"How fast will this spread?" Melissa Stovall wondered, referring to the news that the Moon Lake Town Council had voted 4-3 in favor of devising a plan to intentionally reveal were existence to the world before it was discovered so they could control the event in a hopefully pro-were manner.
"Hard to say," her husband Martin said slowly. "Some may be in shock by the fact that the proposal passed, though narrowly, and thus it won't spread too fast... but then because it is a big change, it may be reported... particularly to anyone who was skeptical on the rumors... Though it will probably make it to the college radio news, Moon Lake's local cable channel, and our town paper. So anyone who doesn't know of it now will find out by tomorrow morning."
"Then we might as well try to get a good night's sleep while we can, for I foresee tomorrow being rather hectic."
"You maybe right, but I want to take a shower first," replied Martin, as he started to undress.
"I've already been in the tub once, but if you make it a nice long, luxurious soak for two, I'll join you," Melissa said with a smile.
Meanwhile, after having overseen the aforementioned and controversial Town Council meeting, Moon Lake Deputy Mayor Katherine Chambers was finally driving back to her place. She hoped to get a good night's sleep herself, but fate had other ideas.
As she started to near her house, Chambers spotted a line of her fellow weres marching up and down the sidewalk in front of her place. All were proudly displaying their fursonas while carrying hastily made signs. Each had the same hand/paw made message.
NO REVEAL!
Wanting to avoid any kind of confrontation, Chambers stopped her car and carefully backed away from her house before being spotted by anyone.
Once she was able to safely turn around, the Deputy Mayor headed to the local motel to rent a room for the night.
And although blissfully unaware of developments in Moon Lake, Karen Yuletide and her fiance Peter Talbot had their own problems to deal with in San Diego.
Karen's mother Monica had been in a serious auto accident earlier that evening and now was somewhere between Surgery and a room in the Intensive Care Unit of San Diego General.
With Monica long divorced, as her only living relative, Karen had been notified and with Peter's help and support, flew down to be by her side as soon as humanly possible, delaying her romantic entry into were society that night before marrying Peter as his werelioness next Valentine's Day.
When they went into the ICU Waiting Room to rest and wait for her mother to be wheeled up, Karen and Peter weren't totally surprised to find another woman already there, presumably awaiting word on her own loved one.
But when the red haired stranger started addressing Karen by name...
"Do I know you?" Karen asked, unable to recall the face in her memory.
"No. We've yet to meet, although I'm sorry we have to do so now under the circumstances," said the red haired woman, as she reached for a tissue from a box sitting in a chair near her. "I've seen pictures of you. Your mother raves about you all the time so I feel that in a sense, I already know you," she added, trying to clean her face the best she could.
"I see," said Karen, figuring that this woman was a co-worker of her mother. "But I'm afraid that—"
"Oh, sorry," said the other woman, extending her hand. "My name is Joanne Howard. I'm your mother's fiance."
"Fiance?" Karen repeated, staring at the lady.
"Yes. Monica and I have been discussing when the right time to tell you would be ever since I accepted her proposal and—"
"I'm sorry," Karen said, shaking her head in disbelief. "It's not that I am against anyone who prefers their own gender to that of their opposite, but on top of everything else that's happened tonight, this is the first I've ever heard of mom even being bi or lesbian, let alone planning to get married again."
"I know about your biological father," began Joanne, sitting more properly in her chair to address her future relative. "He hurt your mother, let alone you, very much. Monica says it took her years to overcome the emotional pain, although there are still times when we're laying in bed together and I can see she is still troubled by him to some extent."
"That is true," confirmed Karen, even as she reached out for a tissue from a box sitting near her. "Dad suddenly up and divorced mom while I was still in elementary school, and mom took everything upon her shoulders since then to take care of the two of us. Except for arguing with his lawyer for back alimony and child support payments, neither of us have had any contact with him since."
"I know. Monica says he's still a couple of child support payments behind, despite the fact that his debt technically stopped when you graduated high school recently, but the alimony should continue until we get married next year."
"Oh? When?" asked Peter, who had remained silent but attentive throughout the conversation before now.
"We were thinking next Valentine's Day, but we haven't had a chance to make any formal arrangements yet. Monica just proposed to me last weekend," explained Joanne, to which both Karen and Peter smiled.
Upon seeing that, Ms. Howard asked, "What?"
"I'm sorry. I was planning to introduce mom to him when we came down for Thanksgiving weekend later this month*. Joanne Howard, this is Peter Talbot, my fiance. We're planning to get married Valentine's Day too," explained Karen.
"OH!" said Joanne, expressing her first real smile since meeting them. "Monica has been so proud of her little girl, as she still refers to Karen. Getting a full art scholarship to that Crescent Pond College in Washington."
"Moon Lake," Peter gently corrected her.
"Oh. Anyway, Monica is so proud of you. She knew for ages you wanted to be an artist. Animation, right?"
"Yes," confirmed Karen.
"Monica says you're so talented, it's a wonder you haven't been already hired by one of the major studios. But she was always worried about how she'd pay for your college that she was afraid you'd might not be able to go for a while after graduation, if at all," revealed Joanne.
"I know. Sometimes it was a struggle to make ends meet. I usually slept on the couch of our one bedroom apartment and if I ever see another can of tuna fish again..." began Karen, when suddenly Peter stiffened in his chair.
"What is it honey?" Karen asked.
"Nothing," he lied to her. "This chair is just getting to be uncomfortable."
"I know what you mean. I'm surprised the hospital doesn't have to treat waiting room patients from using these things," observed Joanne.
But although still in his human form at the moment, Peter's were hearing had picked up a concerned nurse shouting CODE BLUE!
Peter had seen enough medical dramas over his short lifespan so far to know that one of the Intensive Care Unit's patients had just taken a critical turn for the worse!
TO BE CONTINUED...
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*It is November, 2015 to our cast at the moment.—tmw.