Animal Café Ch. 24

The little ball under the comforter took a deep breath in and let a long sigh out mixed with a groan. Clearly, something was bugging her.

"Vix and I know the whole story. We tried to stay out of it to respect Shane and Lucy's lack of desire to talk about this, but now I'm tired of it. They are acting like children, and it's Vix and me who have to pay the price. Not being able to talk about them while everybody else is wondering what is going on is draaaining! I know Vix is sick of it too. She told me more than once."

"But... What secret? What is going on between the two of them? If they are married, why are they not together or divorced?"

"Aaaaah! See! That is exactly it! I can't talk about it! It's their private life."

"Whatever, Trix. If it's hurting you or Vix, it's not worth carrying this secret on your shoulders alone. It's not fair."

"I knooow! But what do you want me to do?"

"Oh, I don't know."

None of us had any good ideas. On the one hand, Lucy had the right to keep her private life private, but on the other, if Trixie and Vix were victims of the situation because they happen to know something we don't, then I agreed with Misti; it was not okay.

Trixie-ball migrated from the center of the bed to the edge of the blanket. It was quite amusing to see her trying to find the exit, but it was not as funny when the little blonde head finally popped out. It looked like she had cried at some point and her eyes were a bit red.

But the good news was that her expression morphed into one of determination. It was Trixie, after all, a brave little woman.

"Aww. You guys are not naked. I would have loved it if you had been naked."

"..."

"Alright... Follow me. I have an idea."

"Follow you? Where?"

"We are going to play ninja again."

Whatever Trixie had in mind, it made me nervous. After having been discovered roaming around the building, I thought that we would have stayed inside the pethouse for a while longer, but she seemed to suggest otherwise. Breaking the rules after having broken the rules was probably not the best of ideas. One thing that worried me the most was that I probably could not say no to whatever plan she had crafted in her rabbit head. But she was my friend, and I would have to follow her.

***

"We are so going to get caught!"

"Shhh! Acca! Just stay in the shade."

"Trix! There is no shade here. It's an office hallway lit by ceiling neon lights. Why are you hugging the wall anyway? It doesn't make any difference."

"I'm a ninja!"

Accalia rolled her eyes at her friend's childish behavior while unable to comprehend what she was trying to achieve. Not only Trixie decided that we would all go on a risky excursion to the office floor, heading to an unknown destination, but on top of that, she forced Misti to wear the latex bunny costume, which was multiplying the risk level by a million. I was trailing at the back of the convoy next to Misti-bunny, holding her arm tightly not to lose her.

"Where are we going anyway? We are so not supposed to be wandering around on the office floors."

"Our access cards grant us access to the whole building, so technically we are allowed. But, anyway, it's late, and everybody went home already."

"True, but if everybody went home already, why are we here?"

"Aaaah! We are going to see Shane."

"Shane? But why? And he probably left the building already."

"Nah! I'm sure he is still here."

"How do you know that?"

"I just know, alright!"

"Sheesh... Relax. I'm just telling you that this is super weird."

"Ah! It's right there... Look!"

Right around the corner, a fancy reception desk with neat green plants separated us from two massive wooden doors, similar to the pethouse ones. A single one of these was probably worth more than my total net worth. Why were insurance companies making so much money? Shouldn't they return all that extra profit to their hard-working employees or something?

Fortunately, nobody was sitting at the reception desk, so we circled it and lined up in front of the massive doors.

"So? What now, Trix?"

"We break-in!"

"WHAT? What is this place anyway?"

"The CEO office. Mmmph!"

With all her might, Trixie turned the golden door handles and slowly pushed the doors open as if she was a superhero. Being this small had its disadvantages, but seeing her struggling was kind of entertaining. Interestingly enough, we had broken so many rules so far that this last-ditch effort didn't feel as dramatic as it should have been. Perhaps we could end up in jail for this, but somehow, even though Trixie was a nutcase, I trusted her very much.

When we entered the CEO's office, it was exactly like in a movie. The room was HUGE, and there was a big desk at the foot of a wall of windows.

"Is this... Shane's office?"

"Yup. Well, I think so. Where is he? Ah, over there, maybe."

Inside that giant office, there was also a big lounge room with big leather couches facing some oak shelving units full of books and a giant TV. So luxurious. Even the squishy carpet made me feel out of place.

We walked around the couches, and we finally found Shane, asleep on the couch, and in front of him on the coffee table, a half-emptied bottle of spirit. I wasn't an expert in interpersonal relationships, but to me, it looked like someone had medicated himself after an emotional altercation with a certain vocal bunny girl.

Trixie didn't care. She rushed to him and poked him randomly in the chest until he emerged from his slumber.

"Hey! Wake up! We need to talk!"

