Lucky's In Castro Valley Yields Rabbit And Future Husband

I began catering at the tender age of 21 and the menu for one of my first catered events called for rabbit.  I agreed to create the menu assuming that rabbit wouldn't be difficult to source.  Unfortunately, two days before the event, I'd located most of the ingredients I needed with the exception of the rabbit.  All of my regular supply channels turned up dry and I was quickly running out of time to find it. I began to wonder if any of the guests would know if I secretly swapped out rabbit for chicken in the "Braised Hunter's Rabbit".  

As if my inability to find the main ingredient weren't enough, I started to reel from a splitting headache.  Nearing my wits end, I picked up the phone so that I could bemoan my plight with a girlfriend.  Sick of hearing my pitiful whining, and wanting to end the conversation, she suggested that I go to in Castro Valley to see if they had rabbit.  Despite her generous patience, I scoffed at her suggestion, "Really?! As if Lucky's in Castro Valley stocks rabbit!".  As I hung up the phone, I realized that while it might be a waste of time, I had absolutely nothing to lose.

I drove in to the Lucky's parking lot less than five minutes later, and grumbled to myself as I walked in to the store, "What a stupid suggestion! I can't believe I listened to her!" I grabbed a cart, walked down a few isles, grabbed some incidental items, and then headed to the back of the store where the meat department was located.  I passed by the open meat coolers several times, and guess what?  There was no rabbit.  Have YOU ever seen rabbit at Lucky's?  How about Safeway? No? At Trader Joe's?  You mean they don't keep the quartered rabbit next to the Italian sausage?  Um yeah, apparently not. 

The butcher behind the counter must have seen me mumbling to myself while pacing up and down the meat department, because next thing I knew, he was standing beside me.  "Ma'am, do you need help finding anything?", He asked in a cool, deep voice.  I paused to look at him.  He was tall (maybe 6'3"), dark, and handsome despite being covered in blood.  I looked at his name tag, which read "Mauricio".  Suddenly, I felt giddy and stupid.  I was about to ask this man who was employed by a big box store if he stocked rabbit.  He in turn was about to look at me like I was a nut job.  My overactive imagination even had him holding his stomach as he guffawed, while beckoning over his butcher buddies so they could point and laugh at me as well. 

"Uh... I'm sure you don't have it so never mind." I mumbled.  "Try me."  He said confidently.  Quickly I blurted, "I need 15 pounds of whole rabbit."  He raised an eyebrow and looked me up and down.  Standing there talking to him, I was quickly forgetting my plight.  Instead, I was becoming nervous about his perception of me.  My headache became distant and unimportant.  "This guy is really handsome!" I thought.  He grinned and said, "Guess what?  I have exactly what you're looking for!  Please follow me."  He led me to the freezer isle and sure enough, there was all the rabbit I needed and more!  I was elated.  This strapping stranger in a blood stained butcher coat instantly became my chivalrous knight in shining armor.  He saw me light up and offered to hold the freezer door open as I scooped out bags of frozen rabbit.  He glanced in my cart, taking inventory of the fresh herbs and other scratch ingredients.  "Um, so... what are you going to do with all that rabbit?", he asked.

I told him I was a catering an event for 60 which had Braised Hunter's Rabbit on the menu.  His look told me he was impressed.  But then there was an awkward pause.  I had the rabbit and he had fulfilled his duty and needed to get back to his department.  I thanked him, he smiled politely and then walked away. As I pushed my cart in the opposite direction I reasoned, "Since I'm so grateful, shouldn't I pass by his department and thank him one last time."  I turned the cart around and and walked past his counter, giving a little wave and smile.  When he saw me, he beamed, held up his finger, imploring me to wait, and disappeared in the back of the shop.  When he reappeared, he handed me a little piece of folded butcher paper. Leaning close and lowering his voice, he said, "I'm not supposed to do this, it's against company policy, but.... uh... here's my number if you want to call me sometime."

Fast forward 15 years later, and we are still happily married.  You can call our chance meeting serendipitous, or even fated.  You see, I later found out that he lived in San Francisco where he managed a butcher shop and was only at Lucky's in Castro Valley, on that very day covering for a sick employee.  Furthermore, if I'd found rabbit anywhere else prior to my last ditch effort at Lucky's, I can almost guarantee that my life would be very different than it is today.