Ander - Part 6: Subchapter 1
Chapter 6
Different Smiles
1
"So," Bethany said, eyeing her eldest daughter from across the breakfast table.
"Mmf?" Kiana inquired through a mouthful of eggs and toast, her second helping of the morning. All her blatant shenanigans must have built up quite an appetite.
"Are you going to go on one of your little 'visits' today?"
She swallowed, opened her mouth to answer, but then grabbed a big glass of water and slowly started to chug the whole thing, not even stopping to come up for air.
Bethany crossed her arms and waited. She could wait all day if she had to. Unbeknownst to her foolish daughter, both the front and back doors were securely locked, so unless she wanted to dive out the window like some hooligan, she'd have no choice but to give up some answers.
Kiana finally downed the last bit of water and clunked the glass down on the table. "Aaaah, that hit the spot. What were you saying, Mother?"
"I asked if you were planning to go see Ander today."
"Oh, of course I am. I visit him every day, you know that."
"_Everyone_knows that."
Kiana shrugged and shovelled another spoonful of egg into her mouth.
This girl... Gods give me strength...
Bethany took a slow, calming breath and counted to five in her head. Blowing up wouldn't solve anything.
Rufio was leaning back in his chair, puffing away on his pipe, and Layla had her nose buried in one of those trashy romance stories again. They thought she was just being a stick in the mud, a worry-wart, a spoilsport. They thought they knew what was going on, but they really had no idea. They didn't notice the way Kiana never simply stood around anymore. They didn't notice how she'd immediately sit down at dinnertime and excuse herself to her room the moment her plate was empty. They didn't notice how she was taking second, sometimes even third helpings at every meal. They didn't notice the way she crossed her legs and folded her hands in her lap. They didn't notice the heartburn that always had her clutching at her chest. They didn't see the way her clothes were starting to pull tight around her midriff when she moved. They didn't realize the simple act of walking up and down the stairs was tiring her out more than she was letting on. They didn't notice that she was using the facilities more frequently. They didn't know.
But she did. She knew all about Kiana's little secret, and she was disgusted by the way she was running from it. She had run from her problems when she was betrothed to Mateo, and now she was doing it again, only this was a problem she could never outrun. It would match her, step by step, until it finally overtook her, screaming and wailing and wetting the bedsheets.
"How are the eggs, dear? I made them just the way you like. Soft and runny. That is the way you like it, right? Not quite cooked all the way through so that the yellow_will _run when you cut into it?"
Kiana nodded, a piece of egg sticking to her chin. "Yes, Mother, thanks, these are really good."
"I'm glad, dear."
Bethany crossed her arms and watched her little strumpet of a daughter wolf down her breakfast, so eager to get back to the one that had knocked her up in the first place, and of course it had to be Ander. Who else could it possibly be? She wondered if the lad even knew. Probably not. He was pretty bright, and remarkably good at building things, but this was most certainly not his area of expertise. He probably wouldn't notice until Kiana came waddling up that hill like a summer-end goose, which wasn't even that far off. If she had to take a guess, the girl was at least seven weeks along, maybe more, and once you pass the nine week mark, you just blow right up like a prize-winning pumpkin.
Bethany counted to five again and looked down at her own plate, barely touched.
What was she going to do? She had consoled so many stupid young girls over the years, girls who had come to her in tears, not knowing how to get out of the mess they had gotten themselves into. One night of passion in the hayloft or out behind the barn or splashing around in the lake was all it took to change your life forever, and that was rightfully terrifying, but Bethany's advice had always been the same, every single time, and that advice was to go home, calm down, call your family together and simply tell them the truth. It would come out eventually, no matter how well you tried to hide it, but a little honesty can go a long way, and once that's taken care of, you can start to prepare properly. You need to learn how to take care of a child when it comes, and that's not something you can do by closing your eyes and pretending everything's fine, like Kiana was doing right now.
Bethany had always come out of those tear-streaked conversations feeling so wise and knowledgeable and (let's be perfectly frank here) superior. She had known for a fact that none of her daughters would ever be so stupid as to get themselves pregnant out of wedlock, and afterwards she'd always thank the gods that she wasn't in the shoes of those poor, poor parents.
Evidently the gods had a very childish sense of humour.
Kiana took another slice of toast, folded it in half, and scarfed the whole thing down in three quick bites.
Bethany didn't want to flat-out confront the girl, but if this dragged on any longer she wouldn't have any other choice. It would be better for Kiana to come to them on her own. That way she'd acknowledge that she was in trouble and that she needed the help of those older and wiser than her, even if she couldn't say it in words. But if Bethany suddenly swooped in like some witch, spouting accusations, she'd immediately go on the defensive, and that would only result in lots of angry shouting and door slamming.
Bethany poked at her eggs, but couldn't bring herself to take a bite. She had come so close to telling Rufio last night. Every time they lay together in bed and he wrapped his arms around her, it would be on the tip of her tongue to share her worries, just like they always shared everything, but she couldn't do it, not with this. Rufio was a wonderful Fox, but gods bless him, even after living under the same roof with three vixens for twenty-one years, he had no idea how to handle the female issues. He'd see it as a 'problem', something that needed to be 'fixed' right away, and more likely than not he'd go about fixing the problem in the same way he'd fix a crooked bit of metal: bang it with a hammer until it either straightened out or shot sparks everywhere and burned the house down.
No, it had to come from Kiana. Breaking down the door would only hurt everyone. She needed to open it herself. Maybe all she needed was a little prod...
Bethany put her fork down and cleared her throat. "Kiana?"
"Yush?" she said through a mouthful of bread.
"Are you feeling well? You seem to be eating more than usual."
Kiana chewed and swallowed. "I'm feeling great, Mother. Nothing to worry about. It's just that hill. Climbing up and down every day really makes me hungry."
