Martha returned home quietly at close to eleven PM from the pride's picnic. It had been good to meet the rest of the pride she had joined, though while it had been originally intended to be a meet and greet over a picnic dinner, it turned into something a bit more than that. Thankfully, Jen Decker did understand that Martha, Samantha, and Frances all had early morning starts, and once things got a little more... "excited" around eight thirty PM, they didn't get to the point where they lost track of time.
"Well... that went well," Martha smiled to Samantha and Frances as the three of them got out of the car back at the Twist's home and Martha collected the ice chest. There was still some sodas in it, though by the sloshing, it appeared that much of the ice had melted.
"Yes," Samantha nodded, "though, it did come as a bit of a surprise. Jen didn't say she was looking for... well looking for what developed."
"That might have been simply a coping mechanism," Frances commented to both Samantha and Martha, "she and Jeff were very deeply in love to the point where even though she's bi, she committed herself to a monogamous relationship with a man and made no attempt to act on her other side beyond admitting that someone was attractive. It wasn't repression..."
"But she still committed herself to him," Martha nodded, "and from some of the stories before things... before things escalated, she'd had had a very happy marriage..."
"And made her commitment worth it to her," Frances nodded, "but with his death... her whole world came crashing down and created stresses of its own. In that way... I think she NEEDED something like tonight to work out that stress."
"Glad to be of service, then," Martha gave a chuckle, "Have a good night!"
With that she made her way home. Samantha and Frances both waved to her as she walked across the grass to her own home next door. Many of the lights were out, though she could see a flicker from what was Eric's room and what might be from the living room going through the entryway and ultimately out the front windows. The lights on the first floor though were dim, and it was entirely possible that William had left a small light on for when she returned. Though not that she or William needed that now. Both cats and foxes had excellent night vision, perhaps even better than their daytime vision, and the two of them could easily make their way through their home in the dark of night without any trouble, and that was before taking into account their enhanced sense of smell and hearing.
She briefly set the ice chest down and opened the door. To her surprise, she found William waiting for her in the living room. He smiled to her as she went through the entryway and into the living room.
"Had some fun, I see," William commented, catching some scent from his wife that the picnic became more than a picnic at some point, "everything go well?"
"Yes," Martha answered, "the pride I've joined is a good one... with plenty of exciting characters, even though its a small one. And the other new member was very friendly... though things did get a little..."
Martha's tone sort of fell away, but William nodded and understood.
"It's okay," he said to her, "Eric and I had a good night. We talked a little... finished off some left overs, and watched a little television before he went up to his room. I checked a little while ago... from what I could hear, he was on Skype with Julie."
"How did it sound?" Martha asked as she carried the ice chest into the kitchen.
William didn't immediately answer while Martha opened the refrigerator and was soon putting the sodas that weren't consumed at the picnic in the fridge. After a moment to think, William did answer.
"Rather friendly and planning out what they want to do while we're out tomorrow," William answered, "Some of it was fairly flirtatious... some of it... some of it sounded like you were listening to couple that had been happily married for years. At a free moment, I may need to ask Ms. Tachibana if Eric would be allowed to bring a date. I'm already sure that Nate and Eric would be allowed a they are family and both of us are being welcomed... but..."
"But you're not sure on whether or not the Skulk would allow for Alex or Julie to come," Martha nodded, "especially since Nate and Eric haven't legally married anyone... yet... and my welcome is only as an honorary member thanks to our marriage."
William nodded as she handed him the ice chest. He placed it by the sink and placed the bags of ice in the sink. They'd melt, but that was already happening and neither Anderson saw any need to keep the bags of ice around. They'd let the ice melt in the sink and go down the drain. Coming forward and letting a fingernail sharpen into a claw for a brief moment, Martha pushed it through the plastic easily. That would let the melt water go down the sink's drain through the night. Once that was done, she let that claw shrink back and round back into a human fingernail.
As that finished she looked to William with a heavy sigh. The Skulk induction ceremony wasn't the thing that was on either of their minds at the moment. Not even the specific events at the pride's picnic was even on Martha's mind at the moment. It was Eric and how fast and how serious his relationship with Julie Stovall was becoming. The weremer might be aware of Eric being her one true love and being very willing to wait for him, but both were fast approaching a point where waiting might not be an option for either. And the fact that true love was pushing that issue.
Martha figured she and William could tie Eric up at night or when he came home and hold him until he was at least sixteen, but while that might push things back to a point where she and William would be more comfortable it wouldn't be good for Eric any more than pushing him into an adult relationship early. The relations between Eric and Julie was certainly loving, and something in Martha's heart seemed to tell her that Eric and Julie would be together for a VERY long time and would be VERY happy together, but she was still worried about the timing.
She drifted into William's arms and he quietly began to lead her through the kitchen, the living room, and heading upstairs. William turned the lights out as they went. For a few moments they were silent, but Martha's worries couldn't be held within her any longer, especially with William saying that Eric and Julie had talked to each other as though they had been married for a few years. She was glad to see Eric coming out of his shell, but much of it seemed to be happening too fast.
"He's only fourteen," Martha said softly as they went upstairs.
"Yes... yes he is," William answered simply.
"It's good that it'll be for love... but..." Martha said slowly, "would be wrong to let it happen? Melissa told me that this time is approaching fast... that their love is so strong that it'll happen before the end of the year."
William gave a sigh. Based on the questions Eric had asked him about, he figured that the moment between Eric and Julie was fast approaching.
"Well..." William began, "in a way... we did want this."
"WHAT?" Martha blurted as they went through the hall and into their bedroom. She caught herself before waking up Eric or disturbing him too much if he was still awake. She took a deep breath and then spoke in a quieter voice, "Are you saying we wanted him to have sex?! Because I remember only wanting him to come out of his shell. Nothing more than that."
"And he has come out of his shell," William answered calmly as the two of them began getting ready for bed, "I'd agree that Eric losing his virginity was not part of our hopes for him... but he fell in love with the girl that brought him out of his shell. That's something we couldn't have expected."
The two of them placed their clothing down the laundry chute and then sighed to each other.
"We wanted Eric to come out of his shell, and thanks to Julie... he's done that," William continued, "what we didn't expect was some of the exact natures of were courtship and that Eric would fall in love with her. Melissa did talk to me... their "love at first sight" is very much like my bond to you... It's strong and firm."
"And Eric won't be able to resist it," Martha sighed as her bra and panties were dropped down the laundry chute.
"And there is then the issue of what can we do about it?" William sighed, "He's crazy about her, and from what I've seen, SHE seems to be just as crazy about him."
"We can't just forbid them to see each other until we're comfortable," Martha sighed, "they'd only turn on us if we did... and see it as justified because they love each other."
William nodded and held Martha to him Despite both of them being naked, the embrace wasn't sexual. He simply held her. The quietly and carefully climbed into bed. William set the alarm and then rolled over to embrace Martha again. He kissed her cheek and held her to him.
"Hopefully when ever it happens, it's a romantic moment and Julie is smart enough to let Eric know when the moment arrives," William answered, "as they do love each other. It's faster than we expected... but if it happens for love..."
"That'd be the best we can hope for," Martha answered, as a few tears of joy and pride came to her again, "and the best for our little man... because that's what's happening. He's not our little boy anymore... he's growing up and becoming a man."
"And hopefully he'll be a good man," William answered and continued to hug and hold Martha to him.