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Literature Text
Chapter 18. "Prejudice"
4.28 pm, Saturday, June 12, 2022
Kaylee reopened the cooking book to check the recipe for one last time. She studied it quickly and proceeded with the cake she was baking for her, Max and the kids that were soon to be at the place when she heard a doorbell. Rabbit’s ears perked up curiously, as she wondered who could that be. Certainly not Max; he had just left and it’d be some time before he would come back. As doorbell rang again, the bunny wiped her paws hurriedly.
“I’m coming!” She assured, assuming that it would be another peddler of sort that she’d dismiss hurriedly. She really was on a tight schedule there. The rabbit opened the door to see a tall, grey wolf somewhere in his thirties. He was dressed neatly, if not wealthily, but she hardly paid attention to it over his brown eyes and disturbing, if polite smile that resembled the ones of Ryan Thorn’s and earlier, Gerard Greymane’s. Kaylee’s heart skipped a beat as her inner fears awoke and her paw involuntarily went to the scar on her left arm which Max had left her in the Dungeon nearly four years earlier.
“Um… Mrs. Kaylee Reynolds?” Asked the wolf, a bit confounded. “I’m sorry, I probably should have called before or…”
“Mr. James Greymane, I believe?” Guessed the rabbit instead, confusing the wolf even more. “You… you resemble your godson greatly,” she explained.
“Oh, of course. May I… may I come in?” James asked.
“Please, make yourself at home,” the rabbit assured. The wolf stepped in carefully and she closed the door as the guest passed by her. James wiped his feet at the doormat neatly.
“Please come to the kitchen. I’m sorry, but I’m finishing the meal for the five of us and I really am in quite a hurry. You won’t mind if I cook while we talk?” Kaylee asked and, as James assured it would be alright with him, she guided him to the kitchen. “Actually, Ryan will be here too. Would you like to stay over too, Mr. Greymane?” The bunny suggested.
“No, no, there really is no need,” James said, as he glanced inside the oven. “It smells real good, though,” he assured.
“The offer remains,” Kaylee promised. She had managed to calm her heart back down and resumed preparing of the cake. Hopefully, he had not noticed her initial stress. “Mrs. Ubik mentioned that you’re really close with Ryan. I assume you wanted to talk about him?”
“Precisely. I was very surprised, having learnt the news from gossips,” Greymane pointed out, poorly covering with a weak smile frustration over the situation.
“It is not my or my husband’s responsibility, as I was informed,” Kaylee replied politely, but firmly. “Nonetheless, there’s no ill will of ours behind it. After all, we all just want what’s the best for Ryan,” Kaylee pointed out with a kind smile that he returned.
“Have you considered your options for long?” James asked plainly, but she only snorted with laughter.
“Well… a rabbit and a wolf don’t have that many options for children, as much as we’d try,” she pointed out amusingly. “We knew we would opt for adoption before we married. And since then, we’ve been participating in all sorts of courses to prepare us for the task,” the bunny said, only having concluded, realizing how defensive she sounded. There was something in that wolf that disturbed her although she couldn’t quite name it. Just like Kaylee used to when she was at her lowest, he was wearing a mask. But while hers was of being ‘normal’, his one seemed to be of sympathy and another one, much poorer, of politeness.
“Of course. It’s good to hear that you’re… that you’re treating it seriously,” James said a bit awkwardly, as if he didn’t know what to say. For a moment, they stood in silence. Kaylee was busy preparing the cake, and the wolf was leaning against the worktop, playing with his fingers.
“I could show you the room we have for Ryan and Thane. We’ll be furnishing it next month, but still…” Kaylee suggested.
“It would be nice,” assured the wolf, even if somehow, he didn’t sound all that eager. Kaylee paused her work for a moment and guided the wolf upstairs. They passed by ajar bedroom and bathroom doors and Kaylee invited her guest to an empty, spacious room at the end of the corridor.
