Central Park was Wolf's favorite place in New York, other than Grill on the Green. Virginia had set him up as a chef there, and he enjoyed working with the food immensely. Of course, it made him hungry all the time, but he was allowed to eat some of it, so long as he controlled himself. Virginia had been angry once that they had owed the restaurant instead of getting paid. Wolf shuddered at the memory, hanging his apron on a hook beside the freezer. He would never again make a pregnant Virginia angry.
As he walked home, Wolf smiled at the thought of his cub. . . or cubs! He wasn't picky. He remembered asking that old Gypsy crone who cursed Virginia to have long hair - really long hair - about their potential cubs. He hadn't gotten the answer he wanted then at all. She had outed him as a wolf and told him he would burn at the stake. Luckily Virginia had been there to save the day. Wolf rubbed his hands together. It was starting to get chilly outside. He sniffed, a habit from the Nine Kingdoms, and wrinkled his nose. He didn't think he would ever get used to the way New York smelled like rotting garbage, exhaust fumes (Virginia had to help him to identify that one), and human activity. It helped to control his wolf-y urges sometimes. No one wants to eat something that smells like that.
Finally he stood on the curb in front of East Eighty-first Street. Virginia and Tony hadn't lost their apartment during their time in the Nine Kingdoms. Tony felt it was best to stay behind and help Prince Wendell with something he called an Industrial Revolution, whatever that was. Wolf was thankful for that. He didn't think there would be room for the three of them (almost four) in the tiny apartment. He went inside, steering clear of the elevator. It wasn't broken anymore, but Wolf didn't trust it. He remembered when the Trolls got trapped in there. He reached their door, which still read "Tony Lewis, Janitor," and went inside to find pregnant Virginia lounging on the couch watching television.
Wolf was still astounded at the magic in the television. Pictures of people danced across the "screen." Sometimes the stories were quite enjoyable. Virginia looked up at him and smiled, causing Wolf to grin from ear to ear.
"Hey, how was work," she asked conversationally, popping a piece of popcorn into her mouth. He sat down gingerly beside her, resting his hand on her swollen belly.
"Good, as always. You know I never get tired of food," he replied. She let out a soft laugh and nodded.
"Yeah, I do," she agreed. Wolf closed his eyes and savored those words - "I do." Virginia wore his engagement ring proudly, but she refused to marry him until she could fit into a dress properly. He was certainly alright with that, but he was so excited it was hard to be patient.