The Wolf Came on Christmas (Johanna and Alexander) novel Chapter 128

Chapter 128-1

Andre started talking about airplanes when I asked him what he thought of his grandpa once again I spent more time talking with the boy than with Alexander. He seemed to b himself just watching us interact, feeding his daughter meanwhile. As the night went on the main course we moved to dessert, Sasha fell asleep on Alexander’s lap, with one fist his shirt and her cheek resting on his chest, and after dessert, Andre began to nod off. I my watch; it was late for them. I suggested to the little one that he lie down on the long l seat and rest his head on

covered him with my

Alexander mad

It was like b

“Forgiv

high, to be more comfortable. He didn’t think twice about it

as he settled. It didn’t take long for him to fall asleep, €

my proposal, he was not bothered by my gesture toward

ctically, and that made me a little nervous.

back after Christmas. I had things to sort out.”

don’t worry. I saw you on television,” I replied, clearing my throat. “Yo must be recovered from your injuries.”

you been?” I asked weakly.

he reason, I felt shy in the face of his unusual gravity. What was wrong with him?

hy do we always talk about me? Tell me how you have been.”

That evasion surprised me a lot. It was like a bucket of cold water. Although my nosy side want to insist shamelessly and find out why he was so quiet and secretive, I preferred not to make a scene and take advantage of the opportunity.

During th

boo

alf we talked about everything a little, mostly about me, about my ne given me, how things were after everything that had happene

eir baby (he was pleased to know that I was the girl’s

aware of those things, but somehow, talking about them onal Later, I managed to steer the conversation toward him,

ng after Hans’s death, he told me some details about his return to public

e last months had been like, about his new position as director at VLC Air gistics, about how comfortable he felt in that job.

culous, if I stopped to think about it

ied to me that I had known them all my life, and suddenly, it was very hard to realize that it ot so. I did not know much about them. Alexander and his children had only been in my

Chapter 128-1

house for a little less than a week, trying to survive. There was no time for introductions, there any need for them. I knew nothing about them. I did not know what things Andre lik he did in his free time, what his favorite game or story was. I did not know if Sasha liked a puree more or banana puree, if she preferred teddy bears or brightly colored toys, if she w allergic to anything. Again, that strange feeling that I was taking liberties that were not mir assaulted me strongly, and I felt somewhat uncomfortable.

Because I was a stranger, an outsider.

I might have known many things about Alexander, but really very little about him himself, ab hobbies, his ideals, what he did for a living… I had no idea of the true scope of his intelligence his skill with business. To me, he was the being who combined the intelligence and passion man with the strength and nobility of an animal. I met the Alexander that he himself had spen years trying to hide from his own wife, not the one who stood in front of me and talked about multinational contracts as if I knew what he was referring to.

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Chapter 128-2

24

Chapter 128-2

If he had told me he had ticks, it would not have unsettled me so much and I would even have accepted it more naturally, I suppose. I knew what he was. A werewolf, more than an ordinary and his “ordinary” job did not seem to fit with the idea I had already formed about him.

at I had grown used to thinking of Alexander and his children as…

e was saying something about the astonishing price difference between a ground trans ops from Istanbul to Madrid and a nonstop flight by air, when I stayed looking at him and plunged into a dreadful blank. Andre shifted on my lap and adjusted his head better on my h to keep sleeping; I stroked his albino hair in a distracted, automatic gesture. I noticed that he few people around us sometimes turned to look at us. What would they see?

What would they imagine, thinking about the familiar image we were giving? The blush must hav colored my cheeks, because Alexander interrupted his explanation and commented:

“Do you feel well, Johanna? Your face is burning.”

I did not realize until then that he was touching my face with his knuckles, leaning over the table. Startled, I instinctively leaned back and smiled:

“I’m fine, I’m fine! It must be the wine,” I said, fanning myself with the napkin. “Do you have time for a/coffee?”

“Of course, it’s early. But I have a better idea: let me take the children to my mother’s room, and then we’ll go for a walk. Deal?”

How could I say no?

If I wanted to take advantage of every minute I had…

de smile perhaps too excited.

Chapter 128-2

+25 Paints

riverside. We started walking in that direction, and I couldn’t help myself; I had to ask him how he

had known I would be there.

“… it’s not that I have someone following you, don’t worry. It’s that Andre is very interested in knowing what you do,” he explained. “Our dates coincided here, and it seemed to me that it would be a good idea to bring them so they could spend some time with you. They miss you, you know? It’s natural, given the situation we were in. And Andre wanted to read your books, but I don’t know what to tell him; he’s only eight years old. I promised I would consult you about it. What do you

recommend?”

That was a lot of information to process in such a short instant, but I went for the obvious:

“That he keep reading about airplanes,” I joked, with a somewhat apathetic smile. “I don’t think he would like what I do, it’s not meant for someone his age.”

We looked at each other for a moment that was too short for my liking.

In his blue eyes I detected a dark and unflattering signal, something I had not seen before all night. Although I was very sure that we were talking about trivialities, I did not feel brave enough to say ” Alexander, don’t lie to me, I know something is not right. I can feel it. What is wrong?” because I did not want to see his reaction. I sensed a strange darkness around him, and the long coat he wore, dark like that aura, only reinforced the wings of my imagination. Something in his attitude inspired fear in me. Was it because a part of me felt him unknown and distant?

“To be honest, more than once I was afraid that they would come looking for me,” I said suddenly, when I felt brave enough to talk about it. “You know, your family. For everything I know about you. I still can’t get rid of the feeling, not completely.”

Alexander looked at me then with different eyes, surprised but not entirely.

“I would never allow them to hurt you, ever, trust me. I owe you, Johanna.”

“I owe you.” He always said that.

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