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 23

The media was working overtime--before the holiday recess, the Alaska legislature passed the bill in both houses allowing G.E.L.F.s full and equal rights, and the governor signed it into law with Ron, Lupina, Rosie, and several G.E.L.F.s and prominent humans in attendance. It became commonly known as "Lupina's Law", and it served as the model for similar laws in several other states. Every talk show in the world discussed the issue of humans and G.E.L.F.s--some ridiculed the idea of mixed species marriages, others supported it. Enough people around the world, mostly younger and better educated, gave the movement to allow it their support, causing lawmakers in more progressive countries to begin debating the issue in their respective governments.

To celebrate the passing of the new law, Ron and Lupina promptly went and re-applied for a marriage license before the same clerk that had denied them before. When the still mandatory blood tests came back negative for STD's1, Ron and Lupina both gave the clerk broad smiles full of sharp canine teeth--the look on the clerk's face, according to Ron, was priceless. Shortly thereafter, Ron and Lupina decided on the date for their wedding--New Year's Day--and had invitations made and sent. Rosie took on the role of wedding planner, following instructions to keep the ceremony simple. It was decided that the ceremony would be held in the glade, with the reception in the house immediately afterwards. Since it was likely to be very cold on that day, attire would by necessity, be kept informal for all but the wedding party--Ron, Lupina, Rosie, and Rob--and those officiating.

On the winter solstice, Ron, Lupina, and Rosie celebrated Yule with the local pagan group, which Rob and Helga--who was visiting during semester break--also attended. A few days later on the twenty-fifth, they all met at Rob's house for Christmas dinner. Willie flew in the next day, which was a Wednesday, to prepare for the concert he would be giving in the auditorium of the University of Alaska, Fairbanks that Friday evening.

Ron, Lupina, Rosie, Rob, and Helga all went to the airport in Fairbanks together to pick Willie up. They met him in the boarding area as he disembarked from the plane.

"Hey Willie!" Ron called out, waving him over. "Did you have a nice flight?"

"Hi, Ron! Yeah, wasn't too bad, I guess," Willie said as they greeted.

"Hi, Willie!" Lupina said, happy to see her friend again, this time in far better condition.

"Lu, good to see you again!" Willie said, and they greeted each other warmly.

Rosie and Helga greeted Willie next, and then Lupina formally introduced him to Rob.

"Good to see you getting around better," Rob said after the introduction.

"Thanks. I hope it'll be a long time before I need to use a cane again," Willie said with a grin.

Lupina let Willie sit in the front passenger seat of their SUV so Ron could point out various points of interest as they headed home. When they finally turned off of the highway and headed down the old fire road, Willie was amazed by the scenery.

"Wow, you really do live out in the sticks, Lu!" Willie exclaimed.

"Yeah, but we love it out here. In fact, we're buying more land," Lupina said.

"How much more?" Willie asked.

"We'll have 2.59 square kilometers[2] total, once the sale goes through, Ron replied.

"Wow, that's...a lot!" Willie said in amazement.

The driveway up to the houses is easily missed from the old fire road--if you didn't know what to look for. When Ron was teaching Lupina and Rosie how to drive, they both had missed it several times. Even though a friend of Ron and Rob's would come and plow the road for them when it snowed, driving it in the winter could get a bit tricky. It was already near sunset by the time Ron dropped Rob and Helga off at Rob's place even though it was still early afternoon. When Willie inquired about it, Ron explained that the Arctic Circle isn't far away, and once you pass that line, the sun never rises above the horizon for six months, and never sets for the other six months.

Ron pulled the SUV into the garage and shut the door using the remote kept in the vehicle. After everyone got out of the vehicle, Ron went to get Willie's luggage from the back while Lupina plugged the extension cord into the engine heater. Rosie opened the door leading into the house and took Willie on inside.

"Come on guy, we'll get you settled in your room and then we'll show you the rest of the house," Rosie told Willie while he followed her up the stairs.

