Change (Kitsune)

by Melissa Stevens

  Devon opened the door and held it for me to enter, and then joined me while we waited to be seated. He set one hand lightly on the small of my back as we stood waiting for the hostess to get to us. I didn't think much of it, I know that the Kindred are used to a higher level of casual touching than the average human and since Devon was raised among the Kindred, I attributed the light touch to that. Besides, it felt nice.

  We were given a small table on one side of the sparsely populated room, apparently most of the cars in the parking lot were for the attached bar. We looked over the menus quickly and placed our orders with the same waitress who had waited on Gabriel and me a couple weeks earlier.

  "So, after a week, how do you like working with Dad?" I asked while we waited for meal.

  "It's good. It’ll take him a couple weeks to stop following me around and watching me do things or making sure I get it all done, but I don't mind. He's easy to work with and I like him. The work's hard, but that's what I was looking for. And I may see if you're mama wants to adopt me. When I'm early enough for breakfast she fusses and makes a big deal about making sure I get enough."

  "She misses having us kids at home to fuss over. She's become more involved in things outside the house, but it's just not the same. I think she's eager for more grandkids, some that she'll be able to keep during the day, or at least often. Brit stays home with hers, so Mom hasn't been able to do that."

  We talked about films we had seen and books we'd read while we ate our dinner and on the way home. I confirmed that I'd meet him at four the next day to go to the Jeffries before I left him at his door on my way to mine.

  Chapter 16

  After spending most of the night lying awake, thinking about it, I decided it was time to tell my parents. Since Bill had offered to help tell them, I called him to see when we could get it done. Now that I’d made up my mind I was eager to get it over with.

  I dialed Bill's phone and paced through the apartment while I listened to it ring.

  "Hello?" Came a voice I didn’t recognize over the line.

  "Bill?" I asked.

  "This is Gabriel, Bill's in the other room and asked me to answer the phone. He'll be right back."

  "Gabriel, it's Nickie. How've you been?"

  "Good. Been keeping busy, you?"

  "Good, I've gone back to work, and I've been spending time at the clinic."

  "Have you had time to run?" He asked.

  "Not in a while. I really need to find someone to go with, and go soon." I told him what Caden suggested earlier about not having shifted recently.

  "You busy this evening?"

  "Yeah, I'm going to the Jeffries' for dinner, why?"

  "I was thinking about going for a run and thought that since you needed to get out, you might like to go."

  "Sorry, I already have plans. Do you want to make it another night?" I offered.

  "When's good for you?"

  "I don't have any plans for Monday evening, how's that work for you?"

  "Monday's good, what time?

  "I get off at 5 and I'm usually home by 5:15"

  "So, how about I pick you up at 5:30? We'll grab some fast food on our way out."

  "Sounds great. I'll be ready."

  "Bill just came in, so I'll let you talk to him. I'll see you Monday." I heard him tell Bill it was me on the line and the rustle of the PCD being handed from one hand to another.

  "Nickie?" Bill's deep voice came over the line.

  "Yes. How are you doing?"

  "Good, you?"

  "Pretty good. I have a favor to ask of you."

  "What do you need?" He asked.

  "Help me tell my parents, please." I spit it out; afraid I would lose my nerve if I didn't.

  "Of course! When do you want to tell them?"

  "As soon as possible, if you don't mind."

  "I think it would probably be best to do it here, to have them and you over for dinner. Let me talk to Karen about when would be best and get back to you. I'm sure we can do it sometime this week, but I'm not sure exactly when will be best."

  "Sure, let me know and I'll be there."

  "Will do. And Nickie?"

  "Yes?"

  "Don't worry. It'll be fine."

  "I'll try, but it's hard."

  "I know, but try to trust me on this."

  "I'll try."

  "I'll call you with a day."

  "Thanks for this."

  "Think nothing of it. You're family, you know that."

  "Thank you."

  "Is that all you needed?"

