Family Tails

A Story of a Mixed Family in the Genetic Age

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Names of actual businesses, their products, etc, are the property of their respective owners.

Story and characters © 2013 Ronald J. Lebeck

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Chapter 7

Around 5:00 p.m. Katie, the woman who worked the front counter on the repair side of the shop, saw something that looked like trouble. She picked up the phone and punched the intercom button for the shop.

"Ron, pick up, please."

Ron was in the back helping one of the techs with an unusually stubborn problem when he heard the intercom. He excused himself, went to the wall and picked up the phone, and punched the button for the front desk.

"What's up, Katie?" he asked.

"Ron, you remember that Reverend Blackburn? He just walked in and he bee-lined it to the wolf lady. Looks like you'd better get up here, quick," she said.

He heard the concern in Katie's voice, and he knew all too well about this particular hard-line preacher.

The Reverend Blackburn has a reputation for being a "hellfire-and-brimstone" preacher, and for his extreme, outspoken views on several topics. He and his little so-called church have been known to harass military families, native Alaskans, gays, minorities, single unwed mothers, and just about anyone else they don't approve of. Ever since the story broke in the media about the G.E.L.F.s, he and his small band of followers have been even more vocal, to the point of being arrested for attempting to incite a riot. The fact that he walked in and had seen Lupina sitting by herself just wasn't going to be good.

As Ron rushed up to the front, he pulled out his cell phone and pressed the speed dial button for one of his friends in the Sherriff's Department. When he heard the connection go through and a voice started talking on the other end, Ron interrupted.

"Dale...Ron. Blackburn just walked in the shop and he's going after a G.E.L.F. woman. Better haul ass over here because there's gonna be trouble!" he said firmly.

"Gotcha, on the way," Dale said and quickly hung up.

"Go_away!_ Leave me alone!" Lupina nearly snarled as she backed further into the booth she was sitting at.

"Begone from this world, ye Hell-spawned abomination! You will burn forever in the pits of Hell! You will...," he was shouting just as Ron approached quickly.

" HEY!!!" Ron yelled even louder--the look of wild fury clearly on his face. " BACK OFF!!! NOW!!!"

Ron forced his way between Lupina and the Reverend Blackburn. Glaring intensely at the shorter man, he gave a throaty growl that surprised everyone.

In a quieter, dangerous sounding manner, Ron said, "Leave...her...alone."

"That_abomination_ needs to be cleansed from the world!" Blackburn exclaimed. Right then, he pulled out a large metal cross, and holding it up, he tried to lunge past Ron as if to strike Lupina with it. He never got the chance. As soon as Ron felt the cold metal hit his cheek, that was all that it took for his military training, conditioning, and programming to automatically kick in. In that instant, the Reverend Blackburn made the mistake of becoming a threat, and with ruthless efficiency, was instantly dealt with. Ron grabbed Blackburn's arm at the wrist and pulling it forward, twisted it, and broke the preacher's arm by slamming his own forearm near the elbow into the back of Blackburn's elbow. Continuing the forward motion, he shoved the man downward in such a way that it dislocated Blackburn's shoulder, tore ligaments, and rammed his face into the table with force. Quickly lifting a bit and spinning to the right, Ron tossed Blackburn to the floor with his broken arm bent behind his back and Ron's knee jammed hard into the area of his right kidney. Blackburn moaned just before losing consciousness from the pain.

Lupina looked in shock at what she just witnessed--she had never before seen first hand what somebody with military training was capable of doing, or how quickly. The fact that he came to the rescue greatly pleased her, though the fierceness of it was surprising, especially given his normal calm, gentle demeanor. Lupina saw a trickle of blood running slowly down his left cheek, which caused her to be alarmed. Before she could reach for him, though, flashing blue and red lights appeared in the front windows, distracting her. Shortly two Sherriff's deputies came in, one older and one younger. The younger of the two had his hand on his holstered sidearm, but the older more experienced deputy quickly sized up the situation. Dale circled around so that he would come from a direction where Ron could easily see him. Being a military veteran himself, he understood the situation all too well.

"Ron...hey guy, take it easy, everything's cool. You can stand down now, I've got him, you hear me?" Dale said in a calm and reassuring voice.

Slowly Ron nodded his head, and he eased his grip. The younger deputy started to come up behind Ron, but Dale quickly held up his hand to indicate that he should stay put. Ron turned his head just enough to see the other deputy out of the corner of his eye.

