Broken Barriers

Rydell sat the ribs on the table and Melania put a plate of corn on the cob next to the plate of ribs. After a few moments the table was full of food and plates. Lynexia filled her plate as the plates of food were passed to her. The group remained silent as they served up the food. Lynexia wasn't sure how to handle a family dinner with the almost strangers. It made her miss her parents even more. She didn't want to speak. Melania and Rydell just let her be. They had seen her relax more since she arrived so they were sure that she would open up sooner or later.

After a few minutes, Lynexia felt the need to speak. She looked at Rydell and said, " Thank you for the dinner. It is delicious. Reminds me of back home. When summer started my father would call the pack together and we would have a huge barbeque. He would make the best ribs with a homemade barbeque sauce that his grandfather taught him to make." Rydell smiled, "You're welcome, Lynexia. I am glad that you like it. This barbeque recipe came from my Uncle. He would barbeque no matter the weather. He would barbeque in the middle of a blizzard. One year it was almost 40 below and he still wanted to barbeque. He frost bit his nose. You should have seen him when he shifted. Half his nose was gone and he had a black mark up his snout between his eyes that looked like a tree that had been hit by a lightening bolt." Rydell recalled. "Now that is dedication." Lynexia laughed. "So, how are you feeling about your new home?" he asked. "Well, it is nice here. It doesn't seem to be as bad as I may have thought. I don't know if I like it yet but I am not mad about being here just the reason." Lynexia responded. "I am glad that you are not mad about being here. I really hope that you will see that you find your peace here." Melania mentioned. "I guess we will have to see." Lynexia shrugged. "Don't worry, it will be just fine. At some point you will be able to find a place where you can call your own. We have enough places to hide and be alone without being bothered. When you are ready you can choose a place you would like ahouse built and you can have anytype of house you would like." Rydell said. "Even if I want to build a castle?" Lynexia questioned. "Do you want a castle?" Melania asked. "I have always admired the architecture of castles and Tudor homes." Lynexia responded. "Well, we can discuss all the details of that when the time comes. And yes, if you want a castle, you can certainly have a castle." Rydell explained. "I guess I will have to work out some designs." Lynexia said.

The group finished their meal and Rydell left the women at the table. Lynexia was confused but didn't ask. She just got up and helped Melania clear the table. They put the left over food in the kitchen and the dishes in the dishwasher. When they returned, Rydell was still not back. "Where did he go?" Lynexia questioned. "I do not know. This must be the surprise that he wouldn't tell me what it was. He said that he had something that he wanted to give you but didn't tell me what it was. He talked about it when we found out that you were coming. I will say that he spent many hours since away at his secret spot." Melania explained. "He has a secret spot? Do you know where it is?" Lynexia questioned. "Yes, he has a secret spot in the forest. I do not know exactly where. I let him have his solitude. I have a spot that I go to be alone and paint. I also keep gifts that I make or get for Rydell there until I am ready to give them to him. He is like a child around Christmas. When we first moved in together, I kept the gifts inside the house and he would sneak to open the gifts and ruin the surprise." Melania explained. Lynexia laughed, "My parents had to find secret hidey holes to hide my gifts when I was growing up. I would do the same thing. At first I just couldn't wait. As I grew up, I realized that my parents gave terrible gifts. I wanted to know what I was getting so that I could act likeI really liked the gifts. I love my parents and tried to make them understand what I liked but they just got me weird things that they made. It kinda of became a game when I turned 13. We had contests who could make the weirdest, most confusing gifts for eachother. It was a lot of fun and christmas morning would be spent pretending that we liked whatever it was, while inside we were just trying to figure out what it was. I guess it would be almost like an ugly sweater contest." Lynexia said. "That is different." Melania responded. "Yeah, I wish I had those ridiculous gifts now." Lynexia lamented. "When you have children you can continue the tradition." Melania said. "Maybe I will. Ijust have to convince my husband, if I actually get married, to go along with it." Lynexia said. " I am sure you will get married. You will find your mate and you will be happy." Melania assured. "We shall see, if I don't kill Alrik first." Lynexia said under her breath. "What do you mean?" Melania questioned.

Before Lynexia could speak, Rydell returned with a large wooden box that he was dragging from the forest. "What is that?" Melania questioned. "Something that I think that Lynexia will like and will want to use all the time." He responded as he stopped dragging the wooden box. He walked over the the young woman and gave her a pry bar. She took it confused. "Go ahead, open up the side panel." he instructed. Lynexia cautiously walked over the the big wooden box and opened the side panel with the pry bar. It was difficult but she was able to pry open the box. The panel fell to the ground. Inside the box was a mountain bike with all terrain tires and what looked like a motor on the back. "You got me a bike?" she questioned. "No, I built you a bike. It has a motor if you don't want to peddle. Marcel called me to tell me all about you and how best to help you adapt. He told me you liked to ride around the forest on your bike since you learned to ride." Rydell explained. Lynexia teared up, "Thank you. Marcel was right. I can't tell you how many bikes my father had to buy me growing up. Or how many injuries my mother had to bandage and scold me for. Then she would get mad at Dad every time he got me a new bike. She would ask him how many bones he wanted me to break this time." Lynexia responded. "How many broken bones will you get now?" Melania questioned. "A few until I learn the terrain." Lynexia said with a laugh.