“I can’t believe we had to pull all this together in just three weeks,” Alecia lamented as she scrolled though an email from my event planner. “Looks like almost everyone who was invited is coming.” She handed me my phone back. “Normally I would be all over the guest list, but today I’m not on the intel team!” She raised her champagne glass and did a cheers in the air. Alecia, Jyl, Veronique, and I were having our hair and makeup done in the hotel suite reserved for us.
“You have an even more important role as my maid of honor,” I remarked, trying to remain still while Lucy, my makeup artist, shaped my brows.
I had asked Alecia to be my maid of honor since I didn’t really have anyone else to ask. Jyl and Veronique were going to walk me down the aisle.
“Cheers!” echoed Jyl and Veronique, raising their glasses after Alecia raised hers.
I raised mine up awkwardly, avoiding Lucy, who was putting the finishing touches on my brows as another assistant painted my lips.
One hour mark, texted Sateen, my wedding planner.
“One hour, ladies,” Lancaster, the team makeup and fashion lead, announced in his Jamaican accent, clapping purposefully.
Lancaster's dancer pants, black heeled boots, and red pirate shirt gave him a look of undeniable flamboyance. “Finish up the bride's makeup and let's get that dress on her,” he sang.
The assistants moved quickly and efficiently, putting the finishing touches on my hair and makeup.
They moved on to finish up Alecia, Jyl, and Veronique, while Lancaster helped me with my dress.
“Don’t worry, sugar, I have seen it all,” he quipped while he helped me take off my robe and slip on the wedding dress Alecia had helped me pick out.
I stood in front of the three-way mirror while Lancaster set the tiara on my head and fixed my hair.
This was certainly not even close to what I, as Skyla, would wear. My mom would probably disown me if she saw me wearing something so slinky on my wedding day. The dainty white spaghetti straps were made of lace and adorned with pearls. The pearled and purple-sequined bodice was formfitting and extremely revealing, while the dress itself was a lace miniskirt with a light-purple chiffon overskirt sheer enough to show my legs and purple sparkly shoes.
“Let's get this one on,” Lancaster exclaimed excitedly as he took a chiffon-and-lace cape out of a box and clicked the silver- and amethyst-encrusted clasp closed around my neck. The cape flowed behind me dramatically.
“Yes, that looks perfect,” Lancaster nodded, pulling the cape in the back.
I touched my styled hair, nearly crispy from hair spray. It was swept up into a thick bun and ringlets of loose curls hung on either side of my nude-lipped, long-lashed, temporarily sun-kissed, and eye-shadowed face. Slowly, I turned from side to side to catch the light on the diamonds in my tiara and simple diamond teardrop earrings.
“Oh, yes, stunning,” Lancaster nodded and pressed his hands, holding them up to his face with pride.
“Girls!” he cried. “Come see this beauty.” His Jamaican accent was in full gear now.
Jyl, Veronique, Alecia, and the assistants all rushed over and gasped in unison.
“C’est magnifique,” exclaimed Jyl in a bad French accent. She and Jyl were now dressed in their light-purple satin bridesmaid gowns.
“Stephen doesn’t deserve you,” Alecia added. She leaned in the doorway, still clutching her champagne glass. Her dark-purple tulle dress was only half on, so the assistants turned to help her zip it up in the back.
“OK, OK, back up, everyone out,” shooed Lancaster. He then turned to nudge me out of the bathroom. “It's time you head down now.”
The wedding was being held in an indoor courtyard turned garden, with fairy lights and lilacs floating overhead. Every shade of purple flower—from tulips to hydrangeas to white and fuchsia orchids—filled the room. The wedding ceremony was for a small crowd yet public enough to allow important Normals to attend. No Council members were in attendance. They never attended public events—nor any events really, only special ones like the testing.
I paused at the top of the stairs that led down to the courtyard and watched as Alecia proudly followed the flower girl throwing white rose petals in the air.
