Thoughhavingacurfewat twenty-three years old made her grit her teeth on principle, Willow was careful not to strain it. After leaving the park, ice cream had followed dinner, and long conversation had followed ice cream. Still she slipped into the house at 11:37, twenty-three minutes to spare. Her feet seemed to float above the tile in the hall as she headed for her room. Ezra was a good man. Ezra had kissed her again when they said good night. And he’d called her Wil.
“Willow.”
Her mother’s voice came from the living room, where only the low light of the TV flickered. If she’d floated before, now Willow waded. Through peanut butter. She stopped at the edge of the room and peeked in. Dad and Mom sat on the couch, backs straight, feet on the floor. Neither was watching the muted TV.
“I’m not late,” Willow said.
“Come here,” Dad said.
She stepped toward them as promptly as if she were still in grade school. Her blood boiled at her own meekness. If only she could dig every conditioned response from the core of her, dig them out and throw them far away.
“You know what this is about,” Mom said.
“I don’t actually.” But her pulse began to race, and an acid taste filled her mouth. This was betrayal.
“It’s come to our attention, thanks to your sister, who I’d like to point out is incredibly discerning…” Mom paused for emphasis or maybe to let Willow squirm. “You’ve been on several dates with a lupine.”
Willow took two steps toward the closed door of her sister’s bedroom, but Mom stood and blocked her way.
“Your sister’s staying in her room until we’re done here. And you’d better thank her for being willing to keep this family safe when you weren’t. Honestly, Willow. Alupine.”
“His name is Ezra, and yes, I’m dating him.”
Dad cleared his throat. “Not anymore, you’re not.”
Another ingrained reflex brought her chin to her chest. No. She lifted her head. “I’m an adult. I choose who I date.”
Dad stood up from the couch. Side by side he and Mom might be facing down some sort of intruder. He said, “You’ll date your own kind, and you’ll tell that lupine to go do the same. Honestly, Willow, I never thought I’d see the day you could be so irresponsible.”
She couldn’t think, couldn’t process fast enough. Surely they knew they couldn’t coerce her into a breakup. Surely they knew they’d just gone beyond overprotective overstepping and straight to inappropriate meddling.
His face stone-set, Dad kept talking. “Insult on top of injury, you keep saying no to a decent young man with a decent family who’s known you most of your life.”
“I never said Keith wasn’t decent. I just—” She blinked as her brain caught up with his words. “Keep sayingno? So you know he’s not taking no for an answer, and you’re okay with that.” She shook her head when Mom looked ready to reply. “Never mind Keith. I’m not dating him because I’m not interested in dating him, now or ever.”
“Then you’ll find someone else,” Mom said. “Some other human person.”
They were acting on what they thought they knew—rumors from friends and neighbors, media stories about the Big Bad Wolf. Not to mention social media, the garden of opinions grown wild without consequence or verification. Her job as the girlfriend of a wolf was to correct lies, spread truth, stand up for the pack when none of them were present to speak for themselves. All right. She would start with her own folks.
She made her voice quiet, conciliatory. “You don’t know any wolves. That’s why you’re set against him. You’re falling for a lot of baseless cultural messaging. I promise you, Ezra is nothing like you think he is. He’s thoughtful and sweet. He’s quiet and smart and artistic.”
Mom set her hands on her hips. “That’s enough, Willow.”
Her words gained speed. She had to keep talking until they believed her. Offer details. Offer evidence for her case. “Our first date was the arts-and-crafts fair. Ezra loves models. He values skill and beauty. And he—”
“Does he have a criminal record?” Dad said.
“What? No.”
“Because he’s never committed a crime? Or because he’s never gotten caught?”
“Dad!”
“Well, have you asked him?”
“I bet you haven’t asked Mr. and Mrs. Howard if Keith got in any trouble at college. I bet it never crossed your mind.”
“Willow, listen to yourself,” Mom said.
