by Bella Knight
“Will do,” said Wraith.
She went into the kitchen. Skuld had on yellow rubber gloves, and was rinsing dishes and putting them into the dishwasher. Wraith grabbed a bottle out of the bulging refrigerator, screwed off the top, and put it in the microwave for a minute. She peeked in the freezer. It was nearly empty. She texted Nantan for one of his minions to bring over frozen food for the family; gourmet meals if they could be found. She closed the freezer, opened the microwave just as it dinged, screwed on the nipple, tested the milk on her wrist, and wiped the milk off her wrist on a wet towel.
“You look pretty in yellow,” she said.
Skuld grinned. “You should see me in my gauntlets.” Wraith decided not to think about the gauntlets, and walked back into the room. She handed Roberto the bottle, and he fed Amelia, cooing at her.
Wraith filled up the basket, folded the jeans, and started on a second basket, this one of blankets and onesies.
“She’s actually eating,” Wraith said.
“Don’t jinx it,” said Roberto, smiling tiredly. “She’s going to spit up half, wait and see.”
“She looks a lot better,” said Wraith. “How old did the doctors say she is?”
“She was about four days old when you found her,” said Roberto. “We’ve made her birthday from that day.” He sang a little bit. Wraith smiled at him, and made her hands busy folding soft towels.
Skuld finished the dishes, turned on the dishwasher, left the pots to soak, and sent a text to Nantan to tell his minions to pick up another large, green, plastic, rolling trash can, and more recycling crates. She saw the trash schedule on the refrigerator door, nearly hidden by pictures of Amelia, and the trash wouldn’t be picked up for another day. She took out the trash in its white plastic bags, and took out a ton of recycling from bins under the sink. She finished the pots; the vinegar cooked to boiling in the microwave mixed with baking soda having done its work.
She then wiped everything down, and went after the refrigerator. She threw out some limp celery and rotted salad greens, and found some sprouted potatoes. She kept those for Nantan. She cleaned out the refrigerator, put everything back, then swept and mopped the floor.
By the time she was done, she received a text from Ajai. “Got the stuff.”
Skuld texted back. “Leave the large trash can and recycling in front of the garage.”
“And the food?” Ajai texted back.
Skuld realized that Wraith must have texted them, too. “Back door.” She texted the address.
Skuld slipped down the hall. She straightened up the bathroom, then received a text, “At back door.” She slid down the hall to the kitchen and opened the back door. Ajai went straight to the freezer and filled it up with gourmet chicken and pasta dishes, pizzas, and Mexican meals. Ajai handed Skuld a bill with the Wolfpack logo at the top.
“You need extra work?” she asked.
“Sure,” said Ajai. “We’ve got Ghost caught up, and she’s going to have the triplets soon. She’s ahead, so she can take two weeks off.”
“These people just adopted the drug-addicted baby in the other room. Wraith and I found her next to a dumpster by a 7-11.”
Agai cringed. “That’s horrible.”
“Her mother died in an alley two blocks away. So, this couple will adopt her. Anyway, Amelia was born drug-addicted, and needs constant soothing. The couple need to fill up the fridge and freezer, mostly freezer as they don’t have time to cook.” She snorted. “Or, take a shower, or even breathe. They need help with laundry, filling up the dishwasher, picking up, that kind of stuff. I suggest two hours a day three times a week, but that’s just an idea. Can you type up something, a contract, and include a price?”
“Sure,” said Ajai. “That poor little girl! The parents definitely need help.” She sat down at the kitchen table, and after some texts to Willow, had a contract typed up.
“Let’s talk to one of the daddies,” said Skuld.
Wraith helped Roberto by taking a diaper covered with spit up by replacing it with a clean one, and taking the dirty one to the wash.
“Hi, Ajai,” she said.
Roberto started. “Who is this?”
“This is a Wolfpack member. The Wolfpack do lots of things around town, and get money for college.”
“Hello,” said Ajai.
“We think they can help; come in, do dishes, laundry, fill up the freezer,” said Skuld.
“We delivered food tonight,” said Ajai.
