When Harold had asked the children if they still wanted to stay at his house for the night, they politely declined, now that Diane and Angelica were here. They said they would be more than happy to take the children with them on their search for Marcus. Plus, Ronald told them they had an apartment, so they could just stay in their usual home.
The siblings had so many questions for Diane, but Ronald needed to correct a lie first.
“Earlier, I told you the wrong place where Marcus is. I lied because I didn’t know if you were going to hurt him or not. Marcus is actually over this way.” He pointed the right way this time. “I’m sorry.”
“Not a problem; thanks for telling us. I would’ve done the same if I thought someone was going to hurt the person I loved.” Diane said. She then asked the children if they needed to get anything from the apartment before they go looking for Marcus. Other than wanting a snack before the long walk, there was nothing else they needed.
It was nearly dark when they started walking; Diane carried Cecilia on her back, and Ronald rode on Angelica’s. The children felt so much safer this time now that there were two wolves.
“So, Diane...I wanted to ask how you survived the fire, after Marcus told us you were dead.” Ronald asked eagerly. “I know he’ll be extremely happy when he sees you again.”
“Happy might be the understatement of the century.” She laughed. “I assume he thought I was dead because he never saw me after the fire.”
Ronald recalled that day back in the cabin where Marcus thought he saw her...was that actually her, and he just missed her?
“But he saw that his house was on fire, and you were in the house, right? He said that it was a mistake in his robot that caused the explosion.” Ronald related, assuming these to be completely factual.
Diane cocked her head. “Really? Did he say how he came to that conclusion?”
“No, but...maybe people around were saying that, and he thought it was true. But didn’t his project have a mistake?”
“Phil...I would bet dollars to donuts that it was Phil who started that lie.”
“You mean...Marcus’ robot didn’t start the fire?”
“That is exactly what I mean. Marcus’ project did in fact have a wiring flaw, but that flaw was not fatal in nature. There was an explosion, but it was caused by a faulty gas line that ran near his house. It’s a pipe that runs underground, and it’s a company that takes care of those, not residents.”
“Wait wait wait, so...Marcus had absolutely nothing to do with any of this?”
Diane nodded. “Marcus didn’t kill anyone, on purpose OR on accident. He is entirely innocent, and Phil is doing everything he can to keep that unknown.”
“Unbelievable...So my dad was admitting to a crime he only thought he did, but not really...” Ronald was shocked, horrified, and relieved all at the same time. His dad had been vindicated and absolved of all guilt. He didn’t deserve to be tied to that tree; Phil did.
“But, I still didn’t answer your question.” Diane continued. “Here is how I survived...”
- - - - - -
She remained at the table, evaluating Marcus’ work thus far.
”I wonder why he’s so distracted; something else is obviously on his mind.”
Diane thought of the possibilities...was he planning a surprise of some sort? He threw a surprise birthday party for her last year, but her birthday wasn’t for another month. Did he have a terrible health problem he wasn’t telling her about? Is it a problem with his family? Or perhaps he wanted to break up with her?
Diane shrugged off that last possibility, though that wasn’t to say the others were also worrisome.
Thirty minutes had gone by, and Marcus still wasn’t back. A wire run for him usually never took more than twenty minutes. Was there a long line?
”I’ll enjoy a nice walk in the meantime; maybe he’s running another errand.”
So Diane got up and left the house to walk around the block. It was the middle of the day, so most people were out at work, leaving the road mostly vacant. The canopy covering the neighborhood provided a lot of shade. Having been sitting for a long time just earlier, it felt great to get out and take a stroll.
And then, everything changed in an instant.
Diane was a quarter-mile from Marcus’ house when the blast occurred. The ground shook beneath her, and her surroundings became enveloped in a flash of bright orange. She turned, and saw that there was a raging fire where Marcus’ house was.
“No!” She screamed, running back towards the house, praying and hoping that Marcus hadn’t just arrived there. She couldn’t get close to the house; it was engulfed completely in roaring flames, and worse yet, here were trees all around.
It was clear not everyone would escape from this forest alive.
People in the area broke into hysteria as the flames made contact with the trees and began burning them. Unless the fire department got here soon, the entire forest will burn down, and everyone who survives will become homeless.
Diane was helpless; if anyone was unfortunate enough to get caught in the blaze, there was nothing she could do to help them. She also had no idea where Marcus was, or if her own family was okay. She ran back to her house first, and despite them being okay, they were preparing themselves to evacuate if needed. She then went to look for Marcus; she raced to the electronics store he frequented, but didn’t see him there. She then retraced the path between there and his house, hoping she’d see him along the way...but he was not to be.
“Marcus, no...” She began to cry, believing he may have been killed. All she could do was wait for the fire to be extinguished, and a search for bodies to be made. The thought of finding out that the man she loved was dead was so horrific that she was tempted to just flee.
