As Jennifer Harper and Harold Jenkins left the church, Harry turned to his fiance and asked, "Do you want to get a bite to eat before the Skulk meeting?"
"Do we have time?" she asked in return.
"Truthfully, I'm not sure," admitted Harold, as he checked his wristwatch. "The meeting's supposed to start 15 minutes after night fall," he said, looking up at the darkening sky and the setting sun. "Maybe we can grab a bite to go on the way there."
"Won't they be serving at least snacks at this thing? We had food after our induction meeting," wondered Jenny, as they walked to Harold's car.
"Well, welcoming new members is a bigger deal than just gathering all the dens together to plan the tricks and treats activities for Halloween."
"Considering everything Mrs. Tachibana and the other foxes have done for us, maybe we should make sure we're on time for this meeting," realized Jenny, as Harold held the passenger car door open for her. "If we're still hungry afterward, we can always stop for something to eat before we turn in tonight. After all, we do have a VERY big day ahead of us tomorrow Mister Jenkins," Jenny said with a smile as Harold got into the car.
"Right you are Mrs. Jenkins to be," he said, giving her a quick peck on the cheek before each fastened their seat belts and prepared to leave the church for the Skulk gathering.
ELSEWHERE...
"I'm so glad you talked me into this," said William Anderson, as he paid the bill for their dinner at The Local Diner.
"Well, with everything going on, I just couldn't see being caught in the kitchen cooking and cleaning up afterward," confessed his wife Martha. "Besides, we need to treat ourselves every once in a while, and an actual home cooked meal would have been rushed considering we have a meeting to attend."
William Anderson was a full fledged werefox while as his wife, Martha was an honorary member of the Skulk, despite being a bi-werecat.
"Guess we better head to the gathering," realized William. "I wonder how the kids are doing tonight?" he said, as they headed toward the family car.
"Don't worry. They'll be all right," said Martha confidently. "Besides, whether or not that Professor who gave you a ride home is truly interested, the after meeting festivities might be fun," she added with a smile.
MEANWHILE...
"Okay. The meatloaf is looking good," said Alex Ramsey, as he closed the oven door. "About roughly another 45 minutes on it, and I'll time rewarming the veggies and everything else accordingly."
"It all smells so good," admitted Nate Anderson, coming up behind his boyfriend, "and so do you," he added, wrapping his furry arms around his lover before he started nuzzling Alex's neck.
After starting dinner, Nate convinced Alex to get naked and furry, as two horny werewolves make quick and passionate love to each other as dinner began cooking.
Now, after Alex managed to convince Nate they needed to take a break so he could check on things, Nate was wanting to rekindle the fires of passion again.
"Down boy!" said Alex, looking at Nate. "As hot as I know we are for each other, the last thing we want to do is let dinner burn, or have it start a more serious type of fire in mom's kitchen. Now then, help me set the table for two, and after we eat and clean everything up for the night, we can cut loose and howl in the backyard for awhile."
"Promise?" Nate asked, looking at Alex anxiously.
"Definitely Stud," he replied, using his pet name for Nate as Alex reached out one paw and caressed the sheath doing a poor job of trying to contain Nate's hardening lupine red rocket.
CONCURRENTLY...
"Sorry dinner's a little late," Melissa Stovall told those gathered around her. "This is my first time trying to cook this dish and it took longer than I thought it would."
"Smells good. What is it?" asked her husband Martin, who also happened to be the Mayor of Moon Lake.
"Chicken Fried Steak with cream gravy," she announced, after sitting the casserole dish on the place mats in the center of the table and lifting the lid for all to see.
"My favorite!" exclaimed Eric Anderson, an invited guest who would be spending the night with his fiance. "How did you know?" he asked Melissa.
"A little fish told me," she replied, while winking at her daughter.
"You didn't have to go to so much trouble," said Eric, while looking at both Stovall women. "I would have been happy with whatever you served."
"It's no trouble," replied Mrs. Stovall, as her husband held her chair for Melissa to sit down.