“It’s empty for now. Here we thought of setting up a bunk bed. Ryan could share a room with Thane. They both seemed to like the idea a lot,” Kaylee explained enthusiastically and he just nodded. “There, we’d put two desks, some wardrobes, a bookshelf for Thane, since he reads a lot… We’ll figure most of the details on the fly, consult them with kids too.”
“Huh. It’s…” James walked over to the windowsill and looked outside. Whatever he saw in the quiet, peaceful neighborhood or the well-kept lawn, it made his paws tremble for a short moment. “It’s a really nice place,” he admitted reluctantly at last. “Let’s go back downstairs, shall we?”
“Of course,” Kaylee agreed, letting him out of the room. She’d surely lead the way, if her instinct wasn’t rising one red flag after another; she really didn’t want to have him behind her back. There was something most disturbing in that wolf, as if he was about to… snap. She considered calling Max, but she knew he wasn’t slacking off. He’d be back with kids as soon as possible. They came back to the kitchen, and Kaylee resumed baking, even if watching the wolf even more carefully.
“I believe you’ve talked it over with Ryan too, James? Can I call you that? We are soon to become a family, after all,” Kaylee tried to befriend him, but his smile was a nervous one.
“I… I’ve talked with Ryan, Mrs. Reynolds, but… I must say I don’t like it,” he confessed. Kaylee paused her barely resumed work and watched the wolf carefully.
“What do you mean?” She jerked her head curiously. The wolf only hesitated for a second before speaking. As he opened his mouth, the mask of politeness, along with the smile he had been forcing from the second he knocked at her door, were gone.
“I don’t approve the idea of you adopting my godson,” he admitted finally and it outraged Kaylee twofold; not only because he claimed she shouldn’t be looking after the boy she started to bond with, but also because it came from a mammal who, if he really cared so much about Ryan, should have taken care of him long time ago.
“Why?” She only asked though; she wanted to go to the core of the issue.
“Multiple reasons, actually,” he said, evadingly. Kaylee crossed her arms.
“Oh, I’m listening,” she said coldly.
“First off, you’re Reynolds. I’ve had really bad experience with your family and I can’t see why I should not expect from you this same treatment as my family had received from yours,” started the wolf with angry snarl. The show of his teeth caused Kaylee’s heart to skip a beat and he might have just noticed. “Second thing, you’re a rabbit. A small, meek creature. I don’t see how you could have authority over a wolf as rebellious as Ryan. I don’t believe you could handle him and your husband isn’t going to be always by your side”, he continued to accuse her. ”And then again, you’re still just a kid, Mrs. Reynolds. You have no idea about the real life. I’ve done some research about you. You just rush through your life, not considering your choices really and just hoping they’ll find you well. I don’t want someone like you to be a parent figure to my godson. And also, you’re…”
“Please get to the thing,” Kaylee suggested impatiently, flabbergasting the wolf.
“E… excuse me?”
“You’re just giving me a list of pretexts here. Get to the real point,” Kaylee pointed out. She had been in enough bullshit fights with her family to not see through such a simple façade.
“I said I won’t trust you with my godson,” James said, a bit confused.
“You keep scratching the surface, Mr. Greymane. Just tell me what this really is about,” the bunny remained persistent. “Why don’t you want us to adopt Ryan?” She asked. She saw in his eyes that he had a reason, a reason that he didn’t want to admit. And it only took her mere seconds to see what it was.
“Oh.”
“What?!” He snarled, but this time, it didn’t scare her one bit. She barely noticed it, for the matter of speaking.
“It’s not even about me or Max, is it?” She realized it and James’ awkward silence only confirmed it. “You don’t want Ryan to be adopted at all!” She accused him and he snorted angrily.
“You know nothing of how it’s like to have no parents! You don’t know Ryan at all! You think that you can what, buy him ice creams and take him for go-karts and he’ll be calling you a mommy, you dumb bitch?” He yelled at her. Her ears dropped, but eyes sparked with fury.
“And you’ve been there, so you can raise him all better?” Kaylee snorted, outrage mixed with amusement. “Should I remind you that you’ve had last ten years to take care of Ryan? Years that you spent, should I remind you, shoplifting, slacking off and dancing on verge of following your brother’s footsteps?!” She riposted, crossing her arms. “You’ve had your chance. Let someone actually take care of Ryan, when you clearly can’t.”