The fire wasn’t put out until a day later. Three-quarters of it had burned down, and more than that many citizens left their homes to find a better place. Diane and her family were some of the few who stayed, at least for now. She would find out later that neither Marcus nor anyone else was in his house when the blast happened, so she at least found some relief in this fact. However, she wanted to know what caused the blast and subsequent fire.
And that was when she noticed the gaping hole in Marcus’ backyard.
A pipe running parallel to the ground’s surface appeared to be ruptured, and she had to conclude this had to do with the blast. She was aghast at the sight of this destruction; as this was a forest, the company who manufactured and assembled this pipeline had to use extreme caution in making sure this exact event didn’t happen.
She stormed away in hot anger, wanting to find whoever didn’t do their job right and tear them a new one, figuratively of course. She and Marcus could’ve been killed, and there were dozens of others who actually were killed. This was criminal negligence at best.
Professional investigators also came to the same conclusion, though the conclusion was not difficult to make. Her next plan was to locate Marcus, who she believed fled the forest. She was confused as to why he didn’t come back and check on her until she started hearing the rumors.
“Huh? What’s this poster you’re putting up?” She asked a chipmunk hammering something into a tree. “Why...why is Marcus’ face on this?”
“Don’t you know? The fire was his fault.”
“E-excuse me?! Is this a joke?”
“Why would it be? The robot he was working on exploded and started that fire.”
“What a crock!” She growled. “You’re horribly mistaken! It was a gas line that burst under his backyard; even the police found this out! You can check the gaping hole there yourself!”
“Well, they’re wrong then; other investigators and experts found out it was the robot. The gas line burst because of the robot, I’m positive.”
“A bunch of lies. I don’t know what awful excuse of an investigator came up with that crap, but it’s a lie, and this poster shouldn’t be going up.”
“Yes, it should.”
Diane tore the poster off the tree with her mouth and proceeded to tear it up.
“That’s against the law; you’re impeding on the search for this criminal, and you’re obstructing justice.”
“I will go through whatever’s left of this forest and rip up all of these posters.”
“Okay, you can waste your time and get arrested in the process. Besides, these posters are already being sent out to other places. If you really wanted to stop Marcus from getting caught, maybe you’ll tear those ones up instead.”
Diane didn’t need to be told twice; she ran off in search of her beloved. He wasn’t safe out there, wherever he was. Her only clue to his whereabouts are conversations they’ve had before. They had a recent chat one night about where they would live if they started their own family together. He went on about how he wanted to raise a family in Paradise Valley.
”Okay...I will find you there...just, please don’t get caught...I want that family life with you just as much as you do with me...”
And off she went to Paradise Valley.
- - - - - -
Ronald felt overwhelmed by the narrative; when he and his sister had been rescued by Marcus, they had no idea what kind of drama they were getting pulled into. However, he didn’t regret one second of it. He was ecstatic that not only his dad was purely innocent, but that this wolf whom Marcus loved was alive and well. All that had to happen now was their reunion, and setting things straight for all the ones whom Phil misled.
“So how did Phil start this whole rumor to begin with?” He asked.
“I’m not totally sure, but I do know he’s friends with some people on the forest’s police force. He very well could’ve asked them to publish the lie and fabricate some outrageous narrative that painted him as a monster. If I ever see that loser again, I will pin him down and make him explain himself.”
Ronald, on the other hand, wanted to cause physical harm to Phil, but Diane’s approach seemed a little healthier.
Ronald and Cecilia eventually drifted to sleep,the wolves switching over to carrying them with their mouths.
”Just as though I were carrying my own little pup! So if Marcus adopted these sweethearts as his own, then that would mean I’ll be their mother when we get married. Life really does move too fast sometimes! Ronald mentioned that Marcus said he wanted to marry me; I know we’d discussed what that life would be like, but was he also planning to propose to me soon? Could that have actually been on his mind that day?”
That seemed the most plausible reason for Marcus’ inattention that day, and it both excited and saddened her. She loved him and wanted to spend the rest of her life with him, but she also felt bad for him that he never got to pop the question as he planned. No doubt he was going to do that when they reunited, but she would only be able to feign her surprise.
By morning, Diane and Angelica were coming across signs that were actually advertising Marcus’ execution. They were posted on various trees, as though this was going to be some wonderful event. Some coarse words flowed through their minds, but left them unsaid.
“More garbage to tear apart and bury...”
Something that was helpful about those posters was that it told where to find the spot, so now they knew how to pinpoint Marcus’ location.
“Children, wake up. We’re close to finding him.” Diane alerted them.
They woke up as if on cue; just seeing their father alive and well again would be an immense joy. They would all be together as one happy family, once and for all.
