Phases of the Moone 1.12

The next morning a got a notice in the mail informing me that Mr. Blainstreet had named me the new fire chief starting in January with a nice bonus included. Jasper and I used a chunk of it to remodel the living room, but even after we had painted the walls among many other things there was still plenty of it left.

             “I guess we’ll put the rest of it in savings,” I said to Jasper.

            “I have a better idea, “he said, smiling ear-to-ear. I asked him what he had planned and he answered, “Let’s take the family on a vacation to celebrate your new promotion.”

            For once I didn’t worry at all and just agreed. “It might help Basil to get out of town for a while too.”

*** 

            After about a week or two of planning me, Jasper and the boys were on our way to Al Simhara, Egypt. The only requirement I had was that Basil had to leave Mystery at home, he complained, which concerned me a little, but got over it as soon as me reached our base camp. The moment our plane landed his eyes lit up and he started exploring the base and even talking to some of the other explorers staying there.

             I let out a relieved sigh and grabbed a book to read. The original plan was that we’d spent most of the day hanging around base camp and settling in and then maybe we go eat at the marketplace later. Basil, Oberon and I were perfectly fine with that idea, but Ashe and Jasper couldn’t sit still and were running around and casting fairy pranks on each other and a handful of other  tourists like ourselves.

            I rolled my eyes and shook my head. “If the two are bored, why don’t you go somewhere instead of disrupting the peace here.”

            Ashe’s eyes widened with excitement. “Daddy, can we go explore a tomb like  Appaloosa Rones or something?!”

            “Sure thing Kiddo,” he said and the two of them were gone in a flash .

            The rest of us didn’t join them and they returned within a couple hours. According to them they tried to explore the Sphinx, but due to some obstacles that included fire among other dangerous things they didn’t get much farther than the entrance.

            I got one look at their photos and decided that no one in the family was going to raid anymore tombs this trip because hospital bills were expensive. I didn’t say it aloud, but those pictures made my heart race from anxiety. The Sphinx wouldn’t be the last tomb my kids explored, but by the time they tried “tomb raiding” again they would be much older.  

The rest of the first day went as planned; everyone stuck around base camp to the point where we didn’t even go out for dinner. However, that didn’t mean that we didn’t sample the culture a little bit, there were some interesting meal around base camp, including camel brain which we all tried. The dish, for lack of a better word, had a rubbery texture and tasted like a leather shoe. I took one bite and opted for some toast and jam instead. Everyone else seemed to feel about the same, except for Oberon who actually had seconds.

            After that the jet lag caught up to us ,we crawled into the tents and instantly fell asleep.

***

       The  next morning we took our time getting ready and planning how we would spend our first full day in Al Simhara.  By the time the boys had gotten bored enough to start playing in the sand we decided to just explore Al Simhara a little (avoiding the tombs of course).

Everywhere we looked was another beautiful landscape, but the real pieces of paradise were off the beaten path.  My favorite place we found was small, jungle oasis we came across. The little piece of green was so thick and overgrown that Jasper and I managed to steal a moment for ourselves to snuggle close and kiss which was just getting harder to do as the boys grew older.  Ashe ran over to us a few moments later to show us a bug he caught, a big smile on his face. 

          The sun set far too soon and we returned to base camp. 

***

            The next day was our last full day. At Breakfast some shady people who said they worked for a company called MorcuCorp came to our camp and started offering anyone who wanted it a job. No one took it and we quickly herded our family to the Marketplace to get away from them. We spent the day enjoying the pool and everything else the Marketplace had to offer and then night fell.  I’d forgotten what time of month it was due to the time difference and as usual as soon as the moon rose Basil’s and my wolf sides came out.  Jasper assures me that I behaved myself and actually spent most of the night playing chess with Oberon.

 Basil on the other hand was a little more of a terror. He did a lot of damage to the furniture and even tried to attack some of the locals, they were zombie locals, but it was still bad behavior. We booked the first flight home the next morning.

