Author's note: Please read this before beginning. The Animal café series will end at chapter 33. When I wrote this chapter 31, I didn't know for sure it would be the end, but the more I put my heart into it, and the more mysteries I revealed, the more I knew it had to end.
What you will read here, if you have the guts to read 21000 words, is Lucy's story and how the café came to see the light. It is also Vix's story because her story is tied directly to Lucy. I would recommend you read a few early chapters of the series before you tackle this one, just to give yourself the best chance possible to understand what this chapter is about.
If you are a huge fan of animal café, I have no doubt that this chapter will fill up your heart with love, but also with some shredding pain.
It is not really erotic, so if that's the only thing you are after, you'll be disappointed. For everybody else, enjoy the experience, and keep in mind that after this, there is only two small chapters to conclude the series.
Thanks so much for your support over the years.
"Why did Lucy want all of us to come to the café today? Usually, she is like, "No, Trixie! I don't want to see your rat face at the café when you are not working," and then she refuses to give me a piece of cake, and I have to steal one."
"I don't know, Trixie. Maybe she is going to scold us because we sneaked out of the pethouse while wearing the rabbit costume the other day."
"Oh, I almost forgot about that, Clara. Yes, you shouldn't have done that!"
"..."
"Trixie! Leave Clara alone! You know it was your idea!"
"No! It was yours, Misti!"
"Oh? So, a second ago, it was Clara's idea, and now it was mine? They should have put that cast around your head instead of your arm."
"Keep quiet, shrimp. Lucy didn't sound like her normal self. I hope everything is alright."
Meeka was always the mature one, and once more, she was right. The last time we did something with all the pets together was during the Christmas event. It was highly unusual for Lucy to ask all her employees to show up at the café for a meeting. And even if I wasn't a pet, my presence was also required. The theory that we would all get scolded for what we did a while ago was not void of sense, but at the same time, it didn't perfectly match the situation. So, for now, it was just that, a theory.
On our way to the café, Trixie bought a giant freshly baked pretzel using Meeka's money. That rabbit girl would never learn how to control herself when it came to food, or at the very least, how not to deplete the content of her wallet. Since she had not paid for it, there was no reason for us not to steam a piece of the pretzel just to make sure it was as good as she claimed it to be.
But then, we quickly arrived at the Cakes & Pets, where we became a little apprehensive. Meeka, who wasn't as stressed as the rest of us because she had never done anything wrong, opened the door and entered the shop first.
"Hi, Lucy!"
"Ah! You are finally here. Good. Everybody is waiting for you in the lounge."
"Waiting for us?"
"Yes... It's a special day today. I'm not opening the café, and we are going to spend some time together."
"Sounds good to me. I'll go cuddle the crap out of Savannah!"
"No, Meeka... She isn't here today. She finished her shift this morning and doesn't need to be here. She is too new."
"Aww... Okay. But you sound mysterious."
"Just get into the lounge, and I'll explain everything."
"Oookay! If you say sooo."
The rest of our little group also said hi to Lucy on our way to the lounge, but she was just casually finishing some paperwork at the reception desk as if it was business as usual. That said, she looked suspiciously happy today for some reason. Whatever was the reason for our presence here, it didn't feel like we would get into as much trouble as we had anticipated. We were definitely okay with that.
Meeka unlocked the lounge door and let us in. As soon as I stepped into my favorite room in the entire world, I quickly hid behind Trixie.
I retracted my previous statement. Now we were totally screwed.
Lucy's mysterious husband, Shane, was there, sitting at a table next to Vix. All the petgirls were in costume; Oreo, Vix, Accalia, and Asha.
I whispered in Trixie's ear.
"Trixie... Shane is here."
"I see that. That's a first. HEY SHANE!"
Nooo! Why did Trixie have to attract his attention by calling his name so loudly? She also hopped in his direction and landed on his lap without even asking permission first.
Oh, Shane didn't like that much.
"Aaah! Trixie! Get off me! I told you a thousand times. I'm not into petgirls!"
"I'm not a petgirl! I don't wear a costume today."
"You act like one."
"Ha! No. Don't push me. I'm staying! What are you doing here anyway?"
"Lucy and I need to talk to you."
"Oh? About what I think it is?"
"... Maybe. Get off me now."
"No. I'm staying. Grab my thin waist and hug me! I'm a cuddly bunny!"
"Arrr! I told you, I'm not into petgirls!"
Not only Trixie had no intention to get off of him, but she even wrapped her arms around his neck as if they were best buddies. She indeed acted like a petgirl. Shane didn't look like he approved the move, yet he didn't seem determined to push her away. Definitely, those two knew each other more than just a little bit. They probably had a history that I didn't know about.
Not wanting to get involved with any of this, I rushed to Oreo, my girlfriend, and used her as my new feline shield by sitting behind her and wrapping my arms around her torso. She didn't seem to mind too much. The small black and white cat seemed as confused as I was because she shrugged when I asked her what was going on and then pushed her back against my chest as if she sought the same reassurance.
What was going on here? Only Vix and Trixie seemed to be as decontracted as uncooked bacon. Something was definitely not normal today. But perhaps we would soon learn more about this impromptu event because Lucy entered the lounge with a serving tray full of mini-cakes, a coffee pot, and a few water bottles for the costumed pets. She placed it on the floor for all of us to access. How casual.
"Alright, everyone. Today is a special day. As you noticed, Shane is here, which is a bit unusual. We wanted to talk to you about something. Right, Shane?"
"Yes. A way overdue discussion."
"I agree. And that is all because of Trixie, the rule breaker."
Aww, crap!
So Lucy knew about what we had done the other day, sneaking out of the pethouse in costume. What now? Would this be a public punishment? On the day of the crime, I was the one who wore the bunny suit, but I had not decided anything. So would I be punished as well? I crushed Oreo with my arms just a bit more.
Lucy continued.
"So, first of all, I want to apologize. Shane and I should have been open about this a long time ago, but life is not always simple. We had a very good discussion about this the other day, and for the first time in years, we managed to get on the same page. Only then we realized how much we had hurt some of you with our mysteries and secrets. Sometimes we think we are doing the right thing, but then we realize we do the opposite. There were no ill intentions, but today we decided to put an end to this vicious cycle and share something very personal with you."
While we were all trying to understand what Lucy talked about, Vix stood up on the bench and began pointing at herself repeatedly, making Lucy smile.
"Hehe. Yes, Vix. It's all about you, of course."
Uh? The mystery deepened. I knew Vix was one of the original pets, but I had no clue how she was linked to Lucy's life. With this small interaction, we all understood that there might have been more between them than we had first thought. I really wondered what kind of special connection they had.
Somehow, the mood was light and peaceful. Lucy didn't seem angry, so it seemed likely at this point that our infraction wasn't the root cause of this unusual gathering. Perhaps it would be best just to sit quietly with Oreo and abandon all my expectations during her storytelling. Usually, people didn't give cakes and coffee to the people that were about to get punished.
