William and Martha went relatively quietly about their late afternoon responsibilities. On some other day there might been some interest in other things before dinner, but after having outlandish rumors dominate the past week, and from William's point of view particularly at the college, the two had agreed to attend the meeting. This made having an early dinner ready all the more important. So while they could relax for a little while, they were well on the way to having dinner ready by the time that Nate came home from practice with Alex trailing after him.
"Something smells good," Nate announced as he came in through the front door.
"More like pre-made fish filets," Alex answered as he followed his boyfriend in, "not quite a TV dinner... but..."
It was then that William appeared in the doorway that connected the living room to the kitchen, still in the clothing he normally wore to teach in with a polo shirt with a pair of khaki colored pants. Nate could still hear some puttering around in the kitchen and looked between Alex and then his father as he set his backpack down by the couch.
"Alex is right," William answered, "dinner isn't anything too fancy tonight... With all the rumors that have been going around, Nate, your mother and I have decided to go to the meeting... at least figure out what all this fuss is about."
"You two can come if you want," Martha spoke as she stuck her head through the doorway.
"Nah... I think we'll just hang out here or at the Ramseys for the evening," Nate spoke, "after all those rumors... I'd prefer some peace and quiet."
William slowly nodded. To a certain extent he felt the same way, but the part of him that was curious about the whole thing was too strong to resist.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Samantha and Frances quietly made their way out of her clinic with Frances looking the door behind her. Rudy had already gone home and it was well past the time that Frances would close her clinic anyway, even if there was something that would keep her there longer than normal. Many times one of them would walk home if they didn't have their car that day. At other times, as was the specific case for today, the one who had the car would come and pick up the other. Though, with the sun going down and the planned special City Council meeting coming up there was a lot of tensions and nervousness, which Frances easily detected.
She knew that Samantha had always felt guilty over the circumstances that had lead to Frances becoming a werecat, and there were times where she knew she had to emphasize to Samantha that she was loved and that if Frances had a choice, she would have still chosen to be a werecat. And even if that "choice" wasn't there, that didn't change who Frances loved and there was the sense that Samantha recognized that and they would have stayed together even if Frances became a weredog. It was something that Frances always tried to remind Samantha on, and the present debate proved to be one of those sorts of moments, particularly as there was issue with the present meeting.
And Frances knew there were a lot of rumors on this meeting. Ben had even made some mention on some of the rumors going around the school, and from what he'd said, Frances was certain those rumors would be the sort to give Samantha a headache. Particularly as much of Samantha's job related to protecting Moon Lake's secret and enforcing the mandatory were law. Samantha didn't play any role in the City Council meetings, but if instances like this came up that they would be addressing, it wouldn't be a surprise that someone might call her offices concerning these rumors. That would be especially true if the rumors that Ben had heard were to be believed.
"What do you think we should do?" Samantha asked as they walked out from Frances' clinic to the car that was parked just outside it.
"I would say... no," Frances answered, "though... I would do what you want to do."
"No?" Samantha asked back as she gave her wife a puzzled look.
Frances nodded, "As you've said... Moon Lake has had some of these sorts of issues before and has survived them. And even if there are things the present situation that are different, who is to say that things won't calm down as they always have. Especially if what you heard on this..."
"I actually asked Kat about this planned meeting, especially after what Ben said was floating around the school," Samantha explained.
Frances nodded, "and if it is that... what would be to say that things stay as they have been? Do you find it likely that things will be drastically different from other times?"
The climbed into the car and were silent for a moment. It was only after Samantha buckled herself in that she actually answered the question and looked to Frances. Frances sat their calmly with her features soft and showing some concern, but wasn't seemingly stressed by it. In some ways, it was as Samantha always saw Frances.
"Kat actually said the Council's intention was to make sure things don't change," Samantha answered.
"Which would then mean that things are likely pretty set," Frances answered, "thus no need to worry. And given how frustrating things have been... between the debate over football, these rumors, and the regular stuff that we have to deal with... I'd think it best to get something from the Local Diner and have a quiet night at home."
Samantha nodded and soon smiled at that. And that plan might actually make the most sense, unless Ben was already cooking something, which wasn't likely. He wasn't exactly bad, but they had observed that he did better with instruction and supervision, either theirs or Alex's, depending on what the circumstances were.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
William and Martha found things rather crowded as they made their way to City Hall. They ultimately had to settle for a separate parking lot that was near City Hall but wasn't super close. Thankfully they were able to find a spot to park and had the time to walk to City Hall. There were even a few other people walking into the meeting as they did so. The numbers that they could see also further added to some of the issues that had biting at them since the rumors started flying around the college and Martha got a call from a citizen's action group, or something of that nature. They made their way on foot up to the entryway on east side of the building, and as they came in they found a few signs providing directions.
"They must have had some concerns over this," William commented as he looked to the sign.
"Maybe... though we really didn't attend City Council meetings in Minnesota," Martha pointed out as they began to follow the signs.
William nodded agreement. The actions that had gotten him fired from the University of Minnesota and the court cases that went with it, not to mention the stress it had put on his marriage, had put a lot of things on his and Martha's table and neither really had time for it. Before that, when they were both younger, there had also been a certain amount of not paying attention to many things. They'd see news reports on when things changed, but while they were going through high school, college, and then as Martha began teaching and William went deeper in his education to teach at the college level, they just weren't that alert to such things at that time. Things were obviously different as they'd become weres in Moon Lake, but it was still more curiosity over all the rumors that had driven them to come as far as they did.