"Ron? Do you hear me? Let us take him from you, okay guy?" Dale asked calmly.

He shifted his eyes back to Dale, and then, after a very brief pause, slowly let go, stood up, and took a step back. Dale called for an ambulance over his radio and then saw the blood on Ron's face. Lupina grabbed a paper napkin and slid out of the booth so that she could tend to his wound. When the paramedics arrived, they got Blackburn checked over and loaded on a gurney, and then checked the cut on Ron's face. It wasn't going to require any stitches, so they cleaned it up and put a bandage on it for him. The younger deputy went in the ambulance to the hospital, while Dale stayed to take statements from everyone.

"Well, it looks like we have him on assault, attempted assault, and disturbing the peace. Everybody says that he started it, and you stood your ground until he struck you to get to her, so I'm going to put it down as being self-defense, and that your military background was the reason why you reacted the way you did. We'll need a copy of your surveillance footage, too, if you don't mind," Dale said.

"Yeah, sure, come on, I'll get that for you," Ron agreed. "Are you going to be okay, dear?" he asked Lupina, holding her hand for a moment.

Dale watched how they acted towards one another, but didn't say anything.

Lupina nodded her head. Her body language--for anyone who knew canines well enough--gave away her concern and how much she cared. Dale raised and raced sled dogs, so Lupina's feelings towards Ron were readily apparent to him.

Katie sat and waited with Lupina until Ron came back.

With Dale watching closely, Ron found the part of the security recording where the Reverend Blackburn entered the building. While copying the date and time stamped video from different cameras, and the times the door was opened to a video disk, Dale commented on it.

"Yep, just between you and me, I'd say the idiot got caught red-handed this time. You know, this is one of the best surveillance systems I've seen in town; I don't know how he's going to get out of it with this footage," Dale observed.

"Yeah, I put this in to make sure that if anyone were to come in and try to do something stupid, like tonight, there should be ample coverage," Ron said.

It took a while for the copy and burn process to complete due to the high quality of the video, so Dale asked about Lupina.

"So how long have you known the G.E.L.F. lady, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Only for a couple of days, really...but it seems like we've known each other for a long time. Not quite sure how to explain it," Ron replied.

"Doesn't surprise me, I guess, not with those stories you write and the drawings you do," Dale chuckled, "but hey, each to their own. I gotta say, though, she _does_have a nice figure."

"I noticed that, too," Ron said with a little grin.

Dale thought to himself, "I wouldn't doubt there's a little more going on with this G.E.L.F. gal than he's letting on, going by the way she looked at him. Appearances aside, I don't know just how much they have in common with the animals they were created from, though I'd say she's rather attached to him."

Once the copy was complete, Ron put the disk in a case and then sealed it with some special tamper-proof security tape, and handed it over to Dale. Ron filled out a form with the date, time, reason for the copy, and the name and signature of the person receiving it. He gave a copy of the form to Dale, and filed the original in a folder that was kept in the security system room.

"Well, I guess that's that. I'll take this down to the office and log it in as evidence," Dale said once he had everything.

"It's a good thing you were in the neighborhood tonight," Ron said with a little grin.

"Yeah, we were just heading for our dinner break when you called. Shortly after you called, dispatch called on the radio saying that they got a 9-1-1 call about it," Dale agreed.

"I wonder how long it's going to be until those idiots show up protesting the shop," Ron sighed.

"Knowing Blackburn and his family...probably be waiting for you in the morning," Dale chuckled. "Just try not to mop the place up with them, okay?"

Ron grinned and said, "Only if they touch me first."

"You're going to make me turn gray yet," Dale laughed.

"Gray? Hell, I thought you were getting shiny!" Ron smirked, rubbing the top of his own head a little.

"Naw, that's my kids doing that!" Dale said, shaking his head as they closed the door to the little room so that they could head to the front. They only went a short distance before Dale quietly asked a question.

"Hey, have you ever heard of 'Project: Hunter'?"

Ron stopped in his tracks.

"Isn't that the thing the conspiracy nuts have been going on about, claiming the military did something to alter some people to try and see if they could enhance certain abilities?" he asked, keeping a strictly neutral face.

"Yeah, that's it," Dale replied.

"Don't tell me you believe in that crap," Ron said.

"Me? Nah, just in case these nut cases ever show up, we have to know something about what they believe in so that we can deal with them," Dale explained, noting Ron's reaction, or the lack thereof. "So, do you know anything about it?"

"Not a thing."

There was a slight pause when neither of them spoke.