And then Ronald realized something was wrong...Marcus wasn’t there. He recognized the tree from afar, where his dad was supposed to be bound, and didn’t see him there.
“H-he’s gone!” Ronald broke into a run towards the tree; the wolves and sister following.
“Are you sure?” Angelica asked.
“That’s the tree he was tied on! I swear that’s it!”
They arrived at the wolf-less tree, and what they saw at the foot of it confirmed the boy’s claim. There were broken and chewed-up cords lying in a tangled mess at the tree’s base.
With all things considered, this was actually very good news. Marcus had somehow managed to break free; the only problem was that they didn’t know where he was now.
“Dad!” Cecilia cried out, but there was no reply.
“He’s probably not around here, sweetheart.” Diana nudged her softly. “He’s probably far away so the bad guys won’t find him.”
However, someone did hear Cecilia’s call.
“Hello?” Came a voice from a nearby bush; it was the rabbit that played a big role in helping Marcus escape. “Are you looking for Marcus? The wolf woh was tied there?”
“Yes; we’re family of his, and we would just like to know where he went.” Angelica answered.
While he didn’t recognize these wolves, he recognized the squirrels, having only seen them from his spot in the bush the night Marcus was brought over. He had no reason to think they were lying.
“He told me that if Ronald and Cecilia ever made it back here, then I would tell them he went back to his apartment, but not a direct route. If you all got here from his apartment, then you probably didn’t see him.”
“That makes sense; probably harder to get caught that way. Thank you for letting us know, sir.” Diane answered.
“I have one question, though; how did he escape?”
“When he was given permission by his captor to walk around for a little and get some movement back in his legs, he came near my bush, and from there, I got his attention, and offered to help him escape by chewing through the cords. He accepted, of course, and after his captor left, I proceeded to start gnawing away. However, when I was nearly done, his captor, who was a bear, returned unexpectedly. I thought he was going to kill me, but the strangest and most fortunate thing happened.”
“What was that?”
“The bear had a change of heart, and let Marcus go. He finished off the job I had started, and then they went their separate ways. It turned out that the bear knew what Marcus had done was an accident, and thought he shouldn’t be punished so unreasonably.”
“Well, that was so kind of you and the bear to help him like that,” Diane said, “but even the thing about it being an accident on Marcus’ part isn’t true. What started that fire was something underground, our of his control. Marcus is convinced he had something to do with it because he didn’t stay to find out the truth, and because another wolf named Phil is relentlessly trying to frame him for it.”
“Wow, I had no idea. Hopefully Marcus gets his name cleared from all of this soon. That’s gotta be rough for him.”
“We’re all hoping for that. Thanks again for helping all of us out; we can’t repay you enough.”
“Don’t worry about it! Just go find Marcus before that horrible Phil guy does.”
And thus began the long journey back home; the children were annoyed that they had to travel all that way just to find out their dad wasn’t there, but considering that he got away from being murdered, there was little to whine about.
- - - - - -
Marcus made it back to his apartment after about a two-day’s walk. He was exhausted and stressed out. He was happy to be free, but was uncertain on his children’s whereabouts. He even entered a phase of regret for getting them sucked into his conflicts; he could’ve instead put his foot down and signed them up to stay in yet another orphanage. Perhaps they wouldn’t have been as happy, but they would’ve been safer.
”If they didn’t make it here alive, then I truly do deserve to die.”
He reached his apartment door and found it locked. Did the manager do that? He entered the code on the keypad and opened the door, predicting that things would be missing. The foor had been left open after his kidnapping, so everything inside was just out in the open.
He flicked on the lights, and was surprised by what he saw.
Nothing was missing, save for some of Ronald and Cecilia’s footwear. Did they make it here, put it on, and then leave again? He then went to the fridge, and noticed that some of the food was broken into. A canister of nuts that was unopened before the kidnapping was left open completely, and half the nuts were missing.
“What a squirrely thing to do.” He said to himself, starting to smile. He wanted to find more evidence that Ronald and Cecilia did make it back.
He walked over to their bed to detect if their scent was still there. It was, but it was hard to tell if it was recent. He was about to go ask the neighbors if they had seen the squirrels, when he noticed a little piece of paper crumpled up by their bed. It would normally be a nondescript detail, but he also didn’t remember him nor the kids using any paper the night before the kidnapping.
He picked it up and unfolded it. He squinted, trying to make out the messy drawing. It sort of looked like a squirrel, and there were little z’s over it, like it was sleeping. There was also a messy scrawl on the backside of the drawing.
“Cecilia equals LAZY HEAD.” He read; Cecilia spelled correctly, but the equals spelled with a missing “a,” the y in lazy being an “e” instead, and head missing the “a.”
