"Hmm, what flowers do you think might go well, Frisky," asked Lyon while scanning each flower type.
"I think the purple carnations look great. We can combine them with the blue daffodils," advised Frisky as she held a bucket of flowers for a bouquet.
Lyon, Rad, and Frisky were at the flower shop picking out flowers for the parents' anniversary. Lyon thought it would be common decency to place flowers to remember them. Rad was simply leaning against the flower shop store texting on his phone. "A little help would be appreciated," requested Frisky eyeing at her boyfriend. "Oh, sorry. Yup, on it," said Rad, removing the phone from his eyes. "Who were you texting to?"
"Oh, I was just talking to my brothers. Just typical brotherly stuff, that's all," explained Rad. "Here, I'll hold the basket, you and Lyon can pick them out," assisted Rad while grabbing the bucket. The trio toured around the flower shop, picking out each flower that appeals to Lyon and Frisky's eyes while Rad acted like someone carrying stuff on a shopping spree. Eventually the bucket had so many flower types. "I think it's a sign we're ready to check out," insisted Rad. "Yeah, I think that should be enough," agreed Lyon. They went to the counter to see Courtney who was checking them out at the counter. "I see you're visiting your parents again," said the Havanese. "Yeah, I want to say hello to them. It is a special occasion," explained Lyon. "Well, I'm sure they'll appreciate these sets," said Courtney while wrapping the flowers into three bouquets. After the purchase, the three were about to head to Rad's Ute with each of them carrying a bouquet. "I am thirsty. Today is a scorching day," said Lyon.
"No problem. We can stop by the juice shop for a watermelon drink," added Frisky. "Know any good places," asked Rad. "There is this favorite place of mine where they sell them. I will send you the directions to your phone," said Frisky while texting the address to Rad's phone. They left the flower shop and drove on their way to the juice shop before they went to the commentary. "So how was the trip in Bali," asked Lyon.
"We had fun. There were a lot of nice sights to see, and enjoyed our time on New Years' Eve," stated Rad.
"Doing what," asked Lyon.
"Ah, well, we both partied that evening, and well it was a wild night," said Rad awkwardly. Frisky raised her brow by that response, but she knew Rad went all out during their stay at Bali. "Let's just say we had a good time, Lyon," said Frisky casually. "Mmm okay," said Lyon suspiciously. "And how about you? What did you do on New Years'," asked Rad. "Well, Nana babysat me, Bluey, and Bingo that evening. We played charades, board games, and draw. We wanted to stay up, but Nana said we were too young to stay up. Thankfully, she did not turn on the TV loud this time," said Lyon. "Oh, and I think both Aunt Chilli and Uncle Bandit came home the next day. They looked super exhausted."
Both Frisky and Rad were a bit shook by the last response, but they can take the hint that the parents' New Years' evening at Stripe's house was a wild one for sure. "You know, I always wondered what adults really do during a New Years' party. Do they always like to stay up late and party?"
"Not usually, but most tend to take celebration a bit too seriously," explained Frisky. "Oh." Lyon looked through the window nonchalantly. He tried to think of something to say to the couple. "Frisky, do you like visiting us to see my parents?"
"Of course. I know how much they mean to you," added Frisky.
"Oh, okay. Just asking," said Lyon. "Do you like my dad?"
"Lyon," reprimanded Lyon with a sheepish face.
"Oh, well yes. I do," said Frisky in an awkward voice.
"Like like?"
Frisky was shocked to see where the direction was going while Rad felt bashful by his son's excessive questions about their relationship. "Well, I think your dad is a respectable man. Let's just put it at that," she said with a grin.
Yeesh, a bit cold much, Frisky, thought Rad. But he knew some relationships were meant to stay private especially for kids like Lyon. He knew Frisky well, and she was trying to sugarcoat their relationship. Rad thought about something especially important in regard to their relationship. After spending several months together bonding. He knew he wanted to propose to the cocker spaniel soon, but when the time is right. "Hey, Lyon why don't you play a game with Frisky? How about the eye spy game," said Rad.