“Well,” said Roberto, his eyes filling with tears. “That would be…” He wiped tears from his eyes. “That would be fantastic.”
Ajai held out her tablet. “I made up a contract for two hours, three times a week.” She quoted a price.
“Done,” said Roberto. He stood, fished his wallet out of his pocket, and sat back down. “Use the blue credit card, and put it on automatic deposit.”
He handed the wallet to Wraith. Wraith found the blue card, and handed it over. Ajai entered the card number and code, and pulled a card pay machine out that she attached to the tablet out of her pocket.
“This is for tonight,” she said, showing the total. She went over to him, gave him the total, and had him sign on the screen. She then put in the weekly charge, ran the card again, and he signed the contract. “I’ll email and snail mail you the printed receipt and contract,” she said. “What’s your email?” He rattled it off.
Roberto looked down. “She’s asleep!” he whispered. They all waved goodbye, and went out.
Skuld opened the garage door, brought in the second trash can, filled it up, filled up the new recycling bins, closed the garage door, went back in, washed her hands, and went out the front door, closing it behind her. She jiggled the handle to be sure it had locked automatically.
She put on her driving gloves, and she said, “Sonic?” The other two women nodded, and Skuld led the way.
Willow and Ajai each took their English (Willow picked debate, Ajai picked short story writing), Math (both of them took math related to programming), Computer Science, and an elective (Willow chose Songwriting, Ajai chose Pre-Columbian Art). In between, they joked that they were always on a bike. They worked for Ghost pouring for her molds, even painting some of the parts for her. Ghost assembled her miniature Harleys herself, until Willow and Ajai pleaded with her to learn how to put them together.
Their mommy-help business took off. The other Wolfpack members who wanted to do it joined, of course, but Ajai and Willow did most of it. They would bring in food and put it in the freezer, then run around putting dishes in the dishwasher, soak the pots in a hot vinegar/baking soda mix, and sort and start the laundry. Then a ten-minute break to snack and watch part of a video or read something for class, then running around picking up things. They started charging for, and bringing in… hooks, trays, and bins they labeled for toys, keys, and other necessities that parents tended to accumulate.
They had a two-hour limit, and twice or three times a week. Ivy and Callie were their second clients, twice a week, and Katya and Gregory their third.
“Got the babushkas out, finally,” said Gregory. “They are on a cruise, so this isn’t a long-term thing.”
“That’s fine,” said Ajai. “If you can recommend us, that’s good enough.”
They found out the social worker, Gertie (that they met at Roberto, Georges, and Amelia’s house) also made copies of their cards and passed them out to overwhelmed parents. She also became a client, as she had four kids, two adopted.
Other parents loved their work, and booked them four hours a day, solid. Yoki, Lena, Elu, and Jacy paired up and did the overflow, and they loved the money. Each pair of girls made enough money to make large payments on their bikes or, in Yoki’s case, a car. Tito rehabbed a small, six-apartment building in a pretty good neighborhood near the community college, and the girls moved out in pairs as they passed their GEDs and reached their eighteenth birthdays. Yanaba and Gwen both got tech jobs part-time at a small gaming company, and also
went to school. They moved into Tito’s apartment house. Helaku shared an apartment with Ruby, and both of them became Tito’s people, working as apprentices.
Jacy chafed at being left behind; Chayton gave him math lessons to help him push through to pass his GED. Alo waited until Jacy passed his GED, as he had already done it, and moved in with him. Yas and Alicia passed their GED, and both decided to stay and work with Inola and Jeffrey, and take college classes online. They moved into separate upstairs apartments, on either side of Jeffrey over the barn.
Henry, Numa, Nantan, and Chayton took a trip to Arizona with two vans —Nantan’s and Henry’s new one, to the Grand Canyon to pick up a new Wolfpack. This time, they were a mix of Paiute, Sioux, Apache, and two Hopi. They greeted them in English and their languages, they took them for hamburgers and shakes, and got to know them.
