However Long the Night

Chapter Sixteen

The next morning, Will woke up hangover-free. Lying in bed, he replayed memories from the night before, starring Skye's dark hair, long-lashed eyes, and soft lips. It was the first morning in a week he hadn't felt unhappy when he woke up, and that was a minor miracle in itself.

Looking out his bedroom window, Will watched his mom putter around the garden while his dad sat on the back deck with a book in his hand. Toby was running around playing canine detective in the grass, peering down into the green blades to see what he could discover and whether or not it was good for a pounce. Will sighed, comforted by how good ordinary could feel, and his phone buzzed on the bed:

Skye: How's your head today?

Will: All good here. How about you?

Skye: Right as rain. Are you home around 7:30 tonight? I can drop off your dad's    

          books.

Will: Sure thing Stormy

Skye: See you later xo

Will: xo ☺

He practically floated to work that morning. Watching him through narrowed eyes, Marlene shook her grey permed head when she caught sight of his goofy grin.

"Well, that face looks like trouble." Her lovable growl was smoke and gravel to his ears. "So, what's her name, Romeo?" Peering over her smudged glasses, she wrinkled her nose like she was sniffing out his secret.

"Uh, whose name, Marlene?" He blinked and played dumb.

"The girl who's got you all twitterpated over there," she snarked. "I wasn't born yesterday, you know."

"Aw, c'mon, Marlene, you should know I don't kiss and tell." He gave her his best version of an innocent smile and hummed through his tasks, counting down the hours until he'd see Skye again.

A note from his mother was waiting on the kitchen table when he arrived home, reminding him his dad's rehab appointment would last until six, and please check the crockpot on the counter. While Will stirred his mom's famous stew, Toby came up behind him and plopped his leash at his feet.

"Not your most subtle move, boy." Toby lifted his eyebrows, and Will sighed. "Alright, then. Let's roll."

The park was empty, so he unhooked Toby's leash, watching him turn into a golden blur, tongue lolling and legs scrambling as he ran laps around the park's perimeter. Walking toward the swings, a deep bark caught Will's attention. Turning around, he spotted a beefcake of a bulldog waddling over his way, a stump of tail wiggling like crazy, mouth open wide in a drooling doggy grin. On the other end of his long leash, the bulldog's owner smiled, perched a set of dark sunglasses atop her honey blond hair and waved.

"Buckley! Dude, long time no see! Get over here, boy!" Will laughed, gathering the stocky rascal into a bear hug, then wrestled him down into a tummy rub. "Hey, Kate." He couldn't help but notice she looked flawless as usual, even in a faded tank top, ripped jeans, and flip flops.

"Hiya, Will. Buckley and I were just taking a stroll and enjoying the awesome weather, weren't we, buddy?"

Buckley looked at her with big, adoring brown eyes and wagged his stumpy tail happily in response.

Technically, he was Alex's dog. When Will got Toby, Alex launched a hardball campaign to get a puppy of his own. Never one to take no for an answer, he went as far as to set an extra place at the family dinner table with a dog biscuit each day for a month and vowed to make every walk, poop scoop, and feeding his personal responsibility. When his parents finally gave in, Alex picked Buckley from a local breeder's spring litter and, true to his word, became the pup's primary caregiver.  Buckley adored the boy who brought him home, and during Alex's final months, he refused to leave his master's side unless it was to head out for a walk or scarf down some food from his dish in the kitchen.