Phases of the Moone 1.11

As Basil and the twins grew, I started to notice that Oberon was easily frustrated. If he didn't take the exact amount of steps he needed or didn't quite get a word he would start over from the beginning. Ashe on the other hand owned his mistakes and if he fell he dusted himself and got right back up from where he hit the ground. I was relieved he had such confidence and hoped that some of it would rub off on his twin.

            Because of Oberon’s apparent perfectionism their toddler days were bitter sweet and I also didn’t take as many pictures as I should have, but I did have a few, including one where Ashe mastered the art of walking.

Although my hours weren’t bad, in those days I still worked a good chunk of the day away and Oberon worked best on his own, so I wasn’t able to be around enough to capture his milestones and while I  love Jasper, he wasn’t much of a shutterbug . I did capture several great  perplexed  Rasputin expressions as he observed the three small occults running around the house at all times. If it got too much for the cat he'd go play with what Jasper and I nicknamed his “therapy wall dancer”. Despite the fact that our boys annoyed him sometimes, Rasputin never hurt them.

***

In what felt like the blink of an eye the toddler days ended first with Basil’s sixth and just a few short years later the twins’ birthday of the same age.   Even though they were older, they were still the cutest boys I’d ever seen. One of my favorite pictures of Basil was on his sixth birthday and he started tapping on his leg and humming, as if his legs were a drum. He never did anything with instruments, but it was still cute at the time .

Ashe did something completely different when he turned six, instead of pretending his leg was drum he immediately started experimenting with the magic he inherited from Jasper. One of my favorite pictures of him is one where he’s full of curiosity about his abilities and would go on to use it for both good and mischief, although he never seriously harmed anyone with it.

             Oberon aged up as quietly as he was born with no fuss or noise. He wasn’t as eager as Ashe  to use his magic either ,but that didn’t stop him from getting into mischief with it later.

            Any worries I had about his perfectionism or quiet nature were quickly overshadowed by worries about Basil. At around eight-years-old his childhood doll, Mystery vanished, but he constantly talked about her coming alive and becoming his imaginary friend. 

 The roughest incident for Basil happened on the Snowflake Day after Oberon and Ashe’s seventh birthday. Basil was almost nine and after much debating (we still hadn’t forgotten the Bachelor-Bachlorette incident) Jasper and I decided to throw a gift-giving party since we thought it would be fun for the boys. It was intended to just be a family party with us and the boys, but I let the plans slip during my shift and Baylee and Larry (who were together) guilted we into inviting them as well.

            “We have nowhere to go on Snowflake Day, surely two more wouldn’t be too much of a hindrance on you,” Baylee had said and I caved. Jasper, being the friendly type, didn’t try to talk me out of it when I got home on Snowflake Day Eve.

            Right before the party the next night I got a call on my emergency beeper that the heating system in the Fae Ray Gardens was out and needed to be fixed or else the plants would die. As a fireman I couldn’t say no, so I rushed to Fae Ray Park to get the problem solve as quickly as possible. 

It took a little longer than I thought and by the time I finally got the heating mechanism started, I was late to my own party. When I got there Basil had transformed into his wolf form and the other three boys in the house were casting spells like Chattering teeth and Hot Head on Larry and Baylee. The two of them immediately stomped out of the house.

            Baylee paused just enough to turn back at me and shout, “The fire chief will hear about this and we are never coming to your parties ever again!” She was out the door before I could respond.

             “What exactly happened?” I asked my family while my thoughts were running a million miles an hour, worrying about whether I would have a job in the morning.

            Basil, Ashe and even Jasper stood around looking guilty, Basil even whimpered like a kicked puppy.  Oberon, on the other hand, calmly explained the whole incident to me. “Basil was building a snowman with Mystery and talking to her. Mrs. Baylee saw that and started whispering mean things about him to Daddy with Basil right there, so Ashe cast chattering teeth on her and then things esc..es…What’s the word?”

            “Escalated is the word you’re looking for.”  I crossed my arms and turned to the boys. “Please go to bed, your father and I have to talk. “Immediately the boys vanished into their bedrooms.

