II: (Mother), Father, And Son

When all is said and done,
Will we still feel pain inside?
Will the scars go away with night?
Try to smile for the morning light.
It's like the best dream to have,
Where everything is not so bad.
Every tear is so alone,
Like God himself is coming home to say

I, I can do anything
If you want me here.
And I can fix anything
If you let me near.
What are those secrets now
That you're too scared to tell?
I whisper them all aloud
So you can hear yourself.

Sorry I have to say it but you look like you're sad.
Your smile is gone; I noticed it bad.
The cure is if you let in just a little more love.
I promise you this; a little's enough.

Angels and Airwaves - "A Little's Enough"

June 27th, 2038

Wolf was still unsure about how he would tackle the situation that Jenna had placed upon him. He decided to sleep on it, and follow up the next day. Even on a Sunday such as this, where most would take the day off to rest, his father would put in a full shift at the garage. With his constant paranoia of losing his job running through his mind, every hour meant another nineteen credits and thirty five cents in his pocket. They could need that if the worst-case scenario did end up occurring. As the day progressed, Wolf still had no idea what he would say, but being his father, Wolf thought that he would understand him, making the conversation much easier.

Sure enough, around nine in the evening, as Wolf sat idly on the porch taking a drag from his daily cig, Verne O'Donnell arrived back home from the East in his red sedan. It was a simple four door, with no bells and whistles. Verne never really cared much for a good looking car. To him, as long as it got him from point A to point B, it was worth buying. He hopped out, sporting a sweat stained t-shirt with the logo for Angus and Co. Auto Repair across the chest region. He also had on some camo shorts. Being a mechanic had the perk of being able to dress fairly casual, and Verne took advantage of that as much as possible. Build-wise, Verne was a few inches taller than Wolf, and in the two hundred pound range. He had a bit of muscle tone from the hard labor that was involved with his field of work as well.

"Hey boy." He said in his deep, slightly raspy voice. It was obvious that he had been winded from the days work. "You waiting on me or something?"

"…Even if it means something as simple as socializing, it'll show that you're gonna help him through this."

"Yeah, as a matter of fact, I was." He took one last drag, and crushed the tip of his burning cigarette in the ashtray situated on the floor next to his chair. "Do you think we could talk for a little bit?" Verne was intrigued by the request, his tail flicked back and forth as he went into thought.

"Sure thing. Let me just change out of this shit and I'll be right out." He said smiling. The elder lupine then rubbed Wolf's fauxhawk and went inside. Everything seemed to be slipping into place for him. Maybe this wasn't going to be as hard as he thought.

A few minutes later, Verne arrived back outside in new digs similar to his sons, and sat down in the chair next to him.

"So, what's going on, boy?"

Wolf wasn't sure what to say, he hadn't thought this out beforehand. He nervously twiddled his thumbs as he continued to think of an answer. After a moment, he decided to blurt out the first thing that came to mind.

"Are you okay?" Wolf regretted saying it the moment the words left his muzzle. Too soon... he thought. Verne let out a lengthy sigh, stood up and looked out towards the front yard. He knew that questions such as these would be inevitable, but he hated answering them, especially when he definitely wasn't okay. But he was an adult, and his son was close enough, he didn't need to mince words.

"Well son…as you know, business hasn't been up to snuff lately. Three of our men got laid off last week because of that, and I'm fairly certain I could get the boot soon."

Wolf cringed. "Anyone I know?"

"Uh, lets see…oh…Greg was fired last week."

Wolf's eyes widened. He had known Greg from back when he visited the workplace as a kid. The Doberman had been with the company for over twenty years, yet he still remained as diligent and hard working as ever, and now, it was him who was getting laid off. "What?"

"The company couldn't afford him anymore. So, they gave him the boot."

The severity of the situation was becoming clearer. If they were getting rid of the top notch guys, it was only a matter of time before Verne would be the next to go.

"You know, I'll be heading downtown on the first, I could look for some work there, you know?" He commented as he lit another cigarette, it was definitely needed at that moment. "I could help out with the expenses if…well…"

"That's nice boy, finally getting yourself some of your own money. It feels good when you know that you earned the life you provide."

"I bet."

"But yes, if you do that, I'd really appreciate it. We may need all the cash we can get soon. I'm glad that you're here for me, boy…" The whole conversation seemed to be going along quite well, even if it was rather depressing. He expected that anyway. That last thing he had said seemed to stick with him. It brought back a depressing memory of the past, way back when Wolf was just fourteen...

At the same time, Verne was thinking the same thing. He too remembered vividly how that fateful December day went down. The first news he got was that she had collapsed at work, and nothing else. As the day progressed, the news got worse. It eventually reached the point where he was forced to leave work and head to the hospital to say a final goodbye, but his attempt would be futile. In the end, it would be a severe stroke that took the life of Danielle O'Donnell. There was no warning, no symptoms, it just happened. Naturally, the autopsy would show that she had an undiagnosed heart condition that caused the stroke. It was obviously not a very happy holiday for the two of them. The loss of Danielle affected the two of them far more than they could have handled. Wolf had basically shut down, isolating himself from everyone but a select few, and even they didn't hear much from him. Verne wasn't any better. Even now, the reminder made him shudder.

"Thinking about Mom too?" Verne asked.

"Yeah..." Wolf sighed. "I miss her."

"Me too..." The two stayed silent for a few minutes, both still in thought. "When I got to the ER, and got the news...I think I cried for about half an hour after I found out." Wolf noticed a few stray tears forming in his fathers eyes. "I just hope we don't have to experience something of that magnitude again."

"Me too Dad…"

For a minute, nothing more was said. Wolf listened carefully as his father began to sniffle lightly before dying down. He himself felt like he might also have some tears coming his way, but they hadn't arrived quite yet. He took this time to look out in the distance toward the Corneria City skyline. The bright lights glistened across the horizon. Around the light was a dim orange halo, appearing to shield the entire vista from forces beyond his own comprehension.

"You think she'd be proud of us right now?" Verne asked suddenly, breaking Wolf's concentration on the city.

"Absolutely, she'd want us to be there for each other now, and forever."

Inside, Wolf could feel the tears coming faster, within a matter of minutes, he had succeeded in bonding with his father in a way he never had before. Finally, they arrived, the cold drops slowly trickling down his cheek and onto his shirt. Verne saw this, and put a paw on his sons shoulder, lightly massaging it as he continued to cry.

"It's alright Wolf, don't hold it back. Just let it out..." Wolf attempted to say something, but it ended up being drowned out with even more sobbing. He felt as though he was fourteen again, reliving the moment he got the news of his mothers passing. He never realized how much he had missed her up until then. When he didn't stop, Verne took his son and embraced him. Wolf felt no shame in doing so in public, he could relate to what his father had gone through, and they both needed this more than ever.

"I'm here…" Verne whispered, echoing what he said those many years ago. Shortly afterward, Wolf felt as though he could control himself again, and let go of his father. He used this time to say what he failed to earlier.

"We'll make it through dad. I know it…"

The connection that he felt between him and Verne was powerful. They shared a lot in the time they spoke, and it was all positive. Jenna's advice was perfectly executed, with a very satisfying result. The sadness he had felt earlier went away, and was replaced with bittersweet joy.

Thanks Jenna…