He laughed. “Even now, Ronald can’t stop antagonizing his sister.”
So this proved to him that they had made it back, and this likely meant they were searching for help right now. His first instinct would be to find Harold and ask him what he knew, and then apologize for missing too many work days, though that wasn’t his fault.
“Wait, why find him if I can just call him? It’s only afternoon.”
So Marcus called his boss, and the moment Harold heard his voice over the phone, relief swept over him.
“Marcus! I am glad to hear that you’re back! Are you at home?”
“Yes, I just got back five minutes ago. It’s quite a relief.”
“Are you doing alright?”
“Yes; just a little sore from taking the longer, indirect route home.”
“Oh, and before you ask, Ronald and Cecilia found me two days ago and asked for my help.”
“I was guessing they made it back okay, but are they with you right now?”
“No, but before you worry, they are with two other wolves who happened to be looking for you.”
“Hm, really? What were their names?”
“One of them was named Angelica, but I didn’t catch the name of the other.”
“Oh wait, was this Angelica about my age? A little older?”
“Yes. Do you know her?”
“That was probably my sister! Oh my goodness, I wasn’t sure if my family would find me up here! To be sure, did it seem like she wanted to hurt me, or help me?”
“She and the other wolf seemed very concerned about helping you.”
“So I take it they probably went out to look for me?”
“Yes. Oh, and Ronald and Cecilia also spoke to a police officer who promised to help find you. It might be a good idea to call them and let them know they don’t need to look for you anymore.”
“Right...though I feel bad for my sister and this other wolf; they probably went all the way to where I was, only to not find me. I hope they’re on their way back.”
“I’m sure they are, and don’t worry about coming back to work right away; you need to rest up and be reunited with your family. I want you focused after all!”
“Of course; thank you!”
“No problem; I will see you soon. Bye.”
After Marcus had finished the conversation, there was a knock on his door. He was about to ask who it was, but then the voice gave it away.
“Oh Marcus, I know you’re in there!”
Phil.
Marcus didn’t answer, but this was one wolf he did not want near him.
“Come on, I heard you talking on the phone! Open up, I just want to talk, and apologize for how horrible I’ve been to you.”
“Why should I believe you? You fooled me once before!”
“I know, I know, and I don’t blame you for being mad. But if you would just let me talk for a few minutes...I feel really bad for everything.”
“Fine, talk to me through the door, but I’m not letting you in. You should be in jail for what you did.”
“Yes, I understand. I just...I just wanted to say I was sorry. I hated you because I’ve had a crush on Diane since high school, but she was taken to you. Yeah...that’s horribly petty of me; I was jealous, and instead of just sucking it up, I framed you for murder.”
All Marcus could do was shake his head. “How...disgusting that you would do that, but at least you’re being honest about it.”
“Disgusting doesn’t begin to describe it.” Phil affirmed.
“Yeah, I was being nice. Okay...I accept your apology...but I still don’t want to see you at least for a very, very long time. You put me through so much trouble, and you slandered my reputation over nothing! If you really want to start by making things right again, you will go back to where you wanted to kill me, and when all the people are gathered there who wanted to see my execution, tell them the truth. If anyone finds me and kills me in the future because of what you’ve done, then my blood will be on your hands forever. You’ve basically ruined the rest of my life.”
“Of course, I have no problem telling everyone the truth, but you will need to come with me if you want to make sure I actually do that.”
Marcus sighed; he had a point.
“Alright...when is everyone going to be there””
“Four days.”
“Okay...I will go, but I will bring others with me. Don’t mistake my company as trust.”
“I totally get it. Or instead, how about you just meet me down there so you don’t have to worry about it.”
“That sounds better.”
“Alright, I’ll see you there.”
“Yeah.”
Even now, Marcus was skeptical. Phil sounded sincere, but he also sounded sincere when he promised he was going to stick up for him. He really wanted to believe Phil, hoping that he really was changed, but his anger still clouded his mind.
”I wonder...maybe I should just go out there real quick and let him know I forgive him. It’ll pain me to even look at his face again, but if I’m going to start being someone who takes God’s grace seriously, then I should do the difficult, but right thing. Who knows...perhaps Phil may actually be sincere and repentant.”
He let out a sigh, and then opened his door to leave and look for Phil. To his surprise, Phil was still in the hallway, his back turned towards Marcus.
“Phil?”
Just then, a sharp, shrill voice filled the hallway.
“Freeze! Paws behind your head!”
Marcus turned to see a half-dozen police officers running down the hallway. Not knowing what this was about, he did as he was told, but soon realized they wanted Phil, as he was the one who darted the other way.
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And left a bag behind.
They hurried past Marcus; three of them stopped at the bag to inspect it, the other three pursued Phil. He wanted to ask what was going on, but figured that question was going to be answered soon anyways.
