The morning trip started fairly well. It was a little bit after the time that most of the students at Moon Lake would have been on their way to school when Henry was able to be ready and backed his vehicle out with John seated calmly in the passenger seat. Once on the road, he set about toward his old place of employment, Jenkins Construction. He'd run it reasonably well, and the people of Moon Lake seemed to like his work, but he and his wife had started to hit retirement age and Huck was getting ready to start out. In that sense, once Huck graduated with his business degree with additional training focuses on carpentry, plumbing, electrical work, and all the other things that went along with construction, Henry was more than happy to let his oldest son, who had seemed interested in the work, take the reins.
In fact as he drove along, he glanced over to where John was seated, and thought back on the times that he'd taken Huck to work with him. Huck as a youngster was always interested. Henry knew that John would be different, of course, but it was good to have the company, and to be there to help the work that he did like doing. He might be too old to safely become a were, but he wasn't too old to do the work needed with the present case. He came up on the front of Jenkins construction and found Betty waiting for them near the front door
"I was expecting you," Betty commented.
"Well... it isn't a hard job and I'm not completely out of it," Henry answered with a small smile.
"It's something that will do to help," Betty answered, "Huck is getting better... and it looks like all the external signs of the wounds have healed... But it'll take a little while for everything to get back up to full strength."
Henry nodded, remembering the assassination attempt on his eldest son. He counted himself lucky that Huck survived that. It was likely the fact that Huck was a were and thus a were's incredible ability to heal, particularly in were form, was enough to keep Huck alive until he made it to the hospital. But with what had happened, even with a were's ability to heal, it wasn't instantaneous, and thus it would take time to recover from what had happened. Henry figured it'd probably mean that Huck would have to content himself to more of the office work until he was fully healed, which would probably be determined by what Betty would allow. That was something that Henry had always noticed to some degree with regard to Betty's interest in Huck, but it had never been his place to point that out. Thankfully, though, Betty was able to reveal to Huck that she loved him, and the two did look happy together. Though at the moment, Betty was also doubly sure to make sure Huck didn't strain himself, which was probably a good thing.
John followed along as Betty led Henry in through the front door. The office area wasn't much and he thought he could smell sawdust in the air, but said nothing on that. He watched as Betty walked over to a set of boxes and put her hand one. It was moderately tall and thin, about the size of a window, and John thought he saw the drawing of a window on the box. On top of that box was a much smaller box with a small section of what looked like drywall with a bucket and some trowels in it as well. There also looked to be a small saw as well, which was pointed and narrow, as though it was designed to push into something relatively soft before sawing down. Though, since construction wasn't exactly John's forte, he didn't say anything.
"This should be all that you and your helper will need," Betty instructed, "we still had the window frame kit in stock, which is good. And from what Huck told me the damage to the wall is slight. So, it'd be a simple small patch to replace the spot where the bullet went in and use the adhesives to hold it together. Not something you haven't done before. And I'm sure John can pick it up pretty easy."
Betty gave John a small smile and then ruffled his hair fairly playfully.
"How's Huck doing?" John wondered aloud.
"Frustrated that all I can do at the moment is sit in my office!" came Huck's voice from one of the offices on the left side of the hall near the entryway.
"I'm sure you can work on the plans for Jenny and Harry's apartment!" Henry called to Huck with a chuckle and then handed the smaller box to John, "and don't forget your parents love you and want you healthy as soon as possible."
"Yeah, yeah," Huck answered, "have a good time you two."
Henry nodded and then carefully wrapped his arms around the box that held the window. Lifting with his legs, Henry slowly and rather easily lifted it and turned to head out. Betty moved around them to open up the door, letting John and head back out to the old truck they had come in. In this it was a bit surprising at how well Henry moved it, but then Henry Jenkins looked relatively fit for a man of his age, and Henry Jenkins was still a gentle soul. That was actually one of the things that Henry really did like about Moon Lake. While he had his questions over who he was, he had found those he'd met in Moon Lake to actually be quite friendly. It was a level of understanding and welcome that he'd never gotten at home. And John did think happily on that as Henry began to drive out from Jenkins Construction back toward the Twist home.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"Thanks for the breakfast," Martha said to Samantha, actually relishing the eggs and bacon that Samantha had served up.
