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“Wiz? Her name is Wiz?” Marie broke in. “Really?” Her brow wrinkled and her nose scrunched.
Tom frowned. Marie lived for drama, creating it when there wasn’t any. “Really. It’s not her legal name, but it’s the one she prefers to be called, and you will use it because she won’t answer to anything else.” Tom gritted his teeth. He’d warned Dad—Marie was a pain. “Did you not listen to Dad? Treat her nicely, or you can just go home now. Got it?”
“Sorry.” She rolled her eyes ostentatiously. “Geez, lighten up.”
“You wouldn’t complain if you knew what she’s been through. And no, I’m not telling you the details, just that it was horrible, and she needs and deserves care. We have rules.” He paused, glaring at Marie, but for once she shut up and seemed to listen. “Don’t ask her what happened, don’t try to hug her, don’t touch her, not even a handshake. Try not to loom over her, which is tough because she’s tiny, and we’re all tall. Don’t be surprised when she always keeps a wall at her back, and please don’t gang up on her. And never, ever, ever surprise her. Don’t ever sneak up on her, or you could end up dead.”
“Dead? I'm not going to endanger my kids for your girlfriend.” Alex reared back in his seat.
Tom shook his head, raising his hands to calm him. “She’ll be fine with the little kids. It’s adults she’s got issues with. And no, I wasn’t kidding. She’s got some killer martial arts moves. She put me on the mat like twenty times in a row.” He rotated his sore shoulders.
“You? Awesome.” Alex grinned for a second, then frowned. “You sure my kids will be okay?”
“Yes. And in case you’re not taking me seriously, Yvonne and Peter,” their heads snapped up from their phones, “if you piss her off, you won’t get to play on her systems, which are the best you’ve ever seen. She knows people, so she’s got beta test stuff that none of your friends will have. So, please, all of you, just be nice to her and don’t scare her. Please. I’m asking her to marry me when she’s ready, so don’t ruin this for me. And if you do, well, I’d rather be with her than you, and that’s the choice I’ll make. Clear?”
He looked at each of them. Marie, Scott, Alex, and Tara frowned at him, mostly skeptical. Yvonne played with her phone, while Peter bounced in place. “Uncle Tom?”
“Yes, Peter?”
“Can we call her Aunt Wiz?”
He snort-laughed, surprised. “Uh, you should ask her.”
“Okay. What’s she got?”
He laughed. Of course that’s what Peter cared about. “You’ll have to wait and see. As you’ve already figured out, there’s no wi-fi over here, but there is at our house. I wrote the passwords on the fridge, but it won’t be very strong here. Come on over anytime. The door is always open.”
“You have wi-fi now? Since when?” Peter’s face was a study in incredulous amazement.
“Since Wiz.”
“Cool.” Peter ran to the kitchen.
“Is she, like, handicapped?” Yvonne asked.
“She doesn’t have any physical injuries, no. We do have a friend, who you might meet, who lost his left forearm in Afghanistan. And I’d expect you to be nice to him too.”
“Duh.” She joined Peter in the kitchen.
“I hope you know what you’re doing.” Marie shook her head.
“We do. Just to be clear, she’s got way more money than we do, so don’t think she’s some sort of gold digger.” Dad frowned.
“Dad...”
“She had horrible things happen to her while she was in service to our country. You know, one of the people protecting us and our cushy way of life? So, at the very least, you can give her the respect she deserves. Understood?” Dad rose from his chair.
They all nodded, but Tom suspected he wouldn’t see as much of his family as he’d like. Because if Wiz went home, he was going with her. He’d try one more time to make it clear. “Marie, I meant it. You scare her off, I’ll be going with her.”
Marie held up both hands with an offended look. “I got it the first time. Don’t worry, big brother, we’ll be nice.”
That would be the day. “I would appreciate it.”
Dad walked toward the front door. “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m tired. We’ll see you in the morning. Just come on over when you want. We don’t have anything formal planned for tomorrow. The kitchen’s got food, so you can do breakfast here or over at the house, it’s up to you.”
They made another round of hugs, then left. The cold night air cooled Tom’s temper but not his concerns. At his bedroom door, he turned to Dad. “Maybe I’ll just go hide with Wiz. They didn’t come to see me anyway.”
Dad clapped him on the shoulder. “Give it a chance. It will work out.”