Ahote, the Hopi girl, had a wiggling foot and restless eyes, and she was whippet-thin. Chua, the Hopi boy, looked at everyone warily. Enapay spoke fluent Sioux and spoke slowly, but intelligently. He kept his hair in a silver clip, like Nantan. Jacy didn’t speak a word of Sioux and glared at everyone. Kohana spoke some Sioux, and said he was ready to ride some horses. Bly spoke good Apache; she was tall and moved gracefully. Cocheta spoke only a few words of Apache. She was shy, with a moon face and huge eyes. Nova and Talulah were both Paiute. They were sisters, with wide-set eyes and ready smiles. Neither one of them knew much Paiute. Howi and Wesa were brothers, and they spoke fluent Paiute. They looked nothing alike; Howi was wide, strong, and moved slowly. Wesa was thin and moved slowly until he saw something he wanted, like a drink or the chair he liked, then he moved lightning quick.
Yuma spoke both Apache and Sioux. “My mom is Sioux and my mother Apache,” he said. He was all bones and angles. Ilia spoke almost no Apache. She had a fierce gaze and a ready smile.
After lunch, they got sodas and snacks, and their charged tablets. They fell on the tablets like wolves. Henry got them all on Google Docs, gave them a chore list, and split them up into the two vans. They hashed out a chore list, including texting one another about who did what. Then, they were allowed to study for their GED. Every twenty-five minutes their tablets buzzed at them to stop, and they took drink and snack breaks, with the occasional stop at a rest stop.
After the dinner stop at a pancake house, Nantan and Chayton’s band fell asleep —they had the boys —and Henry and Numa’s girls not only kept working, but rushed out of the van when they stopped to do their assigned chores. The boys did theirs grudgingly, and they went off to explore the pods. The boys were asleep in minutes, and the girls went to the big house to ask for microwave popcorn and sodas. Vi gave them both, and even showed them how to make a version with tiny bits of caramel and chocolate chips. They ran off to watch their favorite TV shows on Netflix —Henry figured it was cheaper than paying for cable television.
The next days were full of chores, riding, and homework. Tam and Nico were mystified by all the comings and goings, even after Henry, Nantan, and Chayton explained how the ranch and the Wolfpack worked. But, they found new soccer partners in Howi and Wesa, and they studied with the Wolfpack every day, as usual.
Pavel and Keiran came home for winter break with six dogs. They trained and walked them, and took them to busy places to get them acclimatized to being around people. They also played video games, slept, and ate Lily and Ace out of house and home. Lily escaped to coffee shops to do her work, and to visit either Katya, or Callie and Ivy, and the babies, and Ace escaped to Dirty Vegas.
Ivy decided they needed to bring in money, so she went back to work twice a week, after Skuld showed her kickboxing to firm herself up after the baby. She got to sing, dance, pour alcohol, and drink large amounts of cinnamon-laced apple juice. She was in heaven. Callie waited longer, as she was trying to finish off the pre-winter break school things, and close out two classes. Bao was in the same bind with finishing off her American teaching credential, so they studied at very early hours of the morning. They were all delighted when the babies began sleeping through the night.
Gregory and Katya invited Lily, Ace, Callie, Ivy, and the kids over for a Christmas celebration almost a week before the day. They brought Bao along; it was her first American Christmas. Gregory put on carols, wore a silly moose sweater, and entertained the girls; the boys played video games with Ace and kicked his butt, while consuming large amounts of cookies.
Lily passed the babies to Ace, Bao, and eventually back to Callie, Ivy, and Katya. Katya exclaimed over Aiden and Kiya, and gave them little outfits.
“Luka and Ivan wear their clothes for one minute, they spit up or pee on them, I wash them, and they grow out of them,” complained Katya.
Callie laughed. “Sometimes they wear clothes for ten entire minutes without peeing, pooping, or spitting up on them.” Kiya spat up, and everyone laughed.
Dinner was a rich potato soup, rolls, butter, herbed chicken, and salad. The boys ate like wolves, asked to be excused, put their dishes in the sink, and went back to their Wii sports game, where they played various sports with a white controller in their hands. The girls demanded to play, so they all jumped around.
“Sugar high,” said Ace.
“May as well let them jump it off,” said Gregory. The adults passed around babies, fed them, and got them to sleep.
