Richard Van Direstag had remained silent since sitting in his living room recliner. A fact that worried his wife Rose, for she knew her husband wasn't happy about Moon Lake's Mandatory Were Law*.
What she didn't know was that part of Richard's problem was briefly flirting with the thought of actually participating in a were orgy(*2). They had been a couple, and mutually exclusive to each other, since they had started dating. To cheat on his wife, let alone become one of "them" in the process...
After finishing with the groceries and knowing there was still time before dinner needed to be started, Rose went upstairs to relax while their son Frank was in his room.
As she had told the boy earlier that day, her husband could be stubborn at times, which unfortunately led to problems occasionally.
The one that weighed on her mind the most at the moment was "What if Richard tried to go against the Town?"
She had only brief opportunities to glance through the were guidebook Samantha Twist had left, but it and seeing the woman change into a cat and back again before their eyes had fascinated her.
Rose couldn't help wondering what it might be like to change. To transform into something more than what she was now.
One of the Van Direstags had to if they were going to stay in Moon Lake. Why couldn't it be her?
But even if she dared, should she?
Her husband was undecided on the subject as it was, which was creating a rift between them.
If she became the family were, what would happen to their otherwise happy marriage?
She was still laying in bed staring at the ceiling when Richard came into the room and said, "I think I've got it."
"Got what dear?" she asked politely while sitting up, but afraid of what the answer might be.
"A plan to get out of here and keep all of us human!" he announced.
Ut-oh! thought Rose, as her husband continued.
"When the kids get home from school I'll have them pack a suitcase. In fact, the two of us and Frank can pack ours while we're waiting for them. Then, instead of going to bed tonight, we'll get in the van and hotfoot it out of here!"
"Where to?" his wife asked.
"A motel in another town. One FAR away from this place, for now," Richard answered. "We can plan our next step then but there's not a damn thing this town can do against us once we leave, for I'll threaten to expose them all if they try."
"Err, honey..." Rose began, wondering how to approach the subject.
"What?" he asked, staring intently at her.
"First off, this isn't like you at all. What happened to the man I fell in love with and married? The man who always stood up against racial profiling, bigotry and hatred in the past."
"Rose, we're not talking about anything based upon skin color, gender preference or even religious practices here. We're talking about a whole new species! They're not people. Not like you and I or the kids anyway. They're animals."
"Well..." began Rose, trying to think of the right thing to say.
"Okay. They can think and talk and a lot of other stuff, but in the end they're still animals."
"I don't think they think of themselves like that," Rose said, tactfully.
"Does it matter?" Richard asked in return. "They're them and we're us and we're not joining them!"
"You do know there is a flaw in your plan," she said, trying to be more assertive.
"Oh? What?" he wanted to know.
"Leaving when you're planning to. I've had a chance to at least glance through that guidebook the Town Chancellor left. Have you?"
"No, and I don't want to."
"Well, you should," Rose said. "If you did, for one thing you'd know that night is a lousy time to attempt escaping. It'd be like trying to cross Times Square at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve. Late at night is when most weres are out and about, fur and all."
"Really?"
Rose just nodded her head.
Richard thought about it for a moment and said, "Okay. Then we'll sneak the suitcases into the van tonight when its in the garage and take off first thing after breakfast tomorrow. We'll make like we have to go check on the new store and the kids can hide in the back, under a tarp or something."
"Do you even hear what you're saying?"
"Do you know what I'm fighting for here?" he asked in return.
"Frank's 18 and a legal adult. He at least should be allowed to make his own decision," Rose pointed out.
"Not if he wants to live under my roof and go to college. Let alone stay human," Richard replied in return.
"What if Frank wants to become a were?"
"Then I'll wish him all the best as we say goodbye."
"You mean you'd abandon your own son?" Rose demanded to know.
"He wouldn't be my son anymore if he becomes one of them," Richard said.
Rose's anger had been growing steadily over the last couple of moments but upon hearing those words, she stood and ran out of the bedroom, crying before saying something to her husband she might regret.
TO BE CONTINUED...
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*Where one member of a new family must join were society so that all had an interest in protecting its secrets.
*2) In our previous episode "Parental Demands".—tmw.