Scene 1. Trish

And so, it finally happened. Lilly walks back home from college to find an envelope, with a letter, taped to her apartment door. She does not even have to open it to know what it is. If this was from the police, I would be meeting them here… It is signed and authored by the dreaded ‘Wifey’. The letter from the ‘Wifey’, identifying herself as the Trish Willis, invites Lilly (the other woman) and her co-conspirator friend, Liz, for coffee at Henny’s. The letter gives the date and time for the meeting. If she was going to kill me I would be dead already. I wonder what she wants to talk about? Lilly reflects on the photograph of her that Fendor carried. I wonder when that picture was taken. I guess I had better tell Liz about this.

……

A few days later Liz and Lilly walk in to Henny’s coffee shop. They see a young wolf-woman sitting alone in the back of the restaurant. The woman motions to them.

Lilly stares down at the tiny, very young-looking, woman, thinking, She looks like a child! Fendor, you pervert! No wonder you chase school girls!

Trish smiles, motions for them to sit and greets them cordially, “Thank you for meeting with me today." "I am Trish Willis and I imagine this is as hard for you as it is for me." "Lilly and Liz right?” “Yes, I know your names and I know that you two have been having trysts with my husband for the last two years." "I even know the exact day it started.” “Please relax I have not asked you here to scold you." "To the contrary, I want you to know that I know about you all.” “And whatever you did with my husband, it worked out well for me and my family…” “And I wanted you to find all of this out from me, preferably without my husband knowing.”

Trish recites her history of the affair, “One night Fendor came home from work late." "That was not unusual." "What was unusual is that he smelled like shampoo, and faintly of a pasture.” “And he had a bandage on his head." "And these were not the only things that were unusual about him that night.” “He also had flowers for me." "I was in shock.” "I could not remember the last time he ever gave me flowers, and they were wildflowers, my favorite, and they smelled wonderful, just like the mountain outdoors I remember from my childhood back home!” “I was too shocked to say anything, but that was not the end of it.” “The very next night he called from work and said for me to not make dinner as he was taking us out to eat." "He came home early and we went out for a steak dinner.” “To say I was confused would be an understatement.” “The flowers and the steak-house were your ideas, weren’t they?”

Trish continues, “And the miracle continued over the following days.” “Gradual at first, but building.” “He started fixing things in the house, mowing the lawn regularly and straightening out the landscaping." "He was interacting with Timmy, our son, more," "Playing ball, and he is not a ball player at all," "He never even used to watch sports," "And he began to check Timmy’s homework, something I usually did," "And the most amazing thing is that he started paying much more attention to me." "I thought this was all to good to be true, but it hasn’t showed and signs of fading." "Even his work supervisor called me to ask what was going on because he was so much happier and better to everyone at work." "So I never questioned those Wednesday night ‘work meetings’ that he never seemed to be able to skip and his supervisor did not know anything about.” “And he always returned smelling faintly of a fresh green pasture.” Lilly smiles: That’s me!

“Of course I knew," "And I appreciate how careful you all have been, avoiding my family and friends.” “I confess that I couldn’t leave it alone though." "I hired a PI to see what was really going on." "I was worried that he was being blackmailed." "While I did find that he was being coerced, it was not for money." "He went along with the mock-coercion perhaps as cover for his guilt over infidelity," "But what I witnessed wasn’t forced." "What I saw was that you all were genuinely enjoying each others company." "Around you all he could finally relax, as with good friends," "And you all had become good friends." "I was (and still am) jealous that I could never join you in your world (and find out what was with those PI pictures!)." "Eventually, I calmed down and reflected on how I could never fulfill all of his needs all by myself." "What I have with him is as close to perfect as it ever is going to get.”

“Thank you again for meeting with me today." "I really did not want our first meeting to be an awkward accident." "Please don’t tell him we met, or that I know." "I think that he suspects, but he needs this delusion to continue to be happy." "Don’t break the spell.”

“You should also know that Fendor has a health condition." "I don’t know what it is, he has chosen not to share with me." "I can see it in the dullness of his once shiny coat." "He has gotten quite thin." "You can really see it in his graying face.”

Lilly pictures Fendor in her mind and reflects, He always looked like a ‘coat-rack’ to me. My victims always look wimpy like that, so I know I can 'take' them.

"Do you two know anything about it?" "Has he said anything about it?” Liz and Lilly both shake their heads, ‘no’. Liz and Lilly looked and are genuinely surprised. Both thinking, Are we about to lose him?

Trish then revealed some background about their meeting and marriage. She said that they met at college where Fendor was an assistant professor in the School of Business at the time. She did not say what she was doing at the college. Trish goes on to say that they got married and left the college when Trish had their son, Timmy. Fendor then took a job in industry, ostensibly for more money for the new family.

Trish then concludes the meeting, “I am glad to meet you both, you both seem very nice.” “Please feel free to text me if you need anything." "I know you both have resources, so it won’t be that, but you might want to get things you don’t want your families to know about.”