They all exchanged presents. Keiran and Pavel got video game website cards so they could play for free —no game consoles were allowed on campus at their school. Elena got a soccer jersey, shoes, shin splints, and two balls.
“She’s trying out in the spring,” said Gregory, proudly. “Her first team sport.”
Hu and Grace each got beading project sets. They immediately escaped to a table in the corner of the room and began reading the directions.
Bao got a certificate for Chinese medicine. She cried. “I so wanted to go, but the girls…”
Callie said, “They’re our girls, too.”
“They’re all our girls,” said Ace.
“They already have a very nice college fund,” said Ivy. “Started it the first day Hu started coming over.” Bao burst into tears, and Callie had to explain that she was crying because she was happy.
Ivy and Callie got a free couples massage. They jumped up and down as if they had won the lottery. Katya got a spa day. Gregory and Ace both got noise-canceling headphones. They both laughed until they cried.
The babushkas arrived, and brought delicious desserts, tiny cakes and pies.
“Any alcohol in these?” Gregory asked.
“No!” one said.
“Of course not!” said another.
“We know there are nursing moms and children. Do you think us monsters?” Gregory assured them he didn’t think they were monsters. They punished him by serving him last.
They watched the Grinch steal Christmas, and the miracle happened on 34th Street once again. The babies snoozed, and Ivy and Callie very quietly left with the sleeping babes. Bao stayed; she had brought her own car. She popped movie theater butter popcorn, handed out sodas, and was entranced by It’s a Wonderful Life. The babushkas went home in a cloud of perfume, with scarves trailing behind them.
Ace removed the boys, and kissed his wife. “It is a wonderful life, isn’t it?” he said, opening the door to their car for her.
“Yes,” said Lily, and she burst into tears.
Ace held her tight, trying to keep her warm in the frigid wind. “It’s okay, honey,” he said.
“I know,” said Lily. “I’m so happy we’re all alive.”
“And that Katya has our bun in her oven.”
“That too. I feel guilty for making her go through it, since I’m pregnant, too.”
Ace wiped the tears from her eyes. “We get two. That’s a heck of a lot.”
She smiled through her tears. “Twins.”
“Fraternal twins, but yes. One of them will probably come out speaking Russian.”
She laughed. “Probably!” she said.
The boys took the
dogs on their walks, several for each teen, small dogs first, then the big ones so they could really run with them. Ace sent his wife in for a shower, and then he prepared the bedroom. He lit candles, put on some jazz, locked the bedroom door, and prepared a special present for her. He took off his clothes, threw them in the hamper, and slipped into the shower with her.
“I love you,” he said. “With everything I have, or was, or ever will be.”
She turned, and he realized she had been crying. “I lost our child,” she said, and threw herself against him. He held her as she cried. “This one, the two, they don’t make up for losing the one.”
“No,” said Ace, “they don’t.” He rubbed her back as she sobbed. Once the tears stopped, he washed her face, kissed her, and quickly washed his hair and himself. He stepped out of the shower, and drew a hot bath in the tub. He added bubbles, turned off the shower, and walked her to the bath. She slipped in. He carefully washed her hair and conditioned it, then washed her all over with a pouf. Then, he opened the door so she could hear the soft music. He brought in some of the candles, and gave her a book to read.
He dried himself off, kissed her, left her to relax, and blew out the bedroom candles. He put on a robe, and sat on the edge of the bed. He so regretted the loss. Most of all, Ace regretted not being there. He had been shot, in a haze of pain, as the same ones who shot him came to the hospital and shot at Lily and Ivy.
Only a ricochet had entered Lily’s belly and murdered their child. He wished them alive so he could kill them again, but the shooter died. He cried his own tears, wiped his face, and checked on his wife.
“Still good?” he said. The book was on the bathroom rug by the bath, and she was asleep.
He put the book on the counter, sat on the commode, and waited until the water was getting chilly before he woke her up. He drained the tub and wrapped her in a soft robe. He blow-dried her hair as she put lotions and potions on herself. He took the candles back into the bedroom.
He led her into the bedroom. “Oh!” she said. “You had a whole seduction scene planned, and I ruined it.”
