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“Watching the clouds. When you look up, you can see shapes.”
“Oh, yeah!” Chet points to the sky. “I see a giant snake! And a spider. I see a wolf too!” He looks at me with an enormous grin. “Thank you for bringing me to your picnic spot. This has been a wonderful surprise. And the food is delicious.”
I lean over to kiss him. “Thank you for sharing it with me. We’ll have to go to the cemetery next time.”
“Yeah! That would be great. But don’t bring any of those cucumber sandwiches.”
“It's a deal as long as you don't bring extra raw, red meat for me to try.” I release a content sigh and place my head on his chest. We watch the clouds roll by together.
17
CHET
Apicnic in thepark. Who would have ever thought of that except for my girl Gabriella? It took a few minutes to adjust. After all, what do you talk about in the park? The brightness of the sun? At least in a cemetery, you can play games like ‘guess the birthday.’
I had a good time with her though. She asked all sorts of questions I thought no one would ever ask. It felt good to tell her about childhood memories. My own eccentric family. My first wolf shift. These are all things people don’t think to ask about. I am glad I have someone who doesn’t want to shy away from the wolf or me.
She wants to know everything about me. The real me. It’s so nice to not be the ‘mysterious and dark tortured boy’ stereotype teen literature seems to think werewolves are. That’s actually Chris’s job around here.
Gabriella is adjusting so well to this place. But I wonder if she misses the ‘normality’ of the world she left behind. Her date was different, but fun. I feel like Gabriella is constantly compromising here. I really should make more of an effort to compromise with her. She deserves a ‘Gabriella friendly’ night.
There is only one problem, tonight is a full moon, so the other guy is going to make an appearance. I’m gonna need help to pull the perfect ‘Gabriella date’ off. There are only two people I can think of to ask.
“So, let me get this straight. You want to plan a date for Gabriella, but you want a ‘human date,’ right?” Veronica asks.
I nod.
“Geesh, Ronnie, you don’t have to make it sound impossible. You know how to get the answer to anything. You can find out what makes a great human date,” Fred replies.
“You’re right. But why is he asking you for help?” she counters.
I open my mouth to remind her that I’m right here. She can just ask me that question.
“Obviously, he wants my insight into romance. Besides, he needs my help to spruce up the other guy. Remember, it’s the wolf’s night. Are you going to brush the burrs out of his fur?” Fred answers.
Veronica exhales. “Ok where do you want to do this?” she asks.
“Chris’s place,” I answer.
She grabs a legal pad from beside the store phone. She clicks a pen and begins taking notes like she is sitting in a college lecture hall.
“What do we know Gabriella likes?” she asks.
“Pink!” Fred and I say in unison.
She writes it down.
“Roses, scented candles, Lilah’s pastries, fruity teas, oh, and Island style pizza,” I recite. Both of my helpers look at me as if I am speaking a different language. “Pineapple. She likes pineapple on pizza,” I explain.
Veronica shakes her head but doesn’t say a word.
“She likes music,” Fred adds.
“What kind of music?” Veronica presses.
“Love songs,” I answer.
We spend a few minutes trying to remember what Gabriella likes. Finally, Veronica shoos me out of the shop. “Meet us over at Chris’s in a couple of hours. We’ll get something put together,” she promises. I take her at her word. My next stop is to ask Chris if he was up to help.
