The Porch Wolf

I’d barely opened the door to my truck before it hit me.

I was going to her home for Christmas, and I had nothing for her grandmother or daughter. Heck, I didn’t even know what to get Vicki; she’d never shared much about the young girl beyond her pictures.

“Wait up,” I said to the group that was heading in. “I can’t show up at a girl’s house on Christmas with nothing for her, but I have no idea what a five-year-old girl wants these days.”

“A phone,” one of the girls said.

“I can see how that would go over,” I said.

“I don’t know, dolls? Barbie stuff? You could ask her,” another replied.

“Vicki likes sharks,” Mike said. “When Shark Week comes around, Olivia has to record EVERYTHING. She watches them over and over,” he said.

Perfect. I could work with that. “Thanks, everyone. Merry Christmas.” Instead of going home, I headed to Wal-Mart, the only place I was confident would still be open at 10 pm on Christmas eve. I didn’t even know her grandmother’s name, but I wasn’t going to leave her out either. I found a bouquet of wildflowers and put them in the cart, heading back to the toy section.

The next hour proved to me how out of my comfort zone I was with shopping for girls, something Catherine had always done. I walked like a zombie through the toy aisles, looking for something to please a kindergarten-age female Selachimorphaphile. That is what Siri on my phone told me was the term for a shark enthusiast. I must have looked lost because one of the associates took pity on me and asked if he could help me find something. I explained my situation, and he scratched his chin. “I don’t know, bro, but let me ask my friends.” He sent out a text, then started reading off the ideas he got back. “Here ya go, boomer! SeaWorld at the Mall of America. They have wicked big sharks, and Barry says you can get memberships. If you can get her into Sharks After Dark, that would be way cool.”

“What’s that?”

“We did it with Cub Scouts. You sleep overnight in the tunnel at the bottom of the shark exhibit, tiger sharks swimming over your head as you sleep. It was cool!” I pulled up the website, then went to the front. It was a much better gift than a Barbie.

I picked up some cards and checked out, then headed home. I bought memberships for the three of them, so they could go as often as they wanted, then added one for myself in case they asked me to come too. I found out that the overnight was now called Sleep Under The Sharks, and was for groups of fifteen or more.

Dang. Then I remembered that Vicki’s birthday was coming up on Valentine’s Day; Liv had joked about how she got the love of her life on February 14th. As much as her mother was struggling, I doubt they’d ever had much of a birthday party. I made the reservation for that Friday night, and after paying, printed out the annual passes and the overnight. I put a season pass in each of their cards, then put the tickets for the party in Liv’s card and the example invitation in Vicki’s.

I got home, walking past the cases of Jack into the house and right to the bathroom to get ready for bed. I was excited now about a day that I’d dreaded the previous years. Christmas in the Pack meant getting together to eat, watch football, and go on a long Pack run together before heading off into the woods in pairs.

I fell asleep thinking of the children we never had.

I woke at ten, turning on the television as I walked to the bathroom. It was going to be a warm and cloudy day, with temperatures right around freezing. I had a couple of mini-donuts and a glass of orange juice, not wanting to spoil my appetite for later. I found a nice crystal vase for the flowers and set it with the gifts. Liv had said to arrive by noon, but I didn’t want to be there TOO early, so I took a little time to pick up the house and start a load of laundry. Finally, at 11:30, I was driving my truck towards town.

I pulled into the parking lot of her fourplex and parked in a visitor’s spot. The door to Number Three opened when I was ten feet away. “MERRY CHRISTMAS, LEO!” Liv and her mini-me Vicki were standing at the door, both wearing jeans and Christmas sweaters. I kept the gifts and flowers behind my back as I got to the door and was engulfed in hugs. Liv pulled me down and kissed my cheek again before stepping back.

“For the table,” I said as I brought the flowers around.

“They’re beautiful, thank you,” she said.

I stepped in enough they could close the door, then knelt down by the young girl with the matching brown hair. “You must be Vicki,” I said. My wolf sat up, taking a deeper scent. Something was going on; she smelled like a werewolf. An ALPHA wolf. I took one more sniff and verified it was her, not a smell stuck to her clothes.

“You gave Momma the car?”

