by Robin Roseau
I chuckled. The wolves couldn’t agree, and I kept fiddling with the recipe. I didn’t think I was going to find something they all agreed on, but as long as they liked them, that was fine.
“Beans?” Faith said. “No, thank you.”
Portia ate another one. Faith watched her warily.
Then Monique had another one, too.
“You’re eating beans? Is this some sort of enforcer initiation thing?”
“It’s edamame, Mom,” Monique said. “It’s good. She made them plain once, and they weren’t very good, but she says it’s all in the sauce.”
Faith eyed the bowl of soybeans. “I’m not sure wolf digestive tracks are meant for peas.”
“Not peas. Soybeans. Try one, Mom.”
“I think this is a trick on your mother.”
“Portia is eating them.” And Portia took another one to prove that yes, she was eating them.
“Portia is perhaps in on this trick.”
“Mom, have you ever seen me willingly eat something I didn’t care for?”
“Yes. You ate worms when your older sister dared you.”
“Have you ever caught me lying to you?”
Faith studied her daughter. “No.”
“First time for everything? Is that what you’re saying, Mom? And in front of my boss?”
Portia chuckled. And ate another one. I realized if I wanted any, I better start chowing. I hadn’t made that many.
Faith reached in and picked one up. She eyed it.
“The pods kind of pop open,” I said. “Some people can actually just squeeze them out, I guess, but I never figured that out. Besides, you want the sauce, and most of it’s on the outside. For just myself, I boil them in a brine, but the wolves complain they’re too salty that way.”
She tried one. Not the entire pod, just the bean on the end.
“Aw, you barely get any sauce that way,” Monique said. “It’s not going to kill you.”
So Faith tried the entire pod, struggling to free the beans, but then they all popped into her mouth, and she withdrew the pod and dropped it in the bowl.
Then she held the beans in her mouth, not chewing.
“Really, Mom. I promise they digest.”
I suppressed a laugh, but it was a near thing. Faith chewed and swallowed the beans. She cocked her head.
Then she took another one, and Monique said, “Yes! I told you.”
Once the bowl was empty, we all washed our hands, and then Faith said, “If you served them to me again, I’d eat them, but I’m not asking for the recipe.”
I laughed. “That’s what all the wolves say, but I have yet to see one pod go to waste.”
“It’s worse than that,” Portia said. “Francesca wants you to make up batches for pack night. She said you should make different recipes and mark them. People can vote on them, too.”
I laughed. “All right.” I finished drying my hands. “Shall we move to the living room?”
“Should I make myself scarce?”
“Only if you want to, Portia,” Monique said. “Do you know what we’re talking about?”
“Not a clue.”
“Actually, I think you should stay,” I said. “Just so you know what’s going on.”
So we all sat down in the living room, Monique and her mother on the sofa, Portia and I on the two easy chairs. “All right, Monique, did you want me to do the talking?”
“I’ll start,” she said. “Then you can take over.”
“Okay. Before you start, there’s a print out on my desk. Will you go get it?”
She would only be gone a moment, but as soon as she was out of the room, I said, “Faith, you can be very proud of your daughter. She is an amazing girl.”
“Almost a woman,” Faith said. “I couldn’t be more proud. Did you know, they made the enforcer program for her? She was the first student. Her father and I burst our buttons with pride when Elisabeth, Lara, and Michaela showed up on our doorstep one evening and invited Monique into the new program.”
“This printout, Zoe?” Monique asked, showing it to me. I nodded, and she gave it to me. “Did you have enough time to talk about me?”
We laughed. “The important parts,” I said.
She took her seat and turned to her mother. “Mom, you know how I almost never ask you for anything.”
“You’re about to ask me for something.”
“Uh huh. I’m a good girl, and I work hard.”
“You don’t have to sell me, Monique,” Faith said. “Tell me what you want, what it will cost, and then we’ll see if you need to sell it.”
“Well, what do you know about Zoe?”
“She’s human, and you’ve been talking about her during our phone calls.”
And here I thought my reputation preceded me.
But then Faith turned to me. “You’re the human Elisabeth was dating. The vegan! That’s why you fed me beans.”
“Guilty,” I said.
She shook her head. “When I heard about that, I had to ask what a vegan was. And are you converting my daughter to your rather quaint ways?”
“No, Mom,” Monique said. “Just the edamame. It’s good. Zoe has her food, and we have ours.”
“It’s a lot like keeping a pet rabbit,” Portia said.
“Or a hamster,” Monique added.
“Oh, yeah,” Zoe said. “A hamster.” They looked at me and grinned. I sighed dramatically.
Faith watched all this, looking between the three of us. “Monique, you have become quite comfortable here.”
“Only here, Mom. It’s because of Portia and Zoe. They don’t treat me like a kid.”
Faith looked at Portia and me again, then said, “Well, keep going.”
“Zoe is a professional photographer,” Monique said. “She does nature photography, and she sells her photos online. The alpha even buys her photos!”