"I just wondered if you might have heard anything about it, since you do a lot of research on the Internet for your stories," Dale said.

"Well, if you're interested about it, I can see what I can dig up sometime," Ron said.

"Sure, that'd be nice. Well hey, I guess I'd better head over to the hospital and get my partner so we can go get some chow. I guess I know where to find you at if I need to," Dale said as they got up to the front.

Yep, either here or at home. You got my cell phone number," Ron said.

"Yeah. Okay, I'll talk to you later...I want to get another bottle or two of that mead you make. That last one was pretty good," Dale said with a grin.

Rob had come back and was sitting with Lupina after letting Katie go home for the night.

"Hey buddy, heard you had some excitement tonight," Rob said.

"Yeah. I guess we might have those loonies on our doorstep soon after this," Ron said.

"Lupina told me all about it. Sounds like you did a number on that idiot," Rob said getting a little frown on his face.

"I guess. As soon as he became a threat, I...reacted," Ron said quietly.

"I'll say you did!" Lupina exclaimed quietly.

"Yeah, well...you're safe, and that's all that matters," Ron said softly as he looked Lupina in the eye and slipped his hand into hers under the table.

"Are you going to be okay? I can close up if you want to get out of here," Rob asked.

"I thought you had your meeting thing at the church tonight?" Ron asked.

"Yeah, well, when I got the call, I had one of the other guys take over. It started over a half an hour ago," Rob said.

"Well, I think you've been hero enough for tonight!" Lupina said as she put her arm around his shoulders.

Rob saw the way Lupina looked at his friend, so he said, "Go ahead and take off, I'll close up tonight."

"Okay, I guess it's two against one, so I'll go sign out and grab my stuff," Ron said in resignation.

Lupina got up with him and they all headed back to the offices. Ron entered his time on the computer and straightened up his desk...not that there was much on it at the time. As soon as he got his coat and things, he shut off the light to his office and shut the door.

Poking his head into Rob's office, he said, "I guess we're outta here. Don't forget, tomorrow evening, dinner at my place."

"Okay. Be safe going home. I'll try to catch you online tonight, if you're not doing anything," Rob said giving a little wave.

Ron and Lupina headed out the back door of the shop. The parking lot was well lit, one of the things they insisted on when buying the building. There were cameras keeping an eye on the lot with signs posted to the effect, hopefully to discourage miscreants from doing anything stupid.

"I guess we can have an early supper tonight, then," Ron suggested as soon as they got in his SUV and the motor running.

"Yeah, Miki's supposed to be working tonight. I hope we can get one of her tables," Lupina agreed.

"Well, if she's there, we'll just have to request her section," Ron grinned.

They didn't say much on the way to the restaurant. Lupina thought about what had happened at the shop earlier, and wondered about this particular side of her lover that she had seen.

"He's never said much about when he was in the military. I wonder if I should ask. Maybe he doesn't feel comfortable talking about it, or maybe he's not supposed to. If I'm going to be his mate, then I think I should know at least something_about it--geez, I certainly don't want to do something that could set him off! I've never heard of a human growling like that...I suppose it's possible, though. They told us that we G.E.L.F.s are a bit quicker and stronger than humans, but geez, he busted that reli-nut up so quickly and easily! He seems to be rather quiet for some reason...I've never had to deal with this sort of thing before, what do I do?_"

Miki was happy--and surprised--to see Lupina and her companion, when the hostess seated them in her section.

"Hi, Lupina!" Miki greeted her when she came to find out what they wanted to drink.

"Hi, Miki! How's work going tonight?" Lupina asked, greeting her friend.

"Oh, a little busy, but that's good," Miki replied.

"Miki, this is Ron, the guy I told you about. Ron, this is my friend, Miki," Lupina said, making the introductions.

"Nice to meet you, Miki," Ron said as they shook hands. "Say, I've got a friend of mine who has a granddaughter by the same name. You have a family resemblance to him and his nephew, Tukkuttok, who lives here in Fairbanks. You wouldn't happen to be related to a certain Elder from one of the villages up north by the name of Nunataq, would you?" Ron asked politely.

"Yep, that's me!" she smiled.

Lupina got a look of astonishment on her face, as she looked from one to the other. "You...you mean you know Miki's grandfather?" she asked, hardly believing her ears.

Ron grinned and said, "Yeah, we met a few years ago at a native arts festival hosted by the UAF. Tuk introduced us, and we've been friends since."