            Jasper and I didn’t fight often, but when we did the boys knew from an early age what we looked like when we were about to have a serious conversations. “Did you have to cast spells as well?” I asked Jasper.

            “I know, but Basil has enough people picking on him already, he didn’t need a grown woman doing it as well, so I shooed her out of the house and Larry followed her,” he said.

            “Your childishness could have just cost me my job.” I said.

            “I doubt it, you outrank those idiots by a lot and isn’t Mr. Blainstreet about to retire anyways? I think he’s more interested in finding a successor than petty squabbles between his employees.”

             “I suppose your right, but what are we going to do about Basil? He has no friends and…”

            Jasper cut me off. “You’re worried , I know, but he has his family and Mystery for as long as he needs her.”

            “Maybe we should put him in scouts or something like that. He can’t keep his imaginary friend forever.”

            Jasper grabbed my hands. “We’ll figure something out, for now I say we go to bed and get a fresh start on that tomorrow.”

            “You’re right.” Jasper pulled me into an embrace and we stayed like that for five or ten minutes before we let go and headed to bed.

 Despite all his optimistic words I slept little that night. If only I knew that things would get easier for Basil, much better than I could possibly imagine.

Phases of the Moone 1.10

It took a few weeks, but we found an affordable house somewhat close to Moonlight Falls’ graveyard. It was a modest place, but the perfect size for our future family and we immediately started remodeling to make the place our own.

            The first room we remodeled was me and Jasper’s. I still have the pictures and it amazes me how little our room has changed since we first moved there. 

            The next room we remodeled was Basil’s; unlike ours it has changed many times over the years. However the version that was his nursery still holds a special place in my heart. In hindsight the sheer amount of orange may have been a little much, but the color looked good on him and still does to this day.

 Other items we added during those first couple days including extending the house a little so Jasper had a place for his plants and our unborn twins would have a room. We didn’t do much else to it until a few doctors’ trips down the road when out doctor swore that both of them would be girls. In response we made the room purple and pink.  By the time all that was finish we had a lot of spending we had to make up for and things were a little tight for awhile. Even after the twins were born and we found out they were in fact both boys, there was no money left to change the room, so our newest boys were stuck in a pink and purple nursery.

            Just like Basil’s I remember their birth like it was yesterday.  We were experiencing an Indian summer. Fall leaves danced with a gentle wind. While it wasn’t hot, the breeze was warm and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. On that same day, Basil took his first steps.

 Hours after that my water broke, unlike last time the hospital bag was already packed and we got to the hospital in just a few minutes. Ashe Augustus Moone was born first and even then he looked just like his father. My labor with him was about double the length of his twin and when he finally decided to come out he immediately burst to tears, but just for a few seconds and then a cute little frown appeared on his face and would stay there for most of his childhood.

            Oberon James Moone quietly followed a few minutes later. For a few seconds me, Jasper, the doctor and the nurses held their breath, unspoken worries clouded the air until  he finally cried and cleared his lungs, but only for a few minutes. When he stopped a little smile filled his face and then he drifted to sleep. I held them both, speechless, but happy. It still amazes me how opposite the two of them are, even in appearance. While both of them had Jasper’s skin-tone and wings, Oberon had dark hair while Ashe had light. Oberon’s eyes were darker, although both sets were a mix of both Jasper’s spring green and my yellow. I glanced quickly from our two newest additions to Jasper and indulged in a moment of pride; we made beautiful babies together.

I stayed in the hospital a little longer than I did with Jasper because I’d just given birth to twins firstly, but secondly the nurses were concerned by the fact that Oberon reacted a little slower to things like my face , than the other babies including Ashe. He moved less, looked at people less and cried less.  I started to worry a little more myself with each shot and blood test he went through without results. Finally, after a month the doctors decided we could go home when there were no other tests they could do on my newborn. I eagerly took them home, worries firmly planted in the back of my mind.

            “Oberon is fine, he might just be a little slow,” Jasper assured me.

