Fox Fate

by Robin Roseau

"Yes!" I pulled my little bag away. "But I'll buy you more."

  "Why do you like being a were?" Angel asked, watching as I waved my last beignet around.

  "Because I can eat these and not get fat," I explained before stuffing the last one in my mouth. "Want more?" I rudely mumbled around the warm, sugary, doughy goodness.

  I had treated everyone, and looking around me, I saw a lot of satisfied smiles and quickly emptying little bags.

  "Serena," I called out, then nodded my head back towards Café du Monde. I got two steps before I was surrounded by enforcers.

  "Another bag each?" I asked. They came three to a bag. I could probably have ordered a box or something, but it was more fun to pass out the bags to everyone.

  "Five more bags will be enough," Serena said.

  It didn't take long to fill the order, and I passed them out. We reconnected with Lara and the others; she had a glass of lemonade for me, purchased from a rolling cart vendor. I had never acquired a taste for coffee, and orange juice would have just been too much sweetness on top of the beignets. I traded the last bag of beignets for the lemonade.

  I was dressed in another of my strapless maxi dresses, but this time I'd slipped my ankle sheaths in place. Elisabeth had made an early appearance in our room before Lara and I were even out of bed, although we'd been awake. She was carrying the dress and a pair of flats.

  "Did you bring my entire wardrobe?" I asked.

  "No," she said. "Just these two." She paused, studying my reaction. Lara was practically holding her breath, although I hadn't seen any daggers shooting from her eyes and into her sister.

  "It's the end of October," I pointed out.

  "It's already a nice day," she countered. She waved the dress lightly, and I nodded acquiescence. She hung the dress on a hook and assured us everyone would be ready to go when we came downstairs. As soon as the door closed behind her, I rolled over to my mate.

  "Did she make this wager for you?"

  "Michaela, I rather you didn't ask," Lara replied.

  I narrowed my eyes. She turned to face me.

  "Would you be in trouble if I knew the truth."

  "No."

  "But you don't want me wondering about this."

  "No."

  "All right," I agreed.

  And so I dropped the question, and I wore the dress without complaint.

  It wasn't all bad. Lara was finding opportunities to brush my bare shoulders with her fingers, and she'd had her fingers in my hair a few times, too. I had to admit, I enjoyed the attention from my mate. Lara was usually attentive to me, but it was clear she appreciated how I was dressed.

  I eyed one of Lara's beignets, wondering if I wanted one more bite. Lara caught me watching, so she picked one up with her fingers and presented it for me. I looked at it for a moment, then looked up at her. "I thought about it, but no, thank you. I've had enough for one Little Fox."

  Everyone finished her beignets. I laughed when Serena handed out wet wipes, a mother prepared for any situation. A moment later, as a group we turned, heading across the street to Jackson Square.

  It was still early, but the artists had already staked out their places around the square. We broke into three smaller groups, Lara and I walking together, holding hands, with Elisabeth, Karen, and Serena hovering near us. Portia, Angel and Eric took up less obtrusive positions nearby, keeping an eye on us, but giving us a little distance.

  We looked through the art. There was a lot I didn't care for, but a few of the artists and photographers had some very good work. I tried to find something for Celeste and Rebecca, but nothing struck my fancy. I did find a stunning photograph of an alligator, but I decided I didn't have anywhere to put it, and it didn't fit the decor of our house, either.

  At the edge of the square, a crowd was forming, but it was early, and traffic was still light. There was a street performer, a woman, dressed in a pure white Victorian dress and wearing a long, white wig and white face paint. She was moving in jerky steps, and I realized she was a marionette. I tugged Lara in that direction, and we found a place to watch, Lara standing behind me with her hands on my shoulders.

  The performer was good. Somehow she was making mechanical sounds like a wind up doll might, timed with her motions. She moved around slowly, curtseying to the audience here and there. She came to a stop before Lara and me and curtsied. I returned her curtsey and smiled. She stepped closer, jerkily lifting one hand to run stiff fingers through my hair, then caressed my cheek with her fingers before stepping back, still making small mechanical noises.

