I step out of my girlfriend’s car while she pumps the gas, walking towards the station store to get some snacks for our trip. The summer sun’s beating down on my neck, but thankfully, having fur means I don’t have to worry about getting burned anymore. I turn my neck towards the street we’ll be going down to get on I-80 and smile. It’s a long way out east.

We’re going to some big school you’ve probably heard of there. Somehow, when we got our decision letters in the mail, we both got in there, Lina and I. There was a big party that night, I remember, but frankly, not much else. It was hard to think about the past when there was so much to look forward to in the future.

That’s not to say that’s all that’s going on. Lina’s dad’s friend had an issue that needed a very delicate solution, one that I was very well-equipped to solve, after all the cooking mom had been teaching me almost nonstop for the past few months, especially with our family going full-time into the restaurant business. So, long story short, I was going to be the wedding caterer for a wedding a few hours from the college, with Lina helping a little as well.

I was worried that my, uh, lack of fancy upbringing would make me unfit for my girlfriend’s dad’s friend’s niece’s wedding. Not to mention how big my family’s weddings were. But we were assured this would be a small event, outdoors, with lots of good company. I may have overheard that the other bride was even a wolf as well, but I held my tongue in case about asking Lina in case that was private.

Walking into the store, I remember: I haven’t been here in months. Which means that…

“Heya Lupo, I like the new face,” I hear Mark yell from the counter.

“H..how’d you know it was me?” I ask, startled.

“You went straight for the coca cola,” he replies as he rests his elbow on the counter, “just like you always do. You’re dressed up real nice, going somewhere fancy?”

“Yeah, a wedding and then college,” I explain, “it’s a long story.”

“Oh, really?” he asks, “not yours yet?”

“Not yet, she’s got to propose to me first,” I reply as I grab some beef jerky for Lina and place the items on the counter.

“Oh, she still, huh?” he asks as he looks out into the parking lot and grins, “is that her out there?”

“Yeah,” I reply, “it’s a funny story how we met.”

“Hey, save it for Thanksgiving or whenever you get back down here,” he replies, “I’ll hear all about it then.”

“Alright, see you later Mark!” I chirp as I wave and run back to the car.

Lina is waiting, looking ahead at the road. She turns to me and smiles, giving me a light kiss and starting the engine. She ruffles my hair as she pulls out of the parking lot and we start towards the interstate.

After a few minutes of blissful silence, I turn to her and ask shyly, “so, what’s the name of the couple we’re catering for?”

“Oh, um, I think it was the Baker party? So maybe that’s one of their names, they’re lesbians,” she replies

“Oh, fun!”

“Yeah, one of them’s also a wolf, by the way,” she says as she ruffles the fur on the top of my head gently.

“Cool!” I reply enthusiastically, relaxed to hear what I had heard is true.

And as far as I can tell, that’s just the beginning of our story. But, not everything has to be written down in love stories to say “Happily Ever After.”