We met at a cafe. Not one of those big names out there filled with sour drinks and a penchant for overcompensation. It was a small cafe, hidden in a little corner of the city. It wasn’t too famous, it wasn’t too showy either. However, it had some of the best coffee I’ve ever tasted, they had just the right amount of sourness to wake you up in the morning, just enough milk and sugar to lift you up in the afternoon, and at night, they made a special blend that somehow fit the soft instrumental music the owner’s son would play on the piano. It didn’t matter what he played. Soft ballads, mournful blues, quick foxtrot or sweet jazz, the blend always matched the songs. It was in this place full of wonders that I met her. She had been a lot younger back then, carrying a different sort of beauty and grace than she does now, she was like a fairy, moving around with youthful confidence and effortless grace, almost like she was flying instead of walking. She had curls of brown hair framing her round face, her bronze skin highlighting her forest green eyes. She came to the cafe every other day, placing her order between jokes.

In so many ways, she was different from me. Not only was she a human, at 1,63m, she was a head taller than me, only if I included my long ears could I hope to rival her height. She also didn’t have to deal with my mottled gray fur, no mated fur when you cried at night and no need to brush her fur for hours each week. No, she only had soft looking skin that seemed to glow under the right light. She had so many things going for her, yet from time to time, I could see loneliness ghosting her eyes. She would just sit there on her table by the window, sipping her coffee, while her gaze was focused on the street, on the stray walkers that passed the alley. It always felt like a wall surrounded her when she got like that, an unspoken agreement between her and the world, so she could be alone with her thoughts. I could relate to that feeling, more than once I had been in her position. Maybe that’s why I approached one day, trembling hands carrying a cup of latte and my stomach turning into knots. I had never done something similar, jackrabbits don’t like confrontation, and I wasn’t an exception. But to relieve some of that loneliness, I was willing to try.

"Excuse me, is this seat taken? I don’t like to drink coffee by myself" I told her softly, giving her the kindest smile I could. She jumped in her seat, her reverie banished by my interruption. Her eyes turned to me, curious and gentle.

"Oh, no, not at all. Grab a seat." She replied with a smile of her own. With a quick nod, I set the porcelain cup on the small table. Taking a seat with as much grace as a rusted robot. I was blushing furiously, but she didn’t paid it any mind, her smile never leaving her face. Instead, she just said. "It’s been too long since I shared a coffee with someone else, most of my friends are working at this hour."

"Mine as well. Even my coffee addict of a best friend can’t join me. I’m Darlene."

"Nice to meet you, I’m Maritza."

"Nice to meet you too. What are you having?"

" A cappuccino, I just can’t get enough of how they make it here. It’s a bit silly, I know" She replied, a embarrased smile sneaking into her face.

"No, not at all, I do the same," I assured her, her eyes sparkling for a moment. "I walk six blocks for this coffee, on heels"

"No way! You’re pulling my leg"

"I am not! I work down by the farmer’s market, in a small library. This, " I said as I lifted my cup with reverence "this is the most exciting part of my day, hands down."

"Come on, it’s a library, don’t you get strange people coming in, pouring over dusty tomes, seeking lost knowledge?"

"That only happens in movies"

"Okay, maybe not dusty tomes, but surely there must be some people that just stand out."

"Well, there was something the other day..."I mumbled, one hand busy playing with the golden hoop in my ear. She glanced at me with wide eyes, leaning forward on the table, her hands urging me on. Her scent reached my nose, a mix of summer and cinnamon. "It’s nothing that fancy, but there was this kid, around fourteen years old..."

"Yeah, come one, don’t be such a tease" She said, and somehow, I couldn’t find it in me to deny her.

"Okay, so, he comes in every week for about two months, and carries a bulky green backpack. He’s a polite young bull, a shy guy really, he doesn’t look like much trouble. But every time he goes out, his backpack looks a little less full, a bit lighter. I didn’t think much of it at the beginning to be honest. He was just a good little calf minding his own business in the fiction section."

"Then one day, he comes in, and looks a bit off, a bit too worried. He mumbles a greeting and shoots back into his usual place. Now, I’m a bit worried, he’s been a model client so far, and maybe he’s in trouble. He could be running away and the police is behind him. So, I weight my options, and decide to follow him to the back. I see him glance around discreetly, before he approaches one of the old shelves. He squeezes his chubby hand behind the shelves, and Bang he pulls it out."

"He pulls what out? Don’t leave me hanging like that." She chided me, her coffee all but forgotten by now.

"A porn magazine." I enunciate clearly and slowly. Waiting for the information to sink in. Her eyes slowly widened, her face breaking into a coyote like grin, just before she broke into laughter. Loud and boisterous. All consuming.

"Really, a porn magazine?"

"Horny. The hottest beef in the ‘hood. Male. Beef" She laughed harder, the joyous sound pulling a smile out of me as well. It was then that I knew, she was the one.