Page 14 of Big Bad Single Wolf Dad

“Wait, do lights hurt you?” Noah asks. “But we all played outside.”

“We’re photosensitive,” Mia says. She puts her hands on her hips and smiles in pride at saying such a large word. “Too much bright light can hurt, but it won’t kill us like in the old movies. We just wear a lot of sunscreen!”

“Okay, everyone take a seat. It’s time to eat,” Sarah says. She helps Ethan into the booth seat next to her. We’re all crammed into this corner table, surrounded by kitschy decor and neon signs. I’m suddenly very aware of just how many bright lights are in here. It doesn’t seem very fair for vampire kids.

“Being a vampire sounds tough,” Lily says. She holds out her plate for a slice of pepperoni pizza. “There’s, like, lights all over the place!”

“It’s not all bad,” Ethan says.

“Yeah, watch this!” Mia yelps before crouching down with her chin on the table, staring hard at her plastic cup of water.

“Mia, wait no, we talked about – !” But before Sarah can finish her disapproval, the entire table starts to shake. Everyone grabs their own cups to keep them from falling over. Three of us fail. Even the tacky chandelier above is vibrating. Mia jerks back to sitting up, a look of shock on her face.

“Oh. Sorry, Mom. I didn’t know I could do that.” Mia grabs a napkin and tries to soak up the soda spilled all over the table.

Lily bursts out laughing. “That was so cool! You can control stuff with your mind?”

Mia nods quickly. “Kind of!”

“Yeah, and we can read your minds!” Ethan says creepily. Ollie crouches into his seat and covers his ears as if that could prevent it from happening.

“Ethan, no. What did we say about that?” Sarah asks. Mia elbows him in the side.

“It’s not en-thical.” He sighs.

“Ethical,” Mia corrects.

“You think that’s cool?” Noah asks. “Watch this.”

Lily rolls her eyes and sighs as Noah puts his hands under the table. And now it’s my turn to try and shut down the showboating, as Noah begins to lift the entire table at an awkward angle.

“No,” I say, pushing the table back down. But it’s too late. The pizzas slide off their trays to land in a puddle of cola and lemonade. There’s a dead silence across the booth, Sarah staring slack-jawed, her eyes wide. I clench my fists in frustration and try to think of just how big of a tip it’ll take to not get permanently banned from this place. You could slice the tension in the air with a pizza cutter.

Until Ollie pipes up in a squeaky voice and says what we’re all thinking. “Uh oh.”

Sarah bursts out into uncontrolled laughter. I relax and join her, finding it difficult not to find humor in the absurdity of our shared struggle. She reaches over and grabs Ethan and Mia, taking them in for a big hug.

“I love you guys so much,” she says into Mia’s hair. “You’re both so talented. You just need to use your powers responsibly.”

Noah looks up at me with wide eyes. All frustration dissipates immediately. I know he’s just trying to flex into who he really is. I give him a pat on the head. “What Sarah said. Your powers are an important part of who you are, but you have to be smart about when and how to use them.”

We stand from the table, Sarah and I apologizing to an exhausted-looking waiter who finds us a new place to sit by pushing two regular tables together. I offer to pay for the replacement pizzas, but the manager assures me it’s fine. Even though I can tell it absolutely isn’t.

“Is it okay to try again with something smaller?” Mia asks.

Sarah chews on her lip but eventually nods. “Okay, but once our drinks are here you have to stop.”

Mia smiles and pulls out a rubber ducky toy she won in the arcade. She places it on the table and stares at it hard. Slowly, it starts to rise into the air. The table, meanwhile, remains completely still.

“Woah!” Ollie shouts. He reaches out and waves his hand under and over the duck.

Sarah smiles down at Mia, pride beaming on her face. I know that expression very well. Seeing your children display their supernatural traits so joyfully, without shame, and doing so constructively is a challenge. But it’s one that leaves you full of pride when they pull it off successfully.

Noah seems to be thinking hard about something. I can see the gears turning in his mind. He obviously wants to show off again. It’s a common werewolf instinct to be competitive and show off whenever possible. But his physical strength, while impressive, can have big consequences. Sometimes even more drastic than spilling dinner and angering an underpaid server.

And that thought gives me pause. I have these traits too, after all. Competitiveness, strength, and a need to be in control at all times. I can temper my moods and check myself when I’m calm, but these are instincts bred into me for centuries. They will always be a part of me and my children. And the older they get, the stronger those traits will become.

I was an absolute terror when I was a teenager. Most werewolf kids are. Will Sarah be able to handle that? Will the tentative friendship between these five continue, even when their supernatural attributes begin to conflict? I can already see petty squabbles turning into broken furniture and plates flying across the room.

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