Success! Three days before Jack’s order was to be shipped out, he had finished production, and was scrambling to get it all into boxes and shipped to his customer. He had never dialed a number on his phone so quickly to tell the school principal the good news.
“Excellent! So when can I expect them to arrive?”
“Tomorrow at the latest; you wanted the expedited shipping, so I picked the fastest carrier I could find and hired them for the job. Thank you again for choosing me to fulfill the hearing and sight needs of your students, and I hope you will consider ordering again if needed. If you find any problems with the order, please notify me as soon as you can, and I will send replacement items as needed at no extra charge.”
“I will, and thank you!”
“You have a good day, sir, and a great school year.”
“You have a great day too. Bye.”
“Bye.”
He hung up, then turned on the radio to a jazz station, and then broke out into a celebratory dance in his office. There was nothing like finishing a massive order on time and knowing you earned every dollar of it. It was only 3:00 on Thursday, but he decided to let everyone go early and have tomorrow off. He assured them he was still going to pay them as if they were working that time because he was just that happy. There was also the big picnic they were going to have this Sunday with Marcus and his family, and he was looking forward to fortifying their friendship. After all, he couldn’t have finished this order without him.
The picnic was going to be held in the Tyndales’ backyard, as it would easily be large enough to host everyone. One reason for Jack closing work early that week was to let his employees take an extended break since they worked overtime, but another was so that he could help his wife get everything ready. There were a couple additional tables and chairs they had to order to accommodate the two families, plus all the food. Marie also wanted to put party decorations up; not too ostentatious and distracting, but also not boring and drab. She decided to go with solid-colored streamers and balloons.
There was also the matter of the food. Much to Ronald’s dismay, Marie wasn’t going to be making her world-famous pizza, as she decided colder food would be more appropriate for such a hot day. She wanted to keep the menu on the simple side since there were going to be eleven people in total, and she had never had to prepare so much food in her life. The fact that five of their guests were wolves added a little more stress; they were just bigger, and thus, would eat more.
As for Jack, he had a special surprise gesture in store for Marcus; it was so secret that not even Marie knew about it. It was bold and risky for a business competitor to do, but as Marcus risked his standing to help Jack, the sable knew it was the right thing to return the favor.
By the time Sunday morning rolled around, Ronald still wasn’t feeling his best, and wasn’t even sure he should come to the picnic. His mother was worried that his little brush with the law was consuming him and keeping him from moving on enjoying his life. Her concerns were verified when she noticed the hate-letter he wrote to himself the previous night just sitting on the drawer beside his bed.
“Why is this bothering you so much?” She asked him. “You’ve done other wrong things before, so I don’t understand why this one in particular is so much worse to you than anything. I’ve never seen you beat yourself up like this before, and I hate it. I want you to be happy again…you should want yourself to be happy again.”
“I don’t know...I think it’s just because I stole from my boss on the first day of my job, and also that I let a pretty girl persuade me so easily. I’m such a weakling, and an excuse for a man.”
“I hate to say it, but females have had a long history of doing that.” She said. “Read Proverbs; Solomon warns his son over and over not to be enticed and allured by strange women. Having married 700 wives, he would know something about that, as they turned his heart away from God. Your situation dates back to ancient history, but it’s so light compared to what could’ve happened. Would you rather be guilty of turning to and worshipping false gods, or stealing some snacks?”
Ronald nodded; the question was worded as such he didn’t even need to supply a verbal response.
“Now please go get ready for the picnic; they’re expecting us at noon.”
Ronald went to go take a bath, but no amount of soap was going to make him feel any cleaner. He just kept the lie going with his mother; he knew it was so wrong, but he still hadn’t shed his fear of telling the truth.
“It’s going to blow up in my face sooner or later; no lie that gets this big can go undetected for long. It’s just that everyone’s been so happy lately, and I don’t want to ruin that for everyone. I hope that when someone inevitably discovers the truth, only I get punished. It’s only fair…”
Well, someone else did know the truth, and that was Ashley. He knew she could easily ruin his life by blurting out the truth, but he also knew that doing so would ruin hers as well. The question was whether she’d eventually promulgate it to her own detriment just to get at him for breaking up with her. He didn’t think of that possibility before, but now it horrified him.
“I should get her a bunch of flowers and candy quickly just in case she is thinking about doing that…”
He finally got ready after spending thirty minutes in the bathtub; about twenty-seven minutes more than usual. It was a good thing they had more than one bathroom in the house; he would’ve held Cecilia hostage out there, and she was known for taking forever. It wasn’t enough for her to be clean; she had to look perfectly pretty and presentable, with each strand of fur positioned just so.