"Well... I do have the time today," Samantha commented, "Jenkins Construction should be sending someone over to see about replacing the window frame and repairing the wall."
"Will it work?" Martha wondered, largely as neither she nor William had any great construction knowledge. William might know some basic bits of home maintenance, but there were a lot of things in that regard where he would likely need professional help.
"They should," Samantha chuckled as she sipped her coffee, "Jenkins Construction actually built a lot of the newer houses in Moon Lake and in the area."
"Would this be the same Jenkins..." Martha began to wonder.
"Yeah," Samantha nodded, "Henry Junior is the present owner and "CEO" of the company, and he's Harry Jenkins older brother."
"I got to meet Henry Senior and Lisa at the Skulk's welcome ceremony," Martha commented offhand, "they seemed rather polite and happy for Harry and Jenny."
Samantha nodded with a small smile. Though any verbal answer was lost as the doorbell rang making her turn her head toward the door way. Martha waived her on for moment and let Samantha get up. She then walked down the hallway that lead toward the Twist Front door and then opened it to find not Huck and one of his staff but Henry Senior and a young teen that she thought she remembered seeing at Harry and Jenny's wedding.
"Hello, Mrs. Twist, this is my assistant today, young John Harper," Henry spoke with a friendly smile that many in Moon Lake knew him for.
"Yes... I... see... but..." Samantha said slowly, as she'd actually been expecting Huck and maybe one of his regular workers.
"Huck's doing better," Henry reported, "he's out and about and is able to handle the office work... but it would appear he still needs a little time to handle some of the more... gentle aspects that will relate to replacing the window. It isn't too hard a job, and Jenkins Construction will have some regular work they're going to be in a rush to get done before winter sets in. So I volunteered."
"I offered to help," John added, as he held the smaller box that had the tools needed to replace the portion of the drywall that the bullet had gone through.
"I see," Samantha commented, "Well do come in and we can get started. I have a guest over..."
"Like a girlfriend?" John wondered, "Aren’t you married to the other Mrs. Twist?"
Samantha couldn't resist a chuckle at Frances being referred to as "the other Mrs. Twist," but she did nod with a small smile, "Yes... sort of like a girlfriend. She has been quite close with Frances and I since she moved her not to long before your older sister got engaged."
With that, Samantha stepped back to hold the door open to give them access and let Henry carrying the box holding the new window frame in it. John slowly walked along looking at the photos on the wall in the hallway, noting some of Samantha and some of Frances, some of them together. There were a few that had a young male in them, though he really didn't look like Samantha or Frances.
"That would be our son, Ben," Samantha spoke, "he's the biological son of some other friends of mine and Frances. We adopted him after they died."
"Is he?" John wondered, "If I may?"
"He's a werewolf," Samantha answered, "Frances and I are werecats."
John slowly nodded for a moment and then walked along until he came across a brown haired woman coming out of the Twist family's kitchen/dining area. John was pretty sure she wasn't Frances, and guessed that she was the guest that had been mentioned earlier. She looked similarly built to Samantha and Frances, though that was one of the things that tended to give him some trouble. Regardless of his father's rants and personal beliefs, that hadn't stopped him from having the feelings that seemed to give him so much trouble. All the female weres seemed athletic and muscular, but yet also voluptuous and well endowed. Male weres generally seemed to be broad shouldered, well-muscled, and athletic as well, and in the back of John's mind, the part of him that really wasn't sure about who he was wrestled with that recognition.
"Hello," Martha offered her hand, "My name is Martha."
"John," John answered as Samantha shut the door and then came down the hall to lead the way for Henry, "You'll have to forgive me, but my hands are full."
Martha chuckled and followed along. She got the sense that this one of Jenny Harper/Jenkins' younger siblings. She thought she remember seeing some of them at the wedding, but the big thing was probably their care. A part of her was rather curious as to how the younger Harper siblings were adjusting to Moon Lake, and what their legal status was. She could remember from her time as a teacher in Minnesota before Nate was born on dealing with children that came from broken and strained homes. In this she knew that kindness and being able to show that one cares for others was big.
"It's okay," Martha nodded as she followed along, "So, what do you think about Moon Lake?"
