Everleigh

The air in my office smelled like mildew and roses.

A deep breath in,

a deep breath out.

Logistics issues. A delayed whiskey order. My problem and yet not my problem. That's what I had minions for.

Too bad they were incompetent.

Two and a half hours of banal conversation, basic negotiation, and the problem was no longer a problem.

The dreariness of it all.

I'd lost the fox but he was predictable in his unpredictability.

He would be back for cookies soon;

the fox and the widow.

The scandal of it all.

Everything was going to plan—

A knock at the door.

"What," I said.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

From behind the door, "I have something for you, Mistress Gloom."

"Is it solitude."

"Umm," the minion hesitated.

It wasn't solitude,

nor peace,

nor quiet.

"Whatever," I answered. "Come in."

The minion carried a rectangular parcel wrapped in a familiar cloak. It'd been secured with a ratty old rope.

"Leave it," I said.

And he left it.

"Okay, bye," I said.

And he left.

My office now smelled of mildew, roses, sweat, and sex.

A tug on the rope and the cloak fell away.

A gift,

A gasp.

I plucked the scrap of paper from the corner of the frame.

F for Feargus.

F for Finlay.

F for fox.

F for father.

I traced Sebastian's face with cold, careful fingers.

The light in my darkest storms.

My mentor,

my muse,

my friend.

The ache, the atrophy, the agony of it all.

I kissed his forehead and stood to put my fist through the uninspired painting of a graveyard next to my door.

Not him, not him, no good.

I tossed it aside and hung in its rightful place,

the portrait of the only one who'd ever loved me.

F for father,

F for fox,

F for Feargus,

F for Finlay,

F for… friend?

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.