For Love of Mister Cotton Tail: An Apocalyptic Fairytale (Single) Read online

  For Love of Mister Cotton Tail

  (An Apocalyptic Fairytale)

  Copyright 2014 Melanie Ray

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and events are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Each book is an isolated book that tells a story. You may skip around any book you like in these apocalyptic fairytales. Each book has its own world, and its own set of problems.

  “Welcome to Sweet meats,” Candy Sweet answered as she fumbled around for her notebook paper. “Can I take your order?”

  “Yeah.” One man at the table gestured to the other. “He and I want a sweet ham each.”

  “Okay, we will have that right out to you.” Candy marked 2 h on her paper and headed into the kitchen where the magic happened. Not just the magic of good cooking though. She watched her sister Poured Sweet mixing some hamburger with her hands. Purple sparkles fell onto the meat. “Two Sweet H’s.”

  “Go get the fresh kill because we are out on this side.”

  Ew. Candy moved away slowly. Sweet Meats used only the finest, freshest ingredients. That included the animals. They had a butcher that worked for them (thank goodness) but she would have to maneuver over there where there would be piles of dead animals still in their fur.

  As Candy stepped in though, she changed her mind about retrieving the ham. In a cage with no butcher around was the world’s largest and cuddliest bunny.

  It was no ordinary bunny. It was big and brown with large ears that dropped down instead of standing up straight. It had the tell-tell trait of a cottontail rabbit with the tuft on its rear end. The eyes weren’t red but an enchanting emerald green, and its black nose twitched.

  She swore its eyes were pleading for her to help it. “Oh, you poor thing.” She moved toward the cage and stroked its fur. “Got caught, didn’t you?”

  His sad eyes didn’t let up. How could such a creature have such heart tugging eyes? She opened the latch and picked the big bunny up. Its hair was soft and cuddly, and he latched onto her like its life depended on it.

  It was too much to bear. Holding it close, Candy headed away. She didn’t get passed Poured though.

  “Candy, what do you have there?” Her sister criticized her.

  “Not this one. I won’t do it again, just not this one.” Candy rubbed the top of his head. “Come on, Poured, don’t shout about it. Just look at his cute little floppy ears. He has a cotton tail too. How many rabbits are like that? Is it even possible to have both? He could be a new species. Oh, please don’t tell.”

  Poured groaned. “Better get him out and then back. You also better pray no one orders rabbit while you are away. Bleeding heart.”

  Candy didn’t care about the name calling. She marched over to the cleanest counter she could and sat the rabbit down. Luckily, it didn’t pounce off from her. She took off her apron, grabbed her purse, and picked the gigantic rabbit back up. “I’ll be right back, I promise, Poured.”

  * * *

  Okay, so she didn’t return back right away. Her new bunny after all needed something to eat. She stroked its ears as it munched on some carrots. “Doesn’t take much to please you, does it? Look at you. Hopping around out there in the world with no care at all.”

  His eyes just stared back at hers as he finished munching on his carrot.

  “Now that the butcher doesn’t have you, it looks like your life just got better again. Well, sort of.” Candy shrugged. “You are stuck with me until you run away. Not that I could blame you, big guy.” She stepped away and took off her coat. “My life is far from uncomplicated, big bunny. My dad is dying in six months, and my sister is already engaged to Stephen, someone with no magic line. To keep the business running, I have to marry this guy that is so . . .” She closed her eyes and groaned. “He just thinks of me and my competition as a sport. Dilly dallying, always acting like he doesn’t know who to choose. I have to put up with it though.” She moved back over toward the bunny and stroked his ears as his little mouth munched away on the carrot. “I’m a magic user, first class Sweet. I was even born in a traditional family line named Sweet. If I lose this company, then no one would hire me. I have none of those school credentials. I can read and write. I know mathematics extremely well. You have to in order to run the business. I am adept at the law, but it’s still not school. No credentials, no job. I can’t remake a business without either one.”

  She moved away toward the window. “Yeah, you’ll be hopping off soon, breaking out these windows I’m sure. Otherwise, you’ll have to hear about my whining day after day. You’ve already been warned.” She looked back and smiled at the bunny before heading to her room. “So, until you run away, what should I name you?” Opening her drawer, she decided to change her clothes. It was warmer that day than the weatherman predicted.

  As she lowered her dress strap, she heard a tiny foot repeatedly stomping in the other room. Glancing back, she saw the bunny staring at her by her door. “I haven’t frightened you away yet, huh?” She pushed her strap up and watched, amazed, as he hopped over to her.

  He stood up on his haunches with his front paws in the air and Candy almost lost it. Did bunnies do that? Well, she knew that cats could. “You are too adorable for words.” She picked him back up and scratched the back of his ears.

  She went to work once more, but was excited to return back to her new bunny. Would it still be there when she returned? What should she do with it? Eventually she needed to take it back out to the wild where it belonged, but she was going to take her sweet time to do it.

  In her life, it was about the only thing she felt was going right. When she returned home each night, he would always be there at the door to welcome her home. In the mornings, he would eat some vegetables she would buy for him the night before so that they were fresh. On the weekends when she could watch a movie, he always crawled up into her lap, and he let her stroke his ear. The first time he did that, it was quite a feat because she had taken him to the vet to get his health checked out, but even after the trip, all he wanted was her.

