"So, want to talk about it?" Henry Jenkins Senior asked his new house guest John Harper, although "guest" might not be the proper term, since John and his sister Janice were now part of the extended Jenkins family since his youngest son Harry married John's oldest sister Jenny, who was working on getting her siblings emancipated into her custody.*
The two of them were sitting across from each other on the living room couch. (*2)
"Well..." began John, wondering where to start, when suddenly Henry's wife walked into the room.
"Don't mind me boys," said Lisa Jenkins, realizing that something important was about to transpire between them. "Just wanted to grab our crocheting so I can continue Janice's lessons in the kitchen for a while."
The men waited until she left the living room with her bundle, then John began to speak.
"I went online this morning like you suggested and tried looking up some stuff."
"Like?" Henry asked, when John wasn't immediately forthcoming.
"Gay. Straight. Bi, and what they mean, not only in general, but possibly to me specifically," John finally answered, since he admitted to those closest to him that he was still trying to figure out who (what?) he was. "That led me to a whole bunch of other terms and stuff, which left me even more confused than I was when I woke up from that dream I had last night."
"What dream?" wondered Henry, since this was the first time John had spoken about it.
John was silent for a moment before relating that he dreamed of losing his virginity to another guy as he became a weretiger. (*3)
"And where was Ginger O'Toole in all of this?" asked Henry, referring to the red haired weretigress that had befriended John.
"Standing nearby, waiting for me to finish with whoever I was with and complete my first transformation, so she could be with me," admitted John, blushing a little. "I'm afraid that..."
"The laundry?" Henry said, guessing as to the finish of his sentence. "Don't worry about it. Growing up, my sons soiled plenty of linen on their own. It happens. So, any idea who the other weretiger might have been?"
"No. He definitely seemed at least close to, if not my age, but the only other tiger I know is Ginger's brother Fred, and it wasn't him. But the dream left me totally confused even before I hopped on the Internet trying to find answers."
"Confused how?" asked Henry. He was certainly no psychologist, but having already raised two sons, figured he could at least try to help John out.
"Well, it was clear to me in the dream that Ginger loved me, which was why she was waiting for me to... do what I did so we could be together. And I do have feelings for her," John hastily added for no reason he could figure out. "Yet shouldn't Ginger have been the one I gave my virginity to, let alone made me a weretiger?"
Henry Jenkins Senior thought long and hard about that before responding.
"While it was only a dream, do you want to be a weretiger?"
"Well, odds are that whoever I'm with will already be a were, so..."
"Can't fault that logic. Yet the town stresses that any human who wants to join think long and hard about what kind of were they want to be, because you can only join were society once. When that happens, you're that were for the rest of your life," explained Henry. "So your first time, especially if you become a were as a result of it, should be with someone you truly want to be with. Your sister Jenny was scratched by that rogue werevixen as part of some feeble escape attempt, but Harry intentionally became a werefox to be with her out of love.(*4) And when Betty marries Huck, she'll become a weredog for the same reason. Just what exactly are your feelings towards Ginger?"
John didn't hesitate to answer. "I like her. Exactly how much I'm not quite sure of at the moment, but I know I was already starting to feel something toward her even before I saw her furry when I took out the trash for you the other night. Whether tigress or human, she is definitely occupying my mind more every day."
"The boy that you said was interested in you back in Alabama, how did you feel about him?"
"Stephen?" asked John in return, calling him by name for the first time since setting foot in Moon Lake. "He was nice. Someone to talk to and hang out with that was safe, at least as far as my parents knew," he conceded. "When he first expressed his feelings toward me, I honestly didn't know how to feel. Mom and Dad always kept going on about how it's supposed to only be a man and a woman together. Not two of the same, regardless of which gender we're discussing. But over time I realized that I liked Stephen as a person, not as a boy or even someone my parents wouldn't seriously object to me hanging out with, as long as they didn't know about the rest of it. Yet because we were both male, I was always afraid of doing more or going farther with him than we already had because I knew I'd be in a heap of trouble if anyone found out about us, especially if word got back to my folks."