Veronique and Jyl came up alongside of me, and one of Pierre's older nieces held my long chiffon trail behind the dress in anticipation of the wedding march.
My face grew flushed and my heart pounded as the orchestra started to play Pachelbel's “Canon in D.”
“That's us,” whispered Jyl.
I nodded and took a deep breath. Jyl and Veronique linked arms with me and led me down the grand staircase. I directed my gaze forward, trying not to make eye contact with anyone in the audience. My stomach churned with butterflies and I was trembling inside, but I wasn’t even sure why. This is not for real, I reminded myself. This is just an act. I smiled coolly now at the crowd. As I steadily drew closer, I gazed at Stephen standing there at the altar, dressed sharply in a white suit and vest and lilac shirt and tie. He was smiling pleasantly, but I could tell by his eyes that he was just as nervous as I was. Standing next to Stephen, Ty grinned ear to ear in a dark-purple suit, shirt, and tie.
After what felt like an eternity, I stepped lightly onto the platform with Stephen.
“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered.
Looking down at my bouquet of white lilies, I smiled. I guess beauty came in all forms. I wondered if he would even be attracted to plain Skyla anymore. I glanced out into the crowd of gray and black—the colors the guests were asked to wear—and immediately spotted Esmerelda in the front row, looking elegant in a dark-purple mermaid dress. She was watching me with a knowing smile. Pierre stood out, too, sitting next to her in his white suit and vest and dark-purple shirt and tie. I knew the service was short—Sateen had worked with the civil servant presiding and had it down to fifteen minutes flat—but it felt like it went on for hours. I had no recollection, after, of anything we really said. I only remembered Stephen's warm, peppermint-flavored kiss and us practically running down the aisle at the end through the cheers of an adoring crowd.
We were now in a limo with Alecia and Ty, on our way to our reception that was being held on a private luxury yacht in the Chelsea Piers Marina. This was a closed event, so even though no Council member would be present, it was still considered more of a royal event—the guest list was limited to D Glows, and security would be tight.
Stephen held my hand tightly as Ty droned on about how “awesome, dude” the wedding was. “Really, man, it went so well, and you look perfect, Alecia,” he blabbered.
“Save it for Jyl,” Alecia snapped. Ty had announced his intent to introduce Jyl to his parents next week, and Jyl had talked nonstop about it while we had been getting ready.
We were the first ones to arrive at the yacht. This was planned, of course, so I could change into my reception outfit. Alecia, Ty, and Stephen headed to the bar while I beelined to the master stateroom and opened the doors to a beautifully decorated suite done up in copper and cream. My purple silk reception dress lay upon the fur throw at the edge of the quilted off-white and copper-colored bedspread.
I closed the double doors behind me and breathed an audible sigh of relief.
OK, OK, almost done, I reassured myself. I slipped off my cape, tiara, and overskirt easily but struggled with the tight wedding dress. My long-sleeved eggplant-hued party dress was easier to manage. I embellished the plunging neckline with a gold pendant left for me on the desk, and switched out my diamond teardrop earrings for dangly amethysts. Stepping back to take a look in the mirror, I inspected my face. More lip gloss. I was digging through my toiletry bag on the bathroom counter when Stephen came into the room.
“I’ve got to take this tie off,” he announced, yanking the tie off and tossing it onto the bed. “I guess these are our honeymoon suitcases?” He walked over to the luggage standing upright by the closet. I stepped out of the bathroom.
“Wow. Love the dress.” He came over to kiss me, but I swerved my head for a cheek kiss instead. I just wasn’t in the mood to make out right now—I needed to just get this mission done and over with.
Before he could say anything, there was a rap at the door and we both called out, “Come in.”
In stepped Esmerelda, larger than life in a blur of violet sparkles.
She swiftly put a slender finger to her mouth to indicate we needed to stay quiet and got to work setting up two standing pods on either side of the room. She clicked them on with a remote and then smiled cheerfully.
