"Okay. Thanks Samantha. Keep me posted," said Martin Stovall, the Mayor of Moon Lake, before ending his call.
"Well?" wondered his wife Melissa, as their daughter Julie and her fiance Eric Anderson looked on.
"It's been an interesting morning," began Martin, while turning to face his (extended) family. "Dieter Wilhelm and an accomplice were arrested in front of the church without incident. James Harper Senior was shocked to witness this, but apparently went straight into denial mode."
"For some reason, I'm not totally surprised at that," commented his wife, "but go on."
"Then Harper Senior still insisted on being allowed inside the church to stop the wedding and drag his daughter Jennifer back to Alabama. But all that accomplished was her coming outside to confront him, without wearing the second wedding gown to hide her new human figure as a were."
Eric felt Julie's hand tighten her grasp upon his. If either adult noticed that they had been sitting there the whole time on the couch in their Stage 1 forms, with the were-mer webbing visible between their fingers, neither commented on it.
"Oh no," said Melissa. "Then what happened?"
"Don't worry. Our secret's are safe, at least from her parents," revealed Martin. The look on everyone else's faces made him add, "I'll explain in a moment," before he continued recounting what Town Chancellor Samantha Twist told him.
"Anyway, Jennifer Harper got into a huge argument with her father, with everybody except her mother coming in on her side. As a therapist, Frances Twist is happy because Jenny stood up for herself, but Harper Senior couldn't take the strain of Jenny, the rest of his children, Harold Jenkins, and whoever else was there trying to tell him he's been wrong all these years. The man had a major heart attack and was rushed to Moon Lake General."
"Is he all right?" asked Eric, which made everyone turn their heads toward him. "I mean, the guy is a jerk by all accounts, but that doesn't mean we want anything bad to happen to him, does it?"
"No Eric, it doesn't," replied Melissa with a smile, before Martin continued his story.
"Harper Senior is in the Cardiac ICU unit there now. Doctor Tora Tachibana is tending to him, but the outcome remains uncertain at the moment. Harper Senior's wife is with him as I speak. Meanwhile, Jennifer talked to the rest of her siblings, and revealed herself and Harry, therefore the rest of Moon Lake in the process, as weres."
"Is that good or bad?" asked a concerned Melissa, before anyone else could voice the question.
"Hopefully good. According to Samantha, who was nearby and witnessed the exchange, Jennifer's brothers took it in stride, although her younger sister appeared to be interested when Jenny mentioned that mermaids exist," explained Martin.
"Does that mean she'll be staying and joining somebody's pod, dad?" wondered Julie.
"I don't know yet Julie," replied her father. "Jennifer shared our secret with her siblings in case her younger brother and sister are emancipated and stay in Moon Lake, but Janice—I think her name is—hasn't turned 13 yet, so still has a while before becoming any type of were. Her younger brother didn't seem to have any interests in weres, as far as Samantha could tell, but all the oldest brother wants to do is see things through here and then go back to Alabama to finish his last year of college and be with the lady he's hoping will soon be his fiance."
This time, Julie felt Eric squeeze her hand a tad tighter as Martin added, "Harper Junior did promise to sign our standard Non-disclosure Agreement concerning weres, and wished both Jennifer and her new husband well."*
"So, we're back to what happens now?" asked Melissa.
"Other than needing to wait and see what happens between Harper Senior's health and whether or not Jennifer emancipates her younger siblings, we get ready for tonight's Halloween festivities!" said Martin with a smile, to cheer everyone up.
MEANWHILE, AT MOON LAKE GENERAL HOSPITAL...
"Do I dare ask what happens now?" said John Harper. "How does this emancipation thing work?"
"That is a bit complicated," admitted Harold Jenkins, "so it might take a while, depending upon your mom and dad. But if you and Janice want to, my parents have offered to let you stay at their house. There will be plenty of room, especially once the space over the garage is converted into our own place," he added, while putting a loving arm around his wife. The fact that both of them were still in their wedding outfits wasn't lost on the others.
"I hate to sound greedy, but I'm hungry. That breakfast they served on the plane stank," said younger sister Janice.
"My main concern is, with Wilhelm behind bars where he belongs, how do we get back to Alabama?" asked James Harper Junior. "Despite being a jerk and a lot of other stuff I won't say in mixed company, the charter is in Wilhelm's name because he paid for it, so the police have probably canceled it for fear that he might try to escape either back to Alabama or somewhere else."
"We have friends here in Moon Lake that can take care of all that," replied Jennifer Harper-Jenkins, thinking of the Skulk, while looking at Samantha and Frances Twist, who silently nodded their heads in agreement.
"Right now, why don't I go get everybody some lunch, my treat, and we can eat in here while we're waiting for word on your father," offered Samantha. "Then Frances and I can answer all your questions to the best of our ability," she added with a smile.
AND IN THE CARDIAC ICU UNIT OF MOON LAKE GENERAL HOSPITAL...
"Oh please wake up James," begged a tearful Elizabeth Harper, looking at the unconscious form of her husband. "I don't know what I'd do without you, let alone how to punish our ungrateful children."
Geez, thought Doctor Tora Tachibana, who was standing near the foot of his patient's bed, watching both James Harper Senior's wife and the medical equipment monitoring his condition. From what I've heard of this situation, you'd think she would of at least faced reality by now. But grief can affect normals and even weres in odd ways.
Doctor Tachibana was keeping a close eye on the monitors, especially considering he didn't like the unsteady beat of his patient's heart.
But for now, despite all his medical skills, the matter was out of his hands.
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*A somewhat brief recap of recent episodes.—tmw.