"It's interesting," John answered, thinking of Ginger for a moment, "I mean... the were thing is different, but Jenny's happy and everyone's been nice to me so far."
"Hopefully things remain nice for you," Samantha spoke from the front as she reached the doorway to hers and Frances' bedroom.
They then entered with Henry entering first. He gave a low whistle as he looked at the blanket tacked to the old window frame and set the box for the new window frame on top of the bed. John followed along as well, though he set his box on the floor as he didn't want to risk anything in it getting the bed dirty. Samantha and Martha remained in the doorway for the moment. Henry slowly nodded as he looked to the window frame before setting to open up the box so that the new window frame could be put in. That left John a bit curious at the moment while he waited, with parts of his mind still going over things that related Moon Lake, who he was, and potentially Ginger. Meeting Martha actually seemed to be the most interesting thing to him. She seemed to be built like Samantha, which made John guess that she was a were too, but he didn't know what kind of were.
"So... are you...?" John began as he looked curiously to the brown haired woman standing beside Samantha.
"I'm a were, yes, though I was born human," Martha answered, "after my husband was clawed by the same werefox that clawed your sister, Jenny, Samantha and Frances Twist, who I'd been making friends with gave me the very pleasant opportunity to become a werecat."
"You found a male werecat for her?" John wondered to Samantha.
"No... werecats are entirely female and are at least bisexual if not completely homosexual," Samantha explained, "there are "male werecats" that are similar... but they are all based of the various small wild species of feline in the world. In this, it might be more appropriate to call them werewildcats than male werecats."
"Samantha and Frances gave me my dose of werecat together, and helped me accept who I was... and who I am," Martha answered with a nod.
That got John's attention and he asked to Samantha, "Really?"
"Yeah, they did," Martha spoke, "but I don't want to distract you. Nor do you really want to hear about my past issues..."
Actually, John was rather curious about that. Particularly in relation to what Martha had said about Samantha and Frances helping her with who she was. He guessed that she was bisexual and had been repressing it, and a part of him wondered in what got Martha to recognize that might help him figure out what was going on with him. Was he straight? Was he gay? Was he bi? How could he tell? Those were the sorts of things just floated in the back of his mind, particularly in relation to the line Martha had spoken. It might have been said off-hand with no intent on going any deeper, but it did have that effect.
He looked over to Henry, who was carefully opening up the box that the replacement window frame was in. The cardboard tabs were pulling open fairly easily and John could now see the window inside it.
"Okay, she looks like she's coming," Henry commented, "John, while I finish getting this out, you can remove the blanket. Set the tacks on that dresser and set the blanket out of the way."
"What will be holding the window in?" John asked.
"With this model, there will be screws in the frame that hold it to the house's frame," Henry answered, "once the blanket is off, we can undo the screws and pull the old window out. Putting the new window could be tricky. I'll go out and around to guide it from the outside... and make sure it doesn't fall. You should only have to give a few minor nudges to make sure that all the holes line it up and put the screws in. It shouldn't be too hard."
"You'll be okay with?" Samantha asked him.
"I'm not THAT old," Henry answered with a chuckle and a small smirk.
John nodded and then set about removing the tacks while Henry finished unpacking the new window. As he pulled on the first tack, John looked back to Martha.
"Actually, Mrs...." John began.
"Anderson," Martha corrected.
"Mrs. Anderson, I wouldn't mind too much," John admitted and looked down for a moment, "I've... I've had some issues I've been trying to work through, some of which related to things my father's done and some things from other issues..."
Martha glanced to Samantha who gave a small shrug and then looked back to John. By this point he'd gotten the tacks out of the old frame and was walking across the bedroom to place the tacks on the dresser. Doing so had let the blanket fall to the floor, which John soon returned to pick up and move toward the door to the master bathroom, which John did not enter. Henry kept quiet, for the moment, as John had already told him a bit about the issues that he was facing and didn't want to interject.
"Well... I'm not a psychologist," Martha said slowly, "but... my issues related to my repressing who I was. My parents and older sister... they weren't anti-gay, per say... but by the same token, they also didn't want to see it. So, they'd support gay marriage as a legal issue, but would also support points that would pretty much keep same sex relationships behind closed doors. I'm not sure on whether or not that would really relate to you. I'd think that who YOU are is entirely up to you."
