Chapter 35

#Chapter 35 – Under the Apple Tree “So,” Victor says awkwardly, clearing his throat. “How did your date go last night?”

“I didn’t think you cared,” I return. Victor is driving us to a little farm upstate, just for the day. He came to my house yesterday, returning the boys, and asked me to take this little trip so that the boys could get some fresh air and we could “have a little chat.”

I admit, I’m a little nervous to find out what this little chat is about. But overall, I’m happy on any occasion when I get to take my boys somewhere they’ve never been.

He shakes his head. “I’m trying, Evelyn.”

“It was nice,” I say, softening. “We had coffee in town.” He nods his head and the awkward silence returns. Sick of walking on eggshells, I decide to break it.

“You know, I’m not sure I knew you could drive?”

Victor frowns, glancing at me, and then quickly returning his eyes to the road, ever-responsible. “What do you mean?”

“Usually you let the Betas drive,” I say, shrugging as I tease.

“Just because I can afford not to,” Victor says, smirking. “Doesn’t mean I can’t.” With that, he hits the gas and we fly down the road. I laugh and the boys raise their hands in the back seat like they’re on a roller coaster, shrieking with joy.

That’s something about all of us wolves, it must be something innate in our DNA. We love to go fast.

As we pull up to the farm, Ian presses his face and hands to the window, fogging it with his breath.

“Wow,” he says, “I can see it. I can see the orchard, I can see…a cow! A chicken! A whole bunch of chickens!”

“Let me seeeee” Alvin whines, pulling against the seatbelt that holds him into his booster seat.

“Calmly, everyone. You’ll all see it soon enough.” Victor pulls into the gravel lot set aside for parking and we both smile as we unpack the car, releasing the boys and gathering up the picnic basket that I’ve packed for the occasion.

“This is amazing,” Alvin says, looking around with wide eyes, hardly knowing where to look first.

“Animals first,” Victor directs, pointing towards a barn. “Then we’ll pick apples and have lunch.”

The boys run off towards the barn, laughing with excitement. “This is so cool,” I say, hoisting the picnic basket higher on my shoulder. “How did you know about it?”

“Actually,” Victor says, grimacing a little. “I kind of…own it.”

“What!?”

“Well, the land,” he says, laughing. “This is an old family property; we’ve leased it to these farmers for generations. They’re not exactly profitable,” he says, shrugging, “but they’re good people, and they make enough to pay their lease.”

“We’ll have to buy a lot of apples,” I say. “To help them out.”

“All the apples you want,” Victor says passively, following the boys. He nods to a man at the entrance of the barn, who tips his hat in deference.

The boys have an incredible time, meeting animals they have only before seen in books and on TV.

Alvin is more timid than I expected him to be, refusing to pet the cow, but Ian we have to stop from climbing on everything.

“You don’t ride cows,” Victor chides him.

“If it’s big enough, I ride it,” Ian says, a little mania in his eyes, which makes me laugh and worry at once.

Alvin responds more when we meet the smaller animals, sitting down amongst the rabbits and the chickens, letting them eat feed from his hand and petting them softly. “I love them,” Alvin whispers. “I want to have them all.”

“Up up!” I say, “time for lunch!” I need to get him out of there before he gets attached to every small, furry creature and has a meltdown when we leave.

The orchard is my own favorite part of the farm. The gnarled trees stretch for what looks like miles.

Though they are planted in neat rows, the branches defy their boundaries, reaching out to touch each other across the dirt lanes between them, creating a delicate arch over our heads.

“It’s so beautiful here, Victor,” I say quietly.

“I know,” he agrees, “I’ve always loved it. These trees are over one hundred years old.”

“Daddy,” Ian says, tugging on Victor’s pant. “I am hungry, can we eat?”

“A little bit further,” Victor says, nodding his head forward. “There’s a little hill up here I want you to see.”

Soon, we break free of the orchard path and climb a short hill, settling under a gigantic old apple tree that seems to stretch itself as high as it is wide. Victor walks right up beneath it and plucks an apple from one of the branches.

“Wow,” I say, staring upwards through the leafy branches, the leaves just showing a hint of red for autumn. “This is…incredible.”

“The rest of the apple trees the farmers planted generations ago,” Victor says. “But this one was here already. They built the whole farm around it.”

“Maybe Johnny Appleseed planted it!” Alvin says laughing as he and Ian pull themselves up into the branches, climbing higher and higher.

“Careful, please,” I call after them. “Not too high.”

“I used to climb this tree,” Victor says, staring up after them. “It brings me a lot of joy to see them do it too.”