"Understandable," agreed Henry, knowing how strict and religious the elder Harpers were. "Did the two of you ever at least talk about doing more than you managed to before your family came out here in that stupid attempt to stop Jenny's wedding?"
"Talk? All the time, when we were alone and sure no one would overhear us," answered John. "We discussed all kinds of stuff. Whatever was on our minds. How we felt about anything and everything. What our lives and relationship might be like if we were in different circumstances. How wrong my folks and some of their friends were, because two people who have feelings for each other, regardless of race or gender, should be able to figure out whether the relationship is right and will work out on their own as long as they're not hurting themselves or anyone else."
"Actually, that's pretty wise," replied Henry, genuinely impressed. He knew John Harper was smart, but that statement showed a wisdom he was unaware the boy possessed. "But the two of you..."
"That one kiss and occasionally holding hands when it was safe to do so was as physical as we ever got to be."
"And how did that kiss make you feel?"
"Special. It wasn't like being kissed by my mother, or any other family member. It made me feel important. Loved."
"Has any other person, outside of a family member, ever expressed any feelings toward you?" inquired Henry.
"Only Ginger," confessed John, while blushing again. "Being with her is like being with Stephen, but in a different way."
"How so?"
John thought about that for a moment, but the only answer he could come up with was: "She's different. Special, and I don't mean just because Ginger's a weretigress. I wish I could put it better than that, but I can't."
"I understand," said Henry, while nodding. "What about any girls back in Alabama?"
"If any of them had any interest in me, I never heard about it."
"Any idea why?"
"My folks? Their parents? My looks? Except for not wearing glasses and having no pocket protector, I look as plain as I am smart," admitted John. "It seems like I can make Straight A's without really trying, but School just comes naturally to me. Even Janice has called me a nerd upon occasion, because our folks always made me go over and correct her school work in case she made any mistakes. The rest of life?"
And to that, John Harper just simply shrugged his shoulders.
Henry paused to consider his next words carefully before speaking again.
"Truthfully, there was nothing like this when I was growing up, let alone when my boys were teenagers. Or at least, if there was, it wasn't talked about where I heard anything on the subject," he explained to John. "But what it sounds like to me is that you're lonely and looking for someone to be with. At least socially, if not anything more advanced on the relationship scale. Especially considering the rather sheltered existence you had with your parents."
"Well, I never really had any true friends, so to speak, except for Stephen," admitted John. "Sure, I knew a lot of people back in Alabama, but there's a difference between knowing someone and being friends with them."
"That I'll agree with," conceded Henry. "The problem, as I see it, is that you're uncertain exactly who or even what you're looking for."
"I think I know what you mean. Sometimes I'm okay by myself. Other times it'd be nice if there was at least someone to talk to, and other times there's this emptiness that seems so painful..."
"Both my sons went through the same thing growing up," recalled Henry. "By the time they were 16, each of them had been on several dates between a couple of different girls apiece. Yet, neither Huck nor Harry had what you would call a true relationship with someone though. Harry finally filled his void when he met Jenny. Huck kept looking and didn't realize his void filler was right in front of him the whole time until after he got shot and realized how Betty felt about him." (*4)
"What about you?" asked John. "When did you meet Mrs. Jenkins?"
"Actually, we've been together since high school," fondly recalled Henry. "Not every relationship that starts there lasts, but thankfully ours did. But what I'm getting at is that until now, you've hardly had any kind of a social life outside your immediate family. Once the emancipation and school registration issues are settled, you need to be more open as a person and figure out who you want John Harper to be."
"But what about—"
"It won't matter if John Harper turns out to be straight, gay, or bi. Or at least it won't matter to any member of our joint families or anyone who truly cares about you. I'm not saying it will be easy. Puberty and growing up were tough enough in my day even without all these new issues society has foisted upon teenagers over the years. But as long as you know what's in here," Henry said, pointing to his head, "and here," he added, while placing a hand over his heart, "it's your decision and, as long as you're happy with your choices, we'll support you 100%!"
TO BE CONTINUED...
___________________________________________________
*As recounted in previous episodes of this series.
(*2) Where we last left them at the end of our previous episode "As Time Goes By".
(*3) During the episode "What Next?"
(*4) Events that happened over the course of this series.—tmw.