"Okay, I spy with my little eye something big and orange."
Frisky looked through the windshield window on the passenger's side and spotted a big truck. "Oh, that truck," she exclaimed.
"Yes, correct," added Lyon.
"Alright, my turn. I spy with my little eye something green but is seen everywhere."
Lyon noticed the freeway's green signs where they direct drivers to the streets and towns. "Those green signs with the white words," add Lyon.
"You've got it!" As Lyon and Frisky engaged in their little game, Rad's mind was still preoccupied with his moment to propose to Frisky. Earlier at the flower shop, he was discussing his plans with his brothers through text messaging. He was going over wedding rings that might suit her personality best, and he asked them which one is the perfect one.
At the juice shop, they have parked in front of the door entrance. Both Lyon and Frisky raced to the inside to get juices for all three of them. Just as they were choosing the flavors they wanted, Rad once again was texting his brothers on choosing a ring.
Rad: Okay, how about this one? This one matches her eyes.
Bandit: What? No, her eyes are not that shade of color. I think you should pick the one that looks simple yet elegant.
Stripe: I disagree. Go with the one with one with the giant diamond on top.
Rad: That one? It is a bit too gaudy, don't you think? No, the one with the butterfly emerald.
"Hey, Heeler. How are you holding up," asked Frisky. Rad, shocked by her attention, forgot she was sitting right next to her. "Oh, sorry, what was that?"
"What juice do you want," asked Lyon.
"I'll have the mango pineapple one," added Rad.
"You sure you're okay," asked Frisky suspiciously.
"Yeah, I'm good. Just place them the order, okay?" After they received their orders, they sat down in the store's outdoor dining area where they relaxed for a bit while drinking their juices cold. "This juice is amazing," said Lyon.
"Glad you like it, Lyon. I always love coming here with your Aunt Chilli," explained Frisky.
"We should bring Bluey and Bingo here next time. What do you think, dad?"
"I don't see why not," said Rad.
After the short juice break, the three departed again on their way to the cemetery. "Were you still talking with the uncles, dad?"
"Well yes, we were talking about….umm lawns. Turns out Stripe has a termite problem in his backyard, and we were talking about ways to clear them out," lied Rad. "Oh dear, that must be serious," said Frisky. "Yeah, it is," said Rad. "Well, I hope he clears it out soon," added Lyon. "Yeah, me too kid."
Once they arrived at the cemetery, the three walked together with Lyon holding Frisky's hand. Lyon would usually feel a bit of dread each time he visited the cemetery where his parents were buried last year, but ever since Frisky joined up with them as they kept buying flowers from her friend's shop, he finds the visits more enjoyable. Rad seems to have noticed a change in his attitude recently. "You seem cheery than usual, mate," said Rad.
"I just like having us visit them. I cannot wait to tell them everything that has happened so far," said Lyon. "And also, I love spending time with the both of you."
"Aw, that's so sweet," said Frisky while blushing by the compliment. "Well, we're glad we're here for you, sport."
Before they visited the grave spot, Rad noticed a familiar figure from the distance. She appears to be a white furred dog wearing a pear necklace, and veiled elegant black hat. But then Rad stopped when he took an eye on that familiar looking husky dog. "Oh no," he muttered. "What," asked Lyon, confused by his father's reluctance to approach further.
"What's the matter, Radley," asked Frisky. "Um, nothing. We should go," said Rad, pushing the two to come with him.
"Huh, why the rush? What is happening," asked Frisky.
"It's nothing. We can visit another day," pleaded Rad.
"No! You promised to remember? Why are we leaving so soon? And who is that dog from afar," asked Lyon noticing the white husky.
"Lyon, it is nothing serious. Let us just come back another time," insisted Rad with a loud voice. "Rad, what has gotten into you? You were fine just before, and now you are wanting to skip visiting Lyon's parents?" Frisky was even more suspicious of Rad's erratic behavior. Just then the white husky lady saw the trio from a distance. "Excuse me, why are you shouting from there," she called out. Rad's tail dropped down by the familiar voice. The husky female was Lyon's paternal grandmother Mathilda Snow, who is the mother of Audrey. She approached only to see Rad in shock. "You? What are you doing here?"
