Harry Jenkins escorted his fiance Jenny Harper into Doctor Frances Twist's office a little before 2 pm for her afternoon therapy session.
College had gone relatively well for both of them that day, despite Jenny's ongoing post-transformation stress disorder and the problems arising from her parents coming next weekend to stop their oldest daughter's wedding.
"Good afternoon Rudy," Jenny said weakly, but politely, as they entered the waiting room.
"Hello Jenny, Harry," said Rudy, Doctor Twist's receptionist/secretary. "Frances said to send you on in to her office as soon as you arrived. The way her schedule worked out for today, you're the only patient she's physically seeing on site today."
"Okay. Thanks," said Harry, as he escorted his fiance to the door to Frances' private office.
As the couple entered the room, they were not surprised to see Doctor Twist, but were surprised to see that Tachibana no Akane, the leader of the Skulk; and Samantha Twist, Frances' wife and the Moon Lake Town Chancellor were there too.
"Konichiwa Harold Jenkins, Jennifer Harper," said Akane, as she bowed slightly to them.
"Konichiwa," they replied, almost in unison, to return the greeting.
"Normally, we would not intrude upon a therapy session, for I know how zealously my wife guards the sanctity of her office and practice," began Samantha, who was standing behind her mate with an arm on her shoulder, "but something important has come up that we need to discuss with you."
"Please, everyone, sit," offered Frances, in her customary chair in the center of the room.
Everyone took a seat, with Akane and Samantha on either side of Frances while Harry and Jenny sat facing the three women.
"What's up?" asked Harry.
"After you contacted me this morning with your warning about the phone conversation between Jennifer and her parents Harold," began Akane, "my agents elsewhere in Washington state notified me of some plane tickets and a rental car reservation made late last night."
"Oh?" asked Jenny, with a noticeable quiver in her voice and a slight tremor in her posture.
"Your entire family and a Dieter Wilhelm will be here next Saturday in time for your wedding Miss Harper," announced Akane as calmly as if she was reporting the weather.
"Damn them," Jenny angrily hissed under her breath. "I told them I never wanted to see him ever again."
"It appears not only are they not honoring your wishes, but that this other gentleman is underwriting their trip here," revealed Akane.
"Doesn't surprise me. My folks think Dieter is the greatest thing to come along since sliced bread," commented Jenny. "I tried showing them the truth about him, but they never listen. Once my father even had the gall to call me a liar to my face!"
"Be that as it may, sadly, my news gets worse. There are six tickets purchased for the trip to Seattle, with a rental van reservation to bring them the rest of the way to Moon Lake. But there are seven return tickets waiting at the Seattle Airport. The extra one in the name of Jennifer Harper Wilhelm," said Akane calmly.
"WHAT! exclaimed Harry, jumping out of his chair so fast that he knocked it over in the process. "They can't do that! I'll—" as he started assuming his werefox form to defend his life/bond mate.
"Calm yourself Harry. We have a plan," announced Samantha, as Frances handed Jenny a box of tissues, for she had broken down in tears.
"It honors me and the Skulk to see that the bond between you two is so very strong Harold," began Akane, "but subtlety will serve us better in this instance."
"What did you have in mind," asked Harry, as he picked up his chair and sat back down next to Jenny, before he started to change back. His clothes managed to stretch enough to accommodate his fursona, but he would never admit his normal shoes were too tight around his paws and that his tail hurt from being trapped in his pants.
"You are a legal adult in most states Jenny, including Washington, so your parents have no hold or say over your life any more as it is," pointed out Samantha. "Now, this Wilhelm guy obviously has something in mind, as shown by the extra ticket."
"He was always a schemer, especially if it benefited himself," explained a teary eyed Jenny.
"But what we would like you to do is have TWO ceremonies," revealed Samantha. "The first before the one your folks are aware of to officially tie the knot. That way, no matter how much they complain or whatever dirty tricks this Wilhelm jerk tries, you're already married in a beautiful ceremony they can never tarnish."
"But, Harry's parents and the Skulk are already pooling their resources to cover the expense of the first wedding. I can't impose upon everybody again," said Jenny through her tears, "and if we could afford two ceremonies ourselves," she added, while grabbing Harry's closest hand in hers, "I would have agreed to that plan this morning."
"What if Samantha and I pay for the second ceremony? It can be our wedding present to you," offered Frances, as she briefly looked to see her wife nod in agreement.
Akane was about to make that offer as well, but remained silent when Frances spoke first.
"You would do that for us?" asked Jenny, looking up from her latest tissue.
"Yes. You and Harry make a beautiful couple, and there is no way anyone should have a chance to ruin your special day," explained Frances, recalling her own wedding to Samantha.
"Oh. THANK YOU!" exclaimed Jenny, leaping from her chair to hug Frances.
"You're welcome," said Doctor Twist, as she returned the hug and patted Jenny on the back.
"And I hope someday, your most cherished dream comes true too," said Jenny, before she broke the hug and went back to her chair.
When Jenny said that, Frances was looking at her wife, thinking that all her dreams had already come true, when she felt a brief sensation of warmth overcome her. Another quick look at Samantha now showed the Twists at Moon Lake Hospital, with Frances in bed holding their new daughter while Samantha was kissing Frances' cheek and smiling at the new bundle of joy.
A tear began to fill Frances' eyes. A quick blink, and the vision was gone. Frances only saw Samantha sitting in the office chair smiling at everyone once again.
"Now that that's settled, perhaps we should leave and let Doctor Twist get on with today's therapy session," suggested Akane.
"Sure. Besides I owe you a ride back to the Town Hall, or wherever you need to be dropped off next," said Samantha.
"I thank you for your generosity Mrs. Twist. I shall be outside in the waiting area," said Akane, as she left the office.
"I'll walk you out honey," said Frances. "Excuse me a moment."
As they stood near the open office door, Frances asked her wife, "Did you get Ben's text?"
"Yeah. It must be kind of serious between him and this Kenya if he's cooking tonight," observed Samantha.
"Well, our son may never be a famous chef, but we've given him enough lessons so he knows his way around a kitchen and won't starve," pointed out Frances.
"As you say, we'll just have to keep an open mind when we meet this lady tonight. See you later," said Samantha, giving her wife a brief peck on the lips before joining Akane in the waiting room.
MEANWHILE...
Unknown to anyone in Moon Lake, Dieter Wilhelm's advance scout Mark had loaded up his pickup truck with everything he could think of supply wise for several days on the road, including lots of ammunition hidden in a strong box rolled up within his sleeping bag in the back bed of his truck under its camper top. Except for the only one he had a permit to legally carry, the rest, including a couple of rifles and an infra-red night scope, were hidden within the false bottom of the back truck bed.
With a propane gas stove, extra gas tanks, and plenty of food; it would be a rare stop for anything other than more diesel for the pickup or to answer nature's call between Alabama and Washington state.
Somewhere along the way, Mark knew he would have to find a map of Moon Lake itself, since none were to be found online, but that could be taken care of the closer he got to Washington.
He had his mission. Get the lay of the land and keep an eye on his boss' fiance until Dieter Wilhelm came to claim her next Saturday, and if there was a chance to take this interloper Harry Jenkins out of the picture before then...