"Are you sure?" Bethany pressed on. "I noticed you've been spending an awful lot of time in the bathroom. I hope you haven't caught a stomach bug somewhere."
Kiana's fork stopped half-way towards her mouth, her runny egg dripping yolk onto the plate. "No, I don't think so. You must be imagining things."
Layla's ears popped up from behind her book, closely followed by her eyes, peering over the pages. Always quick to notice any goings-on, she was. Rufio, on the other hand, was still tilting back in his chair, blowing smoke rings at the ceiling, completely oblivious.
"I am a healer, Kiana, and I must say, you look rather peaked. Have you been throwing up?"
"No, Mother. I haven't thrown up in years."
"Is that so? Lucky, lucky girl."
"Well this was a wonderful breakfast, Mother, but I have to get going. That hill seems to grow by the day, so -"
Bethany slapped her palm down on the table hard enough to make the plates rattle. "You can sit your fanny down in that chair, young lady, because you're not going anywhere today."
"What? Why?"
"Because I think you owe us all some quality family time. We hardly ever see you these days, and I'd like to have a nice, long chat. Very long. So long that -"
The legs of Rufio's chair banged against the floor, making them all jump. He stared at the window, his mouth hanging wide open. His pipe fell from his lips and spilled charred pipeweed all over the table.
"By the gods, Rufie, what are you doing!?"
Without taking his eyes from the window, he said: "Bethany, unlock the door and grab your black bag. There's big trouble coming."
It was the smouldering pipe more than the shocked look on his face that got her moving. Never in all their years together had Bethany ever, ever seen her husband spill even a single grain of ash from that pipe.
No sooner had she risen from the table than a series of house-shaking knocks came slamming into their front door.
"Bethany! Please open up!"
Kiana sat bolt-upright at the sound of that voice. "Ander?"
"Bethany, please!" He hammered against the door so hard it sounded like he wanted to break it down.
Bethany hurried to the door, turned the dead-bolt, and flung it wide, expecting to see some kind of emergency, yes, but nothing like this.
Ander was standing on the porch, absolutely frantic, cradling a bleeding Wolf in his arms, but that was far from all. There were even more Wolves standing right behind him, wild and feral-looking, covered in all kinds of battle-wounds. Neighbours were leaning over garden fences and spilling out onto the road, gawking and shouting at each other. Further down the line a vixen screamed, grabbed her goggling child and ran back into her house, slamming the door behind her. It was so reminiscent of the time those twins came barrelling down the road with Ander in that vegetable cart, his feet just about dragging along the ground, that Bethany experienced a queer sensation of time doubling back on her, as if all this had happened once before, only slightly different.
"Ander?" she said. "What on earth?"
"He's my brother!" Ander said, absolutely frantic. "Please help him!"
Bethany took one look at the little grey Wolf in Ander's arms, taking in the scratches on his face and the steady drip of blood pattering down from the small of his back, and everything else became inconsequential, no more than background noise to be filtered out by years of dedication and experience. Whatever calamity was going on could wait. Whatever the reason was for six strange Wolves to suddenly show up on her doorstep, it could wait. Right now she had a patient to take care of, and she would do so without fault, because it was her job.
She stood back. "Come inside, quickly. And bring your friends with you." Ander ducked through the door and went straight for the guest bedroom, the same room he had woken up in when he first came to Grovenglen. It was hard to believe that was only a few months ago. "Rufio, you take care of our guests while I see to the little one."
"Errr..." he said, his face falling as Wolf after Wolf piled in through their front door, each more menacing than the last. "Right, right. No problem. You go do what you need to do. I've got... um... everything well in hand. No worries."
She followed Ander and closed the door behind her. "Put him on the bed, facedown."
Ander followed her instruction to the letter, laying him down like a porcelain figurine. He stood back and ran a hand through his hair, practically hyperventilating.
This was going to be a problem. "Ander," Bethany said, checking to make sure all her tools were still neatly lined up on the bedside table, clean and ready to use. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave."
"What?"
"You're going to be a distraction, so leave."
He shook his head. "No, Bethany, you don't understand. This is my little brother, he's the only family I have left, I can't just -"
"That's exactly why you need to leave. I can't have you fretting all over the place. I need to work."
Rufio's voice, slightly muffled: "Show of hands, who'd like a spot of tea, hmm? Anybody? Oh! Miss Wolf? I don't think you should go in there, my wife is very -"
Something banged against the door and the knob started to jiggle and rattle furiously. After a moment's struggle, it swung open and the largest of the female Wolves barged in, looking like she was ready to belch smoke and flame. "How is he?"
"Oh for the love of all the gods!" Bethany exclaimed. "Will you two get out of here!? I need my space!"
The Wolfess bared her fangs. "It's my fault Hezzi's like this! He's my responsibility! I carried him through the mountain on my back without dropping him once, and I'll be damned if I drop him now!"
"There's nothing either of you can do for him! Just let me -"
Something tugged on her sleeve, and when she looked down, she saw the little Wolf staring up at her, his silvery eyes shining from between lines of dried blood. "Please let them stay," he begged. "I don't want to be alone..."
Bethany took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and counted to five. "Fine. But only if they promise to sit still and be perfectly quiet."
Ander sat down right there on the floor, since the chairs were too small, and pulled the Wolfess down with him, not making a single sound.
The little grey Wolf's grip was too weak and his hand fell away, dangling over the edge of the bed, but there was a small smile lingering in the corner of his mouth. "Thank you, Kai..." he whispered and closed his eyes.
Bethany took his hand and put it back on the bed, wondering where all those wounds had come from, what kind of life this little Wolf has lived, and what kinds of things those silver eyes have seen.
She unscrewed a bottle of rubbing alcohol and poured some over a rag.
Time to get to work.
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