“Sound buffers.” She looked over at the pods. “We can talk without anyone overhearing us, even if this room is bugged.”
“But we don’t have much time,” she added hastily. She walked over to me and gave me a hug. She stepped back and beamed. “I’m immensely proud of you both. What you did was brave and difficult. We are almost done. I need you to make your rounds quickly, chatting with the guests so they see your face. Then go to the opposite end of the deck, and Alecia will meet you to take you to the airport.”
“Alecia?” Stephen protested.
“Yes, I told her there was a threat on your lives and you needed to move ahead of schedule. She will take getting you to the airport seriously. Besides, she's too clever not to notice that you’ve gone missing. I’ll create a distraction—specifically, do some magic—to help you leave unnoticed. Now, I doubt she’d have time, but please know that if the guards at the airport don’t say they were sent by Stephanie—me—then you need to assume Alecia changed up the plan and they are D Glows.”
“Then what are we supposed to do?” Stephen asked, concerned.
“I haven’t had a chance to think that one through yet, so you’ll have to go with your gut,” she replied measuredly.
“You must head out in”—she paused and looked at her watch—“forty minutes. Do you both understand? Forty minutes. Set your clocks.” Both Stephen and I looked down at our watches. It was 8:15 p.m.
“Our luggage?” I asked, nodding at the two Louis Vuitton bags by the door.
“You have different luggage already on the plane. Leave all this here. Also, don’t worry about scarfing down food. There will be some on the plane.”
That was a relief to hear. I was famished.
I glanced woefully over at my tiara. It was a shame to leave it behind. Wait, what was I thinking? “I think I’m going to need an intervention soon,” I surmised aloud.
“Yes, you’ve undoubtably shifted toward darkness slightly, but the Bureau will help bring you back to the light in no time.”
“Stephen,” Esmerelda now stood in front of him. “I want you to know, I am sorry for what you’ve had to go through all these years. I do and always have loved you.” She gave him a big hug and kissed his cheek. “I hope you both find a way to make it work. You’ve been through so much together, and I think you really make a fine team.”
Stephen and I glanced at each other uneasily. I wasn’t sure how I felt about him. I was attracted to him, no doubt about that, but did I want to be married to him for real?
“OK, now move it,” Esmerelda urged. “I’ll keep everyone busy after you pay your respects.”
We both hustled out of the suite and up the stairs to the beat of electronic dance music playing on the top deck. Stephen immediately spotted Pierre and grabbed my hand, leading me over to him.
Pierre stood casually with his deputy, Jay, smoking a cigar.
“Father.” Stephen and I did a head bow in unison, as we slowly passed by him. “Hi Jay.” Stephen raised his right hand and did a small wave.
“Congratulations,” Jay said coolly, bowing his head slightly.
“Thanks.” Stephen kept walking and led me to the first group of guests. He let go of my hand and we stood side by side, him welcoming them to the ship and me showing off my ring to the ladies.
“Stephen!” Ty called out. He did a head bow and nearly tripped over a cable the DJ was using. Stephen shot me a look of slight panic.
“Ty, darling,” I cooed. “We are so busy with our guests that we haven’t yet been able to get a glass of champagne. Would you mind telling the caterer to send us over a glass?”
“Yeah, sure.” He bounded off dutifully.
“I forgot about Ty,” Stephen muttered under his breath once Ty was safely out of earshot. “He’ll be on us like gum on a shoe.”
I looked around trying to think of some way to distract Ty. “Who's that?” I pointed to a muscular man with a chiseled face standing by a table with two other male Glows.
“Oh, that's my cousin, Seth. He's Pierre's youngest sister's son.”
“I think I have an idea,” I said and sashayed toward the table.
“Hello,” I said coolly to the three male Glows.
“Hello, beautiful,” said one of the older Glows as he did a slight head bow.
