After Ari’s initial shock at witnessing Rene and Khal’s kiss, she quickly grabbed her keys off the table and turned to head out the door in a rush. Rene took off after her. 

“Wait! Ari!” Rene caught up to her at her car and placed a hand on her shoulder. She spun around to look at him. 

“I gotta get going to pick up Emory.” Ari pointed out. 

“I know you-I know you saw-” Rene stammered. 

“I saw two grown consenting adults making out.” Ari said. “Who am I to judge, Rene? I want you to be happy.”

“It wasn’t- we’re not…” Rene was struggling so hard to find the right words. 

“Listen, I’m not gonna sugar coat it.” Ari said. “I know he means a lot to you. But you were with Misha for so long. I never thought you’d move on this fast.”

“I’m not moving on.” Rene shook his head, feeling a sting of shame at her words. “I don’t even know what we are, or what we’re doing. All I know is that I want to protect Emory.”

“I’m sure you do.” Ari said, opening her car and getting into the driver’s seat. “You should probably be a little more careful in how you do that.”

He was confused by her response. It felt somewhat hostile, like she was very disappointed in him. Ari wasn’t usually one to judge, but something about what she’d just seen seemed to really be bothering her. 

“I’m going to take Emory shopping by myself tonight. She can stay at my place. Maybe you and Khal can spend time figuring out what your relationship actually is before you go presenting it to your daughter.”

“Ari, what’s wrong?” Rene asked, genuinely concerned by her anger. 

Ari shook her head, frowning, and he could see tears welling in her eyes. 

“I don’t know.” She snapped. “I need to get going or I’m going to be late. That stupid line to pick up the kids takes forever. Go and sort your shit out.”

With that, she slammed the door shut, started the car, and backed out of the driveway. 

Rene was at a loss. He headed back up to the house where Khal was waiting for him just inside the door, looking curious. 

“What did she say?” Khal asked as Rene stepped inside and closed the door. 

“She’s upset.” Rene admitted. “She doesn’t want Emory to get hurt.”

“Emory will be fine.” Khal insisted. 

“Ari is going to take her shopping tonight and keep her overnight. She wants us to sort this out, whatever this is.”

“And what do you think this is?” Khal asked, his eyes searching Rene’s. “How do you feel about what’s been going on between us?”

“I-I don’t know.” Rene said, sliding into a chair at the table and placing his head in his hands. He felt sick, like he had just been caught doing something absolutely terrible and needed to atone for it. “What if this is wrong?”

“Wrong how?” Khal asked. 

“I moved you in right after his death. That had to be so strange for Emory. It didn’t seem to matter though when we were just friends.” Rene said, looking at Khal who had slipped into a chair next to him. 

“I’ve never considered you just a friend.” Khal said. 

Rene frowned, “What do you mean?”

“I mean, I’ve been in love with you as long as I’ve known you. And a few days ago, I was able to show you that. It was such an incredible moment. I get butterflies thinking about it.” Khal admitted. “I know it was wrong before, and I never would have made my move when Misha was here. But everything happened, and we couldn’t help but grow closer. And I don’t regret a thing.”

Rene wanted to be angry, but he was merely confused. 

Confused because he’d felt a strange familiarity when he first met Khal. He also would never have considered doing anything when Misha was still in the picture. Not in a million years. But now, their relationship felt right. It felt wonderful. 

Then why was he so anxious about it at the moment?

Because Ari had been upset. 

Because Emory would likely be when she found out. 

Khal looked at him with those intense eyes of his, trying to get a read on him. 

Rene was torn.

“I don’t know what to do.” Rene said. 

“Relax.” Khal insisted, taking Rene’s hand in his and squeezing it. 

Rene scoffed, “I’m not sure if I’m capable of relaxing. Especially not with everything that’s happened in the past year or so.”

“You’re going to be fine.” Khal said. “Nothing can be worse than what you’ve already been through.”

He had a point. 

Rene looked up at Khal, looked deep into those beautiful intense eyes of his, and just took a moment to admire the man. 

Khal was always going to be by his side. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind about that. He had been by Rene’s side through Misha’s death, and continued to be after their abduction. And now here he was months later, ever the doting friend. The man was a Saint, even if he seemed a little blunt, a little off at times. Rene cared very deeply for him, and the thought of ending what they had now was too much. 

Rene made a decision then and there that he was going to make this work. He took Khal’s hand in his and squeezed it.

“I want to be with you.” Rene said. 

Khal grinned, “Well, the feeling is mutual.”

*****

In the following days, Ari seemed to calm down quite a bit. In fact, she became downright happy when she saw them together. Rene was surprised by the abrupt change. He wondered if she’d just been having a bad day when she caught them in the act. 

They didn’t have a chance to tell Emory, as she had already figured it out. 

The night before school started back up, Emory woke up from a particularly vivid dream and walked to Rene’s bedroom. Khal hadn’t taken to sleeping in there full time just yet. Rene jumped as he opened his eyes to see her standing there, completely silent, looking at him. 

