Chapter Three

I was happy as I shoved the whole chicken into my shopping stroller. There were other flashy things to pick from, but this whole chicken would make Jos, Fabien, and Tarasa so happy. I had added more hours to my time, so I could squeeze out some money to get this chicken. I also shopped for some toiletries for the house and added them up. I was glad the cashier didn’t tell me that I had to break the bank.

Although I was happy, I also felt a bit shaken. Even as I grabbed the detergent from the toiletries aisle, my hand shook as I dropped it in the trolley. 

Ever since I entered the supermarket, I had felt someone’s eyes trained on me. When I ran from home, I went far away so no one would be able to find me. For years now, I’d felt anonymous in this big city, I’d been able to blend into the crowd. I’d felt safe with my children, up until this evening when I felt someone who perhaps knows me was watching. 

I spotted him on time of course. Who wouldn’t know a werewolf? Unlike that of humans, his eyes had this glow sheen. I could feel his eyes as he watched me. 

I looked at his fingers and I saw it was bruised and uneven, then I knew he was there to look for me.

Fear rose to my gut as I tried to prevent his stare. I was confused and didn’t know if I should run away from him or I should face him. The problem was, I didn’t know why he was looking for me.

I decided to walk up to him. I frowned, feeling fearless and angry. He wouldn’t mess with me when he saw me with a pinched face.

As I was about to leave the supermarket, I turned and halted, and unconsciously, he halted with me. He acted like it was all good and he was just a normal passerby. But I didn’t let him go off the hook just like that.

“Why are you following me?” I pried.

“I wasn’t following you, miss. You must be mistaken.”

I gave a small smile. “But you are. You stopped when I stopped, so you’re following me. But you know what? I don’t care. Just help convey my message to Abien. I do not want to see him. Tell him to quit following me. He’ll never find me and I don’t want to be found.” I almost shouted at him, but I acknowledged the fact that people were around wanting to get the scoop.

I saw his face relaxed. I knew I had conveyed my message, so I turned back and went back in to get something else I needed. This time I didn't feel his gaze on me, I guess he went to deliver my message.

Now, I was walking out of the supermarket with my food, ready to cook up some mashed potatoes and roasted chicken. I could taste July fourth in advance.

I got home and I saw the triplets were all busy with their work: Jos was trying to fix one of his old toys, Tarasa was trying to do her assignment, and Fabien was trying up his speech for school.

I brushed around them and went to the kitchen to prepare lunch. They also gave me little attention, so it helped me focus in the kitchen. I laid down all I needed to cook, boiling the potatoes first, then roasting the chicken. As the aroma burst through the room, drawing in the triplets one by one.

“Mom, what are you doing?” Tarasa raised one of her eyebrows, trying to guess what was going on.

I smiled. “I’m cooking up mashed potatoes and chicken for dinner.”

Their innocent green eyes widened in shock and then they smiled. I could see the excitement in their eyes which felt great. Whenever these children were happy, a piece of me softened.

“Is it ready yet?” Jos’s little voice found a way out of his throat.

“It will if you let it cook.” As I say this, they scampered out of the kitchen, going back to their respective businesses.

Abien was crazy if he thought he wanted to find us. Even if it was to find peace, I didn’t want my children to find out that their father rejected them the way I was rejected by my parents. Well, Abien didn’t technically leave them, but he would have if he knew about their existence.

I simmered the potatoes and pounded them with a mortar and pestle because I can’t afford a blender for now. It came out beautifully with a smooth texture, so I added my milk and all others to the smashed potatoes.

I checked the chicken to see if it had been cooked and I saw it was a perfect shade of fried chicken brown. I dragged it out of the oven and placed it out to cool, then added it side by side to the bowl of mashed potatoes. Now, dinner is ready.

As we sat down for dinner, I felt elated. In a long while, this is the first time we were sitting together as a family, having a splendid and expensive meal. I saw Abien in Jos as he smiled and clicked his tongue at the food. Abien’s smile was always beautiful, a smile that sent warmth to my heart. Because of that smile, I was able to find love again. I was above to love again, but he rejected me. Over and over again.

“Mom?” Tarasa jutted me back to reality.

As I recovered from the broken flashback experience, I saw three pairs of eyes looking at me. Then I remembered what I said earlier, “uh yeah, let’s dig in.”

We ate in silence, trying to dig into the food and savor the taste. I didn’t even care about the taste, what I cared about is the happiness that seems to be plastered on their faces. I wanted to cry for them as their mother. Not being able to provide more than this made me ache more than anything.

“Mom, can we eat mashed potatoes and roasted chicken every day?” Fabien asked shyly, with his mouth clothed with the oil from the chicken.

“Yes, mom,” Tarasa, who had been looking down at her plate, tipped in. “Can we have it every day?”

All three of them looked at me, waiting for a positive answer. But, no, we can’t have it every day. I looked back at them and thought of the perfect thing to say to them. “Remember how you rejected the pizza because you had overeaten it?” they all nodded, focusing on what I’m saying. Tarasa had even dropped her fork.

 “You got tired of it,” I continued, “you said you don’t want pizza any longer, and you turned it away and picked up chicken and potatoes because you haven’t had it in a long, long time. If you want this meal to remain special, don’t take it every day, so you can savor the taste every new time you eat it.”

My life was so relatable to pizza, but I let it slide. I had to focus on all I had. These three.

I was glad they seemed to buy the idea. I mean, I didn’t know what I would have done if they were relentless on having chickens every day. I watched as they ate the last bit of their food, scraping off the last mashed potatoes. In the next three years, I would see them as teenagers, not wanting their mom doting on them any longer, so I had to relish all the times they are dependent on me.

Sadly, I have to work extra time, so I won't get to see them so often. So far, they’ve spent their days in the house alone as peacefully as any ten-year-old would be when alone.

 I had struck babysitters off my list because my kids aren't human and I feared what would happen if those human babysitters found out about that. We would have to go into hiding again.

And I didn’t want that.

“Mom,” Fabien spoke up, “our teacher in school talked about careers and what we’d like to be when we grow up. Is it okay if I become a doctor?”

I smiled. “It’s more than okay if it’s okay with you.”

“OK, mom.” He said and returned to his food.

I was proud of what my children were becoming. Soon enough, they’d discover their wolverine strength, but by then, they’ll become more human than wolves, and wouldn’t want to trace their history.

I smiled as I took the last bite of this chicken’s succulent flesh. My children could be anything they wanted to be, except a wolf.

Even if it was part of them.