"So... how have you been doing, dad?" Jen asked to Jacob Decker, using the term that Jacob had insisted she use when she married Jeff.
"Been doing fairly well," Jacob replied with a smile, "getting older... but then Josephine and I are still normals by all accounts, so I suppose that's to be expected."
"I'm sure any were group would be more than happy to let you join if you wish," Jen commented.
"I'm sure..." Jacob replied with a soft smile, "but Josephine and I are happy as we are... though... it is good see you and our grandson."
Jacob trailed off for a moment, as he thought over his son's memory and then finished, "very good."
Jen nodded. She could tell that her father-in-law and mother-in-law both were saddened by what had happened to Jeff. The three of them had had a good cry over the phone when Jen called them to let them know and that she and Tad were coming back to Moon Lake. Though, the Deckers did seem to recover, and some of their own foibles continued, such as Josephine's planting flowers in October. Washington State might not have as cold or as harsh a winter as other parts of the country did, but that didn't entirely mean they were without snow in the winter, though from what Jen remembered growing up, Jeff had told her that Josephine did it for the sake of beauty before things got cold and snowy and would buy additional flowers when spring started. It sometimes annoyed Jacob, but the two had let that be. And with that, both Jen and Jacob turned as Tad sat down next to Josephine to look at the photo album that had been well maintained over the years.
"We moved here in the late 80s," Josephine said to Tad as she showed some of the pictures of Jeff Decker when he was around eighteen. Tad was even amazed by how much he did look like his father, but didn't say anything to interrupt his grandmother. "Jeff was eighteen and was a bright and courageous young man... He actually enjoyed a good many of your grandfather's war stories..."
"You were a Marine too?" Tad asked as he turned to Jacob Decker.
"And held Khe Sanh," Jacob gave a smile, "and withdrawing from the post after we held off the NVA was just another dumb decision made by politicians and high command... but then Westmoreland was Army..."
"Hush now," Josephine shushed her husband and then returned to telling her story to Tad, "your grandpa was out of the Marines by this time and was looking for some work. He got a job in Seattle, but there wasn't any good housing available near a good school..."
"And while Moon Lake was a fair commute to Seattle..." Jacob added, "it was a nice small town and allowed for a more safe atmosphere than Seattle would have offered."
Tad listened quietly as Josephine nodded. It was fairly interesting in the sense of learning more about his father's past and interacting with his grandparents.
"Of course... at the time, we didn't know that Moon Lake was a sort of safe haven for were-beasts," Josephine commented, "and Jacob and I both had some fears as to whether or not we were safe here, but the Town Chancellor at the time was very understanding and assured both of us that much the issue was more for Moon Lake's own secrecy and that only one family member had to change. Others could join if they wanted, but only one person HAD to join."
Tad nodded.
"We had some concerns on debating the issue as we really didn't have the money to try and leave but we agreed to think the offer over," Josephine continued, "We enrolled Jeff in the High School and began to quietly think it over. And while in school, your dad made friends."
Tad watched as his grandmother flipped the page and he saw a color photograph of his father standing with a teen that looked like his new alpha. It took him a moment to realize that the picture was of his father and Austin Perry when Austin was younger. He looked to see that his grandmother smiled at the picture.
"And through the friends he made... he found that Moon Lake's were-beasts weren't anything like what old stories said they were or like they were in Hollywood movies," Josephine continued, "and since your grandfather and I still had some concerns... your father decided to be the family were, and went with being a werewolf."
Josephine then pointed to another photo, which showed a black furred male werewolf hugging and holding both a younger looking Josephine and Jacob to him. They were all inside the same living room with the electric lighting actually glistening against his father's fur. Tad noticed that all of them were smiling and that the werewolf, despite his obvious muscle was being very gentle. Tad watched as his grandmother wiped away a tear and then smiled to him.
"And while Jacob and I never became weres, your father was able to show to us that the Town Chancellor had been right and that his friends had been right," Josephine said with a smile, "and it did reinforce the parts of your father that saw things as more than just Moon Lake and his own decision to join the military."
Tad watched as Josephine flipped a few more pages and then continued when she came to a photo of his father and mother together, though both of them looking slightly younger than his mom presently looked.
"Though our greatest joy was when he met your mother in college," Josephine said with a smile, "because he fell in love... married your mother... and then you came along, in that order."
"They look so young," Tad commented and then looked up to his mother, "but... not much younger than you do now..."
"Were aging, dear," Jen spoke to him, "once a were matures fully... somewhere around eighteen to twenty... our aging slows way down. It allows us to have the potential to live for centuries. I'm what normals would think is middle aged... but in reality... by the time I AM middle aged and begin look like I'm middle aged... I'll be well over hundred years old. You will be in much the same boat. And I would like to introduce you to my parents... but since both of them are native born werecats like me... and had me when they were fairly young with the help of a male donor... they won't look too much older than I am now... maybe a little, but not by much."
"I also think they're still working as well," Jacob commented, "So you won't get in contact with them until this evening... though they have asked after you since... well since Jeff died."
Jen slowly nodded. She would need to talk with her moms to a degree and let them know that she was alright and that so was Tad. She had called them to let them know of Jeff's murder after she had let the Deckers know, but at the time she was still so emotionally overwhelmed and heartbroken at the time that she really didn't sound all that well on the call. She got herself a bit more under control later, but much of that had involved her trying to be strong for Tad and set up the reasons Frances wanted to see at least Jen for grief counseling. And she did feel a bit better after the session.
"We'll probably stop by and say hello and let them see the fine young man their grandson has grown up to be," Jen gave a warm smile to her son, "but we will try to work around their work schedules."
Tad didn't listen in too much as his mom began to visit with his grandparents and simply began to flip through the photo album, which Josephine had handed to him. One of them was of him as a baby, wrapped in blankets and reaching out toward Jacob's nose in the picture.
"So... mom, how goes your gardening?" Jen asked, "anything looking good this year?"