"Umm…well I uh…," Rad stammered in short words, unable to say full sentences. "Rad, who is this lady? And why does she know you," said Frisky with a suspicious scowl. She assumed the wrong idea by this mysterious woman, hoping it is not what she thinks it was between them. Rad felt the tense pressure between all three. Lyon's ignorance of who Mathilda is, Frisky assuming the wrong idea, and Audrey's bewilderment of him being here with Lyon. The three walked towards him while he backed up with shame. There was no turning back. The red, blue heeler mix sighed in defeat.
"Okay, first thing is first. Frisky, it is not what you think. Please don't get riled up, but she and I aren't dating, alright?"
"Oh really? Do you have proof?"
"Of course I do. Do you think I'm old enough to date this elderly lady?"
"Excuse me? I am not that old," hmphed Audrey.
"Dad, who is she," asked Lyon.
"Not now, Lyon. Let me talk to Frisky. Frisky, you might think this is crazy, but I encountered this lady with her husband at the restaurant we went last time, and somehow we met in an unexpected way, but you can tell why I am avoiding her for a reason. I did not want to tell you because it would have ruined our night out. You see, I was told to not keep Lyon from seeing her?"
"What are you talking about," asked Frisky.
"And who is this Lyon," asked Audrey.
"Dad, who is she?" Rad turned in his direction to Lyon, hoping it wouldn't have come to this. "Lyon, I really hoped it would not come to this, but this is how things turned out. You see, this lady happens to be your grandmother. Your mother's mother." Lyon's eyes widened and took a good look at Mathilda. Mathilda looked at Lyon with utter shock. "Wait, so this is my grandson? The one you were talking about," asked Mathilda.
"Well, yes," said Rad bluntly. The elder husky took a good look at Lyon and reached out her hand on his chin. She looked close to detail at the wolf dog pup, and inspected as if she was examining a piece of artwork "Hmm, hmm, hmm," she said to herself. Both Rad and Frisky were confused by the way she examined her grandson. Lyon felt a sense of confusion and discomfort by how Mathilda examined him. "You certainly have her eyes, but not the fur, and yet somehow you share her facial features too. Yes, it is no doubt it is you," she said.
"So, wait does this mean I do have a grandma? How is that possible," asked Lyon. He turned in his direction to Rad, who was speechless. "And you knew this whole time?"
"It is not what it looks like. I swear. I had a reason you did not know," explained Rad.
"Okay, firstly, why are you here with him? And for what purpose," questioned Mathilda.
"I could ask you the same thing, Mrs. Snow. And also, is your husband here too? I don't need any more threats from him. I assure you we were not here causing trouble," said Radley, trying to convince Lyon's grandmother. "My husband is away on a business trip and won't be back until the weekend. I am simply here to visit, and reminisce about the memories of my daughter. I assume this child is here for the same. Awful timing," said Mathilda.
"Look, I promised the kid we would visit his parents. It has been at least a year since he lost them so give him a break. I'm here with my girlfriend as well trying to make it a special day for my son. So I just figured if we were both here, we visit another time," explained Radley.
"Who told you he needed to avoid her if she is a part of Lyon's family," asked Frisky, curious of the intentions. "I met this social worker and she talked about how she and her husband refused to take custody of the kid. In the nastiest way and based on their attitudes I encountered with in the parking lot, I have to agree, I have every right not to reveal her to Lyon."
Lyon felt betrayed by that response. He could not imagine Rad holding this secret from him for a while. He was at a loss for words. "I didn't hope things would turn out this way," sighed Rad. Frisky to find it difficult to believe what Radley has said.
"Well, it is true. I cannot consent to giving in custody to my daughter's son, even if I have come to pay my respects."
"Then why do you refuse to bond with your grandson? He's family," asked Frisky. "I just can't. I mentioned before to the social worker and this gentleman that Audrey made her choice to elope with a commoner wolf. In our family, it is nothing but excellence and success. She broke our trust by not wanting to marry with the son of another company who we hoped their marriage would prosper both our businesses."
