Nothing to fear

Chapter 14

Bonnie Hopps opened the large closet and thumbed through the numerous hangers before finding the one she wanted that had a yellowed tag with Judy's name handwritten on it. The black plastic that protected the dress inside revealed no details and the older bunny brought it out with the sort of reverence that priests and acolytes used when handling supposed relics. She put the hanger on a hook beside the door and stepped back into the closet, her honey brown eyes searching for the box that was supposed to go with it.

"This is the dress that Grandma Vera made me?" Judy asked, curious as to what the dress looked like but knowing that to open the plastic protector would incur her mother's ire.

"Sewn by paw," Bonnie replied from somewhere in the depths of the closet. "Plus all the trimmings. It was a tradition back when she was young." The sound of things getting moved and then boxes falling came from the closet and a muttered, "Corn nuts!" from the older bunny after a surprising 'THUD!' When she came back out there were some dust smudges on her apron but her face was an expression of success. "One of the last ones she made before she passed," Bonnie said more to herself before setting the box down. "I just hope the moths haven't gotten to it."

With a curious expression on her face, Bonnie opened the bottom of the cover and lifted it. The older rabbit had always hoped that Judy would one day wear the gown her mother had made, but she never would have thought that it would be for a ceremony where her daughter was marrying a fox. The big reveal of who...what...Judy's husband was had been a shock. It had caught her off guard and it had hurt. Sure, Bonnie and Stu had a business relationship with, of all mammals, Gideon, the fox that bullied their daughter in grade school, but for her child to marry one...to fall in love...

But she was in love with her fox husband.

Bonnie had spent the entire day watching how they looked at each other, how they touched, how they spoke to one another. It had been a revelation. Then there was the way Nick acted towards the rest of her kits, the youngest still in diapers, which he changed, and then let her bunnies climb on and play with him, treating them with a tenderness and patience that was wholly unexpected. Even Petey, her littlest kit who never liked any strange mammal had become immediately attached to Nick. Bonnie watched as the fox treated her children with affection and care, spoke to her and Stu with respect and deference, and was everything opposite of what Bonnie thought foxes were.

Bonnie felt her eyes filling as she looked over the fabric of the dress. It seemed that she and Stu had done a good job of raising their daughter because Judy was teaching them that the world was definitely not what they thought it was. She realized that she really couldn't see the dress because of the moisture in her hazel blue eyes and looked up when a paw softly touched her shoulder.

"Mom?" Judy asked in concern, the set of her face indicating she was ready for another argument to defend her mate. "Are you alright?"

Without saying a word, Bonnie pulled her daughter to her and held her tight as she cried. They weren't bitter tears, but ones of satisfaction that her Judy, her little bun­bun, had found something so special, someone that treated her with love and care. There might have been a little sadness mixed in that her little hellion was all grown up, but that was a mother's prerogative.

"Okay, Mom," Judy said with concern. "This is a little awkward now."

Bonnie chuckled lightly. "You're all grown up," she whispered before pulling back so that she could look into her child's eyes. "No mother ever wants to admit that the time comes when her babies don't need her anymore. But I want you to know that I think you're in good paws. Don't you ever stop loving Nick, bun­bun. He...he's a good mammal and I'm happy for the both of you."

Judy blinked in surprise. Her ears had fallen against the back of her head when her mother began to cry as she waited for another tirade and lecture. They now rose halfway in hope. "Mom? Are you..."