 His words and gestures of comfort didn’t make me feel any better and for the next year of Oberon’s life I studied manuscript after manuscript about babies and  what phases they needed to hit and when. Ashe was always ahead while Oberon was just a little behind.

            “Babies learn at different rates, he’s fine.” Jasper always assured me and I worried, but tried to put it aside on their birthday. I let them make a mess of their cakes and toddle after Basil wherever he went and I was happy and relaxed but a mother can never put her concerns away  for too long.

Phases of the Moone 1.9

For the longest time Basil showed no signs of being an occult. He didn’t have wings like Jasper and he didn’t transform during the full moon like me. I hoped that meant it was impossible for him to inherit my furry problem. That changed when his first birthday fell on a full moon. The moment the moon fully rose into the sky, just like me he transformed. His first target, our brand new love seat, and then he filled the apartment with a shrill, feral howl.

The rest of the night, besides that reveal, is a blur. I don’t even think my wolf side cared.Giving birth to a new werewolf meant it had the beginnings of a pack. Jasper assures me I never made plans like that, no matter what I thought the next morning. I’m not so sure, but I never acted on them. I  wish I could write my past self a letter assuring her that all the worrying she would do for the next several years was a waste of time, but I couldn't. 

Anyways, the next day Basil seemed unaffected by his transformation, but the next moon was always in the back of my mind in those days.  

Because the full moon interrupted any type of party we could have set on his actual birthday, we had a quiet family celebration the next day.  Jasper also wanted to get something really special for his first birthday, so we went to the Consignment shop of all places.

“There’s this really popular doll sold there that everyone is getting. Basil will love it!” he exclaimed like a child about to spend their Christmas money.

“If you say so.” I said.

It was a nice fall day and the Consignment store wasn’t too far away, so we walked. Basil rode on Jasper’s shoulders the entire time. At the time, that was the sweetest thing I’d ever seen.  Watching them together melted away my worries, at least until we got to the store and saw the dolls.  At the time there was a whole shelf dedicated to them and they all looked like differently colored clowns of the same mold and there was just something strange about them.

Jasper looked up towards Basil. “All right Bud, point to your favorite color." 

“Daddy, I wants that one.” Basil said and pointed to one that was some sort of off-salmon color.

“You don’t have to get one of the dolls if you don’t want it, Basil,”

Basil crossed his arms. “I do too wants her. Her name is Mizteree”

Jasper picked the doll up. “Mystery is a great name.” He handed the doll to Basil and paid the cashier. I didn’t argue anymore because Basil wanted it so badly and we were celebrating his birthday, but things only got stranger from there.  Anytime Basil had free time he was playing with or singing to the doll.

At one point I got so concerned I asked Jasper, “Do you think he’s lonely? Does he need siblings?  I mean I know you work from home, but I am gone a lot during the day...”

“ I’m sure it’s just a phase, plus you should be proud of how far you’ve come, you’re the Assistant Fire Chief now. Plus I wouldn’t call working noon to five working a lot during the day,” Jasper said.

I agreed to stop worrying about it. It was common for toddlers to attach themselves to a certain stuffed animal or blanket. In hindsight I'm glad we bought him the doll, but it never stopped being unusual. 

***

Months went by and Jasper and I worked on teaching Basil anything we though he might need to know. When he learned most of his basics I started wanting more kids for  entirely different reasons.

One day, near the full moon  I randomly burst into tears after work.

Jasper immediately pulled me into a hug. “What’s wrong, Ramona?”  he asked after we ended the embrace.

“Basil is growing up so fast! In just a couple years he’ll be starting kindergarten and then middle school and…”  I blubbered.

Jasper hugged me again and then whispered in a husky voice,“ Does this mean you want to try for more?” 

 My tears stopped and I whispered back, "Sounds fun to me.

***

            It didn’t take long before a familiar wave of nausea woke me up a few mornings later.  The doctor’s visits that followed confirmed it, I was pregnant but this time we were expecting twins.

            The car ride back home was quiet. Basil was asleep in his car seat and both Jasper and I were reeling from the news.