The family had gotten themselves ready just in time, and they were off to the big Sunday picnic. Ronald tried to push Ashley out of his mind, along with his other mistake, and just focus on enjoying himself today.
When they arrived, Jack was at the front to greet and welcome everyone in.
“Welcome! I’m glad all of you could make it today. Marie and the kids are out in the back, putting the finishing touches on everything.”
Jack led them all into the backyard through the side gate. Upon seeing the yard, comments from the others were unanimous on its size and beauty. Marie warmly welcomed them all while Dylan and Beth were too busy chasing each other around the open space. She whistled at them, signaling for them to come over and meet their guests.
Dylan and Beth seemed a bit shy compared to when only Ronald was there, especially when Marcus or Diane said hi to them.
“I hope we don’t look too intimidating to them.” Marcus remarked.
“That’s probably it; they’ve never met fully-grown wolves before,” Marie replied, holding Beth, who looked like she was about to cry. Marcus and Diane were giants compared to her. Dylan was half-hiding behind his mother, not knowing if he was on the menu or not for one of the wolves.
“I’ll put them inside for now; I’m sorry about that.” Jack took the two children inside to talk to them and assure them their guests weren’t going to eat them. Meanwhile, Marie showed everyone the tables, the food, and the drinks, and informed them that the rest of the open space in the yard was free to play around in.
So the picnic got underway; the adults sat together, with Ronald, Cecilia, Dylan, and Beth at the table next to them. Their younger wolf siblings were more excited about running around in the rest of the backyard than eating for now. Dylan and Beth wanted to play, but were terrified of getting trampled by them. They were just four times bigger than them in height, but likely a hundred times heavier.
The adults were having their own conversation about random stuff, and the younger ones had their own. Cecilia waxed long about how her eighth-grade year was going, and how she liked some of her classes over others, and what she thought about her teachers so far. Ronald gave his two cents when he could, warning her about certain teachers, and remarking on how nice and lenient some of the others were. It wasn’t the most enthralling conversation on Ronald’s tier-list of conversations, but it was enough to get his mind off of Ashley. At least this was something he and his sister shared in common and could talk about.
She turned the conversation back to him, curious about what high school was like, and how he felt about being almost done with it.
“I honestly can’t wait to get it over with; my classes are similar to what it’s like getting your teeth pulled. Of course, I’ve never had a tooth pulled, but I’m pretty sure I’m not wrong. I just want to start spending more of my time studying things that are interesting to me, and ninety percent of what I’ve learned in my classes so far doesn’t fit the bill. If you ask me, much of it is a waste of time, and it’s there to torture us.”
Marie overheard him, and decided to jump in. “Regardless of what you think about senior year, don’t let yourself slack off. Maybe Calculus won’t help you with being a naturalist, but getting good grades will help you get into a college that has a good nature program.”
“I know; I don’t plan to not do my homework or whatever. I’m going to suck it up and do my best, even though I know I’ll hate it.”
“You don’t know that for sure, maybe you’ll learn something soon that will inspire you.” Marie said. “Don’t treat the next nine months as something you just want to be over. Each day you have is a gift, even if a lot of those days are hard.”
Ronald had a hard time just getting through today; this picnic was the only thing keeping his mind occupied, but it wouldn’t last forever.
“She’s right.” Marcus added. “I want you to succeed. You have to accept that not every day will be a thrill ride of things you love the most, and there’s no one who gets to reach the life they want without getting through the dull and tedious moments. It will all come to pass, no struggle or pain you deal with this year will last forever.”
Ronald nodded, and that last sentence sounded applicable to his internal struggle between convenient lies and hurtful truths.
“You know the right thing to do, and I know you’ll do it, no matter how much it hurts.”
That sentence was also applicable, and it pricked his heart so deeply that he couldn’t sweep it under the rug.
“Do the right thing, no matter how much it hurts…”
Meanwhile, Claudia and Janet finally succumbed to hunger and decided to get something to eat from the bounty their hosts provided.
“Enjoy!” Marie said to them.
“Enjoying the backyard?” Jack asked them.
“We are; thanks for letting us play around in it!”
They sat with their smaller squirrel siblings, leaving Xavier by himself. He too was hungry, but there was something else he wanted to do first. He was annoyed at seeing the smaller sables so afraid of being with his own kind, and he wanted to fix them.