“You little trash!” Snarled James, scaring the rabbit a bit. If not for the worktop against her back, she’d surely step back fearfully. “Just because you married rich and don’t have to worry about anything, you can look down at me, you piece of shit?! You think that I can’t handle raising that kid?!” He yelled at her furiously and Kaylee snorted with disdain.
“You lice-ridden mongrel. You egocentric, ornery scoundrel! Do you think this all is about you?!” The rabbit asked, astonished. “Breaking news, it’s not, you lousy scumbag! Neither really about you, me or Max! It’s about that kid and providing him normal, healthy upbringing! And if you couldn’t have done it for yourself in last ten years, if you still can’t do it now, then I think it’s time to step aside and let someone else try. You only hurt him by not doing so, you know,” she said confidently.
“And I think it’s you that will only hurt him, rabbit. You can have a cluster of rabbit kits and you could maybe handle them. But Ryan is a wolf. A big, scary wolf that terrifies you, just like I terrify you now,” James smirked confidently and stepped forward. Deep down in her heart, Kaylee primal instincts were screaming in horror and he could sense it well. “And with your husband not around, Ryan will have no respect for you. He’ll do to you whatever he wants, just like I could grab you, gut you and smear you all over the kitchen and al you’d do would be screaming for your wolf husband to come and save you…” James stepped forward with ominous smirk and talons unsheathed. And then, as he tried to reach for her and grab her throat, the rabbit jumped on the worktop, grabbed the biggest knife, the one with olive-colored blade and pointed it right at his face.
“I have plenty other friends too, you know. Meet Olivier, the kitchen knife. You punk,” Kaylee smirked as point of knife touched his nose with his last word. For a moment, they stood in silence, eyeing one another. Kaylee’s heart was hammering, but her paws were not trembling. The pure hatred blazing in Greymane’s eyes kept her in ‘fight or flight’ mode, ready to react when he even twitches.
“You’d better let me take care of the boy,” James said slowly, as if believing he still was in any sort of position to negotiate the thing.
“Over my dead body,” Kaylee stated firmly and wolf smiled toothily.
“Oh, I could just arrange…” And then, she pressed forward with the knife, scratching him at nose before he managed to step back. He snarled painfully and eyed her with hatred.
“I will not file a report. This one time,” Kaylee spoke slowly and he snorted. “And I will blame your behavior on your awful temper and consider your death threats just empty words. This one time. But should you ever try to step between us and Ryan, should you ever try to deny your godson a right to normal household and decent childhood and I swear, I will make sure that you’ll be watching the world through the metal bars,” she threatened him. The wolf hesitated at first, but then he smirked.
“And this is the part when I leave your house with tail between my legs?”
“Wag your tail like a wiper, for all that I care. But it is the part when you leave my house or the part where I stab you. In self-defense, like a lady,” Kaylee stated deadly seriously. He snorted resentfully and stepped back.
“You’ll regret it, rabbit. You will regret it!” He yelled, leaving the kitchen. Kaylee remained still and lowered the knife only when she heard the entrance door opening and then, it slamming powerfully. And then, she dropped the bloodstained knife on the floor shabbily and sat down on the worktable. She covered her face with now trembling paws. Mask. She had to put the mask on before Max and kids would be there. It had been a while since she had done it for the last time, but she still remembered how to do it. The bunny had done it for a thousand times before, after all. She closed her eyes and calmed her breath. She stopped the trembling of her paws. She gathered all the negative feelings, all the fear, sorrow and fury and pushed them away. Deep, deep into the heart’s darkest corner, where no one would dare to look. It took her longer than it had in past, but it was only expected of a skill she hadn’t been utilizing for quite a while.
