Things were still pretty quiet when Rachel came down for dinner. She hadn't really noticed the visit by their neighbor while she'd been checking on things with her YouTube page, and some of that sponsored some background worries over certain things. The quietness, however, was enough to keep her concerns more on the main thing she'd been worried about, her father's escape plan that Frank had supposedly overheard the argument over. The fact that her parents had argued about it gave Rachel some ease that nothing had yet to be decided, but she also knew anything could happen.
And if her father did decide to push through with an escape plan, there would be the risk that they'd all be caught and all forced to become weres to fit in with Moon Lake's laws. A part of her didn't mind becoming a were, as Melissa seemed happy as one, but she wanted to be the were of her choice, not what someone else would force her to be, which took werewolves off the table for her. It also meant, however, that if there was an escape plan, she'd need an escape from the escape plan, and there Rachel wasn't quite sure on what she could do. A part of her mind thought about fleeing, either next door, in the hope that the Tachibanas, through her new friendship with Megumi, might protect her or finding Melissa, who Rachel was sure could protect her physically speaking. However, there were enough unknowns around both that Rachel wasn't quite sure on which, and the silence as she came down the stairs didn't help.
The one thing that was different was the scent of Macaroni and Cheese drifting from the kitchen. It was store bought, and likely from among the dry foods that they'd been able to carry with them in their drive from Michigan to Washington state, but that was always good and it was something that Frank could cook well. Frank tried and wasn't too bad at cooking, but it was also pretty clear that he wasn't going to be a skilled chef anytime soon. Rachel eventually made it to dining room to find Rob already sitting down while Frank carefully shuffled around the table and was serving the Macaroni and Cheese from the pot he'd cooked it in with a tan brown plastic spoon. Beside each helping of Macaroni and Cheese were some slices of slightly blackened ham. The ham looked like it was taken from a package of cold cuts and thrown on the stove, and thus was very thin, but given neither of their parents were home, and had left at around the same time the sun went down, Rachel wasn't going to complain.
"So... you managed not to burn the house down," Rachel teased to her older brother. While she wasn't going to complain, that didn't mean she wouldn't at least try to have some fun with the moment. After all, their mother might actually talk their father out of this escape plan of his and thus nothing would be wrong. That would be something to hope for and trying to give something funny might relieve some of the tension.
"Yeah... the ham cooked a bit quicker than I expected," Frank managed, "Mom and dad did do some grocery shopping earlier today... while you two were at school and before they got into their... argument... but neither let me knew on what the dinner plan was. And then they had their argument..."
"About staying in Moon Lake?" Rob asked looking up to Frank and thinking about the friendship he'd made with Amy and the possibilities of them dating. It was something Rob had a bit of interest in, at least because Amy didn't treat him like some out of state perverted boy for some of his confusion.
Frank looked over to Rachel and then back to Rob before heading to the kitchen door, "That was what they were arguing about. Dad wanted to just leave and mom wanted him to at least learn more. And the last I really heard on it... that was when they shut the back door and went out into the woods."
"The woods..." Rob blurted, remembering some of the things that Amy had told him.
"Yeah... something about finding a were to talk to," Frank nodded and went back into the kitchen.
Rachel noted her younger brother's surprise and looked over to him. He'd retained a still position and holding one fork in his right hand, but his eyes were staring blankly at the spot where Frank had been. It was like something shocked him or had him in shock.
"Something wrong, Rob?" Rachel asked.
"Amy... the girl I'd met... well... you see, when she walked me home, there were some roars coming from the woods," Rob said fairly quickly and turning back to Rachel, even as Frank returned to the room, "she said that the weres often go out there at night to be close to nature and to... you know..."
"What?" Frank wondered as he sat down and put a fork into the ham he'd cooked.
"To have sex... one of the ways people become weres," Rob finished.
Rachel blinked at that and had some surprise. The issue regarding "sex" was something she already knew. Melissa had explained some of that to her, and that was how Melissa became a werecow. Thus she expected that if and when she'd get the chance to become a werefox or werebear, Rachel would have to have real sex with that were... not just play around as she had with Megumi's cousin earlier in the afternoon. Given what Frank had told her about the argument, she didn't think that her parents went out into the woods to become weres. For even if their mother was more open to it, she'd still want their father to be with her. It was one of the things that made Rachel think that becoming werefoxes might match her parents well, given how strong their marriage was, but that was all speculation and wouldn't be reality until Richard Van Direstag changed his mind. And so far as the three of them knew, that hadn't happened yet.
