Changing Appalachia

9

  It was a beautiful Saturday morning, Jody and Cathy were having breakfast on Main street in Blaid at a local diner. Jody decided it was best to stay very public, and on this morning there were tables lining the sidewalk selling food and art, all manner of wares. Blaid had these sorts of things at least once a month, so people from further back in the hills could get their wares to the public, and it created a lively and fun place for socialization as well.

As they sat by the window, watching passers-by as they drank their coffee and waiting for food, Jody smiled lightly. "I saw Elijah. He let me camp down there at his creek last night."

"Did you and him make amends?" Cathy asked blatantly. She realized now that they both had a lot to apologize for to their kids.

Jody shook his head, "No. Not that far yet but him offering to help me like that tells me that it's possible. I am proud of him, Cathy. He picked up the message I was preaching better than me."

She chuckled lightly. "Jody, you're so different. More humble, I like it."

"Losing all a man's got and having a whole town turn on him does that to a man." Jody paused while the server, a young female wolf, delivered their food with a muttered greeting. She was unsure about Jody, having heard so much about him.

"What are we going to do? I can't stay with Jesse and Jo forever." Cathy unwrapped a fork slowly from the napkin roll.

"That's a good question. I suppose I should file the insurance. Then we can find a place to move, but we might need to look elsewhere. I don't know how safe we are here." Jody hadn't told her about the attack at the hotel.

Cathy didn't answer, she soaked her waffles in syrup and butter before she cut into them. She'd learned to stay silent in the marriage and let Jody make the decisions, and that habit wouldn't be easy to break.

Jody picked up a piece of bacon and ate it as he watched some teenagers riding by on bikes. His eyes caught movement down the street, he saw humans. It wasn't unheard of, there were some living in Blaid. But these three stood out; Jody recognized them as Earl, Bill, and Cliff from his church. They had been in the hotel when the posse came for him a little under twelve hours before.

"You okay?" Cathy paused and followed his gaze to the people walking by. "What is it?"

"Them three right there. There's about to be trouble." Jody nodded towards the three men he knew. "There's something I ain't told you. I ended up at that creek overnight because I left my hotel room. I didn't go for a walk. A gang of them came into the hotel looking for me and I ran. Earl, Cliff, and Bill were in that bunch."

Cathy's mouth opened partly, but no words came out. "You think they're gonna do something here? Like the Full Moon festival?"

Jody nodded. "I had nothing to do with that by the way."

"No one thinks you did. The guy was some solo nut job." Cathy glanced back at the three humans looking at something on a table.

Jody ate but his eyes followed the three of them down the street. His gut told him he needed to get ready. But for what he wasn't sure. He turned back to his food, eating wordlessly. But he couldn't relax.

Cathy ate in silence, but she sensed her husband's fear. Jody had primed these people for hate against the shifter community, he of all people knew what they were capable of. Earl stopped at a table in front of their window but he didn't seem to see them. He pulled out a small cell phone and texted quickly before he walked towards the other two down a bit further. They all spoke and headed toward the post office.