Reclaiming Angelica by Zena Wynn Page A

and didn’t have anyone to take care of her. Momma wouldn’t
let Raul go with her because she said Grammaw Pauline needed lots and lots of
attention. Raul was sad, but then Poppa took him to see his uncles, and he had
lots of fun, running in the woods and playing with the dogs. That was the first
time Raul had met Poppa’s brothers.
    “No, son.” His Poppa swallowed hard, like he had something
in his throat. “Your grandma’s not sick. Remember our secret?”
    Raul thought. “The one when you became a big doggie?” he
asked with wide eyes.
    “Yes, that one. Momma found out and…” His Poppa’s voice made
a squeaky sound, and he stopped, blinked a few times before continuing, “And—”
    “Was she excited like me?” Raul interrupted. He’d been
crying because Momma said he couldn’t have a dog, and he really, really, really
wanted a puppy. They were so cute and fluffy, and they liked to lick your face.
His friend Bobby had a puppy, and Raul wanted one too. Poppa had caught him crying
and had shown him this really neat trick he could do, but he made him promise
not to tell anyone , not even Momma.
Which was really, really hard, but Poppa said it was important and that he was
counting on him. That Momma wouldn’t love him anymore if she knew.
    “No, son. She wasn’t excited. She was angry. Very, very
angry. So angry she left us, and she’s not coming back.”
    “But…” Raul didn’t understand. Mommas weren’t supposed to
leave.
    “She said she didn’t love me, didn’t love us anymore,
because of our secret,” Poppa said.
    “Not love us? Mommas always love their sons, and you, Poppa.
No matter what. She said so,” Raul argued.
    Poppa dropped his hands from Raul’s cheeks and closed his
eyes again. “Dear God, how do I make him understand? He’s so young.” Poppa
opened his eyes and laid a hand on Raul’s shoulder. “We’re special, Raul, you
and I.”
    “How Poppa?”
    “You know how I can turn into a wolf?” his Poppa asked.
    “The big doggie?” he asked, not sure what a wolf was.
    His Poppa nodded. “My brothers, your uncles can too. And one
day, when you’re older, you’ll be able to do it too.”
    “ Really ?” Raul was
awed, all thoughts of Momma temporarily forgotten.
    “Yes. But Raul, some people, people like Momma, don’t like
people who are special. They’re scared of them, of us, because we can do things
they can’t,” his Poppa tried to explain.
    Raul scrunched his face. “Momma’s not scared, Poppa.” Then
his face brightened, and he smiled. “Maybe when Momma’s not mad anymore, she’ll
come home.”
    Poppa sometimes left when he got really angry. Momma always
said Poppa was “cooling off.” Raul wasn’t sure what being hot had to do with
anything, but maybe this time Momma was the one “cooling off.”
    “Maybe, son.” Poppa didn’t sound like he believed it, but
he’d see.
    But Momma never did. Raul waited a long, long time. School
started, and there was Halloween where he ate so much candy he got sick, and
Thanksgiving where Poppa cooked a big turkey and his uncles came to visit.
    When Christmas came, Poppa took Raul to his uncles’ home in
the woods. Raul loved visiting his uncles, even though they didn’t look much
like Poppa. His friend Bobby had a brother that was bigger than him, and they
looked a lot a like.
    Raul had asked Poppa how come. Poppa explained that his
uncles were pack, not blood brothers like Bobby and his brother, but they loved
each other like family and took care of each other. Poppa said he was the
oldest, and biggest, but Uncle Max was big too, like the football players Poppa
watched on TV. Uncle Max’s skin was dark, and he looked mean, but he made Raul
laugh. Uncle Dillion had yellow hair and was really, really tall. Raul liked
sitting up on his shoulders. It made him feel he was on top of the world. Uncle
Joey, the youngest, was his favorite. His hair was black like Poppa’s, but his
eyes were gray, not brown, and