“Eek!” I exclaimed, dashing into the bathroom and peeking through the thin opening. “It’s bad luck to see the bride on her wedding day! Why are you here?” And more importantly, where were my mother and my bridesmaids? They were supposed to have gotten here a half hour ago.

“Ella, I have something important to tell you. I was going to wait until we were on our honeymoon, but I just can’t.” Jim shifted his weight from foot to foot, looking both nervous and worried.

“Oh my god!” I exclaimed, stepping out of the bathroom and marching up to him. “You had better NOT already be married to someone else!” I poked him in the chest.

“No, no, it’s not that.”

“Your not married but you have children with someone else?!?” I was slightly calmer, but it had to be bad. I just wasn’t sure how bad.

“No!”

“A criminal. You’re a murderer or something!” My mind was going a mile a minute. “Did you kill somebody? Did they deserve it?”

“N”

He didn’t even get the word “no” out before my mind moved on. “You aren’t financially comfortable like you told me! Those statements were fake! Loan sharks are after you!” I was hyperventilating now.

Jim crossed the two feet between us and wrapped his arms around me, muffling my face against his chest. “Ella, Ella, breathe. I would never lie to you. I just haven’t told you the whole truth.”

I leaned in to his chest, focusing on his warmth and the spicy scent of his cologne. My breath gradually slowed but my heart was still racing. “What is it then?” I whispered.

Silence. I looked up at him. He opened his mouth as if to speak, shut it took a deep breath, and just looked at me. I was starting to transition from fear to annoyance. “Will you just spit it out? If it’s a deal breaker, I’ll tell you. If it’s not, we’ll figure whatever it is out somehow.”

“I’m a shape shifter,” he said.

I couldn’t process what he was saying. “A what?”

“A shape shifter.” He said. “I can turn into an animal.” He paused, his face red. “Specifically, a rabbit. I can turn into a rabbit.”

I stared at him.

He sighed. “I can see I’m going to have to show you.” He took a deep breath and slipped out of his clothes. The next fifteen seconds were definitely odd, but when he was done a rather large grey rabbit crouched at my feet. Fifteen seconds after that, Jim was again standing in front of me in the manly form I was accustomed to.

I couldn’t help it. I started laughing. I laughed so hard I had to gasp for air which made me sound like a braying donkey. I laughed so hard my legs could no longer support me and I sunk to the floor. Eventually I got control of myself and wiped the tears off my face. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have laughed. But honestly, I did not see that coming.” I took a deep breath. “So aside from having to stock extra carrots and watch out for coyotes when you are in rabbit form, is there any other aspect of being a wererabbit I need to be aware of?”

He sank to the floor next to me and released the breath he’s been holding in a long sigh. He took my hand. “Shifter rabbit. Not wererabbit. Wererabbits only change form when the moon is full and it’s involuntary. I can shift or not shift whenever I want.” He twisted to look in my eyes. “You seem to be taking this rather well.”

“I’m just happy you aren’t a murderer or already married to someone else,” I said. I leaned my head to rest on his shoulder. “But seriously, is there a particular aspect of this… trait… that I should be concerned about?”

“Well,” his face was now so red it was almost purple. “Have you ever heard the expression ‘breed like bunnies’?”

“Uh, yes?” I wasn’t sure where he was going with this.

“Well, uh, there’s a reason why I asked if you wanted a big family.” He looked away “Even if we are really careful with birth control… well… shifter rabbit sperm are really strong swimmers.”

Once again, a laugh burst out of me. I almost didn’t hear the knock on the door.

My mom cautiously opened the door and stuck her head in. “You’re laughing. Can I take this as a good sign?”

“Yes, yes,” I said, getting to my feet. I gave Jim a quick peck on the cheek. “I’ll see you in about an hour, love bunny.”

Both he and my mom looked at me oddly over the endearment as he left.

I started to put on my dress. I’d have to do my makeup all over again. I looked at my mom. “So, mom, remember when you said you would move here if there were grand babies to watch? You might want to start house hunting.”