“Charmed, I’m sure,” I stated curtly. “I need to steal him away for a minute.” I looped my arm around Seth's and led him away.
“She's already on the lookout for other dudes,” the older Glow remarked loudly, chuckling.
“Hi Seth,” I said quickly. “How would you like both Stephen and me to be indebted to you?”
“I’ll bite,” Seth said, grinning, taking out a cigarette and lighting it.
I leaned in and whispered my sinister scheme into his ear.
“That's it?”
“That's it,” I shrugged. “We’ll owe you one.”
“Easy,” he smirked and took a drag of his cigarette. He immediately walked over to Jyl and started small talk.
I went back over to Stephen and Ty, who were now greeting some of the rival cartel leaders Esmerelda insisted on inviting—they were cold and bitter, but at least not disrespectful.
“Gentlemen, I must pull my partner away. I believe our queen is wishing to speak with us.”
“Of course.” A look of jealousy and perhaps admiration crossed their faces. “I’m sure she will greet all guests,” Stephen added as we left the table. Ty, as expected, followed.
“Ty,” I said in an urgent tone, once we reached an empty table. “I think you need to pay attention to Jyl.”
“She can hold her own,” he waved me off.
“Look,” I spun him around so he could see Seth caressing Jyl's shoulder. Jyl was loving the extra attention.
“You don’t have a contract yet—go defend your territory,” Stephen insisted.
“Damn straight,” Ty said, marching off over in Jyl's direction.
“Smart.” Stephen winked at me, and we moved on to another group of guests.
Before long, Esmerelda came over to us. “I have just heard the news that Darkness will see me tomorrow. What an honor, truly,” Mother said loud enough for the guests at the table as well as a few of the guests nearby to overhear. They nodded in unison.
Esmerelda walked over to the stage and said something to the DJ, who promptly turned down the music and handed her the microphone.
“Now, I think it's high time I showed the guests some of my magic.” She paused as some of the guests cheered.
“Why don’t you two grab some alone time while I entertain these losers?” Esmerelda cackled convincingly and pointed to us as the guests snickered. I looked down at my watch. It was already 8:50 p.m. It was time to move.
“You heard the queen, move it,” Pierre joined in, clearly enjoying the drinks and attention.
Stephen and I bowed our heads and headed to the other side of the deck. “All eyes on me,” I heard Esmerelda announce as we headed out.
“Come on,” Alecia beckoned when we were about ten feet away.
We got off the ship and into a black sedan, and she personally drove us to a smaller airfield in New Jersey about thirty minutes away. We rolled to a stop on one side of the tarmac.
“OK, get going,” she urged. “Oh, and bring me something expensive back from Key Largo.”
“Don’t let Ty drive my car.” Stephen tossed Alecia the keys to his Maserati.
“Never.”
“I think we’ll all get new cars, don’t you think?” I mused flippantly as I got out of the passenger seat and closed the door.
“This is why I approve of her,” Alecia smirked.
Two burly men, one in a baseball cap and dark-green T-shirt, and the other in a black leather jacket, stepped forward and greeted us with a head bow.
Alecia squinted at them in the darkness.“Say the password,” she commanded.
The man in the T-shirt swiftly stabbed her in the neck with something, but it was too dark to see with what. My hand flew to my mouth, shocked.
“Run,” Alecia gasped as she crumpled to the ground.
“Alecia!” Stephen intuitively tried to punch the Glow, but the man in the jacket blocked him and held him back.
I started to kick the man holding onto Stephen, but then the T-shirt man cried out, “Stop, stop. Stephanie sent us.”
“Stop!” the jacket man echoed, letting go of the hold he had on Stephen.
We all stood there for a minute just breathing, trying to get out heart rates back down to normal.
“What about Alecia?”
“She's just unconscious. I injected her with sleeping serum,” the T-shirt man said. “We need to get moving.”
“Hey, I need your ring,” the jacket man said to me.