“You know, I heard about a new photographer in the pack, but I didn’t put two and two together. This is what happens when I never come to pack events.” She turned to me. “My daughters have had their lives here, first Monique’s older sister, and now just Monique, and I want to leave them free to pursue their dreams. I am afraid I don’t treat either of them like adults yet, and I should.”
“You should come to pack nights, Faith,” Portia said. “You would be very welcome, and it’s good for the parents to get to know what happens here.”
“Yeah, Mom. I keep telling you and Dad to come.”
“Your sister used to ask us not to.”
“She did?” Monique said. “Why?”
“Because I call her ‘baby’, too.”
Monique thought about it. “Well, I want you to come, even if you call me ‘baby’ in front of the other kids. But that’s not what we’re talking about, either.”
“Well, get to it,” Faith said.
“Mom, you know I’ve always wanted to be an enforcer, and everyone here says I’m going to be a great enforcer. But you used to say how satisfying it was to have a hobby, too.”
“Ah, I see where we’re going.”
“Michaela said that Zoe is going to be teaching a photography class starting after Christmas, but the standards are going to be high. Michaela said I can take the class if I want to.”
“But?”
“I need a camera.”
“Ah ha. We come to the core of this meeting!”
Monique turned to me. “Now it’s your turn.”
I smiled. “Faith, for the class I taught this weekend, any camera would do, although I would have preferred something other than the cell phones some of the kids use. But for my course this winter, assuming the pack council approves the budget, I will require digital SLR cameras. Do you know what that is?”
“The fancy ones with the changeable lenses, but that’s all I know.”
“Right. We’re going to start with photography basics, the simple things, and the kids could use almost any camera for that, but as we get into the more advan
ced topics, that won’t do. For instance-” I broke off. “Monique, I need my computer.”
“Coming right up,” she said. She dashed from the room.
“I could get used to this,” I said.
“Best reason to have kids: fetch and carry,” Faith said. I could tell she was kidding.
Monique was back a minute later. She pulled the computer from its bag and handed it to me. I fired it up then brought up a slide show. I turned it around. “I’m going to show you a variety of photos. These are all mine. First, we have landscapes. These are older. They’re good, but they’re not great. However, they continue to sell, so I continue to offer them.”
I let the images move across the screen, then turned the computer around again. “Those are basic, and you can do that with any camera, even a cell phone. But now I’m going to show you some close ups.” I started the next slide show and turned it around.
“Oh wow!” said Faith. “That’s fabulous. Oh, I like that one, too.” I let about a dozen images float past them.
“I have two more slideshows for you. The next are animals.” I brought that up and turned it around. “Some of these could be taken with relatively inexpensive equipment, but I admit that most of them required a very expensive lens. The lens is in the write-up I have for you, but to be honest, I don’t recommend it unless you have a whole lot more money than any one person should have.”
Faith laughed, but she expressed appreciation for the photos.
“The kids aren’t likely to get anything like these unless they get permission to pose themselves. So far, my suggestions for furry wolf and fox photo shoots have been met with resounding ‘no’. These types of pictures take a great deal of patience, far more than expected for a high school photography class. And, as I said, an expensive lens.”
Finally I turned around. “But now, here are the kickers.” I didn’t say anything. I just turned the computer around.
They all stared, their expressions priceless.
“I haven’t seen these,” Portia said. “Oh my god, look at the colors!”
Finally I closed the computer. “The kids are going to learn to do that.”
“No way!” Monique said. “Really.”
“Really.”
Faith looked at her daughter, then at me.
“What is this going to cost me?”
“Well, that depends. Before we go any further, if I said $500, does that end the conversation?”
“Oh, no. Of course not. I was afraid you would say $5000.”
I smiled. “I have a little over $10,000 in gear, but it’s professional grade, and I have one lens that was $4,000. I’m lusting after one for about twice that, but I’ll never be able to justify it. I could never sell enough photos I’d take with it to ever pay for it.”
I paused. “If your family already has a DSLR — Digital Single Lens Reflex — camera, then it will do for the course.”
“We don’t. We have the kind you just point and shoot. No lenses to change.”
I nodded. “Well then, if you have a reason to pick something else, or if you wanted to save a little money, there are less expensive choices. But if you want Monique to be able to borrow my lenses-”
“-I wouldn’t!”
“Don’t say that,” I said. “If we go out together, I might loan you one. So as I was saying, if you want Monique to be able to borrow lenses from me, she needs a Nikon. If you want her to be able to make images like those last ones, it should be a D-5200 or D-5300. With just enough to get started, the price is about $700. If you need to save money, you can get a D-3200 for $200 less. The D-5300 will be about a grand. But then I would strongly recommend a quality tripod. Cheap tripods are cheap, but I have a few I recommend that are about $150 or so. Professional tripods that can take a seriously long lens are a little more. Or sometimes a lot more.”
I slid to her the write-up I had done. “Everything I could think of is in here.”
“So, we’re talking less than a thousand dollars?”
“Yes, at least to get started. I’ve listed options that can drive the price through the ceiling, if you want. The best money after that is spent on lenses. There are also better cameras, but really, the two I recommend are both great.”
