“So what sounds good to you?” I asked Miranda as I opened the fridge door to see what I had to work with.
Even when I didn’t have the time to run to the store, anything I used ended up being replenished by the next time I opened the door. I was getting used to having all my needs met without asking for a thing, but there were times it could still be annoying.
“I thought I heard Nate say you had dinner plans. I figured that meant you already knew what you’re making,” she replied.
Thinking back I remembered Nate mentioning dinner at the reception earlier and I didn’t remember Miranda being anywhere around at the time. I couldn’t think of any other time dinner had been mentioned.
“How in the world did you hear that? There were tons of conversations going on in that room when he made that comment,” I said as I gave her a skeptical look. She was at the wedding, so it wasn’t impossible, but it was surprising.
“I’ve seen you with your nose in books about uniques, so I’m sure you’ve read about how we have specialized abilities. Mine just happens to be super hearing. It doesn’t always help when ninjas are sneaking up on me, but I guess it’s better than nothing,” she responded.
“I’ll have to remember that when I’m saying bad things about you,” I said with a laugh.
“I don’t listen in to others very often. I was just bored and started scanning around the people I knew.”
“I can relate with the being bored at a wedding. As beautiful as everything was, the only thing keeping me awake was the fact that everyone was staring in my general direction. Back to food ideas, Nate was meaning in general that I planned to cook something later, not that I already had it all mapped out,” I explained.
“In that case, Joseph really likes your lasagna. Do you think that would take too long to make?” she asked.
It was cute that she based her answer on what Joseph wanted. I needed to do some digging into just how serious their relationship had become. Not only that, but I needed to start figuring out romantic interests for the blonde bombers. I hoped I could find some uniques to pair them up with, so they didn’t end up in a relationship like their mom and dad, where one of them eventually died. The thought of me as a matchmaker totally boggled my mind.
“That will work out fine. It will take an hour, but I imagine that will be just enough time for the wedding food to digest,” I said as I started grabbing ingredients. “Do you mind browning some Italian sausage and hamburger, while I roll out the noodles?”
“Of course not. I said I wanted to help, not just stand around and watch you,” she replied, going to work at the stove.
“Also, while you’re by the oven can you flip it to three-seventy-five?” I asked.
“Will do,” she answered in her eager-to- please voice.
I was hoping she’d eventually lose that part of her intonation when she spoke to me. I liked when people did what I asked, but it was different with the guys. I always felt I was taking advantage of Miranda’s “I’ll do anything for you” attitude.
We set about our tasks, not talking much because my electric pasta roller made a lot of noise. When I had all my pasta sheets rolled out, and the meat was cooked, I started up my questions as I begin layering the meat and meatless lasagnas.
“So, you and Joseph seem to be getting pretty close,” I said, making it more of a casual statement than an opening to a grand inquisition.
She responded by giving a little girlie laugh. “He’s a really nice guy when you get to know him. In Eek, we had of course met, but we didn’t really spend a lot of time together. Him being the head wolf, kind of frightened me, so I steered clear.”
“So now you just see him as a big, cuddly puppy?” I asked.
“I don’t think anyone would see him as a cuddly puppy. He’s still more the Doberman type, but having real conversations with him has made me not afraid to speak to him,” she replied. “You’re at the top in the world of uniques, so you’ve never had to defer to anyone.”
“It seems like there’s a little more than just talking going on in between you two. I heard rumors back in Eek that Joseph had a thing for you.” I ignored the topic of hierarchies. It wasn’t something I liked to get into.
“After that whole deal with the warlock almost killing me, I did notice he started hanging around. We haven’t done anything more than share a couple of kisses, but I’m all for moving the relationship along. I mean have you seen him? He’s totally drool-worthy,” she stated.
“Sorry, I have a fiancé, who may or may not be listening in, so I have to plead the fifth on any commenting about your guy’s looks,” I said.
She laughed. “Yeah, it can be hard having a significant other who can read your mind. About your fiancé status, from what I’ve heard from Rick, it seems you’re acting more like Ozzie and Harriet than previously witnessed. You getting any closer to setting a date?” she asked.
“Not you too. We’ve only known each other for like a week and you’re already in on the hurry up and get married bandwagon? I had hoped there’d be at least one person out there who was fine waiting until I was ready to get married.”
“Well, when you hang around Frannie long enough, it’s hard not to join the bandwagon,” she claimed, causing me to sigh.
“If my best friend is turning people against me, then she will just have to be the last to know about the event she’s dying to witness. I think Nate and I will have to make a little announcement over dinner.”
The lasagna layers were done, so I put the pans in the oven to let the heat do its thing. The meatless one got extra cheese and tomato chunks, so it didn’t look too wimpy next to its meaty brother. I’d played around with cooking little things with my own fire, but I needed to perfect that art.
“Okay, now you can make a salad up while I get the garlic bread ready,” I said, starting my task.
“Okay, boss. I think I can get that done without asking you a million questions.”
She’d asked every question she could think of the one other time I tasked her with a salad, so I hoped she was right. I cut up an Italian bread loaf. As I slathered butter on the slices, a question popped into my mind.
“So, if you and Joseph end up happily married and all that jazz, what happens when you go to have children? Will they be some kind of hybrids?” I asked.