“Why?” I asked suspiciously.
“I don’t have time to explain,” he said impatiently. “Just give it to me.”
Reluctantly, I pulled my shining wedding ring off and gave it to him, and he ran toward a small plane parked about fifty feet away from us.
“I’m not leaving her on the ground like this,” Stephen said, bending down to check Alecia's pulse.
“Me neither. Let's take her to the car,” I suggested.
The jacket man ran back toward us. “It's done, let's go,” he urged, not bothering to clarify what “it” was. He motioned and started to jog off.
“We don’t have time to move your sister,” the T-shirt man yelled then started to turn and head toward his comrade.
“Help us get her to the car!” Stephen demanded.
“OK, OK, but we really have to hurry.” The T-shirt man complied and turned back when he saw we weren’t going to budge unless we got our way. The jacket man circled back, and all three of them carried her over to the car while I opened up both passenger doors. It isn’t as easy as one thinks, dragging a body into a car. After she was gently placed inside and the doors were shut, we took off with the men to another car on the other side of the plane.
“Get in,” urged the T-shirt man. Stephen and I ran after him to the car, getting in the back while the Glow with the jacket sat in the passenger seat. The T-shirt man—who had started driving—accelerated, speeding us away before I even had a chance to find the seatbelt.
“What's happening? We’re not getting in the plane?” I yelled, leaning forward in the passenger seat.
“That plane is about to blow. It has two already dead bodies on it, so people will think you’re dead.”
“Holy light,” I muttered. A few minutes into the drive, I felt something come over me, a deep, gut-wrenching feeling very hard to explain.
“Mother,” Stephen looked at me.
“I felt it too,” I said, my eyes widening.
“She did what she was going to do,” Stephen said.
I nodded. We didn’t know what her plan had been, exactly, but I don’t think it ended well for her, given the feeling I was feeling.
“She blew up the yacht,” the driver said.
“What?” Stephen and I both said in unison. Stephanie had hinted at her plan but never outright said what she would do.
“Not just the yacht, though,” said the driver, taking a ramp onto the highway toward Trenton. “Also three major cartel drug distribution centers. It's a big win for us.”
“I’m sorry about your mom, Stephen,” I said tenderly, grasping his hand.
“I knew deep down that this would happen…that I probably wouldn’t see Mom again,” he said quietly.
I nodded grimly.
Stephen and I sat in silence for a few seconds.
“Ty!” Stephen suddenly exclaimed, remembering Ty was on the boat as well.
I rubbed Stephen's arm in consolation. Ty did a lot of dark things, but he was a friend to Stephen.
“Ty was a bit crazy, but he did have your back,” I said softly.
“Oh man, this is insane,” Stephen said, putting one hand to his forehead. “Ty, yeah, he was, um, yeah…” He shook his head as if to say he couldn’t talk about it.
“He was funny,” I interjected.
“Yes,” Stephen nodded. “He was crazy, but funny.” He turned his head and looked out the window.
Both of the men in front had been talking about the route and hadn’t paid much attention to our conversation.
The driver interrupted our solemn, contemplative state by casually remarking, “We’re about ten minutes behind schedule, so we have to drive faster than normal. I’m Ryan, by the way.” He turned his head slightly.
“I’m Aiden,” the jacket man called over his shoulder.
“Why did you bow to us if you are L Glows?” Stephen asked, clearly trying to focus on something else for a minute.
“To buy us a couple of seconds. We knew your sister would be onto us even sooner if we didn’t act like D Glows up front.”
About ten minutes after being on the road, we heard a distant boom. I looked out the back car window. “The plane?” I asked.
“Alecia,” Stephen realized suddenly, averting his eyes.
“Oh, Stephen, I’m sorry. This is a lot to take in at one time.”
“Wasn’t she like, super evil?” Aiden asked, peering at Stephen through his front mirror.