The first thing Willie did once he got into the spare bedroom was to lay his instrument case on the bed and open it, checking his violin and bows carefully, lovingly. He had carried it on the plane with him, not trusting it to the baggage handlers. The last thing he wanted was for it to end up in some other part of the country...or worse, broken and unplayable.

Due to Willie's short stature, the instrument was custom made for him. One of the corporate sponsors of The Center, who happened to be an avid admirer of classical music and a supporter of the arts, was touring the facility one day and spied Willie playing a cheap child's violin. The sponsor was so amazed with Willie's ability with such a poor instrument, that he commissioned a well-known craftsman of fine instruments to make a custom, concert quality violin for Willie. When he received his new violin, along with an electronic tuning aid, it wasn't long until Willie proved his great playing skills. If it hadn't been for his unfortunate meeting with a group of punk wannabe's, Willie might already have been playing in concert halls.

Rosie watched as Willie checked over his violin, gently plucking the strings and listening to the sound they made. Giving them some minor adjustments, Willie played a little bit of a light-hearted piece of music. Ron and Lupina came in and joined Rosie listening to Willie play. When he finished playing, his small audience applauded the little impromptu performance.

After a quick tour of the house, they all gathered in the great room in front of the fireplace. Rosie brought out a snack tray and set it on the coffee table, and then came back with some drinks--coffee for Ron and Lupina, and herbal tea for her and Willie.

"Sure is a nice place you folks have here," Willie said, admiring the comfortable décor.

"Thanks," Ron said, "I designed the basic layout myself, and then hired a local construction company that specializes in building log homes to build it. Rob and I did all of the wiring and plumbing ourselves."

"Willie nodded his head and said, "Nothing like putting a bit of your own handiwork into a place."

"Yeah, it cut the cost down a bit...'sweat equity' they call it. We did the same with Rob's house when it was built. The other structures on the place we built ourselves," Ron explained.

"I guess nobody will bother you way out here," "Willie said with a wry smile.

"Not likely," Ron agreed.

"We did have some hunters sneak onto our land and try to get our wolf friends," Lupina said.

"Wolves? You've got wild wolves for friends?" Willie asked, twitching his ears nervously.

"Well, they're not exactly wild...but you don't have anything to worry about, they won't hurt you," Lupina said reassuringly.

"Yeah, they've probably never seen a giant mouse before," Rosie chuckled.

"Heh, the biggest rodent they've met so far is J.D.," Ron said with a grin.

"Who is J.D.?" Willie asked, puzzled.

"He's a porcupine, about one meter long, nose to tail," Ron said. "I don't see him every day this time of year. He'll hole up for several days at a time, until he gets hungry enough. He usually comes around in the mornings and I feed him some baby spinach leaves and diced apples."

"He's tame, then?" Willie asked.

"More or less. It took a while for him to warm up to Lu, though he accepted Rosie a bit quicker," Ron replied.

They sat and talked a while longer, until Willie got sleepy from his long flight.

"Sorry, folks," Willie said after a yawn. "I guess the trip up here is catching up with me. If you don't mind, I think I'll take a little nap."

"No problem, guy. If you're not up by then, we'll let you know when it's time for supper," Ron said.

On Thursday, Willie spent the day at the university, rehearsing with the students and meeting with school officials. That evening, the whole gang went out to eat at the restaurant where Miki works. As they were heading to Miki's section, Willie got a few odd looks from some of the women customers. One in particular nearly screamed at seeing a giant mouse. Willie simply grinned and waved as he went by. Miki got word that her wolf friend was in her section with some friends, so she hurried over as soon as she could greet them and take their order. They were seated at one of the large tables so that all six of them could sit together.

"Hi guys!" Miki called out cheerfully as she came up to their table. When she saw Willie, she thought to herself, "he's soooo cuuuute!!!", though what she said was, "You must be the violinist Lupina told me about...Willie, is it?"

Willie stood up and held out his hand and said, "William T. Mouse, Esquire, at your service, ma'am."