They eventually came into a fairly decent sized room that had a fairly large number of people in it. Some were weres and some were normal humans, though all of them were focused on the long table along the wall that was to their right as they entered the room. The very center of the table had a sort of podium piece with Moon Lake's seal on it. Behind the podium was a woman a name tag on her jacket that read that read: Katherine Chambers, Deputy Mayor. There were six other seats that Martha figured represented Moon Lake's city wards and noted that Akane was seated at one of those positions. Both William and Martha blinked for a moment, but then shrugged it off. She was probably pretty busy, though both William and Martha privately figured they'd need to do some checking to make sure that they would have their voter registration moved from Minnesota to Washington State and that they also knew specifically what Ward they were in.
However, as they looked around the room they couldn't see Samantha or Frances Twist, and guessed that they'd decided to sit the meeting out. The thing that caught their attention was a lone man standing before the table. As the meeting came to order they soon learned that the man's name was "Tom" and that he was the reason the meeting had been called. After that then came a report was Tom's actual request.
"Tom here has requested Mr. Stevens to call this meeting for discussion on the were secret and namely... the abolishing of said secret," Katherine Chambers spoke earning a host of gasps.
Even William and Martha couldn't help but gasp. William was actually surprised by it and looked over to Martha and found her eyes wide in surprise. Neither had expected that reaction, particularly with how they first responded to Moon Lake's secret when Samantha first told them. The only one who was interested in it was Nate at the time. William and Martha ended up becoming weres before Nate did, but that had more to do with the consequences of Yvette Smith's actions. That they couldn't expect or control, but as they grew to accept and even love their were forms and the fact that they had become weres, they also began to accept the reasoning behind what Samantha had told them for Moon Lake's mandatory were law. With that, there was added expectation on their part that if they had such a negative reaction to the were secret being revealed to them as part of moving to Moon Lake, if it were revealed to the world in a situation where Moon Lake wasn't in control of it, that might only make things worse for them.
The debate went back and forth with Tom going back and forth on the issue, particularly with regard to what he felt was right on the issue. William could respect the point that things changed, but he personally would have favored that such an issue waited until things could be more certain. To a great extent the country was better off than it was a century ago, but that didn't mean many of the same vile things that plagued America in the past were truly gone. It was more that they were hidden underground and waiting for their own opportune moment. The fact that the student that he'd gotten pregnant in Minnesota had, either at her mother's insistence or as part of scheme with her mother, tried to have William arrested on rape charges was proof of that. He admitted his actions were stupid, both in cheating on his wife and not making sure that he and the student used protection, but the fact that false rape charges were made showed that things weren't always as they seemed.
However the most shocking thing in the debate was yet to come, and that came when Tom began to explain how the "were secret" might not be able to protect them anyway. That it might be revealed somewhere in a way where they had no control over things.
"That we're already reaching a point where the were secret cannot truly protect you in the way it once did," Tom spoke, "that you NEED to come out into the open and go through the hardships in the short term... win at least equality before the law... and progress from there. For as I said, the world is changing and things that could be hidden as stories and hearsay a few centuries ago can't be hidden in the same way. Technology is changing and advancing. Recording equipment is getting better and is ever more present. I'm sure recent events in Seattle and even here have already had you nervous on this issue..."
William looked to Martha as there was some discussion on what Tom was referring to, as well as a few accusations were leveled at the werefox that stood calmly before the City Council. Both could respect his bravery in coming before what was a largely antagonistic crowd and was rather eloquent in how he made his points, though heavily on a fact based presentation. That, however, didn't ease their worries. Particularly as things moved forward. One point Tom raised even chilled them both to the bone.
"Which means you're already in a position where the were secret is more a liability than a protection," Tom pointed out, "even if you have some emergency measure... suppose a criminal were in another state commits a grizzly murder and is caught on tape doing it and either transforming or is already transformed... What do you think will happen? An emergency plan released AFTER exposure has occurred accidentally isn't going to work. The news media will cover the crime and politicians will associate weres WITH that crime. And there... you're entirely at the mercy of those who may not decide to look into what the emergency plan says and will simply legislate to prevent the crime that occurred and associate weres with that sort of crime."
"That someone would..." Martha whispered to William on hearing that, "but... the boys..."
William managed to hold Martha to him, feeling the same fears spawned by Tom's comment. A criminal were, like Yvette Smith, being caught committing a crime in were form or transforming to were form, exposing weres and the reaction being associated with that crime. That would surely lead to their family being hunted, as they had all become weres, William a werefox, Martha a werecat, Nate a werewolf, and Eric a weremer. The points made on the reveal being made while Moon Lake could control the reveal worked well enough, but that didn't kill their worries over issues of acceptance. Their family was really only just recovering from things, they didn't want to lose it civil rights related violence over whether or not weres would be accepted in the US.
Of course things weren't fully eased with those worries as the debate ended with a 4-3 vote in favor of Tom's proposed plan. He had his points, and William and Martha privately had to admit that some of them were very good points. But that still didn't change their worries.