiss. Michael smiled, walked down the stairs, got into his car and drove home.