Before five minutes passed the rabbit managed to recollect herself fully. She jumped down back on the floor and washed the olive knife whose point was covered in wolf’s blood. She checked on the food which was quite ready by now and turned the oven off. It’d be perfect by Max and kids arrive. She continued preparing the cake. She had just put it in the oven and set it at right temperature and time, when she heard a familiar car outside. Her ears perked up joyfully and, leaving a bit of mess in the kitchen and rushing to the front door. Just as she opened it, Mia and Thane fell in her arms, hugging her.
“Hey, aunt!” They both exclaimed joyfully and Kaylee’s heart swelled at their enthusiasm. She knew she and Max could never replace their parents; the parents these two kids remembered quite well and loved so much. They didn’t mind it at all. But to hear them just casually thinking of her and Max as a part of their family, truly was uplifting.
“Hey, kids! How was the school?” Kaylee asked joyfully.
“I scored an A at math!” Thane noticed enthusiastically. “And I think Gary left us alone for good!”
“I bet he’s scared of uncle Max!” Mia agreed with her brother surprisingly loudly for that little, shy girl. Kaylee giggled.
“Oh, he should be, that goon!” She chuckled and then, she saw Ryan walking over to them. The wolf was smiling revealing his teeth. A bit yellowish, sharp Greymane’s teeth, biting into her throat before lifting her in the air and…
“Hey, Mrs. Reynolds,” the pup was standing just next to her and he fist-bumped her with a smirk. “Mr. Reynolds said he’ll teach me how to fight, but he’s refusing to give me the second lesson,” he complained and Max chuckled from the back.
“The second lesson is patience, kiddo,” the wolf ruffled fur of Ryan’s head teasingly. “And the third one will be next week, I assure,” he promised.
“I have your word, Mr.” Ryan said.
“I’m keeping it, don’t you worry. Now, let’s get inside. I can already smell the dinner and it does smell delightful,” Max suggested, as he leaned over to Kaylee and kissed her on the cheek. The kids reacted with exaggerated, theatrical even, disgust and they all came inside. Max helped his wife set the table. He worried if they weren’t a bit too early, but she assured they were just on time. He smiled showing just a bit of his white, perfectly aligned teeth. The teeth that had hurt her once, but would not do it again. His soft paw wrapped around hers and they walked over to the table. They ate among vivid discussions, the four of them at least. Kaylee, as cheerful as she might have seemed, remained rather quiet, eyeing Ryan carefully throughout the dinner, each time shivering gently. After the meal, kids asked to play a bit on the console, since they didn’t have one at the orphanage. Kaylee encouraged the idea, even, arguing that she could clean up the kitchen mess while the four of them would. Max didn’t eyed her carefully, but he didn’t say a word; he was probably too confused to know what this could be about.
With rest of her family playing, (Kaylee had this funny feeling in her chest as she thought of the kids as ‘her’ family), the bunny started washing the dishes. She was humming some song not too loudly, moving around the kitchen half-dancing, as she was trying to clear her mind and so, she didn’t notice Ryan coming in only until he tapped her on the shoulder.
“Mrs. Reynolds?” He asked and Kaylee squeaked at the sight of young wolf just behind her. A glass pot lid slipped out of her paws and crashed on the front and bunny jumped back involuntarily at the noise.
“Damn it,” she muttered angrily and crouched among the glass debris carefully. “I’ve got it,” she assured young wolf.
“I can help,” he said, crouching next to her and collecting pieces of glass along with her.
“No need, Ryan. I can handle it,” Kaylee assured, but he didn’t seem to listen.
“Mrs. Reynolds, are you afraid of me?” He asked suddenly. Kaylee could feel that the teenager could read the truth in her confused expression. She saw his disappointment, frustration, anger. And then, Max came.
“Everything alright?” He worried.
“Yes, we’ve got it,” Kaylee assured. For a second, her husband considered saying something more, but recognizing tension between the two, just nodded and stepped back. Kaylee and Ryan were in the kitchen alone again and silence continued.
“Mrs. Reynolds?” Ryan asked impatiently.
“Come, sit,” the bunny hopped on the worktable and the wolf walked among the debris carefully and joined her, most intrigued. Kaylee took off her blouse leaving only the undervest that she was wearing under, that wasn’t covering long claw marks covering her left arm and shoulder anymore. Young wolf watched them with his eyes wide open.