"Geez, that's quite a coincidence! He came over to the cabin last weekend with Miki, and we met." Lupina reached into the left hip pocket of her pants for something, and then she said, "He gave me this thing, and ever since, I've been having strange dreams!" She opened her hand and in it was the little charm made from a piece of walrus tusk with two wolves running together.

Ron raised an eyebrow and reached into his own left hip pocket--when he opened his hand, he, too, had a little charm just like hers. Both Lupina and Miki gasped when they saw both charms.

"There are no such things as coincidences, Lupina," Ron said with a grin.

Miki said in amazement, "You're the one grandfather told me about!" as she looked at Ron. She whispered something in Inupiatun, which caused Ron to smile. "Kafiqsirufa[1]," he said, much to Miki's surprise. Seeing the confused look on Lupina's face, Ron explained, "That means 'I understand' in Inupiatun."

While they were waiting for their meal to arrive, Lupina sat and stared at her coffee cup. Ron reached over, touched the back of her hand, and asked, "What are you thinking about?"

"Oh...everything just seems kind of...," she started to say, but paused.

"Strange?" Ron asked after a moment.

"Yeah. Did you know you were going to meet me before we did Wednesday?" she asked.

"Not specifically, no. Nunataq is not only a tribal elder, but also an angakkuq, or shaman. When he and I met, he told me about a vision he had. I still remember exactly what he said, too," he replied.

"Something about keeping the charm with you in order to meet your kindred spirit?" she asked.

"There was more to what he told me," Ron replied, and then he unfocused his eyes as he recalled the words Nunataq had said:

"I had a vision of a wolf that was born in a great grassland. After a long journey, he came and joined his brothers and sisters in the north. One day he met a female wolf who has no family, and they taught The People a great lesson. You are the wolf I saw in my vision. Take this piece of walrus tusk, it is very powerful, it will help you recognize her spirit."

Lupina looked at him dumbfounded. "You remember what he said, word for word?"

Ron grinned and said, "I remember everything."

Lupina's jaw dropped. Again, it was something straight out of his books.

"You see," Ron explained, "I'm from Iowa, which is part of the Interior Plains[2] of North America, and hence, the "great grassland" he saw. The "long journey" can mean three things--my age, how much I've traveled, and also the 'personal journey' I've been on. I eventually ended up here in Alaska, and I know that I'll live out my life here. Atka and his pack have accepted me as being one of their pack, so that's the 'brothers and sisters' part of it. He said that one day I would meet a female wolf with no family, and here you are. Now, as far as teaching 'The People', I'm not sure what 'lesson' that could be, though I know that the word 'Inuit' means "The People" in their language, but what exactly he might have meant about that, I'm not sure because he hasn't said anything else about it since. As for these...," he said, holding up his charm, "...these can be considered sacred objects. Nunataq gave one of these to each of us, so I guess in a way, he and whatever spirits that might be involved, helped to make sure our paths would cross. Let me see yours for a second," Ron said, holding his hand out.

Lupina handed him her charm and, giving them a brief look, he held them together.

"See? They fit together perfectly, a matched pair--two big wolves...and two little wolves," Ron said.

Lupina's jaw dropped a second time.

"How...how could he have possibly known that we would meet? Lupina asked.

"He's a shaman, and he had a vision, maybe he was on a spirit journey for some reason or another, but as Shakespeare said in his play, 'Hamlet', 'There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy,'" Ron explained.

Miki came back with their food at that time, and then quickly left to get refills on their drinks.

"But...I don't understand," Lupina said, frowning a bit, and having difficulty trying to sort it all out.

"Well, I guess you could say that understanding isn't required, dear. How and why our paths crossed...who's to say. The thing is, we're here, now, and together," Ron said, reaching across the table and taking a hold of Lupina's hand. "This...this is all that matters, let's see where the path takes us," he said with a smile.

Later that evening after they got home, Ron changed his clothes to what he typically wore around the house: fleece pants, sweatshirt, and a pair of rugged sheepskin boots from New Zealand with a lugged sole. Since it was relatively warm in the house for her, Lupina took off her special sports shoes and got comfortable in a pair of loose jogging shorts and a t-shirt. They each checked their e-mail, and Ron also checked some things on the Internet. When he finished, he went back downstairs to the kitchen and pulled a bottle out of the wine cooler.

"Hey, Lu, you want to try some of this mead?" he called out.

"Yeah, sure, I'll try some," she called back from the couch in the great room.