“Gasoline, matches, lighter, this guy wanted to burn the place down.”
Marcus was only semi-shocked; Phil was never sincere. He was going to torch this place and kill dozens and dozens of innocents just to kill him. He must have known Marcus wasn’t going to leave his home, so he came prepared.
Outside, Phil had tried to fight off the other authorities, but it was a losing battle. Some of the other officers had arrived on the scene as reinforcements; one of them being the red fox that promised Ronald and Cecilia she’d find their dad. While she never found him, she found the children miles outside of town with the two women. They told her that Marcus was probably back at his apartment, so she drove them back. Right now, the four of them were hiding inside a police car while Phil was being apprehended.
Marcus was thankful that Phil wasn’t going to be a threat to him nor anyone else any longer, though now he couldn’t fess up to all the others he lied to. Marcus may still not be completely safe.
After giving a little report to police about all that Phil had said and done before the arrest, he told them how Phil promised a crowd of people that he’d correct a lie he propagated about him. Marcus obviously wanted him to do that before anything else, and they told him they could arrange that. That brought up the question of whether he wanted to press charges against him for slander, defamation of character, kidnapping, and putting his life in danger.
Marcus thought the idea tantalizing; Phil deserved to be punished by the law, to the fullest extent. He asked how long he’d be put away for his attempted arson, and while no definitive answer could be given, it would likely be about three years. If he added the other charges, then that could go up to twenty years. This would mean Phil would stay in prison till his mid-forties.
”And Phil would deserve every year of that, locked away. He’d no longer be able to put anyone’s life in danger I’d also get a bit of revenge on him...”
After having thought about it for a few minutes, Marcus told them he wasn’t going to press charges. As much as he knew Phil deserved to suffer for his crimes, he didn’t want to play a part in taking away his chance to turn things around and start a new life, and even a family of his own. He still believed Phil could change for the better.
“You sure about this?”
“Yes.” He confirmed. “What he did was reprehensible, but God’s grace is for him too.”
In four day’s time, Phil was brought back to the area where he had planned the execution, and was forced to tell the truth to everyone woh had gathered. He was quickly escorted away once he was done, as the angry mob quickly turned on him.
Later on, as Phil was sentenced, he was shocked to receive only three years for attempted arson, and a restraining order about not being allowed within a thousand feet of Marcus for two years after his release.
“Wow, that’s it? I mean, I’m not complaining, or anything.”
“It could’ve been at least twenty.” The judge, an owl, replied. “Marcus chose not to press charges against you.”
“...What? Really?”
“Yes, and while it is not my place to question or evaluate his reasoning, it would behoove you to take that opportunity to reflect on your life’s decisions. It seems like he wanted to give you the chance to turn over a new leaf and enjoy the rest of your life. I wouldn’t have been so nice.”
Phil was stunned; grateful that Marcus chose to have mercy on him, but was also horribly ashamed. He expected him to exact as much revenge as possible, and instead was given favor. He didn’t quite know how to handle this...
- - - - - -
Marcus turned to go back to his apartment, expecting his sister and this other mystery wolf to arrive soon with Ronald and Cecilia. Not a second after closing his door did he hear their familiar voices.
“Dad!”
He threw the door open in a heartbeat, and there they were, his two beloved children. He had never seen them this happy.
“My awesome kiddos! Come here!” He swooped them up in his arms and hugged them. “I’m so happy to see you both again!” He laughed.
“Daddy, there’s someone else who’s here to see you!” Cecilia exclaimed.
“Do I get to take a guess first?”
“You can have three.” Ronald replied.
“Off the top of my head...is it my sister, Angelica?”
As if on cue, she revealed herself from behind the hallway corner.
“Someone must have spoiled the surprise!” She approached him.
“You can thank Harold for that.” He smiled; the two hugging each other tightly.
“So, my robot dude, I hear you have quite a story to tell me.”
“The past two weeks...they’ve been interesting, to say the least. But before I do that, I hear there was another wolf with you?”
“Indeed there was! I take it Harold didn’t pick up on her name?”
“No, but I gave a feeling you know what it is!”
“Well...I’ll give you three guesses,” she smirked, playing Ronald’s little game. “bet you won’t get it.”
“I always like a challenge. Let’s see...is it mom? I know the other wolf was also a female.”
“Good guess, but no. Our parents are coming up here; they’ll be here in a couple days. You have two guesses.”
“Hm...is it...cousin Molly?”
Angelica shook her head. “Nope! Told you it would be tricky.”
He eyed Ronald and Cecilia, and it was obvious by their grinning that they were hiding a big secret.
“Hint?” He asked them.
“No hints!” Ronald laughed.
“Is it..........our old babysitter? I have no clue.”
