Page 184 of His Hungry Wolf

“Wow! What was that like?”

“It’s… different,” I told him.

“I bet it is. Are cars the only thing you hear?”

“Depends on where you are.”

“I can’t even imagine that. Do you hear this? It’s the sweet sound of nothing. You can’t beat that.”

“I grew up a mile away from our closest neighbor,” Cage volunteered.

“So, you two are the extremes,” Titus said with a smile.

“We definitely had different experiences growing up,” Cage said.

“We’re not that different,” I corrected not liking the distance he was putting between us.

“Come on. I can’t even imagine the world you grew up in. Or, what it feels like to be in your situation.”

“What situation is that?” Titus asked innocently.

Cage and I looked at each other. It was good to know that he wasn’t going to blurt out anything that might make me uncomfortable.

“I grew up with a lot of pressure to do something special,” I summarized.

“You never told me that,” Cage said searching his thoughts.

“I thought I did when we spoke about… stuff.”

“No. I remember that conversation very well. You didn’t mention that.”

I sighed. “Well, I do. I can’t just do anything I want with my life. I feel like everyone is expecting me to do something that changes the world.”

“To change the world?” Titus said jovially. “Wow! That’s a bit of pressure.”

“More than a bit,” I clarified.

“So, how are you going to do it? What are your plans to change the world?” Titus replied.

“I have no idea. I thought I could figure it out on my own. Then I thought that I could figure it out if I backpacked through Europe. Nope. I still don’t know. My father has a genetics lab. Eventually I’ll join it and maybe I’ll spend the rest of my life doing research.”

“Those are big plans,” Titus said mystified. He turned to Cage. “I suppose you’re gonna do something as impressive?”

“No. My dreams have never been that big.”

“What are you talking about? What about playing for the NFL?” I reminded him.

“That was never my dream. It was what other people wanted for me.”

“So, what is your dream,” Titus asked.

“To get married… have a family… raise a couple of kids. Maybe I could teach football somewhere,” Cage said looking at me.

As nice as his dream sounded, I had to admit that it didn’t fit with what I knew I had to do. My father had cursed me and the world with whatever I was. I needed to get rid of it. Seeing the dragon in Cage’s kitchen did bring up a whole lot more questions. But, it didn’t change the fact that my wolf killed my mother. I could never forget that.

When I didn’t respond, Titus broke the tension by mentioning the food Dr. Sonya had packed for us. She had made us fried egg sandwiches with melted cheese and ham between toasted English muffins. The flavor was enhanced with a tart jam that was mixed with honey.

“They’re good,” Titus said enjoying one of them. “She doesn’t cook often, but whenever she would bring something to a fair or school function, hers would always be the first I would check out. She’s from the Caribbean, ya know? Jamaica, I think. Her jerk chicken is to die for.”

---