Life and Times of a Deadly Dog
Mornings were always the best time of the day for the Cooper family. Gerard and Molly always tried to wake up earlier than Jules to start breakfast so it'd be ready before she got up, but over time Jules had begun to wake up as early as they did. Molly wasn't ready for Jules to begin cooking just yet. She was still her little baby, and she was going to milk that for all it was worth. She knew her husband's blood ran through Jules's veins and that meant she wasn't going to be a typical little girl. Though, Molly would sometimes muse, what was a typical little girl anymore?
Jules was already awake and sitting at the dining room table when Molly came into the kitchen. Jules flinched, embarrassed, when her mother leaned over to give her a big kiss on the cheek before she began making breakfast. Jules was reading a book of old Fairy Tales while her mother began cracking eggs into a hot skillet by the time Gerard entered the kitchen. He yawned and stretched before planting a kiss on the crown of Jules's head and sitting down next to his daughter. He picked up the paper and began humming a little tune while the skillet continued to sizzle and pop as the eggs cooked.
Molly was cutting up apples and some strawberries. Gerard flipped through the paper while Jules continued to read.
"Daddy," Gerard paused and looked over the paper at Jules,
"Yes, Sweetheart?"
'What's this word?" Gerard leaned over and looked at where his daughter was pointing in the book.
"Hmmmm, what do you think?"
"Well, it starts with a W,"
'Yes. What's next?"
"An... An I?" Gerard smiled and urged, "Yes. Next?"
"It's a... It's a T."
"Ok, keep going..."
"A... A C..."
"And?" Molly looked over at the two of them and smiled while shaking her head.
"An... An H!"
"Good. Now let's sound it out. W and I together makes...?"
"W....Wi?"
"Yes. And after that?" Gerard beamed as he urged her onward, "It's... a T! Wha....Wha....WIT!" "Yes, very good. Now what comes next? I know you learned this just the other day in school>"
"It's a C and an H. That makes a Chuh sound!"
"So far, so good. Now put that behind Wit, what's that make?"
"Wha... Wi...Tuh...Chuh. Wit...a...Chuh..."
He waited for it. Her eyes lit up. There it was.
"Witch! That spells Witch!" She smiled from ear to ear and he reached over and patted her on the head.
"Very good, but Which Witch?"
She stopped smiling and scrunched up her face. She smiled sheepishly as Molly turned and gave him the 'You-That-Wasn't-Nice' look. But Jules pointed into the book, at the picture on the page.
"This Witch! This one!"
Gerard smiled, and Molly's face relaxed a bit as she gave him an endearing look of understanding.
"Dad, what's a Witch?" Jules looked up at her father.
"Well, Goober, a Witch is a Lady-"
"A Lady?" He knew what Jules was asking.
"Well, A Lady or a Man, but most of the time a Lady, who practices magic."
"Are the Ladies bad? This one seems bad."
Gerard looked over at what she was reading. Hansel & Gretel.
"Ah, yes, yes that one is bad. But they're not always like that."
"Really? What do they do?" Molly was plating up the food and spreading jelly on some wheat toast.
"Well, some Witches heal the sick with their magic. Others try and summon bad things into the world. And some just like to study old books"
"What does summon mean?"
Molly set the three plates down and pulled her chair out and sat down.
"Well, summon means 'To Call' something. Like if your mother 'Summons' me from the other room, I come to wherever she is"
"Oh! Like a phone call!"
"Yes! Like a phone call! The Witch calls something from another room, basically"
"Oh! But what if they're not in a room?"
Gerard stopped and thought.
"Well, when I say another room, I mean a place that they aren't in right now. So it doesn't mean they have to be in an actual room to do it."
"Oh, okay. And those Witches are bad?"
"Some are. But not all of them. Sometimes Witches summon people or things that they lost. Like a friend who died, or a favorite spoon they lost."
Jules nodded as she began stuffing eggs into her mouth. Molly turned to her husband,
"Do you have to go today? You've only been home a few weeks, now. I don't want you to leave so soon after you've just started settling in." Her concern didn't escape Gerard. He put his hand on her wrist and smiled.
"It's only a few days. Just reports of some Wolf running around scaring a village in Ireland. Shouldn't take more than a week to solve." The word 'Wolf' seemed to make Mrs. Cooper rather unsettled, but Gerard just squeezed her wrist reassuringly.
"I've got Smith coming along. You remember him, right? Tall lad, the one with the glasses. And Drumm's coming too. So those two will have my back if things get ugly."
"I know, dear, I just worry. It's what I do. I know you'll be fine, but I just get a little nervous each time you have to leave"
"I know, Love, I know. But I've got the best guys I could ask for backing me up. We're just going in to investigate some reports. Could be nothing."
"You said that that incident with the dragon 'Could be Nothing'"
Molly gave Gerard a stern look while Jules reached over for her milk.
"I know, I know. That time we were wrong. Somebody didn't tell us everything and things got ugly. But we all came home, didn't we?"
"Yes, I suppose. But the day after you got back, and you go telling me you found a Dragon?! I almost had a heart attack! I mean, some of the girls I play poker with tell me about how their husbands had bad days when a client misfiles their taxes or rear-ends a truck," She looked over at Jules, pushing her milk closer to her so she could reach it. Jules picked the glass up and began drinking, "But my husband? My husband goes off to Russia and fights a Dragon, slays it, and then goes and finds a baby dragon in some abandoned factory!" she let out a sigh. Gerard leans over and kisses her on the cheek.
"I know, Love, I know I can be a bit difficult. But I always play it safe,"
"Playing it safe is sitting behind a desk, Dear, playing it safe is going with other ladies' husbands out to golf outings on the weekends! Not slaying Dragons and fighting Trolls!"
"Well, technically that last time it was an Ogre..."
"Oh, I'm sorry, goes out slaying dragons and fighting Ogres!"
Gerard smiles reassuringly. Molly knows he tries to stay safe. But she also knows that so many people are still alive because her wonderful husband is brave enough to do these foolish things. She just wished he didn't have to.
"I know, babe. But after this I've got a three month vacation. I've already talked to the suits, and they've approved my for paid time off. We can go on that Alaskan Cruise we've been getting ready for."
"Didn't you find a Yeti in Alaska?"
"Oh, no it was a Were-Moose, and it was in Canada. My point is I'll be fine. Like I said I've got the best team coming to back me up! I'll be home before you know it!"
Molly sighed, a little lighter this time. She knew he'd be fine. Dragons, Ogres, Werewolves, all had tried to kill her husband, and yet every time he always came home. He was brave, brave and strong. Her own Knight in battered armor.
Molly kissed him on the cheek, and squeezed his hand lovingly.
"Should I book the cruise, then?"
"I don't see why not? Might as well get the reservation in now. I think the Bureau might be willing to help us into first-class."
Molly smiled. She was relaxed again. They finished their breakfast and the two of them stood up and began cleaning the dishes. Jules continued reading her book, asking occasionally what certain words were or something meant. Gerard began humming, and Molly hummed along with her own little tune.