“Incorrect, but that’s alright, I knew there was no way you were going to guess it.”
“Well, you got me! So who is this enigma of a wolf that I have a feeling I should know, but don’t?”
“Ah, you know her very, very well. In fact, if you go out to your balcony and look down, you’ll see her. She’s been waiting to see you for a while now.”
“Huh...I’ve never been more mystified...” he walked back into his apartment; the others following him. He opened the door to the balcony; nobody saying a word.
”Okay, this better be worth the suspense...”
And then he saw her.
“Marcus...” Diane looked up at him from the grass. “Your eyes aren’t lying...it’s really me...”
“No...” he uttered just above a whisper. His mouth was ajar; the only movement on his face was the tears starting to come out.
“Well? You’re going to come down to meet me, right?” She laughed, also starting to cry.
As if he had to be told twice. He bolted out of his apartment, nearly barreling Angelica over. He couldn’t leap down the stairs quickly enough, nearly tripping over himself a dozen times. He raced outside and sprinted across the grass, as though Diane were about to vanish once again.
“DIANE!”
He nearly bowled her over as well, just stopping himself in time to pull her into the biggest embrace he could muster. She returned his affection and warmth; their hug brought them back to the days before all horror broke loose in their lives. Her familiar touch brought him back to the time when they still lived in that forest, and the time when the two had discussed wanting to be married and start a whole new journey together someday as husband and wife. Marcus thought those days were long gone, until now.
Those dreams can still come true.
“H-how?! Th-that fire!”
“Before that blast...I decided to go out for a walk, because you were taking a while...so when...it happened, I was safe...”
What odds; Marcus’ decision to stop and buy an engagement band saved her life, and possibly his as well.
“Un...believable...” He finally let go so he could speak more clearly. “Thank God...Wow, I don’t know what else I can say...this is the best day of my life.” He wiped another tear away.
“Mine too...” she smiled, “but I think we both know there will be even better days ahead of us.” She put her paw over his.
Marcus then became scared. “Uh, I-I’m not ready for this...”
Diane cocked her head, worried. “Not ready for what?”
“For...what I was planning to do after I had come back home that day. I may as well confess why I was taking so long...I was....I was getting an engagement band...”
Diane tried to act surprised, but ever since Ronald spilled the beans on Marcus’ desire to marry her, she couldn’t feign the shock.
“Y-you knew, didn’t you.”
“I figured that was it.” She smiled. “But now you’re not ready? If it’s because you only have an apartment, I’m sure we can manage.”
“No, it’s not that; it’s that I don’t have the engagement band anymore. Popping the question without one of those would be so awkward.”
She let out a hearty laugh. “In light of everything, that would be the tamest thing! I’ll take awkward over terrifying.”
“I can’t exactly disagree with that.” He also laughed. “So...” He cleared his throat. “Here goes...Diane, do you want to marry me?” He held his paw out, as though offering the band to her.
“YES. A THOUSAND TIMES, YES.” She then lifted her foreleg so Marcus could pretend to slip the band on. Afterwards, they embraced each other again, except now the others came out of hiding and hugged them too.
“Angelica, Ronald, Cecilia...thank you for this surprise...I couldn’t have thought of anyone better to be waiting outside my balcony.”
“We knew you would love our surprise.” Angelica said.
“So...how did you know that I thought Diane was no longer alive? Did one of the squirrels tell you?”
“Ronald did; neither me nor Diane knew you had thought that. Otherwise we wouldn’t have been able to stage our little surprise.”
“Yeah, and I also told her that you wanted to marry her someday.” Ronald added, thinking that was the right thing to do.
“Oh...you told her?” Marcus suddenly didn’t seem quite so happy now.
“Yeah...why?” He started to look worried, like he was going to be grounded.
Diane laughed. “Poor kid doesn’t the protocol yet.”
“When a guy plans to ask a girl to marry him, he usually wants that to be a secret until he tells her himself.” Marcus enlightened him. “That way it’s a surprise.”
“Oh...” The child blushed with embarrassment. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know!”
“Don’t worry about it.” He grinned and patted his head affectionately. “In the long tun, it doesn’t really matter. The point is that she’s here, and she said yes.”
On top of the unconventional proposal and lack of surprise (and engagement band), the two tied the knot a month later, after more of their family made it up to Paradise Valley. The ceremony was small and not terribly ornate, as they cared more about getting their life started together quickly than spending months planning an elaborate event. The two were content with this arrangement, not being ones who cared much for flair to begin with. After being officially married, they moved in together in the valley’s main city, where most of the industry was. There were jobs there that favored their passion and expertise
It was a dream come true.