Lupina laughed and said, "It's just 'Willie', Miki."

"Aw, Lu, I've always wanted to say that...especially to a nice lady," Willie said with a grin.

Turning back to Miki, Willie winked and said in a conspiratorial whisper, "But you can call me Willie."

"Hi, Willie," Miki said, shaking his hand, "I'm Miki, pleased to meet you." Miki noticed that she and Willie are nearly the same height, though she is actually just slightly taller.

Miki took their orders and headed off to enter the information into the computer. All during their meal, everyone noticed Miki looking over at their table at Willie, and he glancing at Miki whenever she was within his sight.

At one point Willie's curiosity got the better of him and he asked Lupina, "This friend of your that works here...where is she from?"

"Oh, Miki? She's from up north, some Inuit village on the northern edge of the Brook's Range. She's the one who got the students at UAF to convince the school to invite you to come play," Lupina replied.

"Interesting name she has," Willie said as he watched her go about her work.

Ron said, "It's spelled M-i-k-i, and in Inupiatun in means 'little'."

"Did she tell you that?" Willie asked.

"Nope, I know some of her family, and I've learned a bit of their language," Ron replied, noticing that Willie seemed rather interested in Miki.

Miki herself seemed rather interested in Willie as well, asking him questions and even touching his arm, shoulder, or brushing against him when she came to remove the empty plates from the table.

When it was time to go, Ron and Rob split the bill, and they got up to put their coats on. Miki came by with the receipts and Willie asked her if she was going to be at the concert Friday night.

"Yep, wouldn't miss it for the world!" she replied happily. "I'm bringing my grandfather, too--he seemed particularly interested in coming."

That got Ron's attention.

"Nunataq is coming to the concert?" Ron asked Miki, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, as soon as I told him about it, he insisted that I buy two tickets, and he gave me the money for them," Miki replied.

"I thought he only listened to traditional Inuit music," Ron said, rubbing his chin.

"You know how the Old Ones are, they've got a reason for doing things," Miki said with a grin.

"True enough, and especially for your grandfather," Ron agreed.

Miki smiled a knowing smile--her grandfather had told her why he wanted to come, though she kept the reason to herself.

Friday evening's concert was sold out--every seat in the auditorium at the university was taken. Several V.I.P.s were in attendance, including the lieutenant governor of the state, a few well-known musicians, and one of the descendants of Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. Dr. Darcy Nemeth also made the trip up to see Willie play his first concert, as well as to attend Ron and Lupina's upcoming wedding. When it was time for the concert to begin, the house lights dimmed a few times as was customary, and when they dimmed the final time, the chancellor of the university came out onto the stage. After welcoming all those in attendance, he gave a short speech about the concert, and after he was finished, the curtain rose. The university's concert band was dressed in formal black attire, the conductor wore the traditional "long tail" tuxedo coat when he walked onto the stage to applause. Before he took his position before the band, he held his arm out, and Willie came out onto the stage to a rousing applause. Willie wore his favorite vest and derby hat, which he removed with a flourish as he bowed to the audience, and put it back on at a rakish angle.

With a nod to the conductor, the concert began. Willie played several classical pieces, as well as a number of contemporary, folk, Celtic, and his own compositions. The concert was shown live on the public TV channel, streamed to all of the university's campuses, and even The Center and its subsidiaries had a feed so that the other G.E.L.F.s could watch. Copies of the recording were made available through the university, with the proceeds--at Willie's insistence--to go to helping homeless veterans. Willie dedicated one of his own pieces, written specially for this, to the man who had saved his life. The concert lasted from seven to nine o'clock, with a twenty-minute intermission. When it was over, Willie received a standing ovation to thunderous applause, cheering, whistles, and even a couple of howls.

A reception was held afterwards in the school's student union building. Ron and Rob both wore their military "dinner dress" uniforms, complete with miniature medals. Lupina wore a long, dark green formal, Rosie wore a blue formal with a plunging neckline and side slits, while Helga wore a long black skirt, light gray blouse, and a bolero style jacket.

