Confessions about Bruce
“It sounds so wonderful, I can’t allow myself to even dream about being in the house without grandma for a change,” Mishka remarked with a dreamy look in her eyes.
Joan looked at Mishka with sympathy. She herself was glad that she was living in a comfortable home without the luxury and grandeur of a mansion.
“So, I was still talking about strangers in town,” Joan began.
“Yes, we were discussing Bruce,” Mishka agreed. “I still can’t see him as being dangerous,” she added in a calm tone of voice.
“Remember I told you about people who believe that some wolves are werewolves?” Joan asked Mishka.
“Yes, but we agreed that it’s nothing but a fantasy,” Mishka responded.
“Yes, but some people are really not who they seem to be, meaning that some things are not just a fantasy,” Joan remarked as she gently pushed Mishka’s coffee cup over to her.
“Are you saying that there can actually be werewolves amongst us?” Mishka asked, looking at Joan with a worried frown between her brows.
“We might never know for sure, but, you’re right. I do know Bruce, the designer,” Joan responded and paused.
Mishka listened with her breath held.
“But, I can’t tell you how right now. One thing I do know is that there have been rumours about him back in England long ago,” she continued.
“So, you do know him, wow!” Mishka responded in surprise.
“There were rumours about him in England you say? Did you read something about him in the news then?” she asked.
“I actually know of personal accounts about him from when I was in England,” Joan remarked as she sat sipping her coffee.
“Oh, I forget that you are from England originally. But, please tell me, I’m very curious now,” Mishka begged, sitting at the edge of her seat.
“What were the rumours?” she asked with her chin cupped in both her hands. She temporarily forgot about her coffee.
“There are old woods in England and some people believe that there are not only gypsies who still live there, under modern conditions, but werewolves too,” Joan responded as she looked down into her coffee cup.
“Wow! That’s quite interesting, but do you believe what they said?” Mishka asked with a frown.
“I had reason to when it was clear that some people who come from there are unusually talented, or rather, they possess some exceptional skills on a high level,” Joan replied. “They’re also very athletic and some of them have a high intellect; as in knowing things which us normal mortals just don’t,” she added.
“You mean they have super powers?” Mishka asked as she looked at Joan with her eyes stretched wide in disbelief.
“Yes and Bruce is a super athlete, as well as an exceptional designer. It’s strange that you haven’t heard about him yet,” Joan responded.
“I’m not as into fashion like my brother and I’m afraid, but I’ve not been keeping my eyes on the news for quite a while now,” Mishka responded.
“But, are you actually saying that Bruce is rumoured to be a werewolf because of his physical and intellectual skills?” she asked, frowning doubtfully.
“Well, I also know his relatives and some of them have more or less given their confirmation about this, yes,” Joan responded.
“Then it must be so great knowing his relatives! Aren’t they all as talented as him? Because I still think he’s just very gifted,” Mishka commented.
“What can you tell me about his relatives?” she asked then.
Joan frowned thoughtfully before responding.
“Well, some of them are just ordinary, everyday folk, but others are like aristocrats. They’re wealthy and don’t mix with regular folks like us, even if it’s their direct family. As I said, it’s as if the wealthy are afraid that they’ll be contaminated by the average person.
Then again, they also fear that they will become poor from mixing with average folk, even when it’s family,” Joan remarked, still looking very far away in her thoughts.
“I think that you shouldn’t take it so personally,” Mishka commented in response. She was frowning in concern as she studied Joan’s facial expression. She really looked injured by the people that she was talking about.
“That’s why I’m happy to be here in Canada, making my own kind of lifestyle and nobody has to look down on me and my family here. We’re all just trying our best to live a normal, healthy existence and not compete with others,” Joan remarked, almost as if she was talking to herself.
“This is touching her on a rather personal level,” Mishka remarked to herself inwardly.
“Well, I’m happy to hear that you’re content with what you have,” she remarked. “But then we should allow Bruce to also just be himself and live his life without us brandishing him,” she added as she picked up her coffee cup again.
“It’s true; everyone deserves a fair chance in life and we shouldn’t be prejudiced against them or jealous about them, but we should also acknowledge the fact that they might be unnaturally gifted and stronger than mere mortals.
So, it would be utter foolishness to try and compete against them,” Joan remarked with a serious look in her eyes as she stared past Mishka.
“You mean that we can visit Bruce but still keep him at a distance? We shouldn’t expect him to act completely normal?” Mishka responded with a concerned frown between her brows. It seemed as if Joan was perhaps being paranoid.
“But she isn’t usually,” Mishka reminded herself.
“Maybe she and Bruce go back some distance since they’re both from England. Maybe he offended her at some time or they had some kind of rivalry between them. But what exactly? She’s not a designer, so what rivalry could they have?” Mishka asked herself.
“But, she seems to be much older than Bruce. So what could their issues be?” Mishka wondered.
“Unless… could it really be true? If they had some rivalry in the past then they must both be around the same age and they should more or less look the same age. Maybe Bruce is a werewolf and he doesn’t age?” Mishka asked herself in sudden shock as the possibilities rose up in front of her.
“What are you thinking now? Do you still think he’s just innocently doing his clothes designing?” Joan asked as she studied Mishka’s face which now looked more serious than earlier.