I smiled. “It’s Mommy’s car now. You’re cuter than your pictures,” I said.

“I’m almost FIVE,” she said as she bounced.

“I know! Can you put these under the tree for me?” I took the envelopes out of my coat pocket; she squealed as she carried them over to the four-foot artificial tree in the corner of the living room. I shook my head as I stood up. The LAST thing I expected to find was a werewolf in Liv’s home. Did she know? Was she part of the Welch Pack now? And if so, why was Liv allowed to have anything to do with me? I put the thoughts aside as Liv came back from the table.

“You didn’t have to do anything,” Liv said as she took my coat. “You’ve done so much already.”

“It’s you who is doing something for me,” I said. “Without you, I’d be heating up fried chicken and potatoes in the microwave while watching a Die Hard marathon.”

She laughed as I took off my boots. “You might regret that decision after being with three women all afternoon. Come meet my Grandmother.” She took my hand and pulled me into the kitchen, where a woman with brown and grey hair to her shoulders was mashing potatoes. “Grandma, this is my friend Leo Volkov. Leo, my grandmother, Natalie Andersen.”

She turned to me, the potato masher still in her hand and now pointing at me. “I don’t know what game you’re playing, Mr. Volkov, but my Liv is not a person you can buy with expensive gifts, use up and leave behind,” she said. “Hurt her, and I’ll use this on your nuts.”

“MOM! God, Grandma, he’s almost YOUR age. Ew. Maybe I should be warning HIM about retired cougars prowling around looking for a rich boy-toy to take them to the casino!”

I looked between the two as they glared at each other before I busted out laughing. I held out my left hand for Natalie to see. It still had my wedding band on it. “I think I’m in that comfort zone where I’m too old for Liv and too set in my ways for Natalie.” I twisted the ring. “I was married for twenty-five years before I lost my wife to cancer. I’m not over her, and I’m not looking for anyone. Catherine’s car was sitting in my garage; we couldn’t have children, and it’s too small for me. I decided my favorite waitress could use a car that wouldn’t die on her by the side of the road. I didn’t ask for or expect anything in return.”

It was like a balloon deflating, as the tension in the room started melting away. “Liv has been my waitress every Tuesday night for over three years. No matter how bad I felt, she would greet me with a smile and make my day brighter for an hour or two. She’s a good kid, and it was worth it just to see her face.”

Natalie put the masher back in the pot, then pulled me down and kissed my cheek. “She told me the same story. It was a very nice thing to do for her. Merry Christmas, Leo.”

“Merry Christmas to you, Natalie. It smells wonderful,” I said. “I’d offer to help, but my culinary skills involve boiling water and running a microwave.”

Natalie laughed as she put butter and cream cheese into the potatoes. “Go sit with Vicki, we’ll be ready to eat in fifteen minutes.”

I exited the kitchen quickly, leaving the two women to talk about me, and found Vicki sitting on the couch with a stuffed shark. “I got THIS for Christmas,” she said as she held it out to me.

“Very nice,” I said. “What kind of shark is that?”

“Great white. My favorite.” I sat next to her as she played, trying to figure it all out. Our kind was physically identical to humans; the witchcraft that cursed us and blended our souls with those of wolves wouldn’t show up in DNA. It was a blood curse, passed on from either or both parents. Having a child with a human was discouraged unless you were going to mate and change the parent too. The bite and change is a painful experience, one that is fatal more often than not. No one knew why some humans survived, and others didn’t. There was only one way to find out.

It was better to stick with our own kind.

Leaving a child with humans was unthinkable. Our kind could shift shortly after birth, with the child following the form of its mother. As they grew, their wolves became more independent, allowing them to change at will by the time they were four or so. To prevent a child from shifting at school or in public, they needed to be part of a Pack; the Alpha would command their wolf to only shift when he or their parents get permission. It was the only way to keep us all safe.

Vicki crawled onto my lap as she told me what she knew about Great White Sharks, which was a lot. I listened as my wolf sought out hers. She was there, alone and buried, but wanting to get out. I could sense her coming forward and needed to stop it and fast. Looking into her eyes, I let my Alpha wolf come forward. She stared into my eyes for ten seconds, her wolf showing herself in her eyes, finally looking away as she submitted. “Not alone now. MY PUP, MY PACK,” my wolf told me to my shock. I felt our wolves link, making her eyes go wide.