"Excellent performance, Willie!" Ron said when he was finally able to make his way through the crowd to him.

"Thanks, Ron...I never expected anything quite like all this!" Willie said, indicating the crowd. "They really pulled out all the stops for tonight, didn't they?" Ron said with a grin.

"Yeah, I guess so," Willie agreed.

Although Willie got the majority of the attention, Lupina, Rosie, and Helga also gathered some interest. Dr. Nemeth kept a low profile, watching how the crowd acted towards her G.E.L.F.s, and watching them as well. She didn't notice Ron and his mates come up behind her, until Ron lightly placed a hand on her shoulder. Dr. Nemeth was startled, and when she turned to see who had approached her, he eyes opened wider.

"Good evening, Dr. Nemeth," Ron said in greeting, "did you enjoy Willie's performance tonight?"

"Oh! Mr. Daugherty, good evening to you, too. Yes, as a matter of fact, I did. Willie's talent is amazing, isn't it?" she said, eying the rows of medals on Ron's formal dinner jacket.

"Hi Dr. Nemeth, "both Lupina and Rosie said together as they greeted her.

"Good evening, Lupina, Rosie. My, don't the both of you look rather nice tonight," Dr. Nemeth said, admiring their dresses; she herself was wearing a conservative dark blue skirt, white blouse, and dark blue jacket.

"Thanks," Lupina said, smiling as much to herself for having a nicer outfit, as for the compliment.

"I think Rosie's been turning a few heads tonight," Ron smirked. He had been noticing how several men had given her admiring looks--a few of those also received withering looks in return from the women they were with.

"Really?" Rosie asked, acting innocently, though both Ron and Lupina knew that Rosie was enjoying the attention...so long as people kept their hands to themselves. One broad smile, showing her needle-sharp fangs, was more than enough to discourage unwanted interest.

"Are you going to be able to make it to our wedding?" Lupina asked Dr. Nemeth.

"I wouldn't miss it, Lupina. As far as I know, yours will be the first of a human and G.E.L.F. anywhere--one for the history books," Dr. Nemeth said with a grin.

"I imagine we'll be doing a lot of firsts in our family, won't we, luv?" Ron said, putting his arms around both of his mates.

"Yeah, Rosie agreed, "we were the first to get our driver's licenses!"

"Already? Well, congratulations to you both, I'm sure that will make it easier to get around," Dr. Nemeth said, a little surprised that they had.

"Thanks. Yeah, Ron had been teaching us for a while, so as soon as the law passed, we took the test after he and I got our marriage license," Lupina said.

"They're both a couple of smart cookies," Ron said with a grin.

When the reception began to die down, Miki brought her grandfather, Nunataq, over to meet Willie, Helga, and Rob. When Ron Greeted his friend Nunataq in the traditional Inupiat manner, the old shaman looked curiously at Ron's eyes.

(Spoken in Inupiatun)

"The wolf in you is stronger than before," Nunataq said slowly.

"Very strong," Ron agreed, and he opened his mouth wide to show his new teeth.

Nunataq's eyes opened a little wider in surprise when he saw the wolf teeth. Miki gasped when she saw the differences in Ron--she hadn't noticed the night before at the restaurant.

Nunataq took a hold of one of Ron's hands and looked carefully at it. He noticed that the skin on his finger tips and on the heel of his palm had become a bit thicker, though still normal flesh color. Turning Ron's hand over, Nunataq saw that Ron's nails had become thicker and harder, but still their normal color.

"You are becoming more like your animal woman," Nunataq noted.

"I chose to," Ron said.

"Why?" Nunataq asked.

"To make it easier for us to have little ones," Ron replied.

Nunataq nodded his head.

"You and your friend will have strong families," Nunataq said with a quick smile. "Many grandchildren and great grandchildren."

"I'm sure the women folk will keep us busy," Ron chuckled.

Nunataq smiled and patted Ron on the arm.

