Elevated Musings (Herb and Sam Prequel)

Elevated Musings

(Herb and Sam Prequel)

Today would would be one for the books. Today, Sam Lapin would boldly go where no country bunny had gone before. Well, okay--maybe it wasn’t that big; surely plenty of other native Bunnyburrowers had been to the city. But she’d be willing to bet that not many of them had done so with the express purpose of meeting with Mayor Lionheart.

As Sam stepped into the building that housed Lionheart’s offices, her nerves mounted. Still, wary of being late, she hurried to the front desk. Luckily, it was only a few short steps from the door. From a distance, Sam noted with surprise that it was staffed--at least for the moment--by Assistant Mayor Bellwether, looking uncharacteristically glum. The sheep’s bored expression faded as soon as the rabbit approached. “Hi, Ms. Bellwether? I have a 1:30 appointment with the Mayor. Samantha Lapin.” Bellwether’s face brightened considerably. “Oh, yes--Hello there, Samantha! You have some agricultural policy propositions you’d like to discuss?”

“Yes, that’s me.”

“Just a sec, and I’ll let the Mayor know you’re here!” She pressed the intercom on her phone. “Sam Lapin here to see you, Mr. Mayor.” Lionheart’s voice boomed from the speaker.

“Right! Send her up!” Bellwether recoiled at the volume, but smiled brightly.

“Off you go! The elevators are just over there! Have a great day!”

“Thanks,” Sam replied half-heartedly, hoping beyond hope that it would be just that.

Standing across from the bank of elevators, Sam studied the directory. Lionheart’s main office was on the 5th floor. Taking a deep breath, she crossed to the doors, jabbing her paw on the ‘up’ button with renewed confidence. A few short minutes later, the doors opened. She strode in, settling herself in the corner. Despite the elevator's large size, given that her present carmates were a moose, two rhinos, and a cheetah, it was better to stay tucked away to avoid any accidents. All four mammals wore business suits and were murmuring about the weather, the latest headline, or...something. Sam had too much on her mind to pay attention. She stared straight ahead, willing the impending meeting to go off without a hitch.

On the 3rd floor, the rhinos disembarked, followed by the cheetah; on the 4th, the moose took his leave. The doors closed. It was then, out of the corner of her eye, that Sam noticed a tall stallion, wearing round-framed glasses and dressed in smart-casual, in the far corner. He was engrossed in reading from a packet clutched in his hoof.

As she watched, he turned the page. Realizing she’d been staring, Sam gasped, only to have her companion look up. Sam hadn’t meant to be rude, or to draw attention to herself. The next thing she knew, she was dazzled by gentle brown eyes.

“Is something wrong, Miss…?” No sooner had he voiced the question than the elevator came to a jarring halt, pitching them both off balance. Sam regained her footing, then sank down against the wall, head in her paws. “It is now. The elevator’s stuck, and I have a meeting with Mayor Lionheart in”--she looked at her watch-- “two minutes”. When he didn’t reply immediately, Sam noticed with sudden shame that while she was huddled in the corner feeling sorry for herself, he had already picked up the emergency phone and was speaking in a calm, hushed tone to the powers-that-be on the other end.

“Okay--thanks.” Replacing the phone in its case, he turned to her. “I’m sorry about your meeting. They said it would be at least an hour before they get here.” All things considered, Sam should have been furious; she’d had this meeting on her calendar for months! But, then again--returning the friendly smile offered by her compatriot, she discovered that she didn’t mind at all.

“I’m Sam.” She extended her paw, and was pleased to find that the stranger had a firm hoof-shake. She enjoyed working with her hands, not only on the farm, but in other endeavors--so she respected that.

“Herb, Emergency Management Specialist, at your service.”

“Nice to meet you. Not to be rude, but...what is an Emergency Management Specialist?”

“Good question. It entails preparing city-wide plans for use in natural disasters, and sometimes mammal-made ones.” His smile faltered. “Although--seeing as I’m a lowly intern, I probably didn’t get the memo about the course on ‘Elevators Gone Kaput’” Sam laughed.

“That’s okay. Mistakes happen.”

“What brings you to our fine establishment today? It must be of special importance if it involves a meeting with Mayor Lionheart.”

“It is important--to me, at least. Whether or not Mayor Lionheart thinks so remains to be seen. My family owns a big farm in Bunnyburrow, and my dad wants our produce to be sold in the city in conjunction with the Mayor’s new agricultural initiative. He’s running the day-to-day operations on the farm, so I volunteered to take up the business end.”

“Impressive.” He regarded her with genuine interest. “I imagine it must be pretty hard to run a business, so that’s nice of you to step in.” Sam smiled at the compliment.

“Thanks. It can be tough, but I don’t mind it.”

Sam had been so enthralled in their conversation that she’d nearly forgotten about the missed meeting and errant elevator. Now, though, she recalled both with brutal clarity, and began to worry; not so much about the potential deal--she was confident that would pan out eventually, if not today--but for her own safety. And then there was…

Herb must have read her thoughts--or her troubled expression--because he said, “It’ll be okay, Sam. I’m right here with you, and…” he smiled, “in case you haven’t noticed, I’m not going anywhere.” Sam laughed, and relief washed over her.

“You’re a regular knight in shining armor, aren’t you?” He shook his head modestly. “Far from it. In fact, historically, it was far more common for a horse to be a knight’s sidekick than a knight himself.” Sam was incredulous. It wasn’t because she didn’t trust him--she did, implicitly--but rather that she found it shameful that horses were ever oppressed. Even so...neither of them needed any more depressing thoughts today.

“Had it been you, you’d’ve received the knighthood.”

“Why, thank you, Sam. But I’m still not sure I’m cut out to be a knight. I love my career--or, where it’s headed, anyway--but in my downtime, I’m a lot more low-key. For instance,”--his eyes gleamed with pride and good humor-- “I make a mean apple cobbler, with coffee cake crumble and everything!”

Something about the way he said it made Sam burst out laughing...then, for a split second, marvel at the endearing picture that made…

But she barely had time to enjoy it before a series of clanks and rattles pierced the silence, and the elevator resumed its steady ascent. Herb and Sam exchanged relieved glances. Then, as the elevator taxied to the 5th floor, Herb gently took her paw in his hoof. “Until we meet again, Miss Sam,” he said, sincere, with a low bow and a smile.

When the doors opened, their rescuers waiting, there wasn’t time to wonder if there would be a next time. Yet, not only did Sam wonder, but she hoped--more than she ever had for the success of meeting with the mayor, or for--anything. More important still, Herb seemed to think they would cross paths again, and...She had to believe him. She did.