Lone Wolf by Tracy Krauss

black hair from which sprouted one out-of-place streak of reddish-brown, right in the front. It had irritated her as a child, but she seemed to have grown accustomed to it. She had an elegance and grace not unlike her maternal grandmother, Thomas’s own mother. Their kookum had been stoic, philosophical, and proud.
    During the drive home, Renee hummed along to a song playing on her phone, her earbuds firmly in place and her singing slightly off-key. Thomas glanced at her reflection in the rear-view mirror and smiled. Inwardly, he felt some guilt for not playing a larger role in the young girl’s life. He could have—perhaps should have—taken her to live with him. But he’d had his own grief to contend with, plus moving around a lot. He knew Tanzi had taken over the role of caregiver, even though she was only twenty-two. Neither one mentioned their mother’s condition or the difficulties that living with an alcoholic entailed. It was almost as if ignoring it would make it go away. He knew that wasn’t the case, but he certainly wasn’t going to bring it up and spoil their weekend together.
    Thomas looked over at Tanzi’s profile. She was staring straight ahead at the road in front of them, not smiling, but not frowning either. “How are classes going?”
    â€œI’m done for the summer,” she replied, still not looking his way.
    â€œRight. I knew that.” He laughed at his own mistake. University students usually didn’t go to school in June, unless they were in summer school. “But you’re still in…” He frowned, digging for the answer he knew was right there at the back of his brain.
    â€œEngineering,” Tanzi supplied. “I have one year left.”
    Thomas nodded. “Right, right.” He chastised himself for not investing more time in his sister’s children’s lives. Maybe if he had, Manny, Tanzi’s older brother, wouldn’t be in jail. There was nothing he could do about that now, but Tanzi and Renee were still reachable, as far as he could tell. “And then?”
    Tanzi shrugged. “Get a job, I guess.”
    â€œAlways a good plan.”
    â€œThanks for paying for our bus tickets.” Tanzi gestured backward with her head. “It meant a lot to Renee to get asked.”
    â€œI’m…” Thomas hesitated, not sure how to word what he wanted to say next. “I’m sorry that I haven’t been around for you that much. Since Auntie Rhea died…”
    â€œIt’s okay. We all have our own problems to deal with. I understand.”
    Tanzi’s philosophical attitude did little to appease the guilt Thomas was feeling at the moment. Or the confusion.
    ****
    Thomas shifted in his seat, trying to get comfortable. The folding chair was slightly off-balance and it creaked every time he moved. The high school gymnasium was decked out with balloons and tulle and a big banner at the front which read, “Congratulations, Grads!”
    Whisper leaned closer to her father. “When is it Ryder’s turn?”
    Thomas placed a finger over his mouth to signal that she needed to keep her voice down. Then he glanced at the program in his hands. “He should be coming up right after the next person,” he whispered.
    Whisper nodded and swung her legs under the chair. She was sitting beside him to his left, with Tanzi on her other side at the end of the row. Nicole was on Thomas’s right and Maggie was next to her. They thought it best to separate the girls for the ceremony to keep them from giggling and talking, which had become their habit. Thomas couldn’t have asked for a better relationship between his daughter and Nicole’s. They already acted like sisters, best friends one minute and arguing the next. He noticed a growing fondness for the other little girl entangling itself with the love and pride he felt for his own children. To a casual onlooker, they were