  At night, she kept him at the foot of the bed, but by morning he had always sneaked into her arms, showering her with morning bunny kisses. He had a thousand chances to run away, but he never did, so Candy bought him a studded collar with the words BB on it.

  He was the best pet she could ever hope for. Then one day when she came back home in an incredibly sour mood, he surprised her.

  “I’m sorry, Candy.”

  Candy stared at him for more than a few seconds. He quickly tried to make his own rabbit mewling sounds, but it didn’t cover it. “You talked?”

  “I didn’t mean to, but I couldn’t help it.” Big Bunny bent his head down on her lap. “That doesn’t scare you, does it?”

  “I have a rabbit that talks?”

  “I have a Candy that talks and I have no problem with it,” Big Bunny joked. “I promise, I won’t tell anyone your secrets. I’m just a talking rabbit.”

  “You’ve never talked before.”

  “I didn’t want it to get awkward.”

  “You think?” Candy stroked his ears as he leaned into her hand. “Can all rabbits talk?”

  “Some can, most don’t,” Big Bunny confessed. “Can I still curl up in your lap and live with you?”

  “Well . . .you are still my Big Bunny, whether you talk or not.” She scratched behind his ears. “I haven’t been belittling you with petting, have I?”

  “Oh no! I love
being petted.” He leaned into her hand again. “I wish you could pet me all day long, Candy.”

  “Okay.” She looked at Big Bunny curiously. “Is there anything else you’ve been hiding from me?” Oh yes, she knew that little rabbit look.

  “Nothing that you need to concern yourself with right now.”

  Heh. He probably ran away from the circus or something. That would make more sense. “Okay, keep your secrets.” She kissed the top of his head. “Can I still give you bunny smooches?”

  “Any time of day.”

  * * *

  “Welcome to Sweet meats,” Candy answered as she fumbled around for her notebook paper again. “Can I take your order?” As soon as she found the paper again.

  “Yeah, two majbab pork slices, please.”

  “Okay, we will have that right out to you.” Candy marked 2 p on her paper and headed into the kitchen “Two Sweet P’s.”

  “Sweet Peas?” Her sister said as she looked back over at Candy. “I thought you weren’t working the new veggie side yet.”

  “No, sweet pork.” Candy forgot about the new addition again, it made their simple shortcuts harder sometimes when they sounded the same. “Po’s, right?”

  “No, that would be sweet potato,” Poured answered. “Just stick with the full names, we’ll figure it out.”

  Candy shrugged and set to work on her own order. She could cook and add the sweet, but then her mother would be left to it. Poured didn’t have Spice power either, she had magical sprinklings for the hamburger, but she would have to wait for their mom too. The only way to get the barbecue flavor that folks craved was to have Sweet and Spice power.

  Their dad couldn’t do it. The ability was only passed to the women of the family. That and he had been dying, barely getting out of bed now. A part of Candy felt bad but not much more than she felt for people who died on TV. He was the original one in the line, while her mom, Momma Sweet, had to pursue him. Her take was thirty percent which she split equally down with Candy and her sister. Each of them owned ten percent of the company, while the father she barely knew earned seventy percent without lifting a finger.

  “Candy, take the veg side for two minutes. Table nine.” Her mother said as she rushed by her. “I am overflowing on the meat side. I swear; your father’s idea of a veggie side is absurd. This will not keep the company going. Once he’s dead, we need to change this.”

  Candy didn’t speak to her mom about her similar thoughts. The veggie side was just taking up space and expenses. Cleaning her hands off, she grabbed her notepad and headed to the veggie side.

  * * *

  Cotton looked around the joint. This was not his kind of place, bad experience, but his friend Matt had a crush on one of the waitresses there.

  “I know what you are thinking,” his friend Matt said, catching his eye roll. “Look, you can order majbar if you want.”

  “I’ve heard the name. What is it?”

  “Majority is barbecue flavored.”

  Ugh. Why did everyone insist on doctoring food up? “Do they have donto?” Cotton asked.

  “What is donto?”

  “As in don’t touch the food.” Cotton knew that annoyed him by the sound of his friend’s sigh. “Majbab is better than anything else I guess.” Smallest thing on the menu. He could then go home and get something decent to eat.

  “My name is Candy, may I take your order?”

  Cotton looked up at the waitress. His wailing about the place had ceased all together as he stared at Candy. She never wore any makeup of any kind. Her hair was short and hanging down, the opposite of many women. The latest fashion was to put the hair up on the head, even young girls wore it like that. It wasn’t a one day thing either, she always wore it that way.

  She had brought out two decorative eggs. One with stripes, and one with dots. Must have been on instinct or for decoration because he wasn’t going to touch them.

  “Is Poured working?” Matt asked the waitress.

  “She’s busy in the kitchen. I’m your waitress today,” Candy answered as she fumbled for the notepad. “May I take your order?”

