Naughty by Nature by Judy Angelo

that led to an open sunlit
sitting room.  And there on a chaise longue by the wide bay window lay Mrs. Spencer. 
Her husband was nowhere to be seen.
    “Tessa,” she
called out as they entered the room, “come on over and let me get to know the
face behind the name.”
    Tessa was
surprised at the casual tone but she hid her confusion behind a cheerful smile
and immediately went to take the lady’s outstretched hand.  “Mrs. Spencer,” she
said softly.  “It’s good to meet you.”
    “Ah, my dear, not
under the best of circumstances but we make do, don’t we?” Mrs. Spencer looked
up at Tessa and there was not an ounce of self-pity on her face.  “And call me
Lydia.  Mrs. Spencer makes me feel so old.  Even my students don’t call me
that.”
    “Lydia it is,
then.”
    Lydia released
Tessa then glanced over to where Wolf still hovered by the door.  “Dear boy,
will you pull up a chair for Tessa, right by me?  She looks like the kind of
girl I can have a good conversation with.”
    Dear…boy?  Tessa
cocked an eyebrow as she looked over at Wolf.  He shook his head and grinned. 
“Yes, dear boy,” he said, clearly reading her mind.  The confusion on her face
must have been plain as day.  “That’s just one of Mom’s many names for me.  I
won’t bore you with the details.”
    “No, bore me,” she
said as he brought the armchair and placed it by the bed for her.  “I want to
know.”
    He shook his
head.  “No, you don’t.”  He gave her a tiny frown that said, ‘Don’t push it’.
    “But I do,” she
said, totally ignoring his obvious desire to protect his secret.  As she sank
into the chair she gave him a beseeching smile.
    Before Wolf could
respond Lydia laughed.  “I’ve been calling Wolf by all sorts of names ever
since he came home from high school and demanded that we change his name from
Wolfgang to Steve." 
    Tessa’s jaw
dropped.  “Wolfgang?”  She stared up at Wolf.  “That’s your real name?”
    His gaze narrowed
as he frowned at her but a smile tickled the corners of his mouth.  “It is,” he
said, “and now that you know my secret I’ll have to-”
    “Kill me?” Tessa
asked, laughing.
    He chuckled.  “I
was going to say, keep you here forever.”
    She cocked an
eyebrow at him.  That didn’t sound half bad.  Not as long as he was going to be
there with her.
    Lydia was laughing
with them and she reached over and touched Tessa’s arm.  “So, in case you want
to know, his full name is Wolfgang Arm-”
    “Mom.”  Wolf gave
his mother a look that was a cross between wide-eyed shock and a glare.  “I
don’t think Tessa wants to know that part.”  Then, before she could refute that,
he turned to her.  “And don’t say you do, because you’ve heard enough of my
secrets for one day.”
    “Aww,” Tessa said
and gave an exaggerated pout that had Lydia cracking up.
    “You are something
else, little Tessa,” Lydia said as she wiped her eye with her good hand.  “You
just made my day.”
    By then Tessa felt
so at ease with Lydia that she reached out and gave her arm a pat.  “We’ll just
wait till he leaves the room,” she said in an exaggerated whisper, “and then
you can tell me all the secrets.”
    Wolf looked over
at the two scheming women and gave them a grunt and a scowl but Tessa took none
of it seriously because in his eyes was a look of relief and gratitude that
told her that he loved what he saw.  His mother was interacting with another
woman and having fun and it was obvious that he was pleased.
    “I’m leaving you
two alone for a while,” he said.  “I’ll go see what Dad is up to.  But I’m
warning you…” his eyebrows fell and he looked from one woman to the other, “…no
plotting or funny business while I’m gone.  You two are too much alike and
that…” he waved a finger at them, “… is scary.”
    The women burst
into peals of laughter as he backed away then turned and left the room,
muttering as he