Chapter 4: Wolf

Carmella sat in her kitchen eating her dinner. Her time with Maggie had caused her to garner certain habits. She washed daily and kept her dreadlocks neat and tidy. She kept her farmhouse in immaculate condition, sweeping, dusting, and mopping on a regular basis, maybe even to excess. She never allowed her trash to accumulate, and once a week she carried the unusable portion to the pit.

But not on Sundays.

On Sundays she had her bath, cooked Sunday dinner, read some, and sat out on the porch hoping that Wolf would come by to visit. She always saved the chicken butt for him, and if he didn't show up, she placed it in the icebox until he did come. Then she'd warm it up on her cook stove and put it in his special bowl for him and the pups.

She smiled to herself. She'd finished the paperback book by the time it had grown dark, and with a sigh she ambled inside and lit the kerosene lantern. Maybe Wolf would come tomorrow. She thought about Maggie and she thought about Kitty, whom she had carelessly released. The cat had probably never returned to the woman, unlike Wolf. He always returned home. That was another difference between the two women. Carmella hadn't kept Wolf a prisoner.

It had taken her several months after leaving Maggie's farm to find her new home. By then she was on the Kentucky side of the Ohio River. The farm had a large barn, which was the deciding factor. She was frightened of wolves and the barn was large enough to house the animals she wanted to keep locked away at night. The house itself was simple from the outside, but inside the prior inhabitants had spent a great deal of money making it a nice home.

Many of the chickens were still present, and a horse once showed up and took off, but Carmella had to find the cows, the bull, a goat, and some wild turkeys. It was a lot of hard work. The wolves kept picking off the chickens and killed the goat in the middle of the day. Although scared, she got her rifle and guns and went out hunting. It was early spring but still cold, snow covering the ground. It was her first winter there, and she assumed the bitter cold was what made the wolves desperate enough to approach the farm during the day.

It wasn't hard to follow their tracks so she was thankful for the cold weather. The trail of blood helped as well. After a few hours she came to a cave. Damn! Even a fool knew better than to go into a cave with wolves. But she didn't have to worry. Two scrawny wolves came out, baring teeth and growling aggressively. Carmella didn't think, shooting and killing them both. She didn't need their pelts. She could easily go to Macy's or Wal-Mart or any number of department stores up in Cincinnati for all the clothes her heart desired. But it was a shame to waste the fresh meat. As she prepared to butcher one of the animals, she heard a sound that made her heart slow.

It was the sound of a wolf puppy crying.

Carmella cursed as she looked at the gaunt animal carcasses. Damn, a family of wolves. They had been trying to feed their babies. It was stupid, she knew, but she crawled carefully into the cave and saw a ball of fur whining in the corner. Just one. Carmella reached out, and the pup sniffed her hand, crawling to her without hesitation. Something in Carmella's chest seemed to open up and flare to life. She picked up the little pup and held it by the scruff of its neck while she examined it critically. Shit, he was a little boy who pissed and whined, but he was adorable. Carmella placed it into her coat and followed her tracks back home. She didn't have the heart to eat his parents.

She named the pup Wolf. She didn't want to give the little one a real name because she hoped not to become too attached. But Wolf became a welcome distraction from her tedious life. He was so cute, and his antics caused her to laugh often. She bathed him and brushed his fur, and to keep Wolf from crying all night, she let him cuddle against her in bed. She carried him up and down the stairs until he learned to do it on his own. He once jumped at a mouse and cowered in the corner, whining for her to rescue him. He hid under the bed whenever he left a mess on the floor. And if she couldn't find him, she knew to search for his mess. She took him with her while she hunted and taught him how to corral the animals without killing a chicken.

As he grew to full size, Wolf continued to be as gentle as ever and still tried to climb into her lap for a nap or into her bed to fall asleep against her warm body. She knew that she was every bit Wolf's mother as the one she had slaughtered, and he had become her child. Not that she missed Micah any less. But having Wolf allowed her to stop thinking about her own lost child, and for a while her hatred receded.

One day when they had gone out to corral the animals, Wolf became distracted and sniffed the area. He threw his head back and howled, the sound making her skin crawl. Carmella had never heard him make such a sound. It took her a long time to get him to come back home, and that night he was restless. Carmella wouldn't let him out, and he whined at the door all night long. As soon as she went out the next morning to milk the cows, Wolf dashed out and went running at full speed into the field.