  “Yeah, a majbabbroccoli stew.” Matt’s voice lost interest. “My friend wants―”

  “I can order for myself.” Cotton handed his hand out to her, wishing she’d pick it up, but knowing better. If they were at home she would. She loved to pick him up at home.

  Then again, if she knew Big Bunny was actually him, she might not do that anymore. “Menu?”

  “Oh.” Candy groaned. “I don’t really know the menu. I’ve never worked the veggie side before.”

  “You should.” The words fell out before Cotton even comprehended them. “Do you have any regular food? Non-sweet or spicy?”

  “That’s a new request.” Candy placed her notepad away. “You mean just get you something with nothing done to it?” She shrugged. “I don’t see why not, but you’ll have to pay something for it.”

  “That’s fine. How about majbab?” It was the only term Cotton knew. “Broccoli stew, we know it’s on there.”

  “Okay.” Candy marked down the item. “It’s much cheaper to go to the market than eat here at Sweet Meats though.”

  “It’ll be fine.” He wasn’t stingy with money.

  “Okay, twenty nine, twenty nine.”

  “Pardon?” He wasn’t stingy but he wasn’t stupid. He looked toward Matt. “You’re paying twenty nine, twenty nine for a simple stew?” All just so he could meet a girl who wasn’t even waitressing right then.

  “Sweet Meats adds no extra calories to the food, and we hold the top spot for sweetest barbecue in the world.” Candy pulled the notepad back out. “One or two broccoli stews?”

  “How about water?” Cotton asked. “Just bring some water.”

  “Five, twenty nine.”

  “For water?” Cotton almost choked on the air.

  “Sweetened or barbecue flavored water. Everything is sweetened or barbecue flavored.” Her voice held great annoyance. “If you want regular, it’s the same price, sir.”

  “Fine, whatever.” Cotton gave up. She’d be in a better mood at home. “Get me a simple glass of water.”

  * * *

  Candy turned to head back to get the orders, but she found herself stuck in a familiar embrace. Darren eagerly kissed her, giving her little room to complain. He was supposed to be marrying her after all. His breath wasn’t the cleanest, but it never had been. Even barbecue would have been better than what she smelled. The customers could probably smell it too.

  When he let go of her, she tried to act like that wasn’t completely embarrassing. “Darren, what are you doing here?”

  “Counting the days ‘til we do it.” Darren looked over toward Cotton and the other guy. “You’re not trying to flirt with my Candy, are you?” Neither of them bothered to answer, but Candy felt mortified. If anyone could get a reward for less tact, it would be him.

  “What do you want, Darren?” Candy asked again, hoping she could find out so he could then leave.

  “The big day is getting closer. We’ll be doing it soon.” He grabbed her by the waist. “Marriage, of course.”

  Candy didn’t want to look at anyone. What a display. Why did he have to be such a showoff? “I’ve got to go get an order.”

  “Hurry up then.” He patted her butt before she headed on her way.

  * * *

  That had to be the biggest creep Cotton had ever seen. He’d heard of him several times, but he’d never met Darren before. Who in the world comes in grabbing their fiancé like that? He’d seen romantic displays, but that was far from romantic. That smell on his breath too, even Cotton could smell the hard whisky.

  It wasn’t right. Candy was the sweetest owner in the world. Well, part time owner. He only spent his mornings, nights, and the weekends in his rabbit form. The other times he walked around like everyone else, doing his own thing.

  He knew that he should have hopped off, but he had got rather close to her in his rabbit form. H
is family also reinforced him to stay, believing that they were both the prophesied ones. That large load standing in front of him though, the thought of him always being near Candy. It sickened him. There would be no more curling up in her bed with that guy around. “Why does she have to marry you?” He knew the answer yet Cotton just couldn’t help himself.

  “Pardon?” The guy moved up closer, pounding his hands on the table. “What do you mean why does she have to marry me? Who are you?” Cotton moved back slightly, wincing at the awful breath. He heard him take a big sniff. Yeah, that’s attractive. “You’re a Vegan, what are you doing here?”

  “I’m allowed.” Cotton scratched his shoulder.

  “Cotton, damn it, that’s none of our business,” Matt began. “Who cares who is marrying who?”

  “Anyone would have to be blind to want to marry him after that showoff display.” Cotton sat back in his chair. He shouldn’t care. He should be going about his business complaining about the five, twenty nine water.

  He remembered all those nights though, complaining about Darren Manner. She didn’t want him in her life at all, and whether he wanted to say it out loud or not . . .Cotton wanted to be more than her pet. Not that that mattered, if she was the prophesied one then she would never have to worry about Darren Manner again.

  “You need to watch that mouth of yours.” Darren pointed at him. “I’m the guy who trademarked the currency signs. You should thank me when I let my wife use it for the menus around here in the future.”

  Oh, so this was the guy who actually got the dollar and cents signs trademarked? The reason they had to use commas for pricing now. Candy didn’t mention that, but it probably wasn’t at the top of her complaints.

  “I always wanted to own the currency signs. I always own what I want, so don’t cross me again.”

  Cotton kept himself under control. Just because he was a Vegan didn’t mean he was a pushover. And just because this Darren guy was a meat lover didn’t make him strong. Nor did having money make him smart. It was his family who had that money after all.