The one thing that was puzzling was that it was possible that their parents could have stumbled onto a pair of weres having sex and got an earful about invading other's privacy, if that could apply in the woods. However, if that were to be the case, Rachel also figured that they would have come back by now if that had happened. She didn't think that any were would outright attack their parents, as so far ever were Rachel had met had been friendly. Melissa had been excited to see an old friend join her in her new home town, and the friends Melissa had made had all been kind and caring. Megumi seemed calm and intellectual, and quite cunning in getting Rachel to help her with some her academic competition questions, though Rachel actually liked some of that... though it was late enough in the year that she wouldn't be able to join the team. Megumi's cousin, Aaron, was polite, kind, eager to please, and quite a gentleman. Rachel also found him rather handsome, but she didn't want to think over that too much as it would make her blush. The point was that none of Moon Lake's weres that Rachel had met acted like the movie monsters. Though... some of that perception soon changed with what Frank said next...
"And they could attack if their privacy was interrupted..." Frank said slowly.
"What?!" Rachel and Rob said together, with both spitting out a bit of macaroni as they responded in surprise.
Frank sighed and began to explain the visit to their door before dinner, "well... before I'd sent Rob up to get you for dinner, Rachel... A woman came by the front door. She was a were... or at least I think she was... She said something about mom and dad having an accident and that mom had to go to the hospital... though she also said that mom would be alright."
"That could mean mom could already be a were if one attacked her," Rob said in a startled voice.
"I really don't know... she was rather vague... and perhaps a bit... guilty would be the word I think," Frank answered, "but all she said was there had been an accident and that mom had to go to the hospital."
"Maybe the were they ran into was irritable and they ran into a tree," Rachel commented, though she was nervous. She might not like the idea of her father putting some escape plan scheme into effect, as it fit with her nightmares, but that didn't necessarily mean that she wanted them to be hurt or turned for some other reason.
"Maybe... and that might explain why they had to go to the hospital," Frank answered, "but the woman wasn't super specific about things. Thus all she told me was that there had been an accident and that they had to go to the hospital. That's really about it. This accident could have been mundane and it's just an injury. They could have gotten attacked by an irate were for interrupting their private time. They could have even run into a mundane animal. Given all the woodland around Moon Lake... it would seem like a good environment for certain animals."
"I hope it's not too bad," Rob said slowly.
"Hopefully," Frank agreed, "though... she did also urge that everyone stay inside at night. Just to stay safe."
"I'd think it'd be more to give weres that might be out enjoying their were side some privacy," Rachel answered, "none of the weres I've me... and many were born here as weres... they never showed any tendency toward aggression." Rachel didn't add that the lack of aggression included when transformed as neither Megumi nor Aaron showed anything like that.
"Perhaps... but it'd still mean it would be a wise idea to give them that privacy," Frank answered.
All three of them settled down into some nervous silence, with the unease shifting from fears over the consequences of their parents' argument regarding the family staying in Moon Lake to concern over this accident. The fact that the report had been so vague only added to the unease. The silence was only broken Frank's cellphone rang, making all of them jump a bit. Largely because of the spotty reception, but if it was working at present there was no need to worry. Frank was quick to reach into his back pocket and leaned over to one so that his weight wasn't on it. He answered it calmly as Rachel and Rob looked to him.
"Hello," Frank answered, curious as to who would be calling late in the evening, "Dad... it's you. Is everything okay? A Sheila was by earlier... said something about an accident..." There was a pause for the moment. "We all got our homework done, and I made some macaroni and cheese with some ham...no, sandwich meat, as I didn't know what you had mom had had planned for dinner." There was a pause again. "Is mom, alright? This Sheila said something about her having to stay at the hospital... something you can't say over the phone... okay. Are you on your way home?"
Rachel and Rob looked to each other as Frank nodded as it looked like he was getting specific directions. Eventually Frank nodded again and spoke, "Okay dad... there is some dinner left over. I'll be by to pick you up in a few minutes. We can talk about what happened on the way home... and Rachel and Rob probably will want some explanation. Particularly given they came home to the bombshell that you and mom had been fighting while they were at school or at friends' houses doing their homework." There was a pause again, "Okay, see you soon. Bye."
"Is mom out of the hospital?" Rob asked as Frank hung up his phone and stood up.
"Mom's apparently gotten through the worst of it... got some stitches as a result of this accident, but dad didn't get into too many details," Frank spoke, "but she's been told that she will make it... so that's good, but the hospital wants to keep her overnight and they're reaching the end of the normal visiting hours."
"This must have been some accident," Rachel said slowly, "is he sure mom will be okay?"
"He seemed pretty sure... though he said the details would be best explained in person," Frank sighed, "and thus gave me directions to the hospital from the house. So... I'm going to get dad, and hopefully he'll be able to explain things on what this accident was."
"We can come with..." Rob began.
"No, you guys finish your dinner," Frank urged, "it won't take long to pick up dad, and I'm sure he'll explain things fully when we get back."