He claimed her as his own, right before Liv told us to go wash up for dinner. “Come on,” Vicki said as she jumped off. She brought me to the bathroom, where she stood on a step stool to wash her hands. My wolf was communicating directly with hers, placing the order on her to never shift unless I told her it was all right. I washed my hands after she left, wondering how I could even broach the subject of her father. Somewhere an Alpha left a child behind with a human, and that child had the Alpha mantle and all it entails.

They sat me at the head of the table, with Liv to my left, Vicki to my right. Natalie carried in the turkey, setting it next to me. “Can you carve this while I bring the rest of the food in,” she asked.

“Knives I’m good with,” I said. It only took a few minutes to cut enough turkey off the twelve-pound bird for us and place it on a plate before returning the rest of the bird to the kitchen. The food was passed around, and my plate soon filled with turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans, and gravy.

“Let us pray,” Natalie said as she held out her hands to the girls. I took Liv’s and Vicki’s hands in mine as we bowed our heads. “Father, we thank you for this food and the blessings of this year as we celebrate the birth of your son. We also thank you for bringing a new friend to our table today, in Jesus’ name, Amen.”

The meal was full of interrogation masked by smiles and polite conversation, but it went both ways. I told them about my Catherine and her battle with leukemia, and how lost I had been since then. I found out Natalie was a retired Hastings district schoolteacher, and that Olivia had done a year at Marquette University in Milwaukee before coming to live here and have Vicki. There was more to the story than they told, but I didn’t pry; I could read between the lines. Marquette was a Catholic university, and it wasn’t cheap. Her parents must have sent her away when she turned up pregnant and unmarried.

Liv was enrolled part-time in community college while Vicki was in school, and worked five nights a week at Wiederholt’s. “That’s a lot to do, are you getting any assistance?”

“Not much,” she said with a look towards her grandmother. “I get some aid from the state to help with Vicki, but I don’t qualify for financial aid.” Ah. The only way she wouldn’t qualify is because her parents make too much money; since she never brought her parents up, they probably weren’t talking or helping. I couldn’t understand why the father wasn’t in the picture. A werewolf male would NEVER leave a pup on its own, so he must not know about her. It was all giving me a headache.

I finished my plate and half of another, enjoying the food and the company. Dessert was Natalie’s homemade apple pie and French Vanilla ice cream. “That was fantastic,” I said as I finished.

Liv stood to start clearing the table. “Can you watch Vicki for a few minutes while we clean up?”

“Of course. Come on, shark bait,” I said as I helped the little girl up. We sat in the living room until they finished, talking about her school and her plans for Christmas vacation. She didn’t have many, but she wanted to go sledding and build a snowman.

I wanted so much more for her. Now that my wolf had claimed her, I needed to be in her life, and that meant I had to get closer to both Vicki and Natalie. I didn’t like her being so exposed; it was a miracle no other werewolf hadn’t found her. She would have been taken or killed immediately, and Liv had no idea of the danger she was in.

“MOMMA, TIME TO OPEN PRESENTS,” Vicki yelled as the two came into the room. She jumped up and went to the tree, bringing back the envelopes that I’d given her earlier. “Can we open them?”

“Of course,” Liv said. Vicki handed them out.

“You should open them at the same time,” I said.

“On the count of three,” Liv said. “One, two, THREE!”

“SEA LIFE,” Vicki yelled as the membership card fell out. “Momma, SHARKS!”

“Leo,” Liv said as she saw what was in hers.

“I thought Shark Bait here would like a membership; you three can go as many times as you want for a year. The overnight I figured she could invite some friends on, maybe for a birthday party? It sounded so cool I had to get it for her.”

“Sleeping under da sharks? YAAAH,” she squealed as she jumped on the couch and hugged me.

“You bring your blanket and pillow and sleep in the tube with the sharks swimming over your head,” I said.

“Will you sleep with us too?”

“If you want me there, I’ll be there,” I said. The food and the lack of sleep caught up with Vicki a half-hour later, which is how I ended up asleep on their couch with a five-year-old sleeping on my chest.

It had been years since my wolf was so content.