"But it wouldn't make sense if you sacrificed your daughter's happiness over arranged marriage, and you have the gall to trash talk like this in front of your daughter's grave? Are you serious," said Frisky with disgust. "It was either her arranged fiancé, or broke trust. After all, the sight of this boy reminds me of the commoner," said Audrey rudely to the seven-year-old. The cold words sent a shiver to Lyon's spine. He attempted to reach out for the elder husky's hand, but Mathilda backed off. "What do you think you're doing," she asked all posh.
"But it means we are connected. You knew my mum so well, and we're related. Can't we get to know each other," he said with a weakened frown. Mathilda simply showed a disturbed face at the seven-year-old wolf dog. She didn't say a single word. In her mind, all she could think of is how he is related to Marc. "Please, don't do this. He means no harm," pleaded Rad. Mathilda simply glared at Rad, unable to say something back. Frisky put her hands on her hips with a scowl. The audacity of her made her blood boil. She is reminded how controlling Bosco used to be with their past relationship and how he cheated on her in the end for being disobedient. Mathilda simply scoffed, and walked away, not wanting to say anything back to the trio. Rad, who felt defeated by that cold response, was at loss for words.
Meanwhile, Lyon looked at his adoptive father, with a weak glare. Rad looked back and saw that hidden anger behind the son. "Look, let's just talk about this," he said before reaching out to him by hand. However, Lyon violently threw the bouquet of flowers to the ground and stormed off from his adoptive father. No words can amount to this dismal encounter between grandson and grandparent who refused to acknowledge he is family. Rad looked away with shame and sighed. "I really screwed up this time," admitted Rad.
"No, you didn't. I can see why you were so hesitant to explain to us who she was," said Frisky. "And I'm sorry for doubting you early. You know? Assuming it the other way around."
"Yeah, I get it. That woman was his grandmother I saw at our time in the restaurant. Their 'bodyguard' apparently wanted to beat me up if I kept staring at them, which is why I acted strangley from our night," explained Rad.
"Crikey," said Frisky. "You know why I was told by the social worker to not let him meet her, or the grandfather. They would have been awful guardians," said Rad. "Yeah, I understand. But what are you going to do now? I doubt the lad wants to talk to you right now." Rad looked at the parent's grave sadly. He took the bouquet that Lyon threw to the ground, and placed them in between Audrey and Marc's grave. "Let's just leave the flowers and get out of here," he muttered. Frisky nodded, and the two went back to the parking lot. Lyon was sitting on the curbside, not willing to stare at Rad. "Let's go home, mate," said Rad. He refused to say a word back to him, but did as he was told. Frisky helped the wolf dog up on the ute, and Rad couldn't help but look at his son, who was ignoring him in anger. He knew he lied and broke a promise to Lyon.
As the three arrived back home, Lyon got off the door, and stormed to the house, and into his room. He locked the door, unwilling to let Rad inside his room. Radley and Frisky went through the hallway conversing on what happened. "I'm so sorry how things turned out today. Not a good way to end our day," said Rad. "No, it's not your fault Radley. I think I was too blame. Had we not gone to the cemetery sooner, and not stopped at the juice shop, none of this would have happened," admitted Frisky.
"Don't be too hard on yourself. We were both to blame."
"Do you want me to stay over and talk to Lyon? Maybe prepare us dinner?"
"I highly doubt he wants to talk to anyone at this moment, but I appreciate your help," added Rad. "Right, well I suppose I should head out. Let me know on what I can do," suggested Frisky. She reached out for a hug to Rad to make him feel better and kissed him on the cheek. "Everything will work out," she whispered to him. Rad nodded, and said his goodbye to Frisky as she head out to her car.
A few hours passed by and Radley prepared steak for dinner; Lyon simply lied in bed lost in thought. He was deeply heartbroken by the way he was treated by Mathilda, and at the same time sorely disappointed in his adoptive father for breaking a promise. All he could do is curl up in a ball and wanting to cry and wanting to throw something against the wall. He grabbed a tennis ball and threw it viciously on the wall. It was not long until Radley called out to him to come eat dinner.
