Shiny Demon

Lost in the Light

The dull thrum of a tension headache began to pulse behind Seb's eyes as he clicked on another Australian immigration site. Apparently, Genevieve was quite popular there, so she had been offered the opportunity to be the face of a sex education campaign. She'd been putting a ton of work into her socials, creating her own segments where she debunked sexual health myths and common misunderstandings. She was made up that it was finally paying off, and Seb was really proud of her. But he was feeling more and more at sea as they delved into the logistics of moving.

Currently he was researching the outrageous number of hoops he'd have to jump through to get Doom over there. There were about seventeen different, very specific and rigid timelines that needed to be met to even get permission to fly her over. And even then, she'd have to be flown in cargo, alone, without so much as a comfort toy.

When he got to the sentence about potential euthanasia, he walked away from his computer, too exhausted and anxious to continue.

As if on cue, Genevieve called him.

"Hey," he answered.

"Hey babe!" her chipper voice rang through the phone. "How's your day going?"  The enthusiasm rang hollow, as it tended to do these days.

He sighed. "I was just looking up how to get Doom over to Australia."

"Oh, that's good," she answered distractedly. She was probably working on something. Their schedules were so busy that multitasking was a perpetual state of being for them. It was strange to think how they'd spent all day, every day together in the Villa, and now they saw each other once a month if they were lucky. The time between their visits was getting progressively longer and longer.

"I don't know if 'good' is the word."

He could hear the light clacking of a keyboard in the background. After a second she responded. "Hm, sorry, love. What did you say?" 

"Did you know Doom will have to be quarantined for ten days and the only facility is nine hours away from where we'll be?"

"Wow, really?" She paused before continuing in an upbeat voice. "Think of it as an opportunity for us to take our first Australian road trip! See the country!"

Seb sighed heavily. There were so many obstacles to even get to that point that this idea provided no comfort. "I guess. But then what? We're going to make Doom ride in a crate for nine hours after she's been isolated for ten days?"

"We'll break up the trip. Stop at a hotel after a few hours."

"Are the hotels in Australia even cat friendly? Pet friendly doesn't always mean cats are allowed."

"Seb, I'm trying," she said, less brightly, the shine on her cheery facade wearing down.

"So am I."

"Are you though?" she asked, frustration tugging at her words. "Every time we talk, it's something else."

"I'm overwhelmed," he answered with a little more edge than he'd intended.

"Well so am I. But I don't think assuming defeat or complaining about everything is the answer. Why do you always focus on the negative?"

This was a question he'd received repeatedly throughout his life. Why couldn't he just buck up? See the bright side? Why did he insist on unhappiness? He didn't know the answer to that question. It wasn't how he was wired.

"I'm not trying to... I'm worried about Doom, okay?"

"I know," she sighed. "I don't mean to be dismissive, but... This is the biggest opportunity of my life and all you're focused on is what's bad about it. I want you to be excited about it with me."