“Dylan, Beth, wanna play with me? I won’t bite.” He lay himself as flat as he could; head in the grass, and tail swishing back and forth. Dylan was still a little skeptical, but Beth was terrified, as if she had been asked if she wanted to be executed.
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“Yes, both of you should go play with him.” Their father urged, also annoyed that his own children were scared to interact with any of the wolves. Dylan and Beth looked at him as though he lost his mind.
“Come on, he’s not going to eat you. Our guests are very nice people, and they’re Ronald’s family. Remember Ronald? You liked him when he played Legos with you.”
They nodded.
“That’s Ronald’s brother, and he just wants to play with you too.”
Dylan slowly got up and approached Xavier; it was a weird scene for Ronald and Cecilia. They were also smaller than their wolf siblings, but they were completely harmless. Cecilia stayed put, but Jack wasn’t about to let her stay there and cater to her feeling of safety.
“Don’t be rude, Beth. He asked you nicely.” He added, sounding a little more stern.
“I’ll let you ride on my back.” Xavier added.
The little sable finally caved, and she walked up to him, though hid behind her brother. As he promised, Xavier was gentle with them, and he let them ride on his back as well.
Ronald enjoyed seeing them interact, though he knew that once the truth got out, that might disappear. He laughed as he watched Xavier roll onto his back and Dylan pounce on him and tickle his tummy. Beth climbed onto his chest and did the same thing.
“I’m going to ruin it...I’m going to ruin EVERYTHING.” Ronald’s heart was starting to break, and his eyes became wet.
The fun didn’t end here, as there was still Jack’s special surprise for Marcus. It was now late afternoon, and Jack had intended his reveal to be the magnificent and fitting conclusion to the day.
“Everyone, before you go home, I have one last surprise.” He turned to Marcus. “In all honesty, I’m positive I’ll never be able to pay back in full what you’ve done for me, and as a result, for my family as well. I do have a small token of appreciation and gratitude I would like to give you, but for you to see it, we must all come over to my building.”
Marcus was not expecting an additional accolade; the casual family picnic was lovely enough. He had no idea what was in store for him, but was sure he would like it.
As Jack’s business, which had looked like it had never gone down in flames before, there was a big red poster board covering something on the wall, a little to the right of the front entrance. Everyone got out of their cars, and Jack stood by the poster. He waited for everyone to quiet down before starting.
“Before this building had suffered its fiery disaster, I was exceptionally focused on competition. Ashamed to say, but I was envious of your success, and I would let it eat at my thoughts most days. I viewed you as a rival, and I was too fixated on having more things than you one day. I didn’t know that it was going to take an explosion to get me to see things differently; to gain a more mature view on life. You showed me, through the destruction of my own livelihood, that friendship, kindness, and character are more important than petty competition. You saw me down in the dirt, and instead of seeing me as one less obstacle in your way, you saw me as a partner, and a fellow man who also had a family to raise. You single-handedly saved my business, and possibly saved us from being homeless, even though you could’ve just ignored me and let me flounder. As a thank you for all that you’ve done, I would like to formally dedicate this building to you.”
He removed the red poster, and there was a big, shiny, silver placard that read, “This building is dedicated to Marcus Avery for his unmatched generosity, character, and dedication to helping others succeed.” Beside that was an engraved likeness of a wolf’s head as viewed as though you were making eye contact with him.
Everyone applauded, and Marcus walked up to Jack.
“I’m very honored you would do that, Jack. This is a very meaningful gift; thank you." And in a very rare and unexpected moment for the wolf, he picked Jack up and hugged him. It was just one of those quick, buddy types that only casual friends might do, but it caught them both off-guard. He put Jack back down.
“Just promise me it won’t burn down again. I only have so many dollars.” Marcus joked.
“I promise.” Jack laughed.
Marie ran up to her husband and hugged him as well.
“I had no idea you had planned this; that was so sweet!”
The two families eventually went their own ways; everyone’s spirits lifted, as the day ended on such a positive note. It had ended so well that Ronald debated within himself whether he should forgo revealing the truth for at least another week; maybe let the positivity and euphoria subside first.
But sometimes, life has other plans.
At nighttime, the wolf triplets were already in bed, and the two squirrels were watching a bad movie in Ronald’s room so they could make snarky comments about it along the way. Marcus and Diane were having some intimate alone time in the family room.
“Today was such a good day; I’m really happy for that family.” Diane remarked and kissed Marcus. “But I’m even happier for marrying you.”
“It was a great day, and I’m looking forward to seeing where our friendship will go. They’re a good family, and they deserve not having their lives destroyed by a freak incident.”