“She wasn’t the nicest person,” Stephen admitted. “But we were finally at a point where we weren’t fighting every second. I mean, not like there wouldn’t have been future problems. I’m just a little…shocked, I guess, that she's gone.”
“You never know, she might be fine,” I reassured.
“Not to be mean, but it might help us all to have one less D Glow to worry about,” Ryan said.
“Be quiet,” I snapped. “She might have been nasty, and, yes, if she knew who I really was, she wouldn’t have hesitated to kill me, but that all said, she was still Stephen's sister—if not in blood, at least by nurture. Let him have a minute to process.”
“Someone needs an intervention,” Ryan commented under his breath.
“Why didn’t you just kill her? You had an opportunity,” asked Stephen.
“Not our mission,” Aiden said.
“Oh, but leaving her on the tarmac to die in an explosion was a better option?”
“Look, fate decides who goes and when. Who knows—you both insisted we put her in a car. Maybe she did survive and you can have a lovely family reunion,” Ryan remarked, a little snarkier than I expected from a Light Glow.
“You don’t seem very Pure Light to me,” I pointed out, frowning.
“Who said anything about Pure? I’m an agent, just like you. No agent can be Pure to survive.”
“OK, that is enough everyone,” Aiden slid in. “I’m sorry about both your mother and sister, Stephen. Your mom is a hero. As for your sister, like I said, we weren’t authorized to kill her, but we had to make sure she didn’t stand in our way.”
“Where are we going now?” I asked, changing the subject.
“You’re getting on a plane to Alaska.”
“Alaska?” Stephen and I cried in unison.
When we arrived at the tarmac, we ran up the stairs to the aircraft, which was larger than the one blown up at the last airstrip, and the doors shut behind us.
“Go, go, let's get the bird in the air,” Aiden yelled to the pilots.
I turned to see my father sitting in on of the passenger seats. “Dad?” I cried out incredulously.
“Take a seat,” he gently urged, seeming so out of place amid the tragic mood with his usual combed hair and peach-colored suit. I sat next to him and buckled up, and Stephen sat in a seat facing us.
“Oh Divine, I can’t believe you are here!” I felt so relieved. “How's Mom and Helena?”
“All good, all good,” Father responded calmly. “You both look exhausted,” he remarked and then added,“Of course—it's completely understandable. You’ve been through a lot.”
He pulled a small blanket that was folded up on his armrest by the window and placed it on my lap, probably more to cover up my bare legs than for warmth. I’d almost forgotten that I was still wearing my wedding reception dress. I can’t believe we pulled this off. I was too tired to think about it.
“As soon as we get to a cruising altitude, I’ll get the food that was made for you,” my father said comfortingly.
Oh, food. I had been so famished earlier, and now the sound of food didn’t even sound appealing. A drink did, though—but of course, I didn’t say that out loud.
“Thanks for taking care of my daughter, Stephen.”
“No, sir, she took care of herself, really,” he smiled halfheartedly.
“I’m sorry for your loss today. Your mother will be remembered as a hero.”
I looked at Stephen; his face was gloomy and shadowed.
“She never told us her full plan,” I said to my dad.
“She sacrificed herself,” Stephen breathed.
Dad looked distant for a moment before speaking to Stephen consolingly. “She knew if Darkness got ahold of her, you would be in danger, and so would the balance of light and darkness. To her it wasn’t a sacrifice—it was a necessity, the only thing she could do.”
Stephen looked as though he was on the verge of tears. “Now what?” he asked, sighing and visibly recollecting himself. “Before, I at least had a purpose. Now, I don’t know what to do.”
“Well, first you both will be debriefed by the Bureau, and then you will go through a major intervention to bring you safely away from darkness.”
“You, dear,” he said, turning to me, “Will take off some of that makeup and put more clothes on.”
I slanted my eyes at him but was appreciative of his attempt to lighten the mood.