Neither of the two had touched their drinks. They just sat still and silent, listening in rapt attention to Trish through the entire exposition. Lilly then stands up to terminate the emotional roller-coaster meeting.

Trish didn’t ask, so I am glad I didn’t have to tell her exactly how we met!

And what took place at our first meeting!

Scene 2. Tex

Lilly first met Liz’s brother, Tex, at a pro ball game. He is a very tall, handsome black goat-man. The only person Lilly knows who is taller than Liz. They look much alike, although Tex is two years older. He has a calm, gentle demeanor and a beautiful deep voice. And Liz has a crush on her brother.

Like Fendor’s wife, Tex sent a letter to Lilly requesting an audience, once again at Henny’s. Lilly is not as worried about this meeting as the much as the one with ‘wifey’, but it might be intense if he knows anything about their ‘adventures’ with Fendor.

Tex is sitting in the back, as unmistakable as he is eye-catching. Everyone in the small restaurant is sneaking looks at the handsome sports-star. Fortunately, it is mid-afternoon so Henny’s is mostly empty.

Tex stands and greets Lilly, “Good afternoon Lilly.” “I am heading off to training camp soon and I will be there for a while.” “I wanted to talk to you before I left.” “First I want to thank you for being my sister’s, probably only, friend.” “Despite her imposing looks, she is shy and introverted. She would not have had so many valuable life experiences without your friendship. I won’t ask how deep it goes, I just ask that you reflect on Liz’s limited experience and don’t hold her back (and I don’t think you will). She can be a good athlete and can get good grades (if I harp on it) so she should have a lot of possibilities. Continue to help her with that. Here is my number at camp, ask for me. Let me know if there is anything I can do for either of you. You say you don’t need anything, but you never know…” “By the way,” “one of my teammates wants to meet you.” “I showed him a picture of you playing tennis with my sister. I was trying to get him interested in dating my sister, but he really wants to meet you!” “Now that I think about it, he looks a lot like you.” Lilly thinks, Looks like me? Ugh! Lilly is anxious to terminate this line of discussion, “It is nice to see you again, Tex.” “Liz is fun to be with now, so I’ll try to keep that going.” Teammate? Looks like me! Sorry Tex,

I already know he is not my type, without ever even seeing (or smelling) him.

Scene 3. Fendor

Once again the meeting is a Henny’s Coffee Shop. Tex is setting in the back when Fendor walks in. Tex motions to Fendor. Fendor regards the tall pro sports star, well known for his charity work with disadvantaged children.

Tex starts the conversation, “Thank you for meeting with me today Mr. Willis, I am Tex, Liz’s big brother." "I am going off to training camp next week and I wanted to meet with you before I go.” “I know that you have a relationship with my little sister and I am more than okay with that." "At first I was a bit concerned about the age difference.” “But it seems that you have been good for her, for all I can tell.” “Before she met you, she lived like a shut-in, only venturing out to the places where she had to go, stores mostly.” “She did like to play tennis and a college team recruiter saw us playing and convinced her to sigh up." "There she met Lilly, playing tennis.” “They are a very scary, women's-doubles tennis team, with Liz’s long reach and Lilly’s raw power.” “But initially Lilly seemed to make Liz worse." "Frankly, I always considered Lilly to be a ‘scoundrel’." "Liz’s grades started to slide and then she stopped competing in athletic events." "She stated to dress as a man." "She is skinny enough to be handsome dressed like that though." "I know Liz is at the age to experiment and I am okay with whatever she chooses." "I just don’t want her to trap herself or to ever feel like she doesn’t have choice.” “And that seemed to be the direction she was headed.”

“I know what day it was when Liz had her first encounter with you.” “I don’t remember ever hearing her sing around the house before that day (and she has a good voice!)." "She started attending classes again and her grades immediately improved." Fendor reflects, Yeah, it is kind of important to attend class. At least that is what I always told my students. "She also signed up for a bunch of athletic competitions, tennis singles and doubles, with Lilly, and won most of them." "She started showing real interest in her clothes and makeup, and became much more feminine." "So my guess is that she made a new male friend, through Lilly, and I can’t thank you enough." "She needed a man in her life besides me." "You helped her in time that so she can still qualify for scholarships." "I really want to see her excel in college, and now she is.”

“Her trip, with you and Lilly, to The Islands, was a real surprise." "She never cared much for water sports because she is too muscular and skinny to float.” “But she returned from The Islands waving several swimming and diving certificates proudly about." "She also collected some ‘best in the class’ awards." "She was singing and dancing all around." "She also was wearing a new blue choker." "I asked her where it came from, and she whispered to me, ‘Its a secret!’” “I did notice that her clothing was marked, not only with Lilly’s translucent-white mane, but also some mysterious brown tufts of fur.”

Tex hands Fendor a note. “Here is my number at camp, ask for me.” “Please call me and let me know how everyone is doing once in a while.”

And so, the summer season passes without further incident. All are satisfied with, and settled in to their various arrangements. They are happy and they all wish for this life to continue forever… But, it said, ‘Forever’ is a long time,

And ‘time’ has a way of changing things...