“Speaking of which, I wonder how that even happened. From what Marie described, it sounded like it was a missile. Why anyone would be launching those around here is unfathomable to me.”
“And whoever did it apparently is still not known. If I were Jack or Marie, I would definitely want answers, if for nothing else than the sake of closure.”
“I’m sure they do want to know; maybe there’s just too little evidence for the detectives to pin-point a suspect.”
“That is upsetting, but at least they still got everything back that they lost.”
Meanwhile, in another house, Jack was asleep. Despite the good day that he had, that wolverine was back in his dream.
“You again!” Jack shouted, teeth bared. “Haven’t you ruined enough of my life!”
“You deserve it, low-life! How could you look at yourself in the mirror, knowing how pathetic and worthless you are? You didn’t deserve Marcus’ help; he should’ve kicked you and your family to the curb.”
“I deserved it? I bet it was YOU who caused that fire! Who else could it have been? It wasn’t enough that you ruined my life once, you just had to have another go at it. I thought I had put you behind me for good, but you just can’t get enough of seeing me suffer, can you?”
The wolverine smirked.
“Once I know the fire was your doing, I will find you and kill you.”
“I’d love to see your breaking point again. You tried killing me once, and you failed miserably. Just give up and accept that I will always look for ways to hurt you.”
Jack lunged for the wolverine’s neck, but then woke up before being able to sink his teeth into it. His heart was pounding, and he got up and walked over to the family room to let himself settle down. He turned on the light and sat at the table. No matter what he tried though, he couldn’t get that wolverine out of his mind.
“He cost me my first job; slandered me and lied about me, and somehow, he’s found me again. That monster...that monster must pay!”
Marie heard him get up and walk out here, and she followed him out. She didn’t know what was wrong with him until she saw it.
The glint in his eyes.
“Jack, no!” She hugged him and held him tightly, tears welling up in her eyes. “It’s not worth it...God loves you, your family loves you, and you have wonderful friends who care about you…”
Her words and her touch slowly but surely soothed his seething soul. The glint in his eyes faded into nothing, and he hugged her back, his eyes now watery.
“I’m sorry, Marie...please forgive me.”
Meanwhile, Marcus and Diane were finally off to bed; Marcus falling asleep first. Diane then realized she had forgotten something, and she sighed.
“Cecilia needs that sheet signed for her teacher; she even left it on the counter to remind me. Guess I’ll sign it now before I forget in the morning.”
She quietly got out of bed and walked downstairs, through the silent house, to the kitchen counter. She grabbed a pen and signed her name on the blank space, officially allowing her daughter to participate in all forthcoming field trips for the year. She set the pen back down and intended to go to bed...and then noticed something else on the counter.
“Is that...a pay stub? That’s a weird thing to leave out in the open.”
She assumed it was Ronald’s, as it looked like nothing that belonged to her husband. She thought it would be best to just take it and slide it under his door, but something else caught her attention.
A second sheet.
Diane thought these were only supposed to be a single paper; she took a look at it, and it was a breakdown of the hours he worked. She hadn’t seen something like this before, but thought it was a good record for the employee to have, so they can account for themselves every hour they were on the clock. She took an innocent look at his record, curious to see how much his overtime pay was.
Except it wasn’t there.
She looked at his hours, and noticed something unusual and suspicious. The extra shift he said he worked on his first night was not listed; either payroll had made a glaring error, or Ronald was in a boiling pot of steaming hot water right now.
“Surely, Ronald would’ve noticed all that missing money he should’ve gotten when his check arrived two days ago, but he didn’t say a thing…”
She really hated that she was unable to trust her son, but it was making sense to her now. No kid would ever be so upset over stealing snacks, so upset he’d write himself a hate-letter over it. He was hiding something else from her, and the snacks were a poor facade for something worse.
As if on cue, she saw Ronald run down the stairs, as if he had forgotten something. He noticed her standing where he accidentally left his papers, and his heart sank. In a quick and intuitive act of survival, he went on the defensive.
“Why are you looking at my paystub? You don’t trust me?!” He raised his voice.
She cocked her head, acting confused. “I didn’t even say anything. Could you elaborate? I’m just standing here enjoying some peace and quiet.”
So that’s what it was like walking right onto a landmine. Diane already figured out he had been lying to her this whole time, but he offered his neck on the chopping block before there was even an accusation and invited the axe to come swooshing down.
She didn’t say anything, but Ronald knew that this was the end of his life. He stayed uncomfortably silent, not looking at her and fidgeting about.