She looked up at me with a sad expression on her face. “Technically, the wolf genes would beat out my fox ones, so they would be wolves. But if you recall, no unique babies are being born, so I don’t think it will ever happen.”
“Everyone keeps telling me that, but for some reason I have this strong feeling that isn’t going to be the case very much longer. I definitely see children in this house’s future. I’m not sure who they belong to, but they aren’t just one species.”
I’d had vivid dreams of four or five children running around the place. Nate had told me many times that I could see the future, and I believed that was what the dreams were. For no reason other than I wanted it to be true.
“Really? I’m pretty young in the grand scheme of things. I was in one of the last generations born, and as the years went by and no more children were born, I gave up hope of having my own. You won’t believe the number of uniques who would love to hear the news you just told me,” she said, practically jumping up and down.
“Let’s not go crazy and alert the media. When we start seeing women we know all of a sudden look like they’re stealing watermelons from the supermarket, then we can let everyone know things are looking better,” I told her as I put my finished garlic bread back into its foil package and threw it in the oven.
“Fine. I imagine we won’t see a change until this war is finished anyway,” she said with a little pout. She was clearly spending too much time with Frannie.
“You never know. I still think it’s just a spell this jerk cast to temporarily sterilize us. I have to believe something is going to come along and break that spell. Maybe even before we get to the real battle.”
&nbs
p; We took some time to start cleaning up the mess we’d made. Usually a couple of the guys came in after me to straighten up, but I thought I’d give them a little break. We had a big day planned for the next day and I wanted them all in tip-top condition. Mainly, I didn’t want prune fingers to be used as an excuse. Sadly, Liam had attempted it before when trying to get out of taking the garbage out.
I checked on the lasagnas and saw they were golden brown and bubbly, so I pulled them out of the oven to cool just a little. I took out the garlic bread as well, and set it on the counter. Miranda grabbed the plates and silverware, while I cut the lasagnas. When everything looked ready, I rang the dinner bell. Yes, we had an actual bell we rang when it was time for food. I’d deemed it a vast improvement over yelling all the time.
The guys came running and dished up before they headed to the dining room. Dinner had become the one meal we for sure all sat down to talk about strategies and any new information we’d found from our respective groups. So far, we hadn’t found the so-called lost prophecy we were sure existed somewhere, but it was interesting to see what other groups had to say.
When everyone was settled, and had at least gotten a couple of bites, I decided it was time to share the wedding news. I didn’t think Frannie needed much time to prepare, but the guys had to find dates, I supposed, and that would at least take a week or two.
“So everyone, now that Gary and Frannie’s wedding is over, it’s time for me and Nate to announce when ours will be,” I said.
The chewing in the room stopped as all eyes focused on me. Nate cleared his throat before cautioning me.
“Are you sure it’s a good idea to tell anybody before Frannie? I know you had to tell me, to make sure my schedule was clear, but Frannie might throw a little fit.”
“I told you I’m waiting for the day before to tell her. Plus, other people might want to make plans to attend, and she’s currently unavailable to tell. So, everyone, mark your calendars for March second. We’ll have a nice small gathering here at the house,” I explained.
The part about the house was something that just popped into my mind. I was sure we could dress things up enough that everyone would be happy when I met Nate in front of the justice of peace, or whoever we could get to become an online minister.
“March second of what year?” Rick asked.
“That would be the one coming up in about a month,” Nate told him.
Rick’s jaw about hit the table. I really wished I had a camera to capture his shock, as well as a doctor handy to tell me if it was natural for a jaw to dislocate like that.
“You’re joking, right?” he asked. “How in the world did you talk her into that?”
“It was my idea. He’s been trying to talk me out of it, but I’m standing firm that I want to get married on that date.”
If I thought the jaw dropping was great, the dumbfounded look that combined the jaw drop and the bugged out eyes was the cat’s meow. I couldn’t help but start laughing. It got even worse when I glanced around the table and saw identical looks on most of the occupants. Only Vinnie and Miranda stood out as appearing only mildly intrigued.
“I tried to talk her out of a human wedding, claiming it wasn’t necessary. I’m still for the phoenix ceremony that rebinds us taking place as soon as possible,” Nate clarified. “I didn’t think we needed to go through the fanfare of an event like we all witnessed today.”
The guys were still a little speechless, so much so they hadn’t resumed shoveling food in their mouths. The two cats in the group were off on their honeymoon, so I couldn’t have fun by asking if a cat had gotten everyone else’s tongue. Miranda was kind enough to break the lingering silence.
“So, are you going to wear an actual wedding dress or is this a casual affair?”
“Just to satisfy that little girlie part buried deep inside of me, I will be wearing a dress. As far as everyone else’s attire goes, jeans are totally cool with me. I want a laid back feel,” I said.
“Thank God,” Liam said. “I was afraid I’d have to dress up again like I did today.”
Talk slowly resumed as we finished dinner and tried to figure out movies we’d all enjoy watching. I ended up making the executive’s decision of putting in the original Die Hard trilogy. Miranda and Joseph decided to take care of the dishes, and they ended up disappearing for the rest of the night.
I made it through about half of the second movie before I found my head propped up against Nate’s arm and my eyelids closing. Shortly after that, or at least what I deemed shortly, because I was asleep, I felt myself being carried up to bed.
CHAPTER 4
Clowns. Need I say more?