“After a few weeks, the Bureau would like to send you to a facility in Japan. There is someone who would very much like to meet and mentor you—someone who just recently transitioned from an analyst to an agent. I think you’d be interested in meeting him, Stephen. He wants to train you to be an analyst.”
“Oh?” He looked up, still somber.
“He is your biological father, Jake Cooling.”
Oh! I lit up a bit. “It’ll be nice to finally meet him, don’t you think, Stephen?” I asked, trying to sound encouraging and help cheer him up.
“Yeah, I guess it would be good to meet him.” He looked down at the floor, not totally convinced.
“What about me, Father?” I asked. “Will I be able to see Mom, Lorana, and Helena?”
“You will be in Japan while Stephen is there as well. It's up to you both as to whether or not you continue on as a team or go your separate ways; however, you’ll need to stay in Japan until the D Glow news calms down a bit. All will work out in time as it is meant to.”
“We’re at cruising altitude,” the captain announced over the intercom. “You can get up and stretch your legs if you want.”
“Oh, good,” my dad said, unbuckling his seatbelt and standing up. “I’ll get you two something to eat.”
I unfastened my seatbelt as well and hopped over to the seat next to Stephen and sat down.
Stephen cleared his throat and his eyes met mine earnestly.
“I would really like to do this next Chapter with you, Skyla.”
The name Skyla sounded foreign to me. It dawned on me: I couldn’t ever be Skyla again.
“I don’t think I can be Skyla anymore,” I said while I fidgeted with my necklace.
“What?” Stephen said, taken aback.
“Well, I’m not Jade, for sure, but I’m no longer Skyla, either. I need a new name.”
“OK,” he said, shrugging, slightly put off that I had skirted his heartfelt statement. “What do you want to be called?”
“I was thinking, hmm…maybe just Sky?”
“Just-sky?” The corners of his mouth lifted into a smirk.
“Not just Sky,” I scoffed, smiling. I knew he was hassling me. “And, also,” I started, resting my hand on his knee, “I was thinking that I can’t imagine my life without you in it, either.” The weight of my words hit me and I reflected on the crazy journey our relationship had been on. “In fact, I don’t really remember my life without you in it.”
“Really?” he asked, holding my gaze through his thick lashes. My heart fluttered. What would I do without him?
“Yes. I want to go through whatever is next with you, Stephen,” I said decisively. “Well, not Stephen LeBete the D Glow,” I added.
“Yeah, about that—I can’t really be called Stephen LeBete anymore, can I?”
I shook my head.
“I guess not. Well…” he trailed off, thinking.
“Do you have any ideas?”
“How about…Brett?” he offered.
“You know that means, like, a board in German, right?”
“Oh, no. How do you know that?”
“There's lots of things you still don’t know about me,” I winked. I had actually learned about that name from my sister.
“Is that so?” he asked amused. “OK, then how about Neil?”
“I don’t know—makes me think of ‘kneel down.’”
“Never mind,” he said, almost grinning.
“What's your dad's last name again?” I asked.
“It's Cooling,” he replied.
“What about…” I drew out in a singsong voice, trying to think of something. “Karl? Ken? Kurt? Kipper? No, wait—Kyle?”
“Hmm. Not bad. Kyle Cooling. I kinda like it,” he mused.
My father came back with some food. “Oh, Dad, I’m really not that hungry anymore,” I said apologetically.
“To be honest, I just want to sleep,” said Kyle.
“OK, no worries,” Dad said, holding a tray of what looked like crackers, cheese and grapes. “I’ll set it down over here, if you change your minds.” He pulled out a tray table and set the food tray upon it. “I think I will let you both have some time to regroup. I’m going to catch some shut-eye in the back.”
After he left, I rested my head on Kyle's warm, familiar shoulder. He put his head on mine. Sky and Kyle Cooling, I thought to myself. Sounds nice together. I yawned and fell fast asleep—dreaming sweet dreams for the first time in a long time.
The End