Ron poured a full wine glass for each of them, and went to sit with Lupina on the couch.

"Here you go," he said, handing one of the glasses to her.

"Thanks." She sniffed the contents of the glass and said, "It certainly smells different than that wine you gave me Wednesday night." Lupina took a little sip and tasted it. "Whoa, that's a little stronger I think; sweet, too," she said after swallowing some.

"Yeah, this batch came out about eighteen percent alcohol. Regular wine is generally twelve to fourteen percent," Ron explained.

Lupina set the glass and the slate computer aside and put her arm across the back of the couch behind Ron, and started playing with his long hair while looking at him.

"Thank you for protecting me from that guy tonight," Lupina said quietly.

He laid his hand on her lap, and she held it with her other hand.

Ron nodded his head a little and said with a wry smile, "I gotta protect my mate."

"You...really_do_ care about me, don't you?" she asked, continuing to play with his hair.

"Absolutely," he replied sincerely.

She thought for a little bit.

"You wouldn't ever...get mad and...hurt me...would you?" she asked hesitantly.

Ron saw the worry in her expression, and heard it in her voice. He reached over to Lupina and gently pulled her over to him and held her.

"No baby, nothing could ever make me hurt you, not for any reason," he said softly.

He knew that she was worried about what had happened earlier at the shop. In his heart, he knew for certain that there wasn't any way that he could or would hurt her. She had become his mate, and he would protect her with his life, without hesitation. Ron reached over to the coffee table and picked up the remote control tablet and scrolling through the music list, made a selection and clicked on "play".

"Lupina, this is one of my favorite pieces of classical music, and I want to share it with you," he said looking her into her eyes.

"Okay," she smiled, "what is it called?" she asked just as the music started to play.

"It's by Beethoven, it's the fourth movement of Symphony number Nine...the Ode to Joy[3]. This is how I feel when I'm with you," Ron said.

He took another drink of his mead, sat the glass down, and held Lupina close while the music played. He closed his eyes and moved his head slightly in time with the music. About two-thirds of the way through, during the particularly powerful emotional choral part, Lupina watched Ron closely...she saw a tear form and run down his cheek. She gently held his face and they kissed. When the piece was over, Lupina felt her own eyes becoming watery.

"Oh...my...that was...beautiful!" Lupina whispered. It was the first time that she had ever heard it.

Ron opened his eyes and said, "Yes, you are."

When they had finished their drinks, they took the glasses back to the kitchen to wash out.

While they were doing that, Lupina asked, "Ron, Rosie asked if I could send her a picture of you. Is that okay with you?"

"Heh, I don't think I exactly look my best with this," he said pointing at the bandage on his face, "but I do have one you can send her if you want."

"You don't mind?" she asked.

"Nope, not at all," he said with a grin. "She'll probably take one look at it and run off screaming, though," he added, sticking the end of his tongue out playfully.

Lupina laughed and said, "She told me that you're the kind of guy she wants to meet."

"Really."

"That's what she said," Lupina said with a teasing smile.

"You're going to really make my life interesting, you know that," Ron said.

"That's only because you're pretty special," she said, putting her arms around his neck and leaning into him.

Ron put his arms around her waist and said, "Well, you're pretty special to me, my dear."

"Yeah?" she asked.

"Yeah," Ron replied.

"Well...if you would give me that picture...I'll show you just how special you are," she said coyly with a little wink.

"Is that a bribe?" he asked with a grin.

"Mmm, I should reward my rescuer for saving me from a horrible doom," Lupina replied.

"Ah, so you're trying to lead me from temptation and right into the bedroom," Ron said.

"Something like that," she agreed.

"Eh, works for me," he said with a grin.

They went up to the loft and he found a fairly recent photo and transferred it to her phone. While he was doing that, she thought about calling Rosie.

"Ron, I'm going to try calling Rosie in a bit. What should I tell her about trying to get her here?" Lupina asked.

"Yeah, tell her to hang in there, and that I'm working on getting her a flight here. We should know when by next week. Until then, I'm having a former shipmate of mine who lives in Florida put together a sizable 'care package' with some things that will help her out. If you wouldn't mind giving me her address and phone number, I'll pass that along to the friend of mine in Florida, and he'll contact her this weekend to bring the stuff to her. Heh, 'Operation: Skunk' is underway," Ron explained with a grin.

Lupina was amazed. She gave him Rosie's information, and he sent it in an encrypted e-mail to his friend in Florida.

