Mary Anne Gruen - The House of Red

Wolf and Tony spent the night by the fireplace in the main room of Aesophocles’s one bedroom cottage. In the morning, Topaz fed them breakfast while her mate slept in after his night of hunting.

“After breakfast,” Tony said, “I’ll go see Virginia.”

“I’m coming too,” Wolf announced.

Tony smiled a great big smile and forced himself to act pleasant. He didn’t want to argue in front of their hostess. “Now, Wolf, we’ve talked about this. We know Topaz’s mother doesn’t take kindly to wolves. It’s better if you stay away from there.”

“I don’t care. I’m coming.”

“Remember what our friend Snow said before we left?”

“I don’t care,” Wolf repeated. “I’m coming.”

Tony kicked Wolf under the table and Wolf growled back. Then they both glanced over to see if Topaz had noticed. But she seemed to be more interested in stirring a pot on the fire.

“You can walk me most of the way,” Tony said. “I don’t think I could find my way back without your help. But I really think you should stay away from that house. Just in case.”

“He’s probably right,” Topaz said standing. “You look human. But my mother has such a hatred of wolves. And my being involved with Aesophocles hasn’t improved things. I’ve been putting off telling her we’re having a child because I know how much it’ll upset her.”

“You see,” Tony said. “It’ll help Topaz if you stay away. We don’t want her mother getting any more upset about wolves than she is already, do we?”

Wolf growled. He wasn’t happy about this. Not at all.

On the way to Emerald’s cottage, Wolf said nary a word. Finding the way back was easy. In fact, Wolf wondered that Tony couldn’t have done it by himself because the goats gave off such a sharp tangy aroma. The only good thing was the tantalizing scent of Virginia around the edges. She was obviously outside this morning.

They were still a good distance off when Tony stopped and said, “All right. I think you should wait here.”

Wolf whimpered but Tony tried not to hear. Instead, he turned and continued on down the path by himself, looking back only once to see if Wolf was still there. He was, watching after Tony with the brokenhearted expression of an abandoned puppy dog. How am I supposed to keep them apart, Tony wondered.

When he walked into the clearing at Emerald’s cottage, Tony immediately saw Virginia. She had just finished the milking and was urging the goats out into the field. She didn’t see Tony at first, but when she did, she came tearing across the yard and threw her arms around him.

“I was afraid I’d never see you again,” she cried.

“It’s all right.” Tony said, hugging her.

Emerald was just inside the barn collecting pails of milk, so she saw Tony arrive. She came at once to inspect their visitor, throwing the end of her cloak resolutely across her shoulder.

“Whatever you do, don’t mention Wolf’s name,” Tony whispered into Virginia’s ear when he saw Emerald marching toward them. “Let me do the talking.” With a pat, he pulled away from his daughter and put on his best friendly face. Hi!” he said. “I’m Virginia’s father.”

“Anthony Lewis,” Emerald said, making the name sound like a title.

“That’s right.”

“Dad,” Virginia said. “This is Emerald.”

“How do you do?” Tony said bowing politely. “I’ve been trapping in the area and I heard my daughter was staying here.”

“You’re a trapper?” Emerald said questioning. “Virginia said you were an inventor.”

“I am,” Tony said, fumbling just a touch. “But that doesn’t pay much, so I hire myself out as a trapper too to help make ends meet. I’m working with another man in the forest. We’ve been hunting beaver. We’ve done pretty well too. See?”

Tony handed a beaver pelt to Emerald, who turned it over and over in her hands.

“Good fur,” Emerald said. “Good quality. But it looks well seasoned. Not fresh.”

“Well,” Tony said, fumbling again. “I didn’t want to bring you a fresh one. They’re so messy. This is a gift for taking care of my daughter.”

A smile broke out over Emerald’s face as she stroked the fur. It would make a perfect little jacket for her year-old granddaughter. “I accept your gift Mr. Lewis,” she said. “Why don’t you go inside and Virginia will give you something hot to drink. I’m just in the midst of separating my curds from my whey. I make my own cheese you know. You’ll excuse me for awhile, won’t you?”

“Of course,” Tony said, smiling his biggest smile again. Let Mrs. Muffet get back to her tuffet. He needed to talk to his daughter alone.

As Emerald returned to her work in the barn, Virginia escorted Tony to the cottage as calmly as she could. But as soon as the door was closed she yelled out, "Where’s Wolf?”

“He’s all right. He’s waiting in the woods. You have no idea how worried we’ve been. Do you know whose house this is?”

“Sure, Emerald’s. And it’s sometime before Little Red Riding Hood.”

“Maybe. But do you know who Emerald probably is?”

“Yes,” Virginia said with a touch of impatience. “She’s a nice lady who’s taken me in and given me shelter.”

“She’s also Little Red Riding Hood’s grandmother.”

“What?”

“And guess who WE stayed with last night? The wolf who’s going to try and kill Little Red Riding Hood.”

“You’re kidding.”

“I wish I was. This place is so crazy. You start making tea or whatever it is she expects you to do before she gets back. I have a lot to tell you.”

Tony hastily told Virginia the story of Snow White and their quest for truth while keeping a look-out for Emerald. “Here,” he said. “This is the piece of the Mirror of Truth they made up for you. Wear it. I think you’re meant to stay here with Emerald for awhile longer. I’ll tell her I’ve got to continue hunting and it would be safer if you stayed with her.”

“O.K.” Virginia said. “And you can tell Topaz that I’m staying here because I’m hoping to soften her mother up towards her.”

“She’ll probably believe that. She said you were very encouraging about her mother coming around and accepting her husband. Course that was before you knew who all these people were.”

“Maybe I can change history.”

“Virginia! Remember what Snow White said. What’s been done, can’t be undone.”

“But I have to try.”