Nunataq greeted Lupina and she introduced him to Rosie, Helga and Willie. Nunataq, being from Alaska's North Slope, had never seen a skunk before, let alone one that walked on two legs. When he was introduced to Willie, Nunataq said something to Miki in Inupiatun and she blushed. Nunataq looked at Willie, and--with Miki interpreting--said, "Such a strong, and gentle soul for one who has suffered and yet still spreads joy."

"Thank you," Willie said. "A friend of mine told me once, that when you rush out the door, sometimes you have to watch that first step, but if you forget about it and fall on your tail, then you just have to get back up, dust yourself off, and keep going."

Nunataq smiled after Miki finished interpreting, and looked knowingly to Ron.

"Listen to the old wolf, he knows much about living," Nunataq said through his granddaughter Miki.

Nunataq chatted with Ron for a little while, so Miki took a few minutes to talk with Willie. "Grandfather enjoyed your concert tonight...I did, too. Are you going to be around for Ron and Lupina's wedding?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm staying at their place for a week, until the second of January, then I'm heading back to Texas for a while. I may be back up here in the summer," he replied.

"That's a long time," Miki said quietly.

"I suppose so. Are you going to be at the wedding, too?" Willie asked.

"Yep, in fact, I'm going to be there for New Year's Eve. Some of my family are coming the next day for the wedding," Miki replied with a smile. "Great! I guess I'll see you Monday then?" Willie asked.

"Count on it!" Miki replied.

New Year's Eve was shaping up to be quite a little party. In previous years, Ron and Rob typically celebrated quietly, if at all, at home, by having a glass of mead; if they did choose to celebrate, and if the weather cooperated, they would have dinner and later, at midnight, a glass. If the weather wasn't agreeable, then they would partake via webcam. This year, however, was a bit more lively.

Lupina, Helga, and Miki saw to the decorations and party favors; Ron, Rob, and Rosie made the snacks; Willie helped wherever needed, and also provided the entertainment. A few others also came to join the celebration, arriving before six o'clock, including Aoife and Sean, and Dr. Nemeth. In all there were a dozen people total in Ron's house, not including the wolves and their lynx friend, Magnus, who were staying in the heated garage. They had their own way in and out through their own "wolf door" in the back wall of the garage.

Supper began at seven o'clock, after Rob brought the moose roast in from the smoker. Lupina laughed a little when the meat was passed to her--when asked what was so funny, she related the story about the moose she had met while she was staying in the little hunting cabin before she had met Ron.

"I guess you won't have to worry about this moose chasing you," Rosie smirked.

"Yeah, I don't need that to happen again," Lupina said.

"Sounds like you've had a number of adventures, Lupina," "Dr. Nemeth said.

"I think we've all had some," Willie added.

"It's been an interesting year," Rob said.

"Heh, just the last three months have been interesting," Ron grinned, looking at both of his mates.

Everyone spent the remainder of the meal telling stories and reminiscing over the past year. After supper, Ron had the big screen TV on showing various New Year's celebrations going on around the world, and they listened to music--even had some dancing and karaoke. Ron and Rosie did a fairly good rendition of the song, "Sugar Sugar", much to everyone's enjoyment. Rob had brought his bagpipes with him, and played some Scottish tunes. Willie joined in with his violin, and Ron played his bodhran. Aoife and Sean both sang some Irish songs while Ron played his uilleann pipes[3].

When it was almost midnight, everyone's glass was filled with the beverage of their choice, and the party favors handed out. They all counted down the seconds--at the stroke of midnight, everyone cheered and shouted "Happy New Year!" and there were hugs, kisses, toasts, and well wishes all around. The party lasted until 01:00 a.m., when it was deemed time to get some sleep, for the next day would bring a new round of celebrations.

The day of Ron and Lupina's wedding had come at last.

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[1] STD - sexually transmitted disease

[2] 2.59 sq. km = 1 sq. mile = 640 acres

[3] http://www.irishuilleannpipes.com/about.html