The wolf dog reluctantly went downstairs to eat dinner. Radley felt a sense of discomfort by his son's silence. "You know I heard you banging the wall upstairs with the tennis ball. Got to be careful if you don't want to poke a hole in the wall," said Rad.
"Yeah, sure," muttered Lyon while playing with his steak. Rad took a drink of water after the cold response. "We left the flowers at the graves in case you didn't saw. Don't worry, the ones you threw weren't damaged."
"Yeah, thanks," added Lyon. Rad had a sheepish look by the sound of that response. After dinner was finished, Lyon cleaned his own plate. Before he headed upstairs, Rad stopped him for a moment. "Look, mate can't we talk about what happened? I'm sure you have you're reasons to be upset at me, but I can explain what happened between us and her," pleaded Rad. "There's nothing to talk about," said Lyon, scowling at Rad. "But listen, if you could just take a minute and-,"
Rad reached out to Lyon before he finished his sentence. However, Lyon violently pushed Rad away from him. Rad tripped and fell to the ground on his bottom and grunted. "Why did you lied to me?! I thought you promise you would tell me you find out," shouted Lyon bitterly. "I didn't think you would understand. Please, Lyon. I did it to protect you."
"From what?! I thought I could trust you, but you just lied to me. You could have told me from the start that you found out."
"Listen, Dana from the foster home told me-"
"Oh, so it's about Miss Dana wanting to protect me? Is that it? I should've known," said Lyon enraged.
"Mate, please don't make this harder than it needs to be. She told me how she and your grandfather didn't want you to take you in because they did not want to."
"Why not?!"
"Because it's complicated! It's just..complicated," said Rad.
"Complicated because you won't tell me? I thought I could trust you, but you thought it was best to lie to me." Lyon felt shaken up by his anger voice, but he also knew how violent he was to Rad. "He then realized his error and looked at Rad with a saddened expression. He stormed away to his room, unable to say anything else to his adoptive dad. Radley sighed and sat down on the ground, curled up. He knew how upset Lyon him was and couldn't think of a way to reconcile with him. Both father and son felt a huge rift in their relationship during the night.
During midnight, Lyon couldn't sleep at night. He still couldn't keep his mind in peace from today's unfortunate events. Finding out who his grandparents were, how he was treated, and pushing his father, he knew there was no redemption in him. If this is how adults are, then why did he lied? To protect me? This is so confusing! The wolf dog stood up from his bed, unable to process all of this. He looked at his bookbag, and grabbed it, shoving a few things inside. A couple of books, his blanket, and stuffed moose. He then sat at his desk, and tried to write a note to Rad. He placed the note behind the bedsheets, and then went to his father's room. He crept slowly inside, watching him who was sleeping peacefully. The wolf dog took a hard stare at the heeler, unable to say the words to him. I'm sorry, he thought.
The wolf dog stealthily found Rad's wallet, and took some dollar bucks and tip toed away from the room. He slowly walked towards the door, and closed it slowly. He didn't think he could trust anyone after Rad's blunder so he simply raced off to the streets in the middle of the night.
The next morning, Rad woke up, unfazed by the fact that Lyon left the house. He then noticed his nightstand drawer was opened, and saw that the wallet was out of place. He had a confused look, and decided to check up on Lyon. "Hey, mate. Time to get up," he knocked on the door. There was no response; he assumed the wolf dog was not speaking to him little did he know Lyon made a rash decision to run away. "Look, you were right. I'm sorry for lying to you this whole time. If you could just let me explain.."
But when Radley opened the door, he did not see Lyon in his bed. Confused for a moment, he noticed the bed was disorganized. When he noticed something amiss beneath the sheets, he reached out for the piece of paper, and read it.
I'm sorry for hurting you. I don't want to cause you no more trouble. Please forgive me.
-Lyon
Suddenly, Rad had an expression of worry, assuming the worst has yet to come. "No…" he quietly said.