"But then how did you know you were bi?" John asked.
"Well... for me..." Martha mused for a moment and only continued when she felt Samantha's hand on her shoulder, "it was often in the fact that growing up I would look to someone, male or female, and have the typical teenage thought of that person being cute. But at the same time there was the sense from parents that that was wrong for someone from their family... which in turn lead to be repeating that sort of mantra every time I saw a woman that I found myself attracted to. I don't know HOW I knew... but I did, but with the idea that that was wrong, I repressed it. Buried it under other thoughts and feelings, which had its own fair share of trouble over the years, and I never really got out of that until my family moved here just prior to the school year's start and I began to see how normal and accepted same sex couples were accepted here. In that sense, the old shame at being bi began to go away and I happily became a were... and will enjoy all of the adult fun that good friends like Samantha and Frances may offer, as well as my vulpine husband."
John looked down for a moment, as if trying to think some way to try and explain how confused he felt. A part of him REALLY liked Ginger O'Toole and it was reaching a point where he had to wonder as to whether or not it was actually a sexual desire or not. Or was it just a standard reaction to Moon Lake, for the only person he'd ever been really close to in Alabama outside of his siblings was another boy that went to his school.
"Is something worrying you, young John?" Samantha asked from beside Martha. Frances didn't teach her all the things needed to be a therapist, but Samantha did have enough common sense to realize that something was going on that was bothering John in some way. Here, she figured to see if she could get that out and let Frances know later.
"Well..." John began, as he looked back over his shoulder to see Henry undoing the screws that held the window frame in place, "I suppose it's some confusion as to who I am and what's right. I mean... there's a lot my dad has ranted on... but a lot of that... a lot of it just comes off anger for the sake of anger... and I've been told that Moon Lake is quite accepting of same sex couples, which is a good thing... but the thing is... I really don't know on WHO I am. I think I have made a friend."
John paused to think of Ginger, with her red hair, her friendly smile, that she would be so willing to talk to him. The fact that she'd willingly approached him fully transformed the other night, but there was also the wonders on what that really was. Did he really desire her? Or was that just a reaction to Moon Lake.
"But I don't know on how that all applies," John said as he then looked down with a sigh, "is it just a response to Moon Lake? Or am I bi? Or is this friend more than just a friend?"
"A lot of that will be up to you," Martha commented, "Do you WANT this friend to be more than a friend?"
"A part of me does," John blushed, "she's kind and sweet... she's talked with me and there hasn't been the threat of a rant aimed at her or me from my father. And in a way that sounds very nice..."
"But...?" Samantha wondered.
"But the rest of me is too confused," John admitted, "what if it's something that's just a reaction to Moon Lake coming out? How do I know if the parts of me that like her are real?"
"Do you feel good talking with her?" Martha asked.
"I suppose so," John answered, "but then... I really haven't had much chance to talk to any male weres that much here in Moon Lake... outside of Harry and Huck... so... what if there's something more to it? What if I'm actually gay? I... I don't want to hurt her feelings."
"That might require some time to get to know Moon Lake as a whole better," Samantha commented, "but with the level of concern you've shown for this girl's feelings... I'm sure the friendship is real. And while a lot may be confusing... a lot of figuring out who you are will be up to you... and Moon Lake will be more than accepting."
"Really?" John wondered.
Samantha and Frances both nodded. In this time, Henry had finished getting the screws out of the old window frame and placed them beside tacks on the dresser. It took a bit of back and forth work, but it was something that really only one man was needed for, and so he'd let John talk with Martha and Samantha. Now, though, as he moved to pull the old window frame completely into the house, he was reaching a point where he would need help. It wasn't too heavy, and he was reasonably sure that even John could the old window's weight. But there was some measure of control to the process that having two hands would be easier.
"Okay, John, this is where I'm going to need your help," Henry said to his present assistant and then gripped there vertical sides of the old window frame, glad that Samantha had already removed and cleaned up the broken glass, "I want you to grip the window frame like so."