Faith paged briefly through my notes then turned to her daughter. “Is this your Christmas present?”
“Um. I was hoping to start sooner. I bet all the kids are getting cameras for Christmas. Mom, you know I study hard, but you also know I need a little more time than the other students here. In a regular school, I do okay, but this isn’t a regular school. I wanted a jump on them.”
She turned to me. “And you would help my daughter?”
“I would,” I said. “You’re daughter is a big share of the reason I am beginning to fit into the pack.” I gestured to Portia. “And she’s the rest of the reason.”
“And my daughter would take photos like those last ones?”
“I am a professional,” I said. “I’ve had a great deal of experience. And those are an advanced technique. But yes, she would present you with some very stunning photos. She needs this camera and a little software.” I turned to Monique. “Do you have a computer? What kind?”
She smiled. “One of those.” She pointed to my Mac.
“The software is inexpensive,” I said. “It’s listed.”
“Where do we buy all of this?”
“Also listed. There are stores in town, or you can order online and save a little money.”
Faith looked at her daughter. “Is there an argument for the more expensive gear?”
“I have never used the D5300. I have used a D5200 and been pleased.”
“Will you be satisfied with the lower cost camera, Monique?” Faith asked.
“Yes, Mom!”
“I will review this material, and I will buy this for you,” she said.
“Thank you! Thank you!” Monique hugged her mom, then ran over and hugged me, too.
“I give a few suggestions, Faith,” I said. “Everything is in there. You can save money over my suggestions.”
“No,” she said. “We will buy what you recommend. I do not cut corners that way. If this is the right camera for what she will learn, this is what we will get her.”
“It is,” I said.
“All right. I believe the alpha is expecting a call from me.”
Portia pulled her phone out, hit a speed dial, listened, then handed the phone to Faith.
“This is Faith Simpson. I understand you have taught my daughter something very startling.”
Then she got up and moved out to the kitchen.
Monique turned to me. “Thank you, Zoe!”
“You are welcome.”
Faith returned right away and handed Portia her phone. “Monique, the alpha wishes to see me in person. I believe that is your bag. You will walk your mother to your home. I will visit with the alpha. And then I would like a run with my daughter.”
“I’d love to run with you, Mom!”
* * * *
“Beer?” Portia asked a minute later.
“Sure.” We moved to the kitchen and grabbed a couple of beers. We clinked necks and drank.
“Would you teach me?”
“Teach you what?”
“Alongside Monique. The HD-stuff.”
“HDR. Really?” She nodded. “I’d love to, Portia.”
“What camera should I buy? The same as Monique.”
“You could borrow one of mine.”
“No. I want my own.”
“I’ll give you another copy of the document I wrote,” I said.
“You told Monique she didn’t need a professional camera. Why not?”
“Because it has features she’ll never learn to use. They have features I never use. But I don’t see a computer around here.”
“I have a Windows laptop I hid before you got here. It’s old.”
“And, well, Windows.”
We talked about computers and cameras as we f
inished our beers. We finished, and she said, “It’s late. You still owe me one more night of pampering, but if you’re too tired…”
“I’m not too tired. I need to unwind a tiny bit more or I won’t sleep anyway.”
“All right. Get ready for bed then meet me in my room.”
Ten minutes later I knocked on her door and entered. She was standing beside the bed, naked.
“Oh, what type of pampering did you have in mind?”
“Iris gave me her brush,” Portia said, pointing. “She said she has more.”
I smiled. “I’d love to, Portia.”
She crouched down and turned furry. I moved over to her and knelt next to her. “So beautiful,” I said. “So amazing.” She bumped into me, hanging her head over my shoulder, so I took it as permission to hug her. We stayed like that for a minute, then she jumped up onto the bed, turned around once, then settled in with the tip of her nose and toes curled over the end. I grabbed the brush and sat down next to her.
Soon she was grunting and moaning in pleasure.
* * * *
Word got around about Zoe’s roofing job. Kaylee and Ember came over after school on Monday and asked if they could help. But Monique, Iris and Lindsey were with them. “We all want to help,” Iris said.
Portia invited them up after making sure they understood ladder safety. “I only have two nailers,” she said. “I don’t know how to keep more than two of you busy so I could only credit Zoe for the time of two of you.”
The girls exchanged looks, then Iris asked, “May we stay anyway? I’d like to learn.”
“Certainly,” Portia replied. “These are good skills to learn.”
And so we taught the girls what we were doing, and then we let them help. Pretty soon they were taking turns running the nailer while all I did was run shingles back and forth. Portia sat back and supervised, a smile on her face.
“All I need is a beer,” she said.
“I can get you one,” Monique offered.
“Thank you, but I was kidding,” Portia said. “Power tools and alcohol don’t mix.”
Still, we made good progress, and on Tuesday afternoon, we finished.
I stared at the roof. It looked good. I’d never done anything like this before. But it looked good, and if I had to do it again, I could, as long as I had help with the heavy lifting.