*Ring! ... Ring! ... Ring! ... Ring!*

*Click*

Lupina: "Rosie? It's me, Lu."

Rosie: "Hey! What's up, gal? Are ya taking a break from being frisky with your guy?" (smirks)

Lupina: "Rosie! I've got you on speaker, and he's right here!"

[Ron]: "Hey, Rosie!" (chuckles)

Rosie: "Eeep! Uh, er, hi!"

Lupina: "Ron's working on getting you up here. He says that we'll know by next week when you'll get to fly up here. Oh, and he's got a friend of his that's going to be bringing some stuff to you this weekend to help you get by on until you can get up here."

Rosie: "Ooooo...geez, I'd give ya some snuggles and share a box of raisins with ya if I could, guy!" (sultry voice)

Lupina held her hand over the microphone and whispered to Ron, "That's her way of saying she's really thankful."

[Ron]: "Well, there'll be a big box of the best raisins I can get waiting just for you."

Rosie: "Oh, my...! Lu! Did you hear_that?_"

Lupina: "Of course, silly! I'm sitting...um, _really_close to him!"

Rosie: "Like, how close is that?"

Lupina: "Well...um, we're...by his desk, and...he...only has the one chair, and..."

Rosie: "*Gasp!* LU! Tell me you're not...!"

Ron started snickering at what Rosie was suggesting, so he started to slowly slide his free hand up the inside of Lupina's right thigh, touching lightly with only his fingertips. When he made it as far as the edge of her jogging shorts, she got an exasperated look on her face, and clamped a hand on his.

"S-s-t-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-p-p-p!!!" Lupina whined.

Rosie: "Okay, now I know you're doin' something!" (giggles)

Lupina: "He's being...a tease!"

[Ron]: "Heh, who, me?"

Lupina: "Yes, you!"

Rosie: "Hey, you going let me see what this guy looks like, or what?"

Lupina: "Yeah, just a sec and I'll send it."

She went to the folder on her phone that had pictures in it, selected Ron's photo, and sent it.

Lupina: "Okay, I sent it to you."

After a few moments...

Rosie: "Got it. Lu...give your guy a wiggle for me, too, will ya?"

Rosie: "Well, he's got two hands, don't he?" (smirks)

Lupina: "Yeah, but he's only got one... oh, never mind!!!"

Lupina: "Okay, you watch your tail down there! Some reli-nut tried to attack me tonight, but Ron came to my rescue and stomped his tail!

Rosie: "GEEZ LOUISE!!! You okay, girl?"

Lupina: "Yeah. Ever hear of a 'Reverend Blackburn' before?"

Rosie: "Yeah, I've heard of 'im...he's a major pain-in-the-tail! Look him up on the 'net, sometime, there's TONS of stuff about him! He's a real dirt bag!"

Lupina: (looking at Ron) "Well, I don't think he's going to be trying to thump on anyone for a while, at least not with his right arm, anyway."

Rosie: "Geez, guy, it's a good thing Lu's got somebody like you to watch out for her!"

[Ron]: "Yeah, well, I do all that I can to protect the people I care about."

Rosie: "Wish I had somebody like you..."

[Ron]: "Well, you just hang in there, and we'll have you up here before long, okay?"

Rosie: "Okay. You say that friend of yours will be here sometime this weekend?"

[Ron]: "Yep, his name is Mike, and he'll give you a call first to let you know. He's going to bring you a nice, big, care package with enough stuff to get you by for a while. If you need anything else, give Lupina a yell, and I'll see that you get it."

Rosie: "Geez, you're a sweet guy, Ron! Thanks a bunch!"

[Ron]: "No problem, Rosie. Just stay safe and we'll see you before long, okay?"

Rosie: "I will! Okay, gotta crash for the night. Nuzzles and snuggles!"

Lupina: "You too!"

*click*

By the time they finally fell asleep, Ron was lying on his back, and Lupina lay so that she was half on his left side, with her left leg between his, her left arm and head on his chest. He had his left arm around her shoulders. They stayed like that for the rest of the night, snuggled together, content in their loving embrace.

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[1] To hear this word spoken, insert this link into RealPlayer: http://137.229.141.31/Alaskool/media/inupiaqpb/52.rm

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interior_Plains

[3]You can listen to "Ode to Joy" here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljGMhDSSGFU

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"Family Tails" - Chapter 6 http://www.sofurry.com/view/495997

"Family Tails" - Chapter 8 http://www.sofurry.com/view/498408