- - - - - -
Fifteen Months After the Wedding
It was early winter in the valley, and some light snow was starting to fall. Marcus worked at a job that involved designing and building assistive technology for handicapped humans and animals. He was gone for much of the week, but was home Saturday and Sunday. With his higher-paying job, he was able to provide for his family a lot better. Diane took a job teaching an evening robotics class every Saturday at a community college. The two were busy, but very happy with their lives.
And it was about to get even better (and stressful) for them.
Diane was going to have triplets very soon.
Despite already raising two children, this addition seemed much weightier. The number was bigger, and the children were going to be biologically connected to them.
“Goodness, I’ve been so used to squirrels that I forgot we’re supposed to raise pups too.” Marcus said to her, semi-serious, and semi-facetious.
“It’s okay, we’ll tell Ronald and Cecilia to move out before they’re born.” She kissed him on the cheek.
“Hey!” Cecilia complained.
“Okay, but you have to give us a million dollars so we can get started on our own.” Ronald retorted.
“Nah, you don’t need it, there’s plenty of nature for you to get used to again.” She replied.
“Your mother’s being mean; don’t listen to her,” Marcus stepped in, “I’ll give you both fifty dollars because I’m nice. You’ll be able to buy some high-quality cardboard boxes with it.”
“Are you serious?” Cecilia asked, unable to detect sarcasm yet.
“Of course not, we love you two very much; we’re just playing.” Diane stroked her back.
Ronald enjoyed being able to joke around like this with his parents; the ones at the orphanage weren’t fun.
“So Ronald, did you do your homework yet?” His dad asked him.
“Oh, not yet.”
“Alright, do it after dinner then.”
“Fine. I’ll need your help with it though.”
“What is it?”
“I have to interview my mom or dad about what they do at their job.”
“Sure, I can help, but did you also think about asking mom?”
“I have my class tonight, remember?” She reminded her husband.
“Oh duh, it’s Saturday. Sure, we’ll do it after dinner.”
“Thanks.”
So after Ronald had finished his meal, Marcus was still cooking his own, so he was going to have to wait.
”Okay, I’ll watch some cartoons then. It’s not even due till Monday anyways.”
So on the television went; Ronald flicked in the number of his favorite cartoon channel and watched whatever they had going.
Right now, it was about some good ol’ cowboys trying to hunt down the bad villain dude who apparently was on a spree of tying helpless women to railroad tracks and robbing banks with nothing but a gun and giant bag. Clichéd, but Ronald didn’t care.
“Now this here is our good for nuttin’ swindlin’ lyin’ thief!”
And he slapped a poster onto the wall
A WANTED poster.
“This feller’s name is Peg-Leg Larry. This is one mean dude; they say he got his peg leg from a bear fight once. It tore his leg clean off, but he got his revenge an’ tore his head off!”
”They say? Do you have any proof?” Ronald thought, starting to not enjoy this episode.
“Oh my goodness!” A lady exclaimed with much melodrama. “How fierce! And look at those evil eyes, and dark expression!” She referred to the face on the poster.
The image was of a man with a rough black bear, cold, slanted eyes, a typical “bad guy” mustache, a scowl that evidenced missing teeth, and furrowed eyebrows. Of course, with an image like that, he had to be the bad guy.
This wasn’t very different from how Marcus was portrayed over a year ago. Ronald remembered the poster; the image seared into his mind.
The slanted, soulless eyes.
The fierce scowl
The protruding, exaggerated fangs.
The intimidating jaws.
All it took was an image to make someone into the bad guy. On the show, the heroes just went out and hunted for this villain, and all they had to base their hunt on was the poster.
”So that’s it? How do you know he’s doing bad things? How do you know he’s a criminal? You go after someone and call them a villain when you don’t have any proof?”
Ronald shut off the television, too depressed to continue watching. Despite this saga having taken place over a year ago, it didn’t take much to elicit memories of the pain and slander. The way his dad looked on that poster was nothing like the real deal. Marcus was a kind, affectionate, and caring father who loved his wife and kids, and would do anything for them, even putting his own life in danger, if needed.
“Alright, I am ready.” His dad stepped in, but was concerned to see him with a sad face. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing...I was just thinking about some bad things.”
“Like what?” He sat beside him. “You can tell me.”
“I was just remembering that terrible WANTED poster of you, and what a big lie it was.”
“I see, but why is that on your mind? That’s old news now.”
“I know, but I just watched a cartoon that had it, and they were just assuming he was the bad guy because his face was on a poster. There was no evidence or anything, and they didn’t tell us his side of the story.”
Marcus nodded. “It’s just a silly cartoon though.”
“Yeah, but it reminded me of what you went through. People wanted to kill you because of it.”
“But that part’s over; I’ve even told Phil that I’ve put it behind myself. I want you to try to do the same.”
“I wish it was easy for me; I didn’t tell you before, but when I first saw the poster myself, I thought you could’ve been a bad guy...I acted the same way. A thought came to my mind to show it to someone and tell them I knew who you were...I almost,” he sniffled, “I almost ruined your life too.”
“Ronald, buddy,” he patted his head, “what’s done is done. I forgive you for anything bad you wanted to do for me, and you know God forgives you too. You just weren’t sure at the time if you could trust me or not, please, let it go. You’re my son, and I love you. I will never hold that against you, and neither will your mother. Now..how about we get started on that assignment?”
They did the assignment together, and Ronald’s mind was soon taken off of his troubles. Diane came home later than usual that night and had a let dinner. At that point, only Marcus was up; the other two were in bed.
“Stop somewhere after class?” He asked her.
“Yeah, got some extra food, including this delicious salmon.”
“Ah, thank you!”
“It’s not for you, silly,” she hit him playfully on the shoulder, “I’m eating for me plus three.”
“Lucky pups. Of course, I am partially to blame. To think, all that fish could’ve just been ours instead.” He joked.
“We both have fifty percent of the blame for their existence. When they grow up, they’ll have to owe us for everything we gave them; that’s family. You’ll get your fair share of salmon when you’re sixty.”
She put the fish away and went to bed, Marcus following. They kissed each other good night, and Diane fell asleep first.
”THREE pups, and all at the same time! I still can't believe it! It sounds like a blessing and a nightmare at the same time. What’ll we name them? Are they all going to be boys? Girls? A mixed bag? (Neither inquired of their pups' genders the whole term; they wanted to be surprised) I don’t know how stressed Diane must be feeling, but I know it’s making me anxious. Heck, I’m afraid I won’t even be able to tell them apart!”
He imagined three congruent pups, all whining and crying at the same time for their food. He imagined Diane telling him to tend to David while she tended to Johnny, and not being able to discern which boy was which. He imagined her being able to tell the difference by the pitch of their crying, or nuances in fur color.
”Marcus, come on! David is the one who’s whimpering pitch is A-flat, and Johnny’s is A-natural! You should know this by now; we’ve had them for a week!”
Marcus fantasized about them being born already Ronald and Cecilia’s ages; it’d be so much easier for him.
”Okay, okay, that won’t happen, but how about this; one is a boy, one is a girl, and the third has a completely different color of fur...or has two heads. That’d make it easier...on second thought, maybe not two heads.”
He put his paw over her stomach; though unable to detect them yet, he knew they were there, and he loved them already. He drifted to sleep, resting his paw on them as though to protect them.
- - - - - -
The following month, three healthy pups were delivered to Diane and Marcus; two were girls, and the other a boy. The girls’ names were Janet and Claudia, and the boy’s was Xavier. This was one of the happiest days in their life, aside from that day when they found each other after Diane was thought dead, or the day they got married. The pups were so small and delicate that their mother wanted to hold onto all three at once. She was only forced to forfeit them when she had to sleep from all the labor. However, Marcus was free to hold them, though he did just one at a time; they were still a little slippery, and he didn’t want to drop one.
“Look at you,” He said softly to Claudia as she stared up at him with dark, blue eyes, “you’re more beautiful than I imagined...and so small...”
Her head was only as big as his paw; he was astounded that a being so minute and delicate could be so complex and full of life. He also had a hard time imagining that this being would later grow up into an adult herself, along with her brother and sister.
“I want you to remain this adorable the rest of your life, okay? I’ll make you promise me when you start talking.”
He also held the other two, one at a time. Janet’s fur was the same color, but she had brown eyes. Xavier’s eyes were blue, like Claudia’s, but his fur was darker.
“I’d let you hold one of them.” He said to Ronald and Cecilia, except you’re not much bigger than they are.”
“Yeah, they’re going to hold us instead.” Ronald replied. “I can already see them carrying us around, especially Cecilia. She’ll be whining for Xavier to put her down, and he’ll be like, “nope!’”
“Yeah, I look forward to all the arguing and teasing.” Marcus smiled. “Thankfully you two have helped me practice for that.”
“Come on, we’re not THAT bad...I don’t pick on her now as much I did a year ago.”
“I suppose I should give you a cookie for that.” He joked.
Of course, Marcus knew that there would be lots of teasing in the future between the siblings, but they were all going to love each other, and he and Diane were going to lead by example.
”As all of those tiny, round eyes stared up at me, it made me think of an irony...I was once wanted for evil and wrongdoing...and as these little children look up at me with trusting eyes, it makes me realize I’m now wanted...for good. It’s certainly a nice change!”
Indeed, it was nice to be wanted for good, and of course, he did his best to make sure the others in his life felt wanted as well.
”And to think, all of this may not have happened had I never found Ronald and Cecilia in the mud that night...Funny how those things work out sometimes...”
THE END