Page 28 of Buddy System

I am so happy for Levi. I know how awful he’s been feeling, and this has to have been an enormous hurdle for him to finally overcome.

“That was incredible, you guys,” I tell them.

“It was everything,” Levi agrees and yawns contentedly.

“Best ever. Good night,” Skyler adds, and we all drift off in a tangle of arms and legs.

I should feel crowded, but the sense of rightness fills me with so much joy, I drift off with what I’m sure is a goofy grin on my face.

An indeterminate length of time later, I realize that although Levi is still snuggled up to me, my other side is cool. Skyler either needed more space and moved way over, or he’s gone. I don’t give it a lot of thought before succumbing to sleep again.

But as the room fills with late morning light and I regain my wits, I turn around and see that Skyler has definitely gone somewhere else to sleep. This bums me out more than I would have expected. I hope he’s not upset or nervous about what we did. If we could maintain this kind of relationship permanently, I wouldn’t mind. This realization doesn’t even shock me, and that in itself is a surprise. I want him to be part of us. Levi and I will have to talk when he wakes up. But now, I desperately need the bathroom and crave some coffee in the worst way.

I head to the bathroom, and when I’m done with the necessities and brushing my teeth, I peek into Skyler’s room. I’m kind of shocked that he’s not there, and his bed is made. Huh. That seems odd. I return to our bedroom quietly, not wanting to disturb Levi who’s still softly snoring away. He’s so beautiful and looks completely at peace. No nightmares have plagued him since we got here to Skyler’s paradise in Honeybee Hollow. I quickly pull on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt and head barefooted for the kitchen.

Now it’s getting to be even stranger. I felt certain Skyler would be sipping coffee and enjoying a pastry from Juni’s bakery. He keeps a good supply of her confections in the freezer at all times. But the coffeemaker is cold and empty, and he’s nowhere to be seen. I step outside to see if he’s somewhere out back. Nope. Nothing. I even look in the garage, deciding he went to buy something different for breakfast—not that we needed anything—but his car and the truck are both parked in there.

I decide he must have gone for a walk, so I return to the kitchen and set about making coffee. He’ll certainly show up soon. Won’t he?

I’ve just finished an excellent bran muffin and I’m starting on my second cup of coffee when my handsome, barefoot, pajama-bottom-clad husband joins me looking mussed and rumpled, but thoroughly satisfied. His hair is sticking up in all directions, and it makes me smile. I do notice, however, that he’s leaning on his cane a lot more than usual. “Mornin’, babe,” he says in a scratchy voice. “Where’s our man?” He grabs a mug of coffee and eases himself gingerly into the chair across from me with a giant grin.

“I can’t find him.”

Levi’s smile evaporates as he blinks and says, “What do you mean you can’t find him?”

“He got out of bed sometime in the wee hours of the morning—I’m guessing around two or three maybe—and I’ve looked for him, but he’s not around. He hasn’t had breakfast, and the cars are still here, but he’s not in bed or anywhere close by. I even wondered if he went fishing, so I checked, and the tackle is still here.”

“Did you try calling him?”

“No. His phone was charging in his bedroom when I looked in there.”

“Wow. That’s odd and completely out of character for him. Did you try upstairs?”

“No. Why would he be up there?”

“I dunno.” Levi scratched his chin. “But it’s one more place to look before we panic.”

“You think we have reason to panic?” Now I’m getting worried.

“Not yet, babe. He wouldn’t get lost or anything if he went for a run or a hike. He’ll be back. But he probably would have left a note and taken his phone…” Levi tries to look calm, but he’s not fooling me. Then he brightens and adds, “Oh! Maybe he’s up there changing bed linens after having my family visit.”

“Good thinking! I’m going upstairs then. Have a scone or a muffin or something. The bran ones are yummy.” I scoot off and make myself not take the stairs two at a time. Levi must be right. Only…I don’t hear any movement, and he’s been gone for an awfully long time to be making beds.

I’ve never bothered to come up here, so I have no idea what to expect. It’s as silent as a tomb. There is a long hallway with several open doors. I take a look in each one and see that they’re all nicely appointed bedrooms, and Skyler isn’t in any of them. I’m getting pretty frustrated. At the end of the hall, there is an ell that leads to a closed door, so I decide to take a look.Nothing to lose, I tell myself. There’s a crack of light beneath it. I open the door and realize it’s a stairway to the attic. Up I go, and when I get to the top, my heart almost stops.Oh my.

The attic is huge, and I never realized from the outside of the house that it has two large skylights that let in wonderful natural light on the backside of the sloped roof. There are also three lovely dormer windows facing the front, making this the brightest, cheeriest attic I’ve ever seen. Between the windows are cabinets, cubbies, and shelves full of things I can’t begin to take in. I see jars, cans, tubes, brushes, tools, and all sorts of art supplies. At the far end, there is a large utility sink and a kitchenette next to a door that leads to what looks like a bathroom. One could easily spend hours up here comfortably. But it’s what is in the middle of the space that has my curiosity. There is a large tarp protecting the floor, and on it stands an easel. The space has a stool and a table holding a scatter of brushes in canisters, palette knives, and paints. I can’t see what’s on the canvas because it’s facing away from me. Beyond the canvas and art supplies is a cot over by the wall where Skyler is sound asleep. He’s bare-chested; the quilt that covers him has slipped down. Even with the windows open, it’s warm up here, so that’s understandable.

He looks delightfully peaceful, and I don’t want to disturb him, but my curiosity gets the better of me, so I stride toward the easel to take a look. The wooden floor gives a loud creak at the same time as I take in the subject matter of the painting, and I gasp. The combined noises startle Skyler who sits up and croaks, “What? Who? Oh, Brooke, hi.”

“Skyler, this is amazing! Did you do this last night?”

“Oh…um…yeah. I kind of passed out in your bed for a couple of hours, and then I was so fired up, I needed to get some of my feelings down on canvas. I couldn’t help it.”

I can’t take my eyes off his work. It’s Levi. Obviously, the painting isn’t finished yet, but I can clearly see that Skyler is a huge talent.

“I’m calling itHero,” he tells me.

“That makes sense. You’ve captured his likeness and his attitude so incredibly well. I love this, Skyler!”

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