  "Yes, Sir." I said, falling back on the manners my mother had drilled into us all as children.

  "Then I'll let you go. Call if you need anything."

  "Will do, Bye."

  "Bye."

  At four that afternoon I knocked on Devon's door. When it opened I felt a rush of moist air and picked up scents that told me he'd recently gotten out of the shower. Devon’s hair was still wet from the shower but he’d pulled it back into what I was starting to discover was his standard ponytail at the base of his neck. He was dressed in a navy blue polo shirt and a nice pair of pressed jeans, but his feet were bare.

  "You about ready?" I asked.

  "Just about. Come on in while I pull on my boots." He turned and disappeared into the bedroom. He soon reappeared with his boots and a pair of socks in his hands. I watched him sit down on the sofa and pull on one sock and boot, and then the other. He smoothed the leg of his jeans down over the tops of his boots and stood, flexing his feet into place in the well polished boots. "Now I'm ready. You driving or am I?"

  "I'll drive this time; I know where we're headed."

  "Fine by me," He said, motioning me toward the door. I opened the door and walked out, heading to the parking lot and my car. We made the short drive in companionable silence, and a few minutes later we pulled up in front of the Jeffries' home.

  It wasn’t until we got out of the car and headed for the door that I felt the vibrating tension from Devon, I looked over at him and he was smiling and appeared relaxed. I briefly wondered what could be bothering him, but the thought soon slipped my mind when the door in front of us opened and there was Alexis, smiling and excited.

  "There you are!" She all but bubbled. "Come on in, we've been out back on the patio and I heard your car pull up. Do you want something to drink?" She asked as she stepped back and gave us room to walk into the house.

  "What do you have?" Devon asked.

  "Water, tea, soda, beer." She said, leading us through the house.

  "I'll take a beer, if you don't mind," Devon replied.

  "I'm driving tonight, I better stick to soda," I said.

  "You can have beer if you want it, didn't anyone tell you?" She looked surprised when I shook my head, confused, "Our fast metabolisms process alcohol too quickly for it to intoxicate us. You'd have to drink, like a whole bottle of whiskey as quickly as you would a beer to be affected."

  "No, no one told me." I said, still unsure, "How about we do this, I'm planning on being here a couple hours at least. I'll have a beer now and we will consider more based on how that one affects me."

  "Sounds like good reasoning to me." Devon put in.

  "Not a bad idea at all." Hank said, entering the room.

  "Oh! I forgot! Hank, Alexis, this is Devon. Devon, this is Hank and Alexis, the pack's Lysandros and Harmonia."

  "Pleased to meet you both." Devon extended his hand to shake first Hank's hand, and then Alexis'.

  "It's nice to meet you too." Hank replied.

  "It's been a really long time, you look good." Alexis said.

  "You know him?" Hank asked Alexis.

  "My best friend growing up was Devon's older sister Amy. I used to see him a lot; though back then he was just that annoying little brother who would never leave us alone. Right Devon?"

  "It's true. The two of you went off to school before I started high school and you hadn't made it back yet when I left town." He said.

  "W
hy don't we go on out and sit down. I have dinner all ready to go on the grill, there's nothing left that we can't put together in the last few minutes. But it's still a little early to eat, so let's enjoy the nice evening."

  We followed her through the kitchen and out on to the back patio where there was a table and chairs arranged to one side. The guest house-turned-clinic sat on one side of the large yard, and on the other side of the patio sat a large brick grill with a large fire built in it, it smelled of mesquite smoke, which meant that it was probably what we would cook over once it burned down into coals.

  "So, Devon, you said you left town some time ago. What've you been up to since then?" Hank asked as we all sat down around the table.

  "I ran away and joined the Army, just like boys have been doing for centuries," He laughed, "I actually liked it too and had planned to make a career of it until my injury changed everything. Now I'm home, much to my mother's delight, and I'm working for Nickie's dad.