            “Jasper, I think we should buy a house,” I said breaking the silence.

            “I was thinking the same thing,” he said. 

Phases of the Moone 1.8

When my “stomach bug” didn’t go away I took the day off of work and went to the doctor’s office with Jasper. When the doctor told us that I wasn’t sick, but rather pregnant I remember Jasper breathed a sigh of relief and then his cheek-to-cheek grin filled his face.

“Can I feel your belly?” he asked

“As soon as we get back to the apartment,” I said.

Once home I obliged his request and a look of pure contentment filled his face. “What do we want to name our child?” he asked.

I smiled." We don't even know the sex yet, we should figure that out before we start brainstorming baby names.  

What I didn’t tell Jasper at the time was that I was far more concerned about my child’s species rather than their sex. What if they were a werewolf like me and lived in fear of themselves every day? What if a hybrid was born and the fairy and werewolf genes didn’t mix well?  Could I even give birth to a fairy if the baby took after Jasper?  I should have voiced my concerns, but I didn’t. Jasper just looked so happy and excited about the new baby and I didn’t want to kill the mood.

            I kept my issues to myself until the day my water broke. It was a grim, gray, autumn day. Fog hung over Moonlight Falls and by then most of the trees were bare. We were sitting on our couch and a booming thunderclap filled the air.

            Moments later I felt excruciating pain in my abdomen. “Jasper. It’s time.” Adrenaline pumped through my veins as the worries I’d been having surfaced all over again.

            After that  the car ride, hospital lobby, serious-faced doctors and pain  blurred together until I held Basil Windstone Moone in my arms and then everything crystallized into a single moment of elation as I looked into my son’s face.  The elation faded and I burst to tears.

            “What’s wrong?” Jasper asked and all my worries came flooding out. After a few soft assurances by Jasper I felt a lot better and a few days later we returned home with our brand new son. 

            Rasputin regarded him with wary acceptance and all my worries seemed to have gone to bed. I wasn’t even worried about the full moon, because I knew I would never hurt my own child. He didn’t even cry when my wolf side came out once  as I was putting him down for the night. 

 A year later I would realize that his lack of fear foreshadowed a whole new issue that Basil would have to deal with his entire life. 

Phases of the Moone 1.7

        A few weeks passed and we still hadn’t made any real wedding plans, nor had we set a date to go up to the courthouse because work kept us both busy. Jasper was getting more and more clients asking about his fresh produce and there was always one fire or another for me to put out, including a few big ones. Eventually all of our work paid off and we were both up for promotions again. Jasper’s stipend increased and I became a Back draft Specialist, which basically meant I handled all the paperwork while still jumping when the alarm went off in the station.

After one particular tedious day where I never even left my office I went home in a grumpy mood.

            My mood immediately lifted when Jasper greeted me with a big smile and said, “Let’s get married.  We can have a little private ceremony right here and then we can go to the courthouse and get the papers signed in the morning.”

            “Sounds good to me. I don’t think there’s really a need to wait any longer,” I said.

            Jasper got the rings and we used the extra room (that used to be his) as a makeshift chapel.  We exchanged rings and sealed the deal with a soft, lingering kiss. I still don’t regret that we got married like we did. It was short, sweet and the perfect expression of our love we still have for each other.

The next morning, even before the ink was dry on our wedding certificate I found Rasputin a kennel and booked  us a trip to Bridgeport so we could have some sort of honeymoon, even if it was for only a couple days.

*** 

The moment  we stepped off our plane in the Bridgeport airport we were hit with a wave a heat simply not found in Moonlight Falls. The wave practically knocked me off my feet.

            “Fall should not be this hot.” I grumbled.

            Jasper smirked and desire filled his eyes. “I can think of something we can do while we wait for it to cool down.”

            I pulled him into the elevator and to our sky rise style hotel room. Even before the door completely closed behind us we were pulling each other’s clothes off. By the time we actually reached the bed we were already half undressed and in the middle of making out.

            “I love you, Ramona” Jasper said.