  She worked the crowd a little more, doing a little mechanical dance and stopping by the children now and then. She knelt down until she was eye to eye with one of the children.

  Then, when she tried to stand back up, she "broke", suffering a simulated mechanical failure. She tried to jerk upright, making a bad sound of clashing gears, and slumped. Three times she tried, and someone from the crowd said, "Oh no!"

  The little girl looked up at her mother. "Mommy, is she broken?"

  "Only for a moment, honey," the girl's mother said. "I'm sure she just needs a reboot."

  The performer mildly broke character for an instant, smiling, then her face returned to wood, but she reached out with a finger and gently tapped the little girl's nose. Then, in fits and starts, she slowly stood back up, and the crowd applauded.

  It was a simple performance, perhaps, but I found the woman mesmerizing. Sadly, I wasn't sure how long wolf attention spans would last. I dug into my purse and found some money, stepping forward to feed the woman's hat, placed upside down in the center of the area where she was performing. I was generous. She had made me smile.

  When I turned around to retrace my steps, the performer was there. Mechanically, she lowered her hands to the skirt of her dress, lifting it as she dropped into a curtsey in front of me. She got "stuck" like that again, but jerkily worked her way back to a standing position, and I smiled in appreciation.

  I thought she'd move out of my way, but she stepped closer, fingered my hair again, then held up her hands, inviting me to dance with her. I glanced over at Lara and, beside her, Serena. Lara was watching me, but Serena was watching everyone else.

  I stepped into the woman's embrace but whispered into her ear, "My bodyguards are the very tall women immediately behind you. Don't dance me too far from them or they might freak out." In response, she squeezed my hand twice.

  And then, the next moment, she led me in a waltz. Somehow she managed to dance while maintaining the mechanical nature of her movements, and I was suitably impressed.

  "You're very good," I whispered.

  We went around twice more, not straying from our place, then she spun me out, and I found myself landing right in Lara's arms. I looked up at her for a moment, then turned around and curtsied to the performer. She curtsied back, and then she moved on.

  * * * *

  We had a lovely day. I wasn't the only one who wanted to go shopping. I didn't think there would be a lot we couldn't have found in Madison, but something about shopping in a city like New Orleans made it special.

  We actually hit Lush first. Discounting Joanne and Anika, I was the only one who knew what it was. The wolves' noses began to curl before we even made it to the shop, and they all balked. Elisabeth brought our entire group to a stop.

  "Michaela," she whined. My sister-in-law, the head enforcer in the pack, and the second scariest person I knew, whined. She whined! I stared at her.

  "What?" I finally asked.

  "We can't go in there," she said, gesturing with her curled nose.

  "Why not?"

  She and Lara moved closer, and Lara said very quietly, "The scents are overpowering, even out here. Our noses will be worthless for hours."

  "Breathe through your mouths," I suggested.

  "It's bad out here," Elisabeth said. "Why do you want to go there?"

  "They have amazing soaps," I said. "And bubble bath. Massage oils." I eyed the shop. "I'll stay in sight
."

  "I don't see the cash registers," Elisabeth observed.

  "Anika can help me," I suggested. I looked at Elisabeth hopefully. She and Serena conferred with a glance.

  "Angel," Serena said. "Stay with Michaela."

  I caught Angel's expression, her nose curled reflexively, but she nodded and stepped up to my side. I called for Anika, and the three of us entered the shop.

  Once inside, I cocked my head, listening. There were six heartbeats; from the sounds, I thought each was human. I could see five people, all women, all clearly human. Three appeared to be sales clerks; the other two were shoppers. The clerks were young, as was one of the other shoppers. The other was perhaps in her fifties.

  I cocked my head, identifying each heartbeat with the owner. One person was missing, and I used my ears to trace the owner's location. She was somewhere in the back of the store.

  "Six heartbeats," I said. I cocked my head the other way. "The extra heartbeat doesn't sound like a wolf, but it's muffled. I think she's in back."

  Angel nodded.

  "How bad are the smells?" I asked her.

