Alice left her home around the same time that Sally left for work. Karl was supposed to arrive at Denver around noon and she needed time to get there in time just to be there to pick him up. So far there wasn't any indication that Karl's flights had been delayed and Alice had to be there. The two of them had met in college and hit it off fairly well and both still owned their own vehicles that they had owned before they decided to move in together after college. But, Karl didn't want to leave his car alone in a parking lot in Denver for a few days for fear that someone would steal or vandalize it. So, Alice drove him to Denver for the flight to LA and was now driving back to pick him up.
The drive was lengthy, between both the distance between Denver and Glenwood Springs and the fact that many of the mountain roads had a lower speed limit than the main interstate. Thankfully it wasn't winter when many of these roads were closed due to the threat of avalanches, ice, or simply too much snow to be easily plowed, which allowed Alice to make good time on the way. She had her radio on, listening casually to some country music and tapping her fingers on the steering wheel in time to the beat of the song being played. As she came down onto the plains that made up eastern Colorado where Denver was located, the roads went from the twisting and narrow mountain roads to the bigger interstate/highway type roads with higher speed limits and fewer curves. As she did so, the radio station switched from music to a brief news update.
"Greetings Country Thyme listeners, it is time for your 10:30 AM news update!" the radio's studio announcer reported in a calm and almost cheery voice, "Congress continues to meet to discuss matters related to idea of amending the 1964 Civil Rights Act to include werewolves under its protection with the expectation that the bill will pass looking to be ever more likely sources say. Most of the opposition seems centered around the issues of registration, wildlife conservation, hunting rights, issues regarding public nudity and the toleration of it for werewolves."
"Well... at least the fear of being eaten or being forced to turn is no longer the main reason," Alice said to her car's radio, even though it couldn't respond.
"Supporters of equal rights for werewolves in Congress have stated that many of these concerns can be protected along with giving werewolves equal rights before the law and preventing needless persecution and that passing the bill is only a matter of time," the radio reporter finished.
"Good," Alice gave a relieved sigh as she drove along, scanning the horizon carefully for the road sign that would lead her to the interstate. It was a thing that she and Karl had long agreed on. Sally had apparently been a werewolf since their senior year in high school, and she had been close to Alice through high school and college. She also got along well with Karl when Alice introduced him to Sally. If Sally was really a threat to them, she had had years of opportunities to kill and eat Alice and Karl. The fact that Sally hadn't taken them was more than enough proof to Alice and Karl that much of the fear based reactions was nothing but nonsense. There was no need to be scared of one's neighbors when they had lived beside you for years and been your friend as Sally had long been. Alice also figured that once werewolves were given equal rights that the threat of bullying and harassment that Sally had already endured would stop and that the police would honestly investigate the attack that had given Sally a black eye.
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After getting onto one of the bigger highways, Alice was quickly able to get into Denver, though by now more people were out and about and it amounted to nothing more than negotiating city driving. It was one of the things that Karl really hated and that Alice wasn't entirely keen on either. It was too much ducking and dodging in cars with people who treated roads like the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and made it impossible to drive "safely." She made it safely to the airport and parked in the closest visitor parking spot she could find and then made her way in.
The airport was filled with people going about the business of travel and so on. Denver's airport was large enough that it would always be busy as travel wasn't always limited to specific days of the week. They were going about their business and Alice quietly went past them and walked toward the gate area that Karl was supposed to come from. She made it as far as the security lines where people on their way to their planes placed their belongings to be scanned and were then scanned themselves to make sure they weren't smuggling anything. Alice quietly leaned against a wall and ignored the beeping of the various metal detectors and other devices used to make sure air travel remained safe. However, there were things that she did overhear.
"Did you see the People's Talk last night?" a voice asked.
"Yeah, seemed rather unbalanced though if you ask me," another answered, "don't they try to make sure that when there are two sides to an issue that they have equal numbers of people on both sides there? They had a werewolf and two werewolf supporters against one werewolf hater. They ganged up on the poor guy."
That caught Alice's attention as the discussion was touching on an issue that sat close to her heart for various reasons. It was true that the episode was not as balanced as it normally was, but neither she nor Karl had said much about how they felt on the issue to anyone. Their primary goal being to set things right with Sally before doing anything more. Thus no one knew where they stood on the werewolf issue. The People's Talk didn't know where Karl Hurtz stood on the issue and the fact that things weren't perfectly balanced was probably only the result of that.
"Yeah... that wasn't entirely fair..." the first voice agreed, "but then it was interesting to actually hear from a guy who was there."
"People who were there have been on the news before with the issue," the second commented.
"Yeah, but that Hurtz guy openly admitted responsibility for the incident... something no one else did," the first replied, "made things interesting."
"And ended up turning into a MSNBC sob story," the second grumbled, "and ganged up on one guy on the show who was looking out for US."
"And you'd rather it have been what?" the first asked.
"If they're to be fair and balanced have EQUAL points of view, meaning to get two more people who hate werewolves or take the queer off and put another werewolf hater in his place," the second answered, "which would have the episode balanced."
Alice only sighed as the voices faded out as they made their way out of the security area and down the gate. She figured that one was probably neutral on the issue and the other hated werewolves. They didn't stick around long enough for her to find out for sure, and since she had only overheard the conversation it really wasn't her business. She checked her watch and then looked down the hallway that she expected Karl. She overheard more conversations which ranged from various things such as sports to award shows on TV shows. There were the occasional mentions of werewolves, but these were nothing more than commenting on other updates, which included the progress being made in Congress regarding giving them equal rights.
Eventually a familiar face did appear in the hallway, and when Alice saw Karl coming, she smiled. The two of them weren't married yet, but Alice was sure Karl would be ready to ask her soon. She hoped other things would progress so that Sally could be her maid of honor. Once Karl reached her, Alice happily jumped into his arms to kiss him.
"Well..." Karl said softly, "You look happy to see me."
"I always am," Alice smiled back, "and you did quite well on TV last night. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."
Karl only shook his head with a chuckle, "I believe you told me that on the phone last night. Did Sally come with you?"
"No, she had to work," Alice admitted, "but she is looking forward for you to get back."
"Any progress?" Karl asked, referring to figuring out who was responsible for the group that had attacked Sally.
"None as of when I left this morning," Alice answered, "If there has been... it'll either be on our answering machine or Sally's..."
Karl only nodded, "then let's go home."