"Hmmm... Trixie? What the hell are you doing in my office? Oh my God! You took the rabbit out of the pethouse again!?"

"Come on! Sit up, Shane! We need to talk!"

"Aaaah! What do you want, now?"

"Just talk. Misti, sit on him!"

Misti jerked back, making her long ears bounce back and forth. She looked at Accalia and me, then back at Trixie. Was this why her friend had asked her to wear the bunny costume out of the blue? Was this the plan all along?

"Come on, Misti! That's your job! You are a café pet. Sit on his lap!"

"I don't want her to sit on me! Why would she do that anyway?"

Unfortunately for Shane, even though Misti was a bit shocked by this request, she was indeed a café pet, and sitting on people was something very natural to do. So she fast-walked to him and jumped on his lap, twisting mid-air so she could land her back against his chest. All he could do was open his arms, not to directly touch the rubber bunny that was trying to find the most comfortable position to sit.

"Aaaah! Get her off me! You know I'm not into this."

"No! You have to hug her."

"... Hug her... WHAT? Why? She is not my girlfriend."

"She is your comfort pet. Hug her. Then we'll talk."

"You are crazy, Trixie."

"Hug her!"

"No!"

"Hug her!"

"No!"

"Hug her!"

"Aaaah! Whatever... There. Happy?"

"Yes."

"What do you want from me, now?"

It was very impressive to me. Trixie was so bold and courageous. I would never have the necessary skills to break someone like she just did. When he finally wrapped his arms around Misti-bunny, it really made me feel funny. That was how the pets got to me at first. They made me touch them and hug them until I let go of my fears.

But now, I was very curious to see where this unsolicited visit would go. So Trixie emptied her bag.

"So, I'm sorry we walked in the building with a giant rabbit earlier. We shouldn't have done it."

"Ah, it's okay. Just don't do it again. You didn't come here just to apologize, right?"

"No. I want you to talk to Lucy."

"That again? I told you! I tried all I could. There is so much I can do. It is what it is."

"No no no. Let me explain. See my three friends here? They don't know anything about you and Lucy. Only Vix and I know the full story."

"Well, it's our private life. I don't see why we should put it on display for everyone to see. You and Vix have been around us for a long time, so that's why you know more, and we appreciate your discretion."

"Nah, you are missing the point, Shane. When you showed up at the penthouse earlier, you scared my friends. If you had worked on your relationship with Lucy, it wouldn't have happened."

Shane hugged Misti-bunny just a bit more. What Trixie told him was indeed not what he had expected to hear.

"I... I did?"

"Yes! But that's not all. You are hurting Vix and I. Probably even more Vix because she is sensitive."

"I'm not hurting her... What are you saying! I'd never do such a thing."

"Yes, you do. I mean, not just you, but Lucy too. Vix and I are sick of keeping all those secrets from our friends, and we have a lot of friends. If you two were to fix your heads, we wouldn't have to carry that weight. But now, we are done with it."

Shane was now crushing Misti in his arms. He was now glad to feel her comforting presence.

I remember on Christmas day when Shane walked away without taking his ten thousand dollars picture with him. Vix had grabbed it from my hands between her two cushy paws and brought it back to him. From afar, I saw him talking to Vix lengthily while rubbing her arms, as if she was his daughter or something. It was unlikely that it was the case because Vix was in her early twenties and Shane looked mid-thirties, but I was really wondering who she was to him.

Clearly, when Trixie confronted him about how difficult it was for Vix to keep silent about everything related to the pethouse, I could read guilt on Shane's visage. It was my conviction that he never had any intention to hurt them, and hearing that he might have inadvertently done this was not a feeling he enjoyed. Good thing Misti was there to comfort him with her little rubber body. He would have to be careful not to crack one of her ribs, though.

"So, I would like you to man up, and once and for all have a good discussion with Lucy. I'm done with this. You two have to act like adults."

"I... I tried..."

"I know... but this time, tell her what I just told you. Then she will listen. We are worth gold to her. It should help you get to her and open an adult discussion."

"..."

"Alright, guys. Let's go back to the pethouse. We are done here."

Trixie walked around the couch and headed toward the exit. Acca and I, as puzzled as before, followed her obediently. Tonight, she was our leader. But then, as we were about to go through the door, Trixie turned around.

"Oh... Can I have my rabbit back? I mean... Misti is not off work often at the same time as me and..."

"Yes yes... You can have her back... You don't need to give me details, please!"

"Cool! Come, Misti! Now I'm in the mood to have wild pet sex."

"AAaarr! Trixie! I said I didn't want to hear those details! Get out of my office now!"

As Shane shook his head, Trixie's proposition had cheered Misti up, and she danced her way back to us before throwing herself in Trixie's arms.

Despite this incomprehensible drama, I was under the impression that we wouldn't sleep a lot tonight.