  "Overwhelming," she said. "If I tell you we're leaving, hand everything to Anika and we're leaving."

  "All right. Let's start with the massage oils." I grabbed a shopping basket, looked around, and headed towards the right.

  "Michaela, Lara isn't going to like smelling any of this on you."

  "Have no fear," I replied.

  The staff gave us a minute or two before a clerk approached. She was perhaps upper teens, not long out of high school. She was dressed inexpensively, with heavy makeup: a teenage girl's attempt to look sophisticated. Pinned to her chest was a nametag. "Julie."

  "Are you finding what you need?" she asked. She went into a short spiel about their products.

  "We like the quality of your products," I said, interrupting her, "but my spouse is allergic to strong scents. Do you have any unscented oils?"

  "Of course," the girl replied. She showed us how to identify the unscented choices. "My aunt doesn't care for perfume, either," she said.

  Julie helped us with my choices. I spent a great deal of money, much to Angel's consternation.

  "Please, Michaela," she whispered to me at one point.

  "Just a few more minutes, Angel. I'll make it up to you."

  Finally, I was satisfied. I handed Anika the cash clutch from my purse. "Get an extra bag," I whispered to her. Then I let Angel pull me from the store. We made it to the sidewalk, and she began sneezing.

  Immediately Portia and Serena were at my side, taking me from Angel, and they led us further away from the front of the store, Angel sneezing the entire time. Her eyes started watering, and I felt very guilty for subjecting her to that.

  Anika rejoined us long before Angel had herself under control. Serena provided tissues for the distraught wolf.

  No one rushed her. I covered my guilt by digging through the bags Anika carried. I found the spare shopping bag and moved several items into it. I moved everything else into a couple of GreEN shopping bags I kept in my purse. Lara took them from me, earning herself a few points.

  Finally, Angel's sneezes ended, although her eyes were red and puffy. "Head Enforcer, I am unfit for duty."

  "You're off duty for now," Elisabeth said. "Stick to Michaela. You'll be fine in an hour or two."

  "Angel, I'm sorry," I said.

  "It's okay, Michaela," she replied. "It's just a little sneezing and a clogged nose."

  "A cup of hot tea will help," Violet said.

  "These are for you and Scarlett," I said, holding out the bag I had separated. "I hope you like them."

  She took the bag with a weak smile, but then she took my arm. I hoped she would be fine.

  * * * *

  Two shops later, I pulled Elisabeth to the side. "I shouldn't have insisted on visiting that store."

  She frowned. "This falls under the category of the enforcers making a small sacrifice to give you as normal a life as we can, Michaela."

  "That's easy for you to say," I said with a glance at Angel. "You're not the one still rubbing her eyes. She's acting like it's worse than cayenne pepper."

  "In a way, it is," Elisabeth replied. "Pepper is sharper, but you can sneeze it away. She was breathing those scents for nearly fifteen minutes. They filled both her nose and her lungs, and it's also embedded in her clothes. Have you noticed Lara is giving you a little distance?"

  I could still smell the faint scents from the store, but I thought it smelled nice.

  "It's in my hair, isn't it?"

  "Yep. It's fading, but you'll both need showers when we get back."

  I nodded. "You haven't made me try anything on today."

  "I am biding my time," she replied. "Don't worry."

  I laughed.

  * * * *

  Lara was very generous with the shopping trip, and the occupants from her plane enjoyed themselves immensely.

  I bought a new jacket for Angel. She protested, but I told her it was practically made for her, and Scarlett was going to like seeing her in it.

  I didn't pick any clothes for myself; Elisabeth did it for me. She started with six or seven different choices for me to try, and so I invited her to the dressing room with me. Two of the dresses were ridiculous -- I was sure she got them from the Young Misses section. I eyed them dubiously before looking at my sister-in-law, raising an eyebrow.

  She looked away, and I thought she was embarrassed. "Please," was all she said.

  "Are you going to make me show everyone else?" I asked.

  "No," she said in a quiet voice.