            “I love you to.” I answered.

I’d rather not go into detail about what happened next, most people can guess what happened on their own.

     A little while later it cooled down enough that we decided to tour the Plumbob Pictures Backlot.  While the history of Plumbob pictures was interesting and everything our tour guide spoke in a monotonous voice and rushed through most of the film studio. We eventually just slipped away from the group to do a little exploring on our own. Jasper was much better tour guide. Not only was he ten times more handsome than our guide, but his interpretation of him was hilarious, especially when he did that after shifting to a smaller size. While tiny, his voice was super high pitched, like he’s drank a whole canister of helium. I still laugh whenever I think of that impression.  He’ll still do it occasionally, but I’m no longer his main audience.

  

            By the time we were done with the backlot the sun had set and all the clubs, sports bars and lounges Bridgeport is known  for were open ( not to mention it was a little cooler).  We decided to keep it simple the first night and went to a little place called Bridgeport Sportszone. The term greasy spoon fit  Sportszone to a T. The place was tiny and not exactly pretty and there wasn’t even any live music. Despite the ramshackle appearance, it actually did have a VIP room and Jasper used his magic to distract the bouncer in front of it so I could slip in and he could follow a little while later.

 Once inside we ordered pizza from the barkeep and found a quiet  table in a corner of the to eat it.  Each slice was about the size of my face and literally dripped grease, but it was the best pizza I’d ever eaten.

     After I finished the pizza I went back to the bar and ordered a drink.  While it tasted fine, it wasn’t nearly as good as the pizza. Jasper and I concluded  the Sportszone made a better lunch place where you grab a beer simply to wash down the incredible bar food the cooks offered. 

 Shortly after we finished our drinks we went back to the hotel and ended the night on a high note with some fun in the elevator. After that I’m pretty sure  we both fell asleep the instant out heads hit the pillow.

***

            The next day we woke up a little late and then spent the rest of the daylight hours in our hotel rooms. Partially because it was hot and partially because we kept finding things to do, after the sun set me headed to a nicer bar called Eugi’s where formal dress was required. Inside it was a lot cleaner than Bridgeport Sportszone and the barkeep played music between drinks and higher end bar food.  He played really well too, Jasper and I couldn’t help but dance until our feet grew sore.

 After we finished dancing we had a couple tasty cocktails and some  deliciously rich bar foods.

            After I was pretty sure my stomach was going to burst I turned to Jasper and asked, “Do you want to play a few rounds of darts?”

            He shook his head. “Nah, I’ve never really gotten the hang of  that game, but I’ll watch you. Maybe I'll even provide a little extra luck if you find someone to challenge.

            I’m not sure whether Jasper used his magic or not, but I did find someone to challenge and I did beat them.

 After I won the dart match there really wasn’t much else to do at Eugi’s. For the rest of the night we traveled around Bridgeport trying to see at least one of the lounges, but most seemed to be reserved for the city’s celebrities. We tried to use the same trick we used to get in the Sportszone’s VIP room in one, but that  bouncer was a lot less forgiving and we were kicked out of the lounge. At that point we decided to call it a night.

***

             The next day was our last in Bridgeport. Once again we slept late and had a flight back home at 7:00 pm that night, so we came to the conclusion that we could only visit one last place before the trip was over.  After being kicked out of a lounge the previous night we decided to avoid the clubs and such and went to The True Modern Art Gallery.  Not surprisingly there was still a bar inside the museum. The barkeep was a rather closed off woman who served so-so drinks. She also made really awful cheese plates, but the true star of the gallery was the art and there were a few gorgeous pieces.  My personal favorite was a blue vase displayed with some other, to put it politely, interesting sculptures that included a lawn flamingo.

After we viewed the entire gallery we returned to our hotel room and reluctantly started packing. Once everything was packed we finished the trip by watching the stars until we had to leave for the airport. 

A few weeks later I started puking my guts out, especially in the morning. At the time I was  confused and little terrified, I never got sick! All these  years later I can look back at that "mysterious illness" and smile.