As he continues reading, Jasper takes on the roles of the wayward pup and his friends with the same theatricality and commitment as the witch. Who knew my mate had this outstanding acting talent?
Somewhere toward the end of the story, as the pup and his friends call to the moon gods, Tomas appears at my side.
“He’s an excellent teacher,” Tomas says, watching Jasper attempting to play all five animal friends at the same time, resulting in him jumping from spot to spot, contorting his face in all sorts of disturbing ways. “There’s more of his mother in him than even I imagined.”
I glance at Tomas, who has this proud sort of look in his eye and just the first hint of moisture.
“You were close with her?” I ask, although I already know the answer.
He takes a breath and lets his head drop slightly. “She would have been very proud.”
The crowd of pups erupts into applause and I assume the witch has been defeated. When I look back, Tomas is gone.
As the kids jump up, run to Jasper with their little arms outstretched, overwhelm him with their sheer number and the force of their excitement, and tackle him to the ground, I can’t help but wonder if maybe Tomas knew Jasper had this in him all along. That maybe putting him to work at the school wasn’t so much about Jasper learning about his mother, but more about Jasper learning how much of his mother lives on in him.
Finally, Jasper manages to extricate himself from the pile of wolf pups and makes his way to me, a wide smile on his face.
“Enjoy the show?” he asks.
“I didn’t know you were classically trained,” I joke.
“Stop,” he says, a playful note of warning in his tone.
“Seriously, someone call the Academy! Get Scorsese on the phone!”
Jasper shakes his head and rubs his eyes. “You’re never going to let me forget this, are you?”
“Forget! How could I forget the performance of a lifetime? Seriously, I’m changed. The depth! The range! The physicality!”
“Insufferable,” Jasper mutters.
“Jasper?” a squeaky voice asks, and we both look down to find a kid has attached itself to Jasper’s leg. “Will you read us another? You do the best voices.”
He groans and rolls his eyes, his head flopping backward. But then he scoops the little girl up into his arms and says, “Just one more, okay?”
She nods emphatically.
He turns back to me. “Are you okay to wait a little longer?”
“Actually,” I say, “I really need a shower and maybe a nap. Meet you back at the tent?”
“Okay,” he says. “Great. Oh, how was your moon dance or walk or—you know?”
“It was…” I pause because it’s not a thing you can quantify quite like a movie or a meal. “It was pretty special. Intense but special.”
“You’re okay?” he asks.
“I’m good. And you can’t keep your audience waiting.” I gesture over to the waiting pups, their expectant eyes on Jasper like a pack of meerkats.
“I won’t be long. Oh and there’s this party tonight, to celebrate the completion of the new school. It’ll probably be lame.” He shakes his head dismissively but I know he wants to go. “But I was thinking we could go?”
“I’d love to.”
“Okay.”
The girl in his arms is squirming but Jasper just stares at me.
“Okay,” I say.
