After having dinner, I wish Jolene’s parents “goodnight” and Jolene and I retire to her room. We sit on her bed and I start telling her about my date with Albert. When I finish, she remarks, “You are really bad at planning dates. Albert should never allow you to plan your dates.”
“Tonight’s date was a good date,” I say in my defense.
“No, it wasn’t. Albert is your mate. You were supposed to plan a romantic date. Taking your mate to watch a horror movie is not considered as a romantic date,” she lays emphasis on the word ‘romantic.’
“Well, I thought it would turn into a romantic date,” I say innocently.
“How?” Jolene asks in a confusing tone.
“I thought that he would get so scared by the movie that he would hold me but he just held my hand. I was so disappointed,” I joke.
Jolene just shakes her head. “I don’t know what you would do without me. I’m planning your next date,” she says in a firm tone.
“Yes, Mom,” I mock her.
When we are done with the topic of my date, we move on to other topics. When it’s 3am, I tell her, “Let’s watch a movie.”
“Which movie?”
“A horror movie.”
“No,” Jolene says in an instant. “I’m not going to watch a horror movie at 3am.”
“Nothing’s going to happen. And also, I’m with you. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“That’s very assuring,” she remarks sarcastically.
“Stop being a scared cat.”
“You calling me a cat is an insult to me,” she says, faking hurt.4
“I know what you’re trying to do,” I tell her as I get a hold of her laptop. “You’re trying to tangle me up in your conversation so that we don’t get the chance to watch a horror movie. But guess what Ms. Jolene, we’re going to watch a horror movie now.”
After watching the movie, we call it a night and sleep.
Next morning, I bid farewells to Jolene and her parents and head towards the pack house. After saying hello to Lance and Steve, my phone starts ringing. I answer the call without looking at the caller ID. “Hello?”
“Hey, Elizabeth. How are you?”
“I’m good. Why are you calling me today?” By the look on Lance’s face, it is clear that he knows who I’m talking to.
“I’ve got something to discuss with you,” she starts. “Are you alone right now?”
I look at Steve. He gives me a curious look, wondering what Roslyn might have to say. I get up to get some privacy. Once I’m in my room, I close the door behind me and say, “Now I’m alone.”
“After accomplishing our vision, I have been thinking about the person who had been following us while we travelled from pack to pack to challenge leaders. I really want to find who that person is. I really want to know why he had been following us.”10
“I had almost forgotten about that person,” I say. “I think he followed us because he didn’t want our vision to become a reality.”
“I don’t think that’s the reason. If he was following us to become an obstacle in our way, then he would’ve done something to stop us but he didn’t. He just kept following us, keeping a eye on us. There’s something more to it. I can feel it.”
Flashes of my cousin, Caleb, comes to my mind. Is it possible that he might’ve send someone to follow me? He has always been against me so it might not come as a surprise if he sent someone to foil our plan. Now that I think about it, I haven’t seen him that much. I don’t even remember the last time that I met him. Is he conspiring against me? Is he keeping his distance from me so that I can’t find out what he’s doing?
“What do you have in mind?” I ask after a brief silence. If Roslyn has called me then she must have a plan.
“I want to catch that spy,” she starts with determination in her voice. “For that, I have a plan. Here’s what we’re going to do; We’re going to tell our pack leaders that we’ll be meeting each other for an important work. You, Audrey and I going to assemble at my pack house. And from there, we’ll be heading to the same motel in which we stayed when we first sensed someone following us. If someone is following us, we’ll be able to sense him.”3
“How will we let the spy know that the three of us are meeting?” I question.
“If he’s keeping an eye on us then he’ll know for sure.”
“Why are we hiding the plan from our pack leaders?” I ask next.5
“Do you think they’ll let us go if they know about our plan?”
She has a point.1
“Okay, I’m in.”
We get Audrey on the conference call with us. We decide the date and time to meet. When we’re done, we end the call.
I leave my room and go to the living room. I find it empty. Where are Lance and Steve? They must be in Lance’s study.
When I enter the study, I find them discussing about Roslyn.
When Lance looks at me, he asks, “What did Roslyn tell you this time?”