  I pulled the first one on, and she did the zipper for me. Then I did a slow circle for her, catching her smiling as she looked at me. "I once tried on a dress like this."

  "How old were you?"

  "I don't know. Maybe eleven. I looked ridiculous."

  "Well, I look ridiculous, too."

  "But you wouldn't have at eleven."

  I looked at myself in the mirror. "No, I suppose I wouldn't have. Did you end up buying it?"

  "I wanted it," she said. "In spite of how bad I looked."

  "What stopped you?"

  "Mom wouldn't pay for it. I sulked for two days."

  I didn't say anything further, but I did a slow pirouette to let her see, stopping to face her. She watched as I turned, but then she looked away to stare at the wall again.

  "What's going on, Elisabeth?"

  "You would have looked really cute in that."

  "I look really cute in everything," I said with a grin. She glanced at me, offering a brief smirk of her own.

  "Take that off," she said. While I undressed, she moved the other outfit to the discard hook, and once I was standing in my undies, she asked, "Will you try the others?"

  "Of course." One by one, I tried the other outfits. Elisabeth and I both vetoed one of her choices; it clashed terribly with my hair. But I said little about the others. She spent most of the time smiling while watching me, but I could sense nervousness, as well, and her heart rate was elevated.

  I went back and forth, deciding whether to say something, but finally I called her on it. "Do I make the big, strong enforcer nervous?"

  "Of course not," she denied.

  "And yet your heart is pounding."

  She turned away again, not responding.

  "What's going on, Elisabeth? Are you going to make me buy one of those?" I gestured to the first dress she'd made me try.

  "No."

  "Are you afraid I'm going to get mad if you make me buy one or two of these?"

  "No."

  "Then what gives?"

  "I-" she broke off. "If I asked you to pick one, would you?"

  "Nope. But I won't fuss. I will fuss, however, if you don't tell me what's wrong."

  "Zoe told me she'd let me dress her this way, if I wanted."

  "Regrets?" I asked her.

  "No. We weren't right for each other."

  I moved around, inserting m
yself between her and the wall. She tried looking over my head, but I can be hard to ignore. "Tell me."

  She tried to look away again, but finally she looked down at me. "I shouldn't have made this wager, and I shouldn't hold you to it."

  "But you don't want to let me out of it, do you?"

  "I-" Again she tried to turn away, but I reached up and pulled her back to face me. She let me get away with it.

  "The truth, Elisabeth."

  "I'm living vicariously through my sister and her mate."

  I studied her. "Do you like dressing me?"

  "Yes." It was almost a whisper.

  "The same way you would enjoy dressing your own mate?"

  "Yes." It came out a little strangled.

  "Good." I leaned up and kissed her cheek. I think I surprised her with it. "You do a lot for me, Elisabeth. I'm touched and pleased you enjoy my company."

  "But-"

  I set my fingers across her lips, and she stilled. "Which ones are we getting today?"

  Together, we picked two. I ended up with another off-the-shoulder maxi dress, this time in violet. Elisabeth was definitely showing a preference. But I admitted: I looked good. She picked an ivory shawl to go with it. The other was a little black dress. I looked stunning.

  If I may say so myself.

  * * * *

  It was a busy day. We made it back to the house in the late afternoon. Angel headed for an immediate shower, and shortly after, the rest of us disappeared into our respective rooms to get ready for the evening.

  I had nothing to do with the costumes for Violet, James and Hanna, but I'd worked with a pack seamstress to have custom costumes made for Lara, the enforcers, and, of course, myself. I let my sense of humor come through.

  I dressed my mate to look like a ghost, all in off-white top hat and tails. She had a white brocade vest, coat, slacks, and white shoes. There were gloves and a scarf along with a wig of long, dusty-white hair.

  I had never seen Lara in long hair before, and I thought it looked good on her. From her expression during her fitting, she was bemused by my choice.

  She looked quite nummy.

  I dressed Serena and Karen as two more ghosts. They were both in off-white, hooded gowns that appeared to be shredded, and they had a steel chain around their waists with a long end I expected them to hold and, to really get into the spirit, so to speak, to clank.