  "He needed someone to help him out of the farm, someone who could take over a lot of the heavy lifting." Devon explained about the deal he had worked out with Dad and how things were working out, and ended with the reasoning he had been telling everyone, "The benefit to me is that I have someone who understands if I need to take a few extra breaks or call it a day early when my leg acts up."

  "Does it do that often?" Alexis asked.

  "Not so much anymore, but sometimes, especially when I've put a lot of stress on it."

  "Sounds like a good deal for both of you." She replied.

  "I think so. And I think James is starting to think so too. He was a bit cautious at first, I think he expected me to do as little as I could get away with, because he's used to how a lot of kids work. But after a week I think he's realizing that that's not how I do things."

  "That's good, for both of you." Alexis said. "Do you have any long term plans?"

  "Not really. I like working for James and I'm still getting settled in here, getting reacquainted with old friends. That's pretty much the extent of my plans right now. I'll see how things go, what comes my way for a while before I make any decisions about the future."

  "Sounds like you have a good head on your shoulders." Hank said, "You seem a lot like your dad in that manner."

  "Yeah, I've been told that I'm a lot like my dad. It's a damned a shame that I didn't inherit the one trait that matters."

  That surprised me, it was the first time I’d heard him sound so bitter about his inability to shift and I'd never heard him talk about it like that. He'd always seemed so accepting of his not being able to shift. Suddenly I noticed that the tension I’d felt from him outside the front door was back, and quite a bit stronger.

  "What do you mean?" Hank seemed confused.

  "Surely you know that while I may be considered Kindred because of my family, I don't really belong. I don't shift."

  "Well, of course I know you aren't a shifter. But that doesn't mean you don't belong. Or that anything's wrong with you."

  "Why not? Everyone else thinks it does."

  "DEVON WILSON!" Alexis gasped, calling him by both names in surprise, "I do not! And I'm certain that much of the pack feel the same way I do."

  "I'm not so sure," Devon leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest.

  "Hang on a minute, everyone just calm down a moment. I think I know what's going on here." Hank was calm but confident.

  "What?" I was confused by the whole episode.

  "Devon, it's been what? Ten years since you left?" He asked.

  "About that."

  "And you were what? About eighteen when it was determined that couldn't shift? How much time was there between when you were told you would probably never shift and when you left? "

  "A few weeks maybe. I joined the Army as soon as the Anikitos gave me permission to leave and I left as soon as they could get me into Basic." He answered the questions grudgingly.

  "I've seen this before."

  "Really?" Devon asked, "You know someone else who can't shift?" He voice skeptical.

  "Yes, I do, Devon." Hank's said, still calm, "I have a sister who doesn't shift. When she was about eighteen it was determined that she would probably never shift, and she was very angry for a while. She felt as though everyone in the family and in the pack thought she was less than they were, and that they pitied her."

  "Well, don't they?" The resentment in Devon’s voice stunned me.

  "Well, maybe a little at first. The pity that is, but they didn't feel superior. It took a while for her to realize that yes, they felt sorry for her at first but that passed and they still treated her like they always had. She was still a member of the pack, and in most ways, an equal."

  "So, what are you trying to say? I'm being childish?" Devon snapped.

  "Not at all, I'm just trying to point out that you're operating on perceptions of people and feelings that are ten years old. Give your family and the rest of the pack a chance. I think you'll find that no one pities you or believes they are better than you. And more than that, you may find that many admire you for being able to make so much of your life despite the disappointment of not shifting."

  Beside me Devon took a deep breath and let it out slowly. I felt the tension draining out of his body.

  "All right, I see your point." Devon said carefully, "I'm sorry for the chip on my shoulder. I'm not sure what triggered such a reaction; I really have come to accept that I'll never shift."

  "I understand part of it. You had come to terms with it, I don't doubt that. You had built a life for yourself that wasn't affected by the fact that you don't shift. But then you were hurt and the Army discharged you and now you have come back here and you had it all thrust back in your face."