“Wow! What happened?” He asked.
“Pretty, ain’t they? I have them on my legs too. And there’s the bite mark on my chest, too,” the bunny chuckled a bit nervously. “When I was starting my work, I worked with a certain wolf in the archives. He had an accident, got drugged with Nighthowlers…” She eyed the boy and he nodded. He had heard of them, even if it had been couple years. “And that’s how I got these. Since then, I have this… phobia. Some predators, especially canines like wolves and coyotes, trigger my fears randomly. Sometimes it’s because of resemblance, other times it’s quite random. Detective Wilde and Officer Wolford never were my triggers and I see him almost every day, for example. I’ve learnt to keep these things in check, but I still… I still feel it quite vividly when they happen.”
“So… that’s what happened? Are you afraid of me?” Ryan asked, sounding both intrigued and concerned and she nodded. He huffed angrily. “Then why do you want to adopt me?! If you’re afraid of me…”
“It triggered for real only today,” Kaylee explained.
“What?! Why?!”
“I guess… It’s because your godfather was here. We’ve had an argument, quite a nasty one. And then you guys came and I guess…”
“He didn’t hurt you, did he?” Worried Ryan. “Uncle James is really short-tempered. He often gets in trouble because of it.”
“No, no, we just said mean things to one another. He seems really protective about you, you know,” assured the bunny. “It seems it was enough though, sadly.”
“Oh. But then… won’t you, like, cancel the adoption? If you’re going to be afraid of me…”
“Do you know what happened to that Nighthowlers wolf after the incident?” Kaylee asked instead.
“Not a clue. He got fired?”
“Oh, hardly. He’s sitting in the other room,” Kaylee explained with a smile. She could see how long the young wolf was processing that information, as if not believing it the first time he heard it.
“You mean… Mr. Reynolds? You married…” He paused. “But aren’t you afraid of him?”
“I used to be. For months, he was my worst trigger. But by my stubbornness, I managed to fight it and silence it eventually,” Kaylee explained and then, her paw wrapped around the boy. “What I’m trying to say is that some part of me might be afraid of you, but I know… But I know I should not be, because you’re a nice, kind-hearted kid that simply happens to have long teeth and sharp talons. These teeth and talons can be used for good. That’s why Mr. Reynolds is giving you lessons, you know. And if you give me enough time, I surely will get over this phobia of mine. Just… be my therapy,” she pleased, hugging him a bit stronger, but her heartbeat remained still even despite his smell filling her nostrils. Ryan hung his head down and then, he smiled.
“Are you sure about it, Mrs. Reynolds?”
“I married a guy that mauled me. I can do it,” she assured.
“I mean… my uncle scared you a lot and… And I’ve read a bit and I learnt that my father tried to kill you too,” Ryan explained and Kaylee shivered involuntarily, but she smiled. “Kids at school gave me some hard time when they learnt my father was the Mauler.”
“Kids are cruel, you know. More cruel than most of the adults,” Kaylee pointed out and Ryan agreed with a nod. “But you should remember to never judge a person based solely on their parents or families. Sometimes, the worst scum comes from so called ‘good houses’. And sometimes, the kindest mammals have the worst kind of trash for family. There’s no rule, really,” the bunny explained.
“I guess… What is your family like, Mrs. Reynolds?” He asked and she chuckled.
“My blood-related… not counting couple exceptions, bunch of trash. Abusive mother, neglecting father, bullying siblings. On Max’s side… his mother, the sweetest and kindest mammal he knows, died when he was just five. His father was… complicated, but not a good mammal overall and his sister falls in this same basket. But I guess at least me and Max are quite alright,” she explained with a smile.
“Oh, you’re the best, Mrs. Reynolds,” Ryan assured. “You know, when kids at school complain about their parents, I’m always like ‘at least you have parents’. You know, someone to return to and, eventually, sort things out.”
“When I was at school, I used to envy Spencer, a kid from orphanage, because he didn’t have to get back home,” Kaylee explained.
