There’s already a cup of coffee on the kitchen table, and I sit down and take a sip. Absolutely perfect—just how I like it. This man never fails to make coffee that hits the spot.
“Bacon’s almost done,” he says.
“Thanks for cooking for me. Who knew a dragon baby needed so much bacon?”I joke, “I’m used to a swig of coffee and a granola bar.”
“I probably could have told you.” He laughs back.
“Hey,” I say, “I felt the baby kicking this morning.”
“You did?!” He asks loudly, “Oh, damn! I can’t believe I missed the first kicking!”
“Eh, I’m sure it’ll happen again.” I say, grinning, “You’re so excited!”
“Of course I am!” He says, “My wife is pregnant with our first kid—everything’s exciting about that!”
I laugh at his attitude. He’s just been wonderful throughout the entire process. He’s made everything so much easier. I look down to my left hand when he says the W word. The wedding ring still feels a bit weird on my finger. After things calmed down a little, Rufus went out of his way to get me one I like, but it doesn’t feel natural wearing it yet. I’m not used to jewelry on my hands, and I keep finding myself fiddling with it.
Obviously, it caused quite a stir among the bridge ladies that I was suddenly married overnight, but frankly, there aremore important things now. I can only imagine how they’re going to react when I fully start showing. But with Rufus at my side, I’m finally confident that everything will work out. The fact that I love him is more important than a hundred old biddy’s opinions.
I take another sip of my masterfully brewed coffee.
“So, what are you dragons up to today?” I ask.
“Eh, not much,” Rufus replies, “Probably start with a briefing, then go out on patrols around the town to see if we can spot any Eclipse members or if they’re staying true to their promise that they’ll come back in a month and kill us all. Oh, and probably get some coffee from Gunn’s Diner in between patrols.”
“The usual, then,” I murmur playfully, taking another sip.
“And what about you?” he asks, swinging the frying pan around and scooping out the bacon, “What’s our best gal in blue up to today?”
I chuckle a little before I answer:
“Arson, it looks like.”
“Arson? Ooh, sounds exciting!” he says.
“Not really,” I answer back, “A trash can was dragged out into the middle of nowhere and set on fire. No one even spotted it until it burned all the way to the ground. It’s melted to the road right now. Probably that same group of kids who did the vandalism against the alleyway of the diner, so once we scrape that trash can off the road, we have some mothers to talk to.”
“Living the dream, I see,” Rufus says, putting the plate in front of me.
I reach for my fork and knock it off the counter. It hits the floor with a loud clatter.
When the sound rings out, another rings out in my head:HONK!
My vision fades to swirling black for a moment, and when it comes back, I see Merl again. A car swerves past him, honking its horn angrily as it passes him.
Oh, Merl. What are you up to now?
I see him, clearly drunk, stumbling around in the middle of the road. I recognize the businesses on either side, even though their shutters are down. He’s singing something tunelessly to himself, and the road itself is mostly empty. There’s a thick layer of frost on the floor, and the golden sunlight is pouring out over the concrete. It sparkles like golden powder in the morning sunlight.
So, probably this morning, then. Merl keeps meandering back and forth across the road, a bottle swinging from his hand. Then, there’s a screeching. Another car hurtles toward him. Merl stops walking and blinks numbly at the car that is crashing toward him. Hits the brakes.
But it’s too late.
The back end fishtails out and turns sideways. It keeps moving across the road, tires screeching as they grind down along the road. Metal screams as it gets closer.
Merl keeps staring. The car gets closer. I see Merl hit the side. I see the door start to crinkle under his weight and—
“No!Ah! No!”