“I’m waiting...or are you biding your time to come up with another fib?”
By now, there was nothing he could say to save himself; he was a terrible liar, and any alibi he’d concoct now would sound fake.
“Ronald, I don’t know what’s been happening with you lately, but it’s scaring me. There is something you did that you are ashamed of, and you thought that stacking some lies in front of it would help you brush it away. Maybe you’re never going to tell a single soul about what you did, but God already knows, and so does your conscience. Whether or not you ever tell me won’t change my life, but I will say this...there is nothing worse than a seared conscience. I already know you don’t have one, as I can clearly see that whatever sin you did do is eating you up on the inside, and you are clearly not proud of it. If you continue down this road though, you will slowly become more and more calloused against it, and your lying will not bother you anymore. I implore you, please get this straightened out before it’s too late. I love you, and it pains me to see you go down this path…”
She walked past him without a hug, a kiss, or even a “good night.” She had rarely ever felt this hurt or scared, and when she lay back down to sleep, she wept and prayed for him.
And Ronald just stood there. All that was left now was to face the music. No more hiding, no more games.
No more lies.
Hours later, it was early Monday morning. There was school today, but Ronald didn’t care. His mind was so focused on fixing the mess he made that he couldn’t care less about his truancy. He didn’t get a wink of sleep; he couldn’t have if he wanted to. This was pretty much going to be the most terrifying day of his life, and it could very well thrust his family’s friendship with the Tyndales into jeopardy. He left the house before the sun was even up, and began his trek to the very location where the truth would finally drop. He had made the decision not to eat breakfast beforehand because he knew he’d just throw it up.
The morning was cold, and the sky, overcast. A slight chill also made him shiver, but that didn’t matter to him. Freezing to death was a more pleasant experience than what he was about to do. Morning walkers and joggers passed by him on occasion; they’d say hi to him, but he’d barely even acknowledge them. This trek was a lot like marching to a scaffold; the noose was prepared for him, and the only thing he could look forward to was getting his neck snapped upon dropping down, and his lifeless corpse hanging limply for the birds to pick at.
After an hour, he finally got to where he planned. Jack’s car had just pulled out of the driveway and headed for work, but the sable never saw him.
“I should just start with telling Marie...she said I was a good kid, and she seems very sweet and understanding. I could see her taking this better than anyone…”
With a heavy and mournful sigh, he marched up the walkway to their front door. He rapped on their door and announced his presence.
“Marie, it’s Ronald...I’m sorry I came without you expecting me today, and that it’s so early...but I Really need to confess something to you…”
“Coming.” She replied, and she opened both doors for him. “Is everything okay? You look sick.”
“I’m not okay, but that’s why I need to talk to you. I hope you don’t mind…”
“Not at all, please step inside.”
He did so, and she offered him a seat at their table. He took the same chair he sat in that night they had pizza.
“Want me to make you some coffee? You looked like you haven’t slept at all.”
He shook his head, not wanting to eat or drink anything until this matter was settled. “Thank you though, but I really need to get something off my chest once-and-for-all.”
She sat across from him. “Go ahead.”
Ronald felt like he was about to burst into tears, but he was here now, and there was no turning back. She walked over and hugged him.
“I won’t judge you or think differently of you for whatever it is you have to say. Remember we’re friends now?”
“I...I’m not sure that will be true after today…”
“You don’t know that; your assumptions might be much worse than reality. Come on, you can tell me what’s on your mind.”
She sat back down and let him take his time.
“Well…” he wiped his eyes, “I...I know who b-burned down Jack’s business,,,and I never said anything this whole t-time. I was af-fraid of what would happen if I blabbed…”
She nodded slowly. “You did? Please tell me.”
“It was...it was…” And then he looked down and shook his head.
“....me.”
He was expecting Marie to gasp or exclaim something...but there was only silence from her. He slowly looked back up at her, and though she looked sad, she didn’t seem terribly upset or surprised.
“Uh...that’s it? Please tell me you’re mad, or hurt. Anything!”
She looked him in the eyes; her expression neutral. “Ronald...thank you for coming out and being honest about this…”
“...but what I did was so horrible! Come on, you can’t tell me you’re not angry about this! I could’ve KILLED someone!”
“Ronald, I have something to confess too, and maybe it’ll help my lack of emotional reaction make sense to you.”
Ronald just stared at her, not knowing if he should be relieved or terrified.
“Ronald,” she sighed, and paused, as though nervous herself. She put her paw over his, and said, with her voice lowered.
“...I already knew you did it.”