Melissa came back in after watching Trevor drive off. As she walked in, the smell of food filled her nose. Ever since she joined were society, she noticed that certain senses were heightened. This included her sense of smell as the smell of food wafted through the house. Her sense of smell wasn't as sensitive as a werewolf's or a weredog's, but it was sensitive enough for her to tell what was being cooked. She followed the smell to the kitchen where she found her father pulling a pan of food out of the oven. "Mmm..." she said softly as she licked her lips. "This smells like shepherd's pie."
Harold Jenkins looked back as he placed the pan on the counter. "Yeah," he said as he removed the mittens. "I know how much you like it."
"That I do," Melissa replied as she walked into the kitchen to examine the food. She then took a moment to look at her father. "I'm surprised you aren't your...what was it again...fursona form?"
"I'll admit, it was nice," Harold said as he started to pull out the plates and silverware. "But, I don't need to be a weretiger every night."
"That's a shame," a second female voice said behind Melissa. Melissa turned around to see Virginia standing behind her. "You look pretty cute as a tiger."
"Cute?" Harold replied with a raised eyebrow. "Cute wouldn't be the first word I would use." He chuckled as he pulled out the plates and silverware which he then handed to Melissa. "Could you set the table please?" he asked as he did so.
"Sure," Melissa responded as she accepted the dishes and headed to the dining room table. As she placed the plates and silverware, she asked, "So, how're the wedding plans going?"
"Doing well," Harold responded as he pulled out a big knife to cut the shepherd's pie. "I'm not sure if I told you yesterday, but we got the license approved. The wedding's on for this Saturday. It's going to be a relatively small wedding, but the family's invited though."
"That's great to hear," Melissa said with a big smile. "I'm really looking forward to this Saturday."
"You and me both, Mel," Virginia said as she finished setting the table. "Still, there are a few things that we need to settle, like what to do with my house."
"Oh?" Mel asked, "Like what?"
"Well," Harold responded, "We'll need to sell Virginia's home if she's going to be moving in with us. And then there's what to do with her furniture."
Virginia sat down at the table to join Harold and Melissa Jenkins as she added, "We could rent the house out. I mean, my home's great for single people or maybe a small family. We won't have to deal with the expense of selling the house, and we might get some nice money coming in on the side."
"Maybe," Harold replied, "Although dealing with tenants can be quite tricky. And if there's an issue with the house..."
"True," Virginia as she sighed, "I suppose we'll need to discuss this further. Tonight maybe?"
"Boring," Melissa said with a bit of an eye roll.
"Oh? We're boring you?" Harold said with a bit of a grin. "We can change the topic if you want. I understand you and Trevor were upstairs studying all afternoon."
"Well, yeah..." Melissa said as she shrunk down in her seat a little.
"Now, is that studying with your clothes on or your clothes off?" Virginia asked with a teasing smile.
"H-hey," Mel stuttered, "We didn't do anything but study. I mean, he has that big meet in Seattle, right?"
"Spokane," Virginia corrected. She gave a small chuckle as she watched Mel's discomfort before she continued, "And I'm glad that you and Trevor are getting along. He's a bit of a hard worker. Sometimes a little too hard of a worker."
"What do you mean?" Mel asked.
"Well..." Virginia paused as she thought carefully. "He's always working hard, but I've never seen him really relax. You know, unwind a bit. I mean, I suppose that he's trying to live up to his father's legacy, but the boy works way too hard and he can get too hard on himself if he feels like he's failing." Virginia handed a plate to Harold before continuing, "Which is why I was so glad to see you and Trevor hitting it off. I'm hoping that he becomes a better person for it."
"He's always been a gentleman to me," Melissa added, "I mean, there were a few times he could have changed me to be his werecow before the Halloween dance, but he somehow stopped himself." Melissa paused for a moment to think and then added, "I suppose that's why I fell for him so hard." Melissa took a bite of food before adding, "You really do care for him, do you?"
"A good teacher cares for all of their students," Harold said. "Even in my time as a professor, there are students that I care for and watch for as they move on. I watch students long after they graduate and move on. What jobs they do and so forth."
"Now that you're a weretiger, you have a much longer time to do that," Melissa added.
Harold smiled and said, "I suppose I do. And Virginia probably does the same about her high school students."
"That's right," Virginia responded with a nod. "Some of the brightest students tend to go on to get college degrees and successful careers. The money that I get for teaching is nice, but the real reward is watching my students move on and be successful in whatever they do."
"Interesting," Melissa said as she thought about what Virginia and Harold said.