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“That sounds good, if you have enough—” He paused as he entered the house. “What’s this? I smell cat.”
“That’s because I now am the mother to two cats. You might say I inherited one and adopted the other for a playmate.” I took the pizza out of the oven as Faron opened the cupboard and took out two plates. “Fancypants needs his plate, too. He hasn’t eaten yet.”
“Whoops! Can’t have that,” Faron said. “You going to introduce me to your pussies?” he asked, grinning.
I gave him the side eye. “Dude…”
“Pussy cats! Kittens!” He laughed, but I could feel his desire. He hadn’t dressed up forhimselftonight.
“Later. For now, food.” I cut up a slice of pizza for Fancypants and moved his highchair to the table. He had been sitting on the counter, waiting patiently, and now he flew over and settled into the chair, tying his bib around his neck. It had been his idea. Fancypants was a little prim and proper—far more fastidious than I was.
“Here, can you give this to Fancypants?” I handed the plate to Faron.
He set the plate in front of the dragonette. “Here you go. Do you use silverware?”
Fancypants coiled his neck, then let out a laugh. “No, thank you sir Wolf. I’m not dexterous enough to handle a fork. But if you could hand me a napkin, I’d appreciate it.”
Faron glanced at me and winked, then picked up a napkin and handed it to Fancypants. “Here you go.”
I carried the pizza to the table, setting the pan in the center. Faron handed me a plate and then sat down opposite. As I loaded a slice of the meat lover’s pizza with parmesan, my back grumbled and my neck ached. I suddenly realized my energy reserves were headed into the negatives.
“I’m so tired,” I said.
“What happened today?” Faron asked, biting into his slice.
I swallowed, focusing on the mouth feel of tomato sauce and cheese and salty pepperoni, ham, and sausage. “Mmm,” I said, letting the tastes mingle together, then slide down my throat. “I need this. I need the food, I need to sit and relax, I need to just…be.”
“Rough day, then?” Faron glanced at my plate and slid another slice of pizza onto it. “You’re done with the first. Eat up. Do you want something to drink?”
“I’d love a cognac,” I said. “I don’t drink often, but right now I think I want one.”
“Do you have any booze in the house?” Faron asked. “Tell me where and I’ll get you a drink.”
“There’s a liquor cabinet in the living room. I have a few bottles of liquor in there.”
He gave me an odd look, then ducked out of the kitchen. When he returned, he had two cordial glasses filled with an amber liquid. He handed me one and I took a sip.
“Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve had a drink,” I said, shivering as the brandy raced down my throat, warming me inside and out.
“Do you mind if I ask why?” Faron asked.
I paused, then said, “I’ve never been a drinker, but the night…when the vampire caught us, we were tipsy and we weren’t alert as to what was going on around us. We were too drunk to get away.” I stared into my glass. “I think I’m afraid of losing control.”
“That makes sense. Well, you don’t have to drink if you don’t want to. There’s no rule saying you must. It’s more social than anything else.” He tasted the brandy. “That’s a good brandy, though. It’s meant for leisurely sipping.” He hesitated, then said, “Not to bring up a sensitive subject, but I heard about the serial killer today. He was shot while being hauled into the station. You know about that, don’t you?”
“I know more than I want to know.” I told him what had transpired that morning as we finished our dinner. As I carried my dish to the sink, Faron jumped to help me. “Do you usually help out with meals at home?” I asked. I suddenly realized I’d never been to his house and I had no idea what the commune was like.
“You’d be surprised what I help out with,” he said. “Am I King of our Pack? Yes. Does this excuse me from jumping in to help? No. Everybody pulls their own weight in the commune, and those who can’t—the infants, the disabled—we all look after them. The children have their chores. And the elderly watch over the young ones, and teach the old traditions to make sure they’re passed down.”
I nodded. “It sounds very community oriented.”
“We’re a Pack, not a group of individualists. Oh, we all have our own talents, but we’re group-minded.” He picked up a dish towel and dried the dishes as I washed them. There weren’t enough to stack in the dishwasher.
Fancypants hovered near us for a moment. “I’m going to my meeting,” he said.
“Meeting?” Faron eyed him curiously.
“Yeah,” the dragonette said, flying out of the room.