"Wolf!" She ran after him with only a pistol in the waistband of her jeans, but it didn't take long for Wolf to disappear from her sight. All she could do was scream out his name. "Wolf!" When she thought about Kitty and what she'd done to Maggie all those years ago, she began to cry hysterically as she apologized over and over.

Wolf didn't come home. She sat out food in his special bowl. She had even slaughtered a chicken and stewed it up especially for him. But even when the sun set, Wolf had not returned. This was the first time that he'd spent a night without her in the four years that she'd had him. What did he know about the wilderness? He was just a baby.

Each evening she stood on the porch and stared out into the distance waiting for Wolf to come back. Six months went by, and one evening she heard familiar scratching on the door. Carmella sat up straight in bed and turned up the lantern. She listened and heard scratching and a soft whining. Carmella jumped out of bed and dashed to the door. She flung it open without thought, and there was her baby!

"Wolf!" She grabbed him and hugged him around his furry throat as his tail thumped back and forth.

He licked her face even though he knew he wasn't supposed to do that and for once she didn't chastise him. She began asking him where he had been. He was thin and she stood and led him into the house but he wouldn't come.

"What's wrong, boy?"

Wolf looked behind him, whined, and walked in a circle. He let out a sharp bark, and another wolf came out of the darkness. Carmella peered out into the night. The second wolf stared at her with strange eyes, watching her as if she was some curious abomination. After a few long moments, the second wolf came forward and crept up the stairs, warily keeping Carmella in its sights.

"Wolf? Is that your … wife? Did you go get married, boy?" She chuckled to herself. "Now you're bringing her home to meet your mama?"

Carmella went to the kitchen, trusting that Wolf would keep his woman in her place. She pulled out all the chicken butts she had been saving and placed them in a skillet on the cook stove to warm up. She filled his water bowl and set it out on the front porch. They both drank from it, and when she brought out the chicken butts, she placed them in one bowl and set it in front of her boy. Wolf sucked them down in appreciation while the female bared her teeth at Carmella's proximity before she joined him.

"Bitch," Carmella muttered. It was exactly what a bitch would do—come to your house, eat your food, and then roll her eyes at you.

After the chicken butt appetizer, she filled his bowl with a mixture of hard and canned dog food. They scarfed that down as well. Poor baby, he was so hungry. She made to move outside, but the bitch growled at her, stopping her in her tracks. Wolf snapped at his wife, who quickly retreated as Carmella came out on the porch and sat in her chair. Wolf sniffed the porch for a few minutes before curling at her feet. She reached down and stroked his fur while his wife stood in the yard watching and looking agitated.

Carmella thought about shooing her away but didn't. She was Wolf's wife and since wolves mated for life, she and Wolf's wife would have to get used to each other.

They stayed that way throughout the night. She thought Wolf was asleep, but he was content to lie at her feet. As the sun rose, Wolf sat up, sniffed the porch, he looked at his Mama, and darted down the stairs and into the woods, his wife trailing closely behind.

It was so difficult after that. It was as if Wolf had visited to tell her goodbye. Carmella cried for two days after that.

Wolf returned several months later.

This time he had his wife and three little furry pups. Carmella picked up each puppy in her arms and carried them into the house. This time Wolf followed and so did his wife. She still gave Carmella the stink eye, but it didn't matter. Carmella was holding Wolf's pups, and there was nothing that could have made her happier.

Carmella prepared a feast for the family and instead of doing her chores she played with her grandbaby pups for the rest of the day. Wolf sat in contentment nearby, looking out at the horizon in a way she had never seen before, his ears perking if he heard an errant sound. She realized that he was watching, protecting them all in a way he had never done before. What had he experienced in the year that he'd gone out and made a family? She thought she understood why he sniffed the porch so carefully. Wolf was making sure that nothing had been at the house in his absence.

Wolf would return often to keep watch over Carmella. Over time, the children grew bigger, and it sometimes looked as if a pack of wolves had come for her, but she recognized each of them. Each wolf took to her except the wife. That bitch never liked her and had once snapped at her when she reached out to pat her in a show of friendship. But Wolf didn't play that shit, and he nipped her, causing her to whine and go outside. Wolf kept his children under control when they were in the house. Sometimes Carmella would cackle at their antics, even when they knocked over and broke things and went hiding in shame. She loved them intensely.

Every few months Wolf would return home. He never stayed long, but she that he'd soon return.