  "But I've been back for three weeks, two of that living with my parents. Why would it take this long and why now?"

  "Who knows, maybe seeing Alexis? From her reaction when the episode started, I'm sure used to torment you as a kid. Perhaps that was the straw that broke the camel's back and you just couldn't contain it anymore. Whatever caused it, it's over. Let's move on. I think we can still enjoy our evening."

  "I hope so." Devon said, hopefully, "I'm sorry about my behavior, Alexis, and I promise I'll do better."

  "Are you okay?" I asked.

  "I think I am now. I'm sorry, you didn't deserve that."

  "It's all right. It's kinda why I been reluctant to tell my family, I'm afraid I'll end up feeling like you have."

  "Let's enjoy our dinner here, let me process what Hank had to say. If you want, we can talk about that in a few days?"

  "I'll hold you to it." I smiled.

  "So, Devon, I haven't seen your sister in years, how's she doing?" Alexis asked, moving on and drawing us back into conversation.

  "Pretty good I guess. She married some guy from Texas and lives with his pack down there. They come for visits a couple times a year, but they haven't been back at the same time I have since before her kids were born."

  "She has kids?"

  "Three, all girls. From what I hear, they're all just as wild and untamed as she was."

  "Well if anyone deserves it she does, I can't tell you how much trouble I got into because she came up with some stunt for us to pull." Alexis laughed.

  "I don't doubt that, she was always getting into one kind of trouble or another. And what she didn't think of, you did." Alexis just laughed harder while he continued, "Though, I hear she has settled down a lot and that motherhood has done wonders for her."

  "And how about your brother? Jason isn't it?"

  "He went away to school and is somewhere in California working for some software company. I'm sure he's dating someone, because honestly? When has Jason not dated? But no one serious enough that that he'd tell mom about her, which means I've heard nothing about her."

  "Are you saying that the only information you have on your brother and sister is through your mom?" Alexis asked, exchanging looks with Hank who was just coming back from ten
ding the fire in the barbecue.

  "Nah, I talk to Amy some. Not all the time but I've talked to her since I moved back. Jason, well… We've never been close. I'm not sure I even have a number for him. But we've messaged each other a few times."

  He sounded so casual about not speaking to his brother, as if it was normal. Well, maybe for him it is, but I couldn’t imagine not speaking to my family like that, it would drive me crazy.

  "The grill's about ready do you want to get the steaks, Sweetheart?" Hank asked.

  "Sure. Nickie, will you come help me a minute?" Alexis asked. I stood and followed her into the kitchen. She pulled a platter of steaks out of the fridge along with a smaller tray of asparagus spears. She set both plates on the counter and started seasoning the steaks, she motioned toward a stack of potatoes on the counter "I've already washed those but can you stick them into the microwave, and get them started for me?"

  "Sure." I picked up the potatoes and did as she asked.

  "Let me take these out to Hank and I'll be right back." She carried both the plate with the steaks on it and the asparagus outside. When she came back in she asked, "How do you like your steak cooked?"

  "Rare to medium rare, if possible." I answered.

  She grabbed a platter and a tray full of condiments of the counter. "Can you carry that stack? Then all we have to come back in for is the potatoes."

  "No problem." I said, grabbing the stack of plates and flatware that had been sitting next to the tray she was now carrying and followed her out the door.

  As I carried the small stack of things out and set it on the table where we had been sitting, noticing as I approached the table that Devon seemed much more relaxed than he’d been when we went inside. I suspected that Hank had said something that made him more at ease, but not wanting to say anything that might cause the tension to return, I kept my mouth shut. I picked up my beer and drained the last of the cold liquid from the bottle.

  "Can I get you another one?" Alexis asked behind me, I turned, making sure she was speaking to me before I answered.

  "Thanks for the offer but I'd rather have a soda, if you don't mind."