John watched as Henry demonstrated and then mimicked the move on the other side. There then followed a series of instructions that John followed as Henry gave them. They slowly moved the window frame inward until it came into the house completely. It resulted in a lit bit of tipping as they got to the last few inches, but when it did, it came out with a snap and both John and Henry managed one step inward before moving toward the east wall of the room and then rotated around so that the inside part of the window could be placed flat on the floor, mostly over the old blanket, and hopefully preventing any outside dirt getting anywhere that couldn't easily be picked up.
"And here will come the tight part," Henry explained, "this model is anchored on the inside... just as the old window was. In fact I might be the same frame as before. In this we'll need to align the individual screw holes and then place one of the set screws in to hold the frame in place. I'll help get the new frame in its starting place, then I'll go out to help from the outside. I'll need you to then push the frame in. Make sure you're pushing on the frame, not on the glass. It should give a sort of clicking snap once it is in place. From there we'll only have some small adjustments to make sure the screws line up and so on. Okay?"
"Okay," John nodded.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The work to replace the window didn't take too terribly long, though Martha and Samantha would need to help a bit to move the dresser so that Henry could saw out the damaged section and then replace it. At the moment, the material used to hold the new piece of dry wall in looked a bit different from the rest of the wall, but Henry assured Samantha that once everything was fully dry, it shouldn't be too noticeable and that some standard painting could fix that if that was something Samantha wished. In this Samantha thanked Henry and John for their work and even helped them out.
Martha followed along quietly and eventually stood by Samantha as Henry and John drove off. She enjoyed meeting John, but she couldn't help but feel that the young man had more questions in life than answers at the moment. Some of it might be a result of his upbringing and that would make sense, as difficult homes often did lead to difficult problems.
"I'm not sure how much of a help we were," Martha commented as she watched the old truck head up the street.
"Frances would probably say it's good that he's willing and open to talk about it," Samantha answered, "but in a way... you are right. His life is really up to him. And while there might be elements to your life and his life that are similar... that doesn't always mean that things that worked for you will necessarily work for him. And this will be a realization thing that is very important. Frances might be able to help him get some of the proverbial pressure that his father put on him off of him... but in the end, the only one who can make the decision as to whether or not this girl he's met is just a friend or a potential lover is something only he can make."
"And we'll welcome him," Martha finished, to which Samantha nodded.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"So... what did you think?" Henry asked to John as they road along, "Did you have fun on your first construction job?"
"It was interesting," John admitted as he looked over to Henry.
"Did Mrs. Twist and Anderson help you with what you were looking for?" Henry asked, knowing full well that John was looking for answers that related to who he was. It was a big thing that Henry knew was there, not just because John had talked with him over his confusion over his sexuality and what was right, but also with what Jenny had also mentioned at some times in private before the wedding.
"I'm not sure," John commented, "I can sympathize with Mrs. Anderson if her parents put her in a position where she was repressing who she was... but it would seem that she did seem to know who she was."
Henry nodded, but didn't say anything on that in particular. He'd only met Martha previously when Jenny and Harry had their official welcome to the Skulk and thus couldn't truly say anything on Martha Anderson's past. Though, there were always people who would have their agendas one way or the other.
"She was right in a way, though," Henry eventually said after a moment, "a lot of what you're working through is going to be up to you. Only you can make that realization. We can only help you by showing that Moon Lake will accept you completely. That is about all we can do."
"What about Ginger?" John asked before he realized it.
"What about Ginger?" Henry asked.
"What if I find out that I'm bi or gay or just odd?" John asked, "I don't want to hurt her feelings... because even if romance isn't a thing... I would like to be her friend."
"And I'm sure she will be a good friend for you," Henry answered, "She's pretty smart and so on. And helpful. There have been times when I've gone to take the garbage out and found that someone else had already taken it out in the night."
John nodded.
"Just be kind and be yourself," Henry smiled to him as he then made the turn to return to Jenkins construction where they could put the garbage from the job in the dumpster, "In that you'll always have a friend."
John nodded. In that it represented the sort of acceptance that he'd received in Moon Lake that felt good to him. The acceptance on that that he'd received, from Huck, from Henry, and from Martha and Samantha was good. It was something he knew he wouldn't get from his father. In that, Moon Lake was a definite plus.