"Besides, you're family Eric," Julie Stovall reminded him, as Eric held her chair. "Not only are you a fellow were-mer, but someday we'll be man and wife," she added.
Eric's eyes momentarily drifted away from staring at Julie's beautiful deep sea blue orbs to take in the single pearl necklace she proudly wore around her neck, the were-mer's version of an engagement ring.
After everyone was served and started eating, Eric announced, "This is delicious! Are you sure this is your first time making Chicken Fried Steak Mrs. Stovall?"
"Yes, and don't you remember? Since you're part of our family now, when it's just us, you can call me Melissa and my husband Martin," she reminded him.
Eric agreed and continued eating.
Then, not knowing when there might be a better time to do so, Eric looked up from his plate and said, "Do you mind if I ask you a question Martin?"
"Technically, I think you just did," Mister Stovall joked, "but what is it Eric?"
"If I'm allowed to ask, is everything ready for tomorrow?"
"Do you mean the Halloween Dance or the other matter before Moon Lake?" Martin asked in return.
"The wedding, if you can talk about it," said Eric.
Martin Stovall looked at his family and said without hesitation, "We've done all we can. When this Dieter Wilhelm steps into the church tomorrow morning, we expect him and his henchman to be armed and dangerous, but are prepared to arrest both of them the moment they're inside on potential hate crime charges and other violations of town, state, and federal laws," he said, not mentioning the fact that Wilhelm would be facing attempted murder charges and the arrest would also be stemming from the fact his last henchman shot Henry Jenkins, Junior under the mistaken belief he was attempting to kill the groom to be.
"From what I've heard of the situation, I think it's a shame that Harper lady's family thinks they can dictate who she marries," replied Julie, while reaching under the table to hold Eric's hand, a gesture that wasn't lost on her parents.
"True, and that is a part of it," agreed Martin. "Yet her family hasn't seen their daughter since before Yvette Smith clawed her and changed Jennifer Harper into a were-vixen. Having seen before and after photos of the lady, there are some drastic differences that can't easily be explained away, but the Skulk are confident that they have that problem resolved."
"Oh? How?" wondered Eric.
"Samantha Twist explained it to me. It involves a more drab wedding dress for the second ceremony so Jennifer Harper physically appears more like the daughter she used to be than the woman she is now," answered Martin.
"But isn't the lady happy to be a were-vixen?" wondered Julie.
"It took time to adjust, considering she was changed against her will," conceded her father, "and Harold Jenkins was a normal who willingly became a werefox at Jennifer's paws to be with her, an act that established a Skulk life/soul mate bond between the two of them. Now Jennifer Harper is very happy and wanting to live the rest of her extended life here in Moon Lake with Harold as her mate. But obviously we can't go into all the details about that with her family, since they're all not only still normals, but outsiders as well."
"I haven't heard any good things about her family, especially Jennifer's parents," commented Melissa Stovall. "By all accounts, the father is backwards in his thinking about women's rights and a female's place in a man's world. But what shocks me even more is that his wife apparently just takes it all in stride and never says a word against him."
"True," agreed her husband. "While I obviously don't know all the details because of doctor/patient confidentiality rules, Frances Twist confirmed as much. Jennifer Harper didn't have a great upbringing, as was looking forward to attending Moon Lake College as both a fresh start and to escape her family. Even then, she had no intention of ever going back to Alabama."
"I don't always perfectly get along with my parents," admitted Eric, "but they have never intentionally mistreated me. What kind of people would do such a thing and still be considered family?"
Martin Stovall thought about that for a moment before answering, "I have absolutely no idea Eric."
"Okay everybody," began Melissa Stovall, seriously wanting to change the subject. "After we finish dinner, I've got ice cream for dessert, and then after our food goes down, we can all hang out around the pool for awhile before parting company for the night."
The smiles that crossed Eric and Julie's faces were not lost on Melissa and Martin as everyone resumed eating.