Chapter 47 A night on the town
Dana and the twins met up with Serena and Logan at the restaurant that Serena had made reservations at. “Did you have fun with Dana?” Serena asked her kids. “We went to the park, and we showed her the duck pond,” Olivia said. “That sounds like a lot of fun,” she said. “Did you see the ducks?”
“No ducks today,” Oliver said. “But there was a big bird that looked like a pterodactyl!” He spread his arms out and zoomed around on the sidewalk. Serena laughed. Even Logan laughed! “Alright, let’s get inside and eat,” Serena said, holding the door open for all of them. They had a table for five. The hostess brought booster seats for the kids. “This is really nice,” Logan muttered to Serena. “Spare no expense,” she said, winking. He smirked. “Oh my, there are so many options,” Dana said, looking over the menu. Serena had almost forgotten this was her first time in the human world! “Don’t worry, you’ll read a lot of things you don’t like” she said. Dana chuckled. “Mommy, I want to macaroni,” Olivia demanded. “I want chicken fingers,” Oliver added. “Alright, that is what you will have,” she promised. When they waitress returned, they all placed their orders Serena ordered for the kids. “Can you bring some crayons for the kids?” she asked. The hostess nodded and left with their orders. She returned a few minutes later with a cup of crayons for each of the twins. Oliver happily began to draw on the paper placemat, but Olivia dumper her crayons out to roll them around. Serena rolled eyes. “Full-service restaurant,” Logan said. “It is standard practice in the human world,” Serena explained. “Kids need constant entertainment.” She smiled, seeing the darkness in Logan’s eyes. Maybe his mood had been about Holly’s pregnancy announcement. “So, I’ve seen,” he muttered.
“Did you take care of the business deal?” Dana asked conversationally. Serena nodded.
“Business deals are easy.” Logan said. “I’m an Alpha, and that means I can challenge anyone to get what I want.” Serena sighed.
“He was very impressive,” she admitted. “An Alpha’s duty.” Dana said. Serena looked around the restaurant. “Maybe we should cut back on the Alpha and human chatter,” she said. “We aren’t alone here.” “I’m drawing the bird we saw today,” Oliver said. “How did you fare today, Dana?” Serena asked. “There was so much to see. It was a little overwhelming,” she admitted. “The kids gave me something to focus on.” Serena smiled, thinking that meant that the kids had had her chasing around after them. Their food was served and both Dana and Logan wère impressed with the elaborate presentation.
“It almost looks too good to eat,” Dana said. “I don’t want to ruin it.” Serena giggled as her kids had no trouble digging into their meals.
“I’m sure it tastes even better,” she encouraged. Dana picked up her fork and grabbed a bite.
“Can we show Dana and Logan the pet store after?” Olivia asked. Serena shook her head.
“I don’t think they’ll like the pet store,” she told Olivia. If Logan’s reaction to the zoo was any indication, she didn’t think either of them would appreciate a pet store, especially where puppies were kept in cages. “We can show them the downtown, though and get some ice cream.” “Okay,” Olivia said, happy with the alternative. When they were finished eating, Serena cleaned the kids off in the bathroom. They always made a mess when they ate! She grabbed a few moist towelettes to bring with her for when they were done with their ice cream. There was a place she remembered going with the kids on weekends when she’d had a little time off from studies. It was a decent walk from where they were, but it was still pretty close to the hotel. “I want to hold Logan’s hand,” Olivia said, pulling away from Serena
when they started walking down the sidewalk. “You have to ask him if that’s okay,” Serena said. Olivia ran over to him.
“Can I hold your hand?” she asked. Logan smiled at her.
