The Color of Darkness COMPLETE NOVEL

Dawn

The wake was held back at Stacy's house, which had just enough room inside and out to accommodate the hundred and fifty or so people who decided to attend.

Buck's prodigious photograph was set up in the front room with several pictures of him, a multitude of bouquets, and yet another several dozen sympathy cards. Nova seemed to be hoarded by friends of his, past and present, dying to meet the daughter he had spoken so brightly of. Rick and I hung out on the fringes with Mudder and a few cousins, making sure pitchers were full and directing people out to the garden when the house seemed like it was getting just a bit overstuffed.

Finally, about an hour after darkness fell, Nova made her way back to us looking more than a little overwhelmed. Rick chose that moment to get wrapped up in an argument with several of Nova's family members regarding baseball and I knew he would be a lost cause for the rest of the evening. Nova tapped me on the shoulder and nodded her head out toward the back door. I shrugged, and she opened the hooded sweatshirt she had put on over her dress to reveal a small golden bottle of tequila tucked away in her pocket, shooting me a sly grin. I sighed and shook my head, though I couldn't help inwardly chuckling, and followed her out past the garden and down a long flight of flagstone steps that led to a little old wooden dock of sorts that reached out into the still waters of the sound like a silent hand. The boards creaked and sighed as Nova led me out to the very end and plopped down, kicking off her shoes and carefully pulling her dress up over her knees so she could slip her bare feet into the almost-glasslike water. She slipped several little metal pins out of her bun and let it all cascade down over her shoulders as usual. The inlet behind the house was well protected by a long sandbar that jutted out from the left a couple hundred feet away, giving the salty water the appearance of an untouched lake rather than an untamable ocean.

I pulled off my own shoes and socks and rolled my dress pants up a couple times, yelping out loud as my feet broke the freezing surface of the water. Nova laughed and reached over and loosened my tie with one hand, fishing the bottle out of her pocket with the other. She took a slow, savoring swig. I watched her face closely as she swallowed, marveling at how her features could be so beautiful and so strong at the same time. Her mussed auburn waves were haloed around her head in a way that made her look like some sort of Greek goddess. She passed me the bottle and I took a swig as well, letting the fire slide down my throat and warm my very core. I set the bottle back down between us and we lay back on the salty old wood, my arms propped behind my head and hers spread out like wings, and took in the pungent air, the endless stars, and the soothing sound of the water gently lapping against the shore.

That moment, like many moments spent with Nova, was a moment where I lost myself in time and space, floating between the folds of feeling and perception.

"Hey Puck?"

"Hmm?"

"Thanks."

Nova broke the silence with the soft tones of her voice, which too perfectly blended with the surreal sense of peace and safety that had washed over me. Here on this dock, looking out over an endless expanse of nothingness, we were untouchable. The sounds of laughter and conversation drifted down from the house up on the hill, but it all seemed so far away. Nova was here, Nova was close. I turned my head to look at her and found her melting, swirling diamonds already locked on my face.

"Thanks for what?" I asked.

"This. That," she gestured up to the house and then all around us. "A little bit of everything, I guess. It seemed like you didn't want me to come here at first."

"I never said that."

"Please, Puck. I can take bullshit from everyone else, but not from you."

I gulped and turned my head back up, unable to look at her. "Well, yeah, maybe I had some reservations. I'm glad we came now, though."