“Daddy, the woman in my dream told me about you and Khalid. She said she’s happy for you, that you’re together, finally. She knows you’re confused, but she wants you to know everything should be alright.” Emory said, rubbing her eyes. “She also told me that I have a very important job to do, and she’s going to make sure I can handle it. She’s a goddess, you know.”

Rene frowned, checking the clock to see that it was 1:44 in the morning. 

“Emory, darling, you should go back to bed.” Rene said. 

“I want you and Khal to be happy too.” Emory said, though she frowned as she said it. 

“Thank you, Emory.” Rene said, getting out of bed and taking her hand to guide her back to her bed. 

“Are you going to marry like you and dad did?” Emory asked as Rene tucked her back into her own bed. 

“Uh, I have no idea, darling. It’s one day at a time.”

“Your time is short though. The goddess said so. You have less than thirty years until it’s over for you two. Until you have to leave this plane and cross over. That’s what she said.”

Rene raised an eyebrow. It was a very strange story coming from a 5-year-old.

“We’ll talk more about it in the morning, okay?” Rene said. 

Emory nodded, “Okay, daddy.”

Rene returned to bed, his mind spinning with everything his daughter had told him. 

*****

The weekend of Emory’s birthday, they loaded up a rented truck with supplies they’d acquired through the library drive. They’d managed to gain a number of animal specific supplies for the misplaced pets that had been saved and temporarily placed in various humans societies throughout the state. They were particularly excited to hit a few of them closer to the mountain. 

Emory was very excited, and the first one in the vehicle, insisting that everyone else hurry up. 

“It’s a long drive!” Emory said. “We want to get to the first humane society before dark, right daddy?”

“Of course, darling.” Rene said, packing the remainder of their luggage in the bed of the truck and securing the tarp before hopping in the driver’s seat. He’d been lucky enough to get their neighbor Paige to offer to check in on Aset, to make sure she was fed, watered, and loved. He would have asked Katrina, but her little ones were mobile now, and she had more than enough on her plate. Poor Katrina had had to arrange the funerals for both of her parents after they lost their lives in the disaster. She’d filled Rene in on how she was even now fighting with insurance and life insurance to sort things out after their tragic passing. Rene felt so bad for her. 

It had come to light that one of Rene’s foster brothers had also been a victim in the eruption. Kyle, a boy who had been a few years younger than him. They’d lived together for a year or so in a particularly nasty foster home where the foster mother, Evelyn, would drink too much and take her anger at being abandoned by her husband out on the children she was supposed to protect. The memory of Kyle stung when Rene found out about his passing. He’d struggled to protect him when they were younger, and now Kyle was gone. Hopefully his passing had been quick and painless. 

Finally, Khal and Ari got into the car. Ari rode in the back with Emory. The drive was fairly dull on I5, but once they left the freeway, it became a lot more beautiful. Once Mt. Hood came into view, there was an audible gasp from Emory. 

“It’s so short now.” Emory muttered.

It was true. Mt. Hood, which had stood at over 11,200 feet had been reduced by nearly 2000 feet. It was insane how different it looked, like it wasn’t even the same mountain. Rene glanced in the rear view mirror to see Emory staring at it in silent awe. He looked to the side at Khal, who was also staring in wonder at the sight before them.

“Nature is so incredible. So terrible.” Khal said. “Seeing it in person really puts it in perspective.”

Ari agreed. 

They managed to make their way to the Airbnb first and get settled in. Within the hour, they had arrived at the first humane society, and Emory was grinning happily as she helped give many of their supplies, including food, litter, and bedding, to the grateful employees, along with a sizable check. The place was completely packed with dogs, cats, bunnies, and all other manner of creatures furry and not. Rene would have happily taken the time to pet all the cats, but unfortunately the humane society was closing in fifteen minutes, which was just enough time for them to get all their supplies inside. 

The manager gave Emory a huge hug and wished her a happy birthday. She thanked them all profusely as they left. 

There wasn’t time to make the next humane society before it closed, so they headed out to find dinner as a nice little diner, before heading back to the Airbnb.

That night, Rene fell asleep contentedly next to Khal. The events of the day tumbled into shapeless dreams that slowly formed into an image of the bungalow on the beach, and the strange woman standing there near the billowing white curtains, beckoning for Rene to come closer.

He walked up the sandy hill. This time, he managed to make it all the way up to her. She smiled at him. Her features were strained, almost blurred. For a moment, she would come into sharp focus as a beautiful east Asian woman with a fancy bob of jet black hair, and then she would morph, and her features would darken a bit into something ethereally beautiful, something eternal and hard to describe. There would be long dark curls, and eyes that glowed an incredible turquoise behind long flowing lashes. She looked like a woman, but like no woman that Rene had ever seen in his life. Her features were not of this world. Back and forth she would transition between these two beings. It might have been jarring, but somehow it seemed normal. 

“You made it.” She said. 

Rene nodded as he stood on the patio of the bungalow. 

“I’ve been waiting.” She said. 

“Who are you?” Rene asked. 

She merely smiled before speaking again. 

“Your lