So while Cecilia slept, Ronald decided to talk his thoughts over with Marcus. He didn’t want to pressure him to bend to his will, should Marcus have other plans, but at the same time...he really wanted to pressure Marcus into taking him and Cecilia in as his adopted children. He wasn’t sure he’d ever find another grown-up he could trust, and who cared about him and his sister like a parent would.
“Ronald, it looks like something is on your mind.” Marcus commented, seeing him stare out the window. “Something troubling you?”
“It’s, well, it’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot since yesterday. There’s a question I want to ask you, but I’m scared you might say no.”
“I mean, it still won’t hurt to ask me whatever’s on your mind. We’ve been like family for these past few days after all.”
“Family...that word has been on my mind a lot. Especially after how I saw you being so caring with Cecilia last night...it’s made me miss my own parents even more.”
Marcus knew where he was going with this, but let him keep talking.
“I miss having a mom and dad. Cecilia doesn’t really know what it’s like, but I still do. When you were making her feel better after her bad dream, it reminded me of when my own mom tried to make me feel better after I got hurt, or got scared.”
Marcus saw he was struggling to get to the question; still introducing it, but not saying it quite yet.
“You...want parents again, of course.”
“Yes, very much. And, uh, that takes me to my question. What I wanted to ask you is, well...seeing that we’ve been together for a while now, uh...”
“You want to ask me if I can be your dad.” He finished his thought.
With great hesitance, he slowly nodded.. “Yes...I’m sorry...I don’t know if you had different plans, but...it was on my mind, and...I really, really don’t want to live in an orphanage again...I want grown-ups that actually care about me and Cecilia.”
Marcus said nothing at first, as he was touched, as well as flattered, by this child’s plea.
“Well, my only plan right now are to get us all safely to Paradise Valley, but there’s always room for a family, and I am happy to provide you and Cecilia anything that you need, if I’m able. I would be happy to take both of you in with me when we get settled. Heck, we already feel like a family now, don’t we?”
Ronald ran up to him and hugged one of his forelegs (would’ve been a bigger hug had he been taller).
“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” He repeatedly exclaimed, filled up with gratitude and joy. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt this happy, if ever. The difference for Cecilia wouldn’t be as much, but this was a drastic change for the better in his case.
“You and Cecilia are most welcome!” Marcus picked the boy up into a hug. “I’m glad this is all working out for all of us!”
While their new dad was making breakfast for them, Ronald woke his sister up and promptly told her the good news.
“I can call him dad now?” She asked, as though she were expecting it to happen.
“Yep! He said he’ll be our dad now.”
Marcus heard them talking in the other room, and he started to daydream about what his life would be ike right now if Diane were still here.
”She would’ve also been for this decision; she would’ve cared about them just as much.”
But he didn’t stop at them; his daydreaming continued. He imagined what his life would’ve been like years from now. He still would’ve been creating machines with new technology, as would’ve Diane, but that wasn’t on the forefront of his mind. He pictured himself working on a project while being interrupted periodically by his son or daughter.
“Dad! He keeps pulling my tail! Can you tell him to stop?”
“Dad! She spilled water all over the floor and keeps saying I did it!”
He imagined himself and Diane winding down after a long day; taking nn evening walk together, watching something on TV together, playing a game with their children, or reading to them before going night-night. There was a chance he could still have that life.
Just not with Diane.
Maybe there was someone else out there who would want to spend her life with him, and vice versa, but Diane would always be in his heart.
”I’ll miss you always...I’ll always love you...” He rubbed his eyes as they became clouded with moisture.
Just then, Cecilia ran into the kitchen.
“Dad! He keeps pulling my tail! Can you tell him to stop?”
Marcus let out a laugh, appreciating the coincidence. “Ronald, don’t make me come in there.”
“Well she started it!” He barged in alongside her. “She pulled my tail first!”
“I did NOT!”
“You did TOO!”
“Kids,” Marcus stopped them, “your bickering is not solving anything. Now that I am officially Dad of this family, I hereby sentence you both to sit quietly at the table until wait for breakfast to be served. There will be no arguing or making physical contact with each other until further notice.”
“Fine.” Ronald sat down, and Cecilia sat across from him.
”Off to a good start with being a dad, I would say!” He thought to himself as the noisy kiddos were put to silence. Just then, he heard Cecilia laughing.
“Stop it!” She said to her brother.
Marcus looked back at him, but he was doing nothing.
“What?” He said defensively.
Marcus turned his attention back to making the pancakes, and Cecilia started laughing again.
“Dad, Ronald is making funny faces at me.”
“Make funny faces back at him.” He replied, preferring them to laughing more than fighting.
He turned his attention back to the food, and it wasn’t long before both of them were starting to laugh.
”Food’s almost done; I hope they don’t decide to suddenly start a food fight.”
“You keep making the same face.” Ronald said to his sister.
“So?”
“I heard if you do that, your face will be stuck like that forever. Even when you get really, really old, you will always look like that.”
“What?!”
Marcus turned to Cecilia and shook his head. “He’s wrong. Nice try Ronald; remember, I’m a younger sibling myself. I know your tricks, thanks to my sister.”
Ronald sighed, forgetting that Marcus was once a kid.
“Pancakes are ready; just need to finish the hash browns. Everything will be ready soon.”
The rain was still pouring out there; it was a perfect morning for a hot breakfast. The siblings eventually quieted down; their desire for food becoming forefront on their minds.
“Alright...here we are.” He served them their plates. “It’s still hot, so be careful.”
“Thank you.” Both siblings said; Cecilia about to dive in without any waiting.
“Wait,” Marcus warned her. “you’ll burn yourself! Wait a minute for it to cool down.”
“Oh.”
So after that long minute, both squirrels happily and hungrily partook of the warm food. Marcus was about to do the same when some convicting thoughts came into his mind.
”What am I doing? I’m their dad now, and I’m not even going to say Grace, or anything? As someone who’s supposed to be a believer, and an example, that’s disappointing!”
Though Marcus had been a Christian for eleven years, he usually didn’t take it too seriously. He prayed infrequently, usually when he was in deep trouble or was really, really sorry about something. He knew some of the basics in the Bible, like the gospel, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, but not much else. He wondered if now, of all times, he should give it greater priority.
“Kids, I think we should read a little after breakfast.” Marcus told them, remembering that there was a Bible in the drawer beside their bed, like something one would expect at a hotel. The irony, that this book was pretty much everywhere and yet he barely knew it.
“What are we reading?” Ronald asked.
“I’m going to read you both the Bible, and we’ll all learn a lot.”
“I don’t know what that is.” Ronald admitted. “What’s in it?”
“I’m embarrassed to say that...I don’t know too much in it myself.”
“Huh. Why do we have to know about it? Is it important?”
“It is; it’s the word of God, and that’s why I’m embarrassed that I barely know what’s in it.”
“God? Oh, is He supposed to be, like, some big, old person with a white beard who lives in the sky? I saw a cartoon once at the orphanage. He makes, like, a bunch of rules we have to follow and sees if we’re being good or bad, right? He sounds like Santa Clause.”
“Well, He’s not really like that.” Marcus at least knew that. “I just know that, if I’m going to take charge of you two, then I’ll need to know how to help you take care of your soul, not just your body. I know that a lot of the stuff in the Bible is supposed to help us learn how to live right, and I want to help you learn those things.”
“Oh, okay. What if you’re already good? Does it teach you to be better?”
That made Marcus remember an important detail; one that, perhaps, Ronald and Cecilia need to learn first.
“Actually, it says that no one is good; only Jesus is.”
“What?” Ronald was officially bewildered, but kind of intrigued. “But I think you’re good!”
“But compared to God? No way.”
While these were baby steps, they were baby steps in the right direction.
As the rain poured outside in its continuous rhythm, Marcus had the two sit on the bed while he read from the Good Book. He didn’t really know where the best place to start was; he knew that a lot of the “important stuff” was late into it, like the four gospels, and Romans.
“Think, Marcus, think! I’m their dad now, and I want to make sure they know what’s good and right, but where’s the most important place? Was it Matthew? Mark? Genesis?”
“”Hmm...if that book is about the rules God wants us to do, what is rule number one? Do you remember it?” Ronald asked him.
Marcus thought for a few more seconds before his light bulb clicked on. “.......Let’s start over here. Rule Number one is so important that if you don’t do it, then the other rules don’t matter.”
And with that, he turned to the table of contents, found Romans, and started there. He remembered that one brave student during high school who approached him at lunch one day and shared with him the gospel. What he remembered was that he started with that book. Marcus was in a state to receive it then, but today, he had become lackadaisical, as though going to heaven was just “good enough,” and not much more needed to be done. Those verses that were shared with him were still in his mind, but he had to sift through stacks of other memories to get to them. He had to get rid of the rust, if not for his sake, then for Ronald and Cecilia’s.
“Okay...ah, here it is...”
- - - - - -
So Marcus’ explanations went on for a good few hours. Ronald’s conception of God from the cartoons were constantly being questioned and confronted as Marcus read the scriptures and did his best to explain them.
“God sees everything?”
“He knows everything?”
“The good things we do don’t put us in heaven?”
“What is sin? I’ve never heard of that before.”
These were just some of the questions Ronald had for his dad. This God he was talking about seemed much more powerful, holy, and loving than the old guy with the white beard had in the cartoons. He was intrigued, as was Cecilia.
After all of that reading and learning, Marcus felt refreshed and empowered. He felt so bad for having put all of that on the back-burner for so long, but at the very least, he was able to turn things around and strengthen not only himself, but also his children.
”God, I would promise I will always try to make salvation a big deal for them, but I can’t trust myself to do that. Please help me not mess up so much and be the dad you want me to be for them. Amen.”
The little family wound up having a late lunch due to the study, but the kids had found it so interesting and different that they didn’t even notice. Marcus was hoping and praying it would make a difference in their lives.
Ronald and Cecilia sat at the table once more as Marcus made their lunches, but weren’t as rambunctious as this morning. No funny faces, no arguing, just quiet reflecting.
As Marcus was chopping some of the fresh celery provided them in the fridge, for the kids’ lunch, he looked out the window by chance and stopped immediately what he was doing. What he saw made him drop the knife to the cutting board.
“What’s wrong?” Ronald asked, but Marcus did not answer.
“It...it can’t be...” His mouth was ajar.
“It can’t be what?” His son persisted, but his words didn’t register in the wolf’s ears. Without a response, he dropped what he was doing and bolted out of the cabin.
“Wait! DAD!” Cecilia tried to run after him, but he was too fast. He ran out into the rain, not caring that he could slip and fall. He saw someone across the road who was worth running out into the rain for.
Diane.
He swore that he saw her; she walked right into this small market! He walked right in, his mind so preoccupied he didn’t waste time in wiping his feet on the mat.
“Sir! You’re getting water on our floor.”
“I’m sorry.” He backtracked. “Did you just see a wolf walk in here not even a minute ago?”
“Yeah, you.” The manager replied, irritated.
“No, before me. She’s about my age and size. Did you see her?”
“No, now are you going to buy something or not?”
“I’m not, but thanks for helping.” He answered and went back out into the cold, drenching rain. He looked in every direction; she couldn’t have gone far, right? He didn’t see her, but he didn’t give up hope yet.
“Diane! Are you out here? It’s me, Marcus!”
He attracted puzzled and startled looks from the few passersby on the road, but no answer, and no Diane. He began running down the road and looking into each and every building for her. With this being a very small town with few businesses, there wouldn’t have been many places for her to go.
Sadly, Marcus found her in none of them.
Ronald and Cecilia could only watch him from their window. They couldn’t hear him, but they could tell he was looking desperately for someone. They wanted to be a help, but that rain was still too strong, as was the river that it formed.
Marcus spent a good half-hour searching up and down the little town for Diane. He was becoming a nuisance to the various building inhabitants, but for this once, his desire to see Diane again outweighed their peace and quiet. By the time he had finally returned to the cabin, he appeared dejected.
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“Diane...I thought I saw her...but I was wrong.” He told them, wiping his eyes either from rain or tears (or both).
Ronald understood all too well, sometimes believing that he saw or heard his own parents, only to find out it was strong wishful thinking. “I’m sorry, dad. I wish she had been there, like you saw.”
“I guess my mind was bored and felt like playing a horrible joke on me. I guess this was bound to happen.” He shook his head. “Anyways, I’m sorry I did that and didn’t finish making your lunch. I’ll go finish it right now; you two must be very hungry by now.”
It was no problem for Ronald; he would’ve gladly gone hungry if it meant his dad could be reunited with Diane. For now, it was still just the two squirrel children in his life.
Which he at least didn’t mind, as he loved them too. This was still better than no family at all.
He finished making their salads, and let them start eating before preparing his own food. He would still look up to see if Diane would reappear, but she didn’t.
”Could’ve been another wolf, maybe. I’ll never know.”
Marcus prepared tuna for himself, though it didn’t need much preparing since it was raw. He thought that to be a nice advantage over the humans, who always had to cook everything properly to make sure it was safe to eat. His kind could eat just about anything without any sort of heating or seasoning. Ronald and Cecilia, who hadn’t seen him eat meat before, were unsettled at first.
“Are you bothered?” He asked them.
“Uh, um, I’m not...but I guess I kind of am. Sorry.”
“Well, I hope you didn’t forget that I am a wolf, and I have to eat meat of some kind if I want to keep living.”
“That’s true...”
“And this could also be a good learning experience for us. If we’re going to be a family, we’ll have to get used to each other, even when we do things that make the other feel uncomfortable.”
“I understand; I’m sorry.”
“Nah, there’s nothing to be sorry about. We grow and learn as a family; it’s good to bring these matters up.”
The rain finally stopped late-afternoon; too late for Marcus, Ronald, and Cecilia to resume their journey. Marcus reckoned that it would take eight or nine more hours of hiking to make it to Paradise Valley, which would mean they would be traveling a lot by night. He told them they would leave again in the morning.
“If it rains again tomorrow, maybe we can just ride in the sack?” Ronald suggested.
“That still wouldn’t be safe. The bag could fill up with water while you’re in it, and also, if that happens, it’d make the bag weaker. Especially with both of you in it, it wouldn’t last long. I am also keeping my bit of compensation money in there, which the rain would ruin. It’s better to just to go when it’s not raining.”
Ah yes, the money. This gave Marcus an idea.
“You two need some good footwear, not just for going out in the rain, but just I general.”
“What’s footwear?” Cecilia asked.
“Something to put on your feet so they won’t get hurt. Now that I have some money on hand, we can do a little shopping.”
So Marcus took them out to a small clothing store further down the road; letting them both ride on his back for now. It wasn’t that wet dirt was fatal to their little feet; he just wanted to make sure their feet were clean when they tried on the footwear.
The little store had a section for animal footwear, but just the smaller ones, like squirrels, cats, opossums, etcetera. When Ronald and Cecilia stepped inside, they stopped briefly and gazed at the whole array of merchandise about them. They had never set foot in a place like this before, as their caretakers always had that stuff delivered to the orphanage.
“Dad, does this place also have candy and food?” Cecilia asked, a gleam in her eyes.
“Or games?” Ronald asked.
“Settle down, you two.” Marcus smiled at their excitement. “Let’s get your footwear first and then we’ll see what else is here.”
The various kinds of footwear were custom-designed for the various animals.
“Raccoon...tabby cat...centipede...ah, here’s the section we’re looking for.” Marcus led the two children into the small isle meant for squirrels and other animals with similarly shaped feet. A human would’ve been tempted to just call these shoes, but the animals never did. These didn’t look anything like the shoes humans wore; these much smaller “shoes” were designed and crafted to accommodate for toe-flexibility, which was important for animals that had to use them to climb trees and such. For squirrels, there were little holes for their toes to poke out, but the rest of the foot would be protected.
“Try some on and see what you like.” Marcus would just stand there and watch over them while they hunted for footwear. This was new territory for the two squirrels, as they’ve never worn anything on their feet before.
“These feel funny.” Cecilia remarked as she put on some pink footwear and tried to walk in them. This would’ve looked odd to a human; it looked as though she were wearing matching shoes and gloves.
“You’ll get used to them the more you wear them. Those will help protect your feet.”
Meanwhile, Ronald picked out some blue ones. As he donned them upon his feet, he also felt the weird, but oddly comfortable sensation that Cecilia did. His feet felt a wee bit thicker and more padded, and when he walked around in them, he felt marginally taller. They also made his feet feel warmer, which would be perfect for the cold ground outside.
“I like these.” He finally commented after walking around in them.
“Good! Go get at least three more pairs of footwear so you’ll have extras. You too, Cecilia.” These pieces of footwear were inexpensive, as they were able to be made using only a little amount of material. Marcus could’ve bought fifty pairs for both of them, but there were other things to buy, of course.
As promised, he let them browse the place for anything more they might have liked. In his attempt to be fair, he gave them both the same limit on how much they could buy, stressing that he still needed to save his money until he got a job in Paradise Valley.
Ronald and Cecilia were predictable children, going for food and toys.
“You sure neither of you want any books?” He remembered how on their first day of traveling together, Cecilia didn’t know what letter “ground” started with. He knew it’d be in her best interest to start building phonological awareness, and start learning how to read as soon as possible. Even Ronald, who was probably further along, should still be reading.
Ronald, feeling a little guilty about only buying “fun” stuff, put a toy back on the shelf and went looking for a book that appealed to him. Meanwhile, Marcus picked out some picture books for Cecilia to dive into.
While in the store, Marcus received some quizzical looks from passersby, puzzled that there were two young squirrels with him, and not pups. He ignored them, letting it be their problem, not his.
He paid for everything at the front, and they were soon heading back to the cabin. Ronald and Cecilia were walking along in their new footwear, and the difference was very pronounced. They thanked him for buying all these items for them.
“I can barely feel the water on the ground anymore!” Ronald remarked, liking this new change. “My feet also feel warmer.”
“Perfect, now we’ll be ready to travel far and wide on any adventure that awaits us.”
It was evening when they got home, and the first thing they did was break into all their toys. Marcus was going to regulate their candy intake, allowing them just one piece each after dinner. Overall, it had been a very nice day; Ronald had gotten the kind of parent that he wanted, Cecilia now had a parental figure in her life, and Marcus adopted two children to love and care for. That day when the forest burned down seemed like ages ago.
As he was preparing dinner, he saw something outside that horrified him; he was about to gasp, but instead just pulled down the blinds. He didn’t want Ronald or Cecilia to see what it was. As both were distracted in the other room with their little toys, neither of them noticed.
”We’ll HAVE to leave early tomorrow, while it’s dark, even.”
During dinner, Marcus was unusually quiet, not talking very much unless Ronald or Cecilia asked him anything.
“Are you okay, dad?”
“Oh...yes. I’ve just been, you know, thinking a lot about our future. There’s going to be so much to do in Paradise Valley.”
Ronald wasn’t convinced he was being totally honest; Marcus seemed more nervous than he was happy. Was he scared about the future? Did he know some bad news he didn’t want him nor his sister to know about? He simply nodded and continued eating.
- - - - - -
At around eleven, Marcus and Cecilia were asleep, but Ronald was still wondering about his dad’s uncharacteristic quietness during dinner. He hoped he wasn’t hiding anything from them, not after having trusted him to the point of wanting to be his son. He then just noticed something very off about their room.
All the blinds were closed.
Last night, as well as at the other cabin, Marcus never closed them. Why close them now? Was there something outside he didn’t want his children to see? Did he somehow know that, perhaps, those two other wolves were nearby? This wasn’t all, though; he smelled something strong in the air.
“What is that? It smells like...poison?
He quietly snuck out of bed, and as he tried to find the source of the odor, his nose led him toward the door. He wondered what happened; did Marcus kill a bug that crept in here? Maybe, but it was coincidental that it was right in front of the doorway, much like that one rug Marcus had placed at the other cabin.
Ronald was starting to develop an attitude he hadn’t had for a couple days.
Skepticism.
Perhaps this was all nothing, but he couldn’t shake off the notion that Marcus was trying to keep something hidden, like he was trying to be incognito to someone trying to hunt him down.
He looked back at Marcus to make sure he was still sleeping, which he was. He climbed up to one of the windows, and ever so gingerly, he lifted up one of the slats.
Nothing.
He shifted his eyes this way and that to take in all he could, but nothing stood out as bizarre or conspicuous. Not giving up, he made for the other rooms one-by-one. To his bewilderment, all the blinds were closed in the other rooms too. Why? What was going on?
He then got to the kitchen. As he climbed atop the counter, he didn’t think he was going to see anything outside.
”I’m just being untrusting again! I hope dad doesn’t find out what I’m doing.”
He opened the slat, but rather than seeing nothing, he saw something.
Something he hoped not to see again.
The poster.
There is was, plastered on the light pole across the street! The word “WANTED” was declared straight along the top, and the alleged fiend right under it. Ronald could tell it was a wolf, but was it Marcus? It was hard to tell, with there being so little light outside.
Ronald’s little heart raced; he HAD to know who it was. If it wasn’t Marcus, then he could just write this off as a bad misunderstanding and never bring it up again. If it was Marcus...then he would have to take his sister by force and run away. It was very late, but he had to find out whose picture that was right now.
Before it was too late.
Leaving through the door was out of the question, but a window would be more feasible. He snuck back somewhere away from Marcus and Cecilia and spotted a window to escape from. He would open it as quietly as he could, and run out to the other side of the road. He had to do this with incredible alacrity, however, if Marcus woke up and found out Ronald wasn’t in the house, he’d surely find him outside and bring him back in.
With a lot of force, he got the window to open. He looked back to make sure it didn’t wake Marcus up, and when he judged that it was safe, he leapt down and made a break for the other side of the road. It wasn’t raining, but it was very cold. He regretted not using his footwear, but justified himself in thinking that would’ve used up precious seconds.
When he got to the other side, he climbed up the light pole and tried to snag the poster to look at it in privacy. He didn’t want to be caught out here by himself at this hour. He pulled at the poster with his teeth, and after a few tugs, got it to come loose. He then scurried down the pole and back to his cabin, the poster being hauled away by his mouth. He stood under a nearby light, and with shaking fingers and pounding heart, he lay it down flat on the ground. He beheld the face looking back up at him, and Ronald lost all words.
Marcus.
This was his dad’s face on this poster, staring back up into his eyes in black-and-white. He looked cold and heartless, contrary to the Marcus he knew.
Or the Marcus he thought he knew.
Printed below his image was the charge laid against him. Ronald’s eyes moved downward to those words, hoping it would say something like ,”This is Father of the Year,” but he doubted it.
”W-wanted...for...” He read slowly. The next word was difficult, as it had two r-controlled vowels in it. “M...mu....murd...”
He had no need of reading further, he knew what that was.
”MURDER?! Th-that can’t be! There must be a mistake! H-he’s my dad!”
Ronald began to cry, not knowing if he should just run and ensure his safety, or risk confronting his dad with this in hopes he could prove this was all a big lie. There were more words printed under the charge, but then a big shadow blanketed him and the poster.
“Ronald.” Marcus stood behind him. The squirrel’s blood ran cold; not knowing what was going to happen next. Perhaps he was going to die very soon at the paws of one who had deceived him this entire time.
Slowly, Ronald turned to look up at the one he called dad. He wore a slight scowl; it wasn’t malicious, but there was anger and disappointment. Even if Ronald wanted to run, there’d be no way he’d outrun him.
“Come inside, son, and bring that poster...it’s time that we talk.”
Ronald took up the poster without a word, and followed him in. It was anybody’s guess what he was about to find out.
And if he and Cecilia would make it out of the cabin alive.