“Of course,” he said, holding his hand out. Olivia beamed a huge smile and grabbed his hand. She started walking, nearly dragging him along the sidewalk. Oliver was happy to hold Dana’s hand. Serena felt strange not having a child to hold onto. She had always been holding their hands, carrying them, taking car of them. Since rejoining the pack, she’d had more help with them than she knew what to do with. She didn’t really like it. She was feeling helpless in their lives as they wanted to be around other people so much. It was good for them, meeting new werewolves, getting immersed in the pack, socializing. Serena had hoped to keep them all to herself for as long as possible. It wasn’t fair for them, though, and it was good for her to have some of her own time too. “The stores around here are so interesting,” Dana said, motioning to a lingerie store. Serena giggled. “There are a lot if interesting retail outlets in the human world,” she explained. “They seem to have specializations for everything.” “Perhaps the pack could learn a thing or two.” Dana said. “What is wrong with how we organize our retail options?” Logan asked, looking over his shoulder at the two females. Serena and Dana exchanged a look and both started laughing. “I don’t expect you to understand, Logan, you are a man,” Serena said. Dana chuckled again.
At the ice cream parlor, the twins ordered chocolate ice cream cones. Dana and Logan got their treats too, and Serena ordered herself a Root Beer Float. There was a bench outside the ice cream shop. The twins and Dana sat down on the bench and Logan and Serena stood in front of them. “This is a great dessert idea,” Logan said. “What did you get?” “A Root Beer float,” Serena said. “That sounds interesting. Can I try it?” he asked. Serena raised an eyebrow. “Sure, sure,” she said. She used the
spoon to pull up a scoop of the vanilla ice cream soaked in root beer. She intended to transfer the scoop to his spoon, but Logan took the ice cream right off the spoon with his mouth. “Hey!” she said, pulling the spoon back quickly. “That’s a little too personal.” Logan smirked. “It was good, though,” he said. “I’ll be sure to get one of those next time.” Serena rolled her eyes. “Yes, when you have your own spoon to eat off of,” she said. “Mommy, I’m tired,” Olivia groaned. “My hands are sticky too.” “I’ve got just the fix for that.” Serena said, handing Dana her float. She pulled the wipes out of her pocket and cleaned the twins’ hands and fingers. They were much happier when they weren’t sticky anymore. “We should get back to the hotel,” Logan said. “It is getting late.” “Can I have a piggy back ride, mommy?” Olivia asked. Serena smiled and turned around, crouched down in front of the bench.
“Hop up, you little monkey,” she said. Olivia giggled and jumped on her mom’s back, clinging to her. Serena looped her arms around Olivia’s legs. “What about me?” Oliver whined. “I want one too.” Logan chuckled. He tossed his ice cream dish and knelt down. “I’ll give you a ride,” he offered. “Yay!” he said, climbing onto Logan’s back. Walking to the hotel, Serena pointed out several other shops to Dana. She showed the other female the coffee shop where she would binge on caffeine and cram for her exams. She showed them the library for her medical school, a large and imposing building that looked more like a prison now that she was on the outside. “This place is so vibrant and full of life,” Dana commented. “We really enjoyed living here,” Serena admitted. “Always something to do, always somewhere new to go. Plenty of fun outings for the kids.” “Why is it the pack isn’t allowed to mingle with the human world regularly?”. Dana asked. Logan sighed. “I’ve heard too many stories of human
and werewolf clashes that didn’t end well.” Logan said. “The history books are full of them. It is best to stay hidden and
separated.”
“I hope you’re right,” Serena muttered.
It wasn’t a very long walk back to the hotel, but Olivia fell asleep on Serena’s back and Oliver was struggling to keep his eyes open on Logan’s back. The kids had completely worn themselves out, which was good. It meant they would sleep through the night. Seeing as Serena and the twins were sharing a bed in the hotel again, she wanted them to be tired, not tossing and turning or whispering to each other. “We‘re on the fourth floor,” Dana said, handing Logan and Serena keys to the room. “Thanks, can you take Olivia?” she asked. Dana nodded and Serena handed her daughter off, Logan set Oliver on the floor. He was a little unsteady on his feet, but he took Dana’s hand. “I’ll put them to bed,” she offered. “Thank you.” Serena said as Dana left.
“Woah, look at this,” Logan said, grabbing Serena’s arm and pulling her towards a display in the lobby. Serena’s heart raced when she saw what he was looking at.