“No!” Tony could already see how hard this whole thing was going to be. Wolf wanted to rush in where smart wolves feared to tread. And Virginia wanted to try and undo all the wrongs of history. “You’re here to watch. That’s all!”

Virginia made a face as she put the piece of mirror around her neck. “It seems pointless, just watching.”

“Look. I figure it’s the price of getting you back.”

“How is Wolf taking all this?”

“Not well. He’ll probably have dissolved into a puddle of tears by the time I get back. Or maybe he’ll just haul off and bite me. I’d actually prefer that.”

“It’s not going to be easy for us to stay apart.”

“I’m beginning to see that. You look like a sick puppy dog too. All right. Maybe I can figure out a way for you to meet in the woods some night.”

“I don’t think Emerald would let me out then. It’ll have to be during the day when she’s gone.”

“Do you know when that might be?”

“No.”

“If only there were some way of your getting a message to me. What am I saying? If you go walking in the woods, Wolf will probably smell you and come running.”

“You know. It just occurred to me. Emerald’s granddaughter Pearl must be Little Red Riding Hood. I thought her name sounded familiar. I think Wolf mentioned it once.”

“Shush,” Tony said suddenly. “She’s coming. Just stick to our cover stories. And, remember, your husband is still off fighting the trolls.”

When Emerald came into the cottage she found Virginia serving tea to Tony.

“Oh, Emerald,” Tony said, smiling and rising to his feet like a well trained gentlemen. “I’m glad you were finally able to join us.”

“I’ve been trying to get ahead on my cheese making,” Emerald said, hanging her cloak on a nail by the door. A stray blond hair had fallen down into her face and she pinned it back. “I need to put a fair amount aside right now for some trading I have in mind.”

“Yes,” Virginia said. “She’s been working night and day.”

“Well, not too much at night,” Emerald said. “Just an hour or so. Virginia’s being here has made the work go faster. Please, sit down.”

“Oh, but I can’t,” Tony said. “Not while a beautiful lady like yourself is standing. You must be very tired from your work.” He pulled out another chair at the table and said, “Here, you sit down and I’ll serve you.”

“In my own house, don’t be silly,” Emerald said, wiping her hands on her apron.

“I insist,” Tony said. He motioned to the chair grandly and raised his eyebrows flirtatiously.

Emerald smiled and said, “Well, if you insist.”

“That’s better,” Tony said. He helped her into the chair and then proceeded to wait on her with a flourish.

“So, what kind of things do you invent?” Emerald asked.

“Well, a lot of different things, really,” Tony answered. My last major invention was something to take the seeds out of cotton.”

“Really?” Emerald’s eyes widened with interest. “Farm equipment. We could use a man like you in this community.”

And so it went. Tony had a wonderful time drinking tea and talking about himself. He was very pleased with the wonderful job he was doing of charming the lady with the lovely green eyes. He even went so far as to tell her something about the time he’d helped a prince who’d been changed into a dog. Virginia sent him several disapproving glances. But he didn’t care. There wasn’t any harm in a little playful come-on, after all. When he left, he promised Emerald that he would return in a few days to bring her yet another pelt and visit his daughter. “And,” he said with a wink, “I hope I will have the pleasure of seeing you again.”

“I look forward to it,” Emerald said with a wink back.

When Tony went back down the path, he found Wolf pacing back and forth restlessly. As soon as saw Tony, he came dashing over.

“Why did you take so long?” Wolf asked. “How is she? How did she look? Did she ask for me? How’s she feeling?” As he asked these questions, he circled Tony like a dog begging for a treat.

“She’s fine,” Tony said, grabbing Wolf’s shoulders in an effort to hold him still. “And she misses you very much.”

“Oh!” Wolf couldn’t help but jump again. “And you told her how much I miss her?”

“Yes, straight away. But I’m still not sure how we can get you together. I met Red Riding Hood’s grandmother, by the way. Her name is Emerald and she’s got bright green eyes like Topaz and beige blond hair.”

“Yeah, so?”

“I told her I was helping a trapper in the forest and asked if she’d mind looking after Virginia till we were finished.”

“And she believed you?”

“Of course,” Tony said confidently.

“Really? I mean, you don’t look much like an outdoorsman, Ton. In fact, you look more like somebody who’s been eating a lot of rich palace food lately.”

“I do not.” Tony sucked in his stomach and tried to stand taller. “I have a stocky build, that’s all. She believed me completely. I’m a very impressive guy when I turn on the charm.”

Wolf rolled his eyes but said nothing.

“In fact.” Tony straightened his clothes and smoothed his hair back. “I think she rather liked me.”

Wolf licked his lips and wondered how much he should say. Then he remembered how horrible he’d felt being made to stay all this time by himself in the forest while the woman he yearned for was barely more than a few bounds away. “Tony, in your dimension I know the story of Red Riding Hood makes the grandmother sound old and feeble. And maybe she was by the time that took place. But the history of the Nine Kingdoms says she was a very smart and powerful woman in her youth. Don’t start playing around here. This is not King Wendell’s castle where you have a fine title and an important position with a nice income and a big reputation as a national hero. Maybe that all works together there to make you into some kind of love god. But here, you’ve got to be a little more realistic. Little Red Riding Hood’s grandmother is not someone you can trifle with.”

“So, I like having a little fun with the ladies. I’m sure you did plenty of that before you met Virginia.”

“Honestly? No. Your daughter is my first and only love. Face it Tony. Lately you’ve been acting more like a wolf than a wolf. And this is one lady you’ve got to be careful of. If you get too friendly with her, who knows what she might get you to say?”

“O.K. Maybe you’re right. I’ll try and be more careful. But the ladies really do like me, you know.”

Wolf sighed deeply and said, “Yeah, yeah. Dream on.”