Wolfsong

Ox approaches his father’s previous boss at the auto repair shop, Gordo, to ask for a job. His mother, Maggie Matheson, is seven months behind on mortgage payments. Gordo loans them the money and says he will take it out of Ox’s under-the-table pay until the debt is paid. Ox’s mother is so grateful she cries. She flirts with Gordo a little, but Ox knows that Gordo is gay. After six months, Gordo says that the debt is paid.

The town of Green Creek is “dying” because most people leave when they grow up. Ox doesn’t know why people leave; he thinks of Green Creek as home. Ox and his mother live in a modest house in the woods. Down the lane from them is a house that has been empty for as long as Ox can remember. When he asks about the people who used to live there, no one has satisfactory answers for him.

Ox’s mother signs divorce papers and goes back to her maiden name. Ox, still not confident in his identity, is bullied at school. One day, there is a car parked in front of the empty house down the lane, but it is gone the next day. Sometime later, an unfamiliar man, Mark, comes into the diner where Ox’s mother works. He and Ox talk about how it smells; Ox says it smells like bacon while Mark says it smells like home. The man says that some people come back to Green Creek and suggests that he may bring his family back soon. Ox asks if they can be friends, and Mark says yes. That night, Ox thinks he hears howling from the woods.

When Ox is 15, the guys at Gordo’s shop provide him with a work shirt just like his father used to wear, but this one has Ox’s name embroidered on it. Ox is moved to tears; the other men support him. Gordo tells him, “You belong to us now” (17). Gordo has tattoos of colorful shapes and strange symbols that seem familiar to Ox, but he can’t place them. On Ox’s 16th birthday, Gordo officially hires him. That same day, the house down the lane is no longer empty, and Ox sees a boy on their dirt road in the woods.

Ox goes to meet the boy on the road. The boy asks if Ox can smell “that.” Ox says he smells the trees, and the boy says he’s talking about “something bigger” (20). Ox thinks the boy is younger, maybe nine or ten—the boy climbs into Ox’s arms and says the smell is Ox himself. The boy doesn’t know what to make of it, so he demands that Ox come home with him so that his parents can explain it.

The boy talks the whole walk to the house. When they arrive at the house down the lane, the boy enthusiastically talks about meeting Ox and the way he smells, “all candy canes and pine cones and epic and awesome” (22). Ox recognizes the boy’s uncle, Mark, from the diner almost a year and a half earlier; they introduce the boy as Joe.

This is the Bennett family. Joe and Mark say a couple of things that don’t have clear explanations, but Ox lets it go without question. One of Joe’s older brothers is Ox’s age, but Joe gets possessive and says that Ox has to be his friend first. The Bennetts invite Ox to dinner, but he says he will be eating at home with his mother because it’s his birthday. At home that evening, Ox tells his mother about the Bennett family moving in. She gives him gifts and a birthday card with a “where-wolf!” joke inside. She tells him that he’s going to make someone very happy someday.

The next day Ox goes to work in a good mood. One of the men, Rico, teases him and asks if he’s happy about a girl—or a boy, when Ox denies that there is a girl. Gordo calls Ox into his office; Rico warns Ox that Gordo is in a bad mood. Gordo tells Ox that he can’t work the next week because he has exams; Ox asks if he can still come by the shop because it’s the place he feels safest and most at home. Gordo says that he can come and study and that the men will help him.

Joe meets Ox on the dirt road again and makes some mysterious statements: “I’m getting better at— … Uh. At. Doing stuff. Like… knowing… you are… there,” and “I’ll be the leader, one day” (30). He gives Ox a carved stone wolf as a birthday gift. Ox is awed by its beauty and detail; he feels like he’ll never be able to return the favor to Joe, as the most beautiful things in Ox’s life are the people he loves, and they can’t be given away. For a moment, Ox thinks he should refuse the gift, but he thanks Joe and keeps it instead.

Joe takes Ox to the Bennett house. Ox hesitates before going in because he can tell that they have money and he is poor and feels out of place. Joe tells him it’s okay and that he “wouldn’t have given [his] wolf to just anyone” (33). Joe blushes, as he often does, and Ox knows that he’s missing something.

Joe’s mother, Elizabeth, tells Ox to stay for dinner, calling it a tradition. She sends Ox into the backyard to talk to Joe’s father, Thomas. Thomas invites Ox into the woods; on the way they pass a tree with claw marks. Thomas says that Mark and Joe both knew there was something special about him. Ox becomes anxious, but Thomas calms him by holding his shoulders. Ox is instantly soothed and finds himself exposing his neck to Thomas. Thomas seems surprised. He explains that Joe had not spoken in the 15 months prior to meeting Ox on the road the day before, citing “life and all its horrors” as a reason (36).

The Bennett family sits down for dinner. Joe talks excitedly to Ox for the duration of the meal. His talking culminates in him confessing a secret: he has nightmares that he doesn’t remember, but sometimes he does remember them. The table goes silent. Ox tells him that he also has bad dreams but that they can’t follow you while you’re awake. Joe is comforted.

Ox passes all of his final exams.

Ox’s mother is nervous to attend a Bennett family dinner, but quickly warms to them. Thomas works from home in an ambiguously financial job. Elizabeth is an artist—a painter—whose work hangs in museums.

There are times when the Bennett’s don’t allow Ox to come over for several days at a time. His feelings are hurt, but he tries not to take it personally. Everything is always normal after those times, though on the nights he’s not allowed over, he lies in bed and listens to wolves howling.

At the end of the summer, Ox’s coworkers tease him about having a boyfriend after they see him out with Carter, Joe’s older brother. Gordo becomes protective and cautions Ox to use condoms. Ox says they’re just friends and explains that the Bennett family moved back into the house down the lane. Gordo seems scared, which surprises Ox. Later, Ox apologizes for whatever he did wrong. Gordo tells him to get different friends and warns him to stay away from the Bennetts. When Ox doesn’t listen, Gordo calls Maggie to caution her against letting Ox associate with the Bennetts, but she decides Ox is old enough to make his own decisions.

On a trip to the diner with the Bennett kids and Mark, all of the Bennetts suddenly go still. Mark gets up and goes outside. One of the older brothers, Kelly, tries to follow, but the other older brother, Carter, holds him back, suggesting they stay and protect Ox and Joe. Ox follows Mark outside and interrupts an argument they’re having about him. Gordo is protective and wants to keep the Bennetts away from him. Mark has a realization and calls Ox Gordo’s “tether,” but tells Ox that the “old family drama” Gordon mentioned is “ancient history” (44).

School starts again. Ox is a junior now, and the same bullies who have tormented him his whole life resume their mockery, calling him the “R” slur. Carter attacks the bully and tells him to spread the word that he will break the arms of anyone who messes with Ox. With the Bennett brothers at school, Ox finally has friends. The Bennett family is very physical with Ox; they all touch him constantly, hugging him, kissing his cheek, touching his hair and shoulders.

Gordo tells Ox that Joe was taken and tortured for eight weeks by a man who was trying to punish the Bennett family.