I place a hand on Victor’s shoulder, happy with him in this moment. I let Victor stay with the boys, giving them advice on how to climb higher, and lay out the blanket, spreading out the picnic for the four of us to enjoy. When they’re ready, the boys come over for their lunch, each carrying an armful of apples to add to the bounty.

“Papa, did you grow up here?” Ian asks, munching away.

“No,” Victor says, “I grew up in a big house. I’ll show it to you some day soon. But we came here a lot to learn about the animals, to ride the horses.”

“I want to ride the horses!” Alvin says, excited.

“Soon,” Victor promises. “Today, though, we will just have a nice day.” Alvin nods, but I can see it in his eyes – he’s hooked on the idea and won’t let Victor rest until it happens.

I close my eyes as I chew, savoring the taste of the apple, enjoying the feel of the breeze, listening to it as it whistles through the branches of the ancient tree. There is something special about this place, I decide. I can’t put my finger on it yet, but something…unique.

Suddenly, we hear a soft bark in the distance. Then, Ian gasps. “Puppies!”

I open my eyes, looking around, and see a black-and-white shepherd dog pacing up the path towards us. Behind her stumble a litter of puppies, all matching her beautiful shaggy coat and coloring.

“Can we go play with her, daddy?!” Ian asks, already starting to run towards her.

“Ian, no!” I shout, starting to stand up. Victor puts a hand on my arm.

“No, it’s okay, that’s just Swift,” he says, laughing. “I can’t believe she’s still around, and still having puppies. She’s an old friend, she won’t hurt him.”

Alvin chases after his brother. Still, anxious, I call “Let her sniff your hands first! Before you pet her!”

The boys comply, and then sit down with the puppies, letting them climb all over them.

I laugh again, watching them. “Oh geeze, this is going to be trouble,” I say. Victor nods and laughs along with me, scratching Swift when she comes over to say hello.

We watch the boys for a long moment and then he clears his throat. “I owe you an apology, Evelyn,” he says. I raise my eyebrows at him, letting him continue. “What I said to you yesterday…it was horrible.

I’m ashamed that it even entered my mind, let alone came out of my mouth.”

I feel my eyes prick, moved by his apology.

“You should date Edgar, or whoever you want,” he says quickly. “But if you do decide to date him, it’s a good choice. He’s a good guy. I don’t want it to sound like I’m giving you my blessing or anything,” he says, trailing off awkwardly, fiddling with a piece of grass that he has plucked. “You don’t need it…”

“I forgive you,” I say simply and move closer to wrap my arms around him in a hug. Victor pauses for a moment and then returns the gesture, giving me a little squeeze. “Thank you,” I continue. “That means a lot.”

“I want you to be happy, Evelyn. I want the best for you.”

“I want the same for you, Victor. The best for each of us, for you, for me, and for the boys. I’m glad that we’re on the same page.”

I flash him a bright smile and then turn back to the boys, laughing as I watch them run in circles, the puppies chasing and nipping at their heels. I feel very at peace after our little conversation. It was short, but it was everything that we needed. Now I feel that Victor and I are truly united in our friendship and our plan. And that other stuff? It’s behind us.

We’ve both been committed to the boys, but now we’re committed to helping each other. I will support him and make his relationship with Amelia as easy as possible as their wedding approaches, and he will do the same for me as I figure out…whatever this is, with Edgar.

As I turn back to Victor, I’m surprised to find him staring at me intensely, his face very serious. “What?”

I ask, brushing my hair behind my hear.

“You just…make it very easy. To apologize.” He says, holding my gaze.

I shrug one shoulder. “You’re quite easy to forgive. It is not hard, when we both want the same thing.”

“The same thing,” he murmurs, shifting his focus to the boys. “Yes…”

The boys come tramping up the hill towards us, a fluffy puppy wrapped in Alvin’s arms. The puppy is the smallest of the pack, with a white stripe running down its face, four white paws, and a copper spot on his rump.

“Mama,” Alvin whines softly, and I can see already that his eyes are full of love. “Please, mama…”

“Alvin,” I say warningly.

“Please please PLEASE” Ian says, dropping to his knees and pressing his hands together dramatically.

“PLEASE mama, please, we want the puppy so bad!”

“No!” I say, but unfortunately, at the exact same moment, Victor says, “Sure!”

I snap my head to look at him, disbelieving. “What?!”

“Boys need a dog,” he says, shrugging. “How bad can it be? We’re wolves. Raising pups is in our DNA.”