Lilac Valley

Like Father, Like Son

Kyle stands at the door with a duffel bag.

"I need your help," he says. "I need to learn how to control it."

"Control it?" Con asks.

"The werewolf thing," Kyle enters the apartment. He drops the duffel bag and goes straight for the couch. "Do you have any soda?" Con shuts the door.

"In the fridge," he answers.

"Could you get me some please?" he asks. Con grabs a can of Coke from the fridge. Eddie hates being a dentist, who has soda in his home. "Thanks. I take the potion, but what if I didn't?"

"You would turn into a wolf during the full moon," Con explains. "And if you've never done it before, it's painful and scary and not your best moment."

"What if I wanted to change not during a full moon?" Kyle asks. "Like for safety?"

"Does someone want to hurt you?" Con asks.

"No," Kyle answers. "But I hear things I'm not supposed to. Things are getting bad. I know. I want to protect my mom if I had to."

"In my experience, when your family or close friends are attacked, you'll transform, but sometimes you go too far and hurt someone you love," Con explains.

"Has that ever happened to you?" Kyle asks.

"No," he answers. "But it happened to my dad. You have to be careful. Anti-Magic Group have silver bullets by the dozen. Only use it as a last resort. And you're too young to be fighting at all. You're only twelve."

"I'm almost thirteen," Kyle says.

"Still too young to fight a bunch of Anti-Magic jerks," Con says. "Don't get yourself killed. Does your mom know you're here?"

"No," he answers. "I took Amtrak and Metro North."

"She must be worried sick." Con takes out his phone. Kyle turns on the radio and tries to distract him with AC/DC. Then he flips on the TV to a sports channel. "Not going to work." He dials her number. "He's here. He's safe. I'll drive him back." He hangs up. "Take your bag. We're leaving."

"But I want to be with my dad," Kyle says.

"We have a five-hour road trip ahead of us," Con says. "That's plenty of time."

~

Con slides in a Classic Rock CD. The first song is "Barracuda."

"Heart, really?" Kyle asks.

"They're hot," Con says. "If your girl can't play an instrument, what's the point?" He smirks. "Sing along. I know you know the words." He blushes. "This is what you wanted. Time with dear old dad. Do you know what time with my old man looks like? Telling me all the ways I'm going to hell. Booze, women, being friends with Eddie."

"Eddie?" Kyle asks.

"Because he occasionally dates guys," Con explains.

"Do you think you're too old to have a roommate?" Kyle asks.

"Eddie will move out one day," Con says. "Maybe with Sabrina, but right now they're happy in the apartment."

"It's just weird," Kyle says.

"After my mom died," Con begins. "I'm not close with my dad or sister and Eddie's not close with his mom or brother. We have each other."

"Why do you steal his girlfriends?" Kyle asks. "Don't you want him to be happy?"

"I do," Con says. "But I don't know. There's something that..."

"What?" Kyle asks.

"Nothing," Con says.

~

"What were you thinking?" Amber shouts. "You are twelve!"

"I want to be ready!" Kyle defends himself. "You raised me as a human! I have no clue how to be a werewolf! You hid my father from me forever!" He storms to his room.

"Let him go," Con says. "He's right. Especially with everything going on. He shouldn't fight, but he needs to know how to control it."

"Twice a month," Amber says. "Every month. I think this will good for both of you."