“Oh.”
“There’s always someone that has it worse,” smirked Kaylee.
“What happened to that guy?”
“He was Spencer Young. You know, that Spencer Young, the revolutionary. People say he died, but they never found the body and they were trying really, really hard. I think he actually made it out alive, left Zootopia and lives somewhere peacefully,” Kaylee assured with a weak smile.
“You really think so? They say he’s dead.”
“The same guys that said Detective Wilde murdered Mr. Reynolds until he shoved truth in their faces?” Kaylee asked skeptically. “Don’t trust everything they say on TV,” she suggested.
“Right.” They sat in silence for quite a while and then, Ryan smiled. “So… you’re not leaving me at the orphanage?”
“No, we’re not. I’m adamant about it,” Kaylee promised.
“Umm… I…” The boy really wanted to say something, but he couldn’t find the right words. “Do you want to play with us?” He suggested instead.
“Just help me clean this mess, will you?”
“Sure thing!” Ryan jumped back on the floor, almost standing on some piece of broken glass and they tidied the place up together quickly. Afterwards, they joined Max, Thane and Mia by the console and played, switching players between four pads, till the evening. Around the designated time, Max drove the kids back to the orphanage and Kaylee cleaned the kitchen and living room completely. Her husband came back just as she was finished and joined her on the couch, wrapping a paw over the bunny.
“Did you sort things with Ryan out?” He asked and she nodded.
“So… what happened?”
“I explained to him what was causing it and that I was going to get over it in time. He was afraid that we’d just cancel the whole adoption thing,” she explained.
“It’s good that you’ve explained things to him now. Is he a trigger to you?” Max worried and she nodded.
“Turns out he is, but I’ll handle it. I’ve handled worse triggers and I was feeling much better after we talked about it. We both did,” Kaylee assured with a smile and kissed her husband on a cheek.
“And what happened earlier, before I brought kids? You seemed uneasy.”
“Oh, that… We had a visitor. James Greymane,” Kaylee explained.
“Ryan’s godfather?”
“And uncle, yes,” she confirmed and proceeded to explain how whole the meeting went. She could see that the wolf was boiling inside, especially when she came to the part how Greymane threatened her. He was sitting with his fists clenched, listening to her wife finishing the story.
“Oh, he will regret it,” assured the wolf angrily. “He threatened you. We’re going to report it tomorrow…”
“No,” Kaylee refused firmly.
“No? Why not? He could have killed you there! If you didn’t grab that knife…” Max protested with frustration.
“Do you remember how Spencer sent me that mail? You know, after the whole Manifesto thing, when everyone assumed he was dead, he sent me this mail from a throwaway account, apologizing for everything and wishing us good life?”
“The one that vanished after thirty minutes?”
“Exactly. I remember that you were very angry then and no wonder; he killed your father and it seemed like he made it out alive and quite happily. And yet, I asked you not to report it to the police. Do you remember why?”
“Because it was untraceable anyways? And probably just a mean joke?” Max guessed.
“And?”
“And… because it was a chance to break the vicious cycle. Just… live and let live,” the wolf recalled. “Otherwise, if Spencer was actually arrested, someone like my sister could try and kill him and then, someone would try to avenge Spencer and so on and on and on. It’d cause more harm that it could ever do good,” the wolf said and his wife nodded happily.
“I know it wasn’t easy for you and I’m so very proud of you that you chose to do so. And now… it’s quite this same. Greymane threatened me, it’s true. But if we report it with the little we have, we will only hurt Ryan, whether Greymane is arrested or not. And it’s Ryan that is important here,” she argued.
“I’m not going to allow Greymane to hurt you,” Max said firmly.
“The next time I see him, I’m calling you,” the bunny promised.
“Immediately,” insisted the wolf. “What an arrogant asshole. To come into our house and threaten you…” He snarled and Kaylee caressed him, trying to calm her husband down. “I bet he will try something. Be very careful, Kaylee.”
“I will,” she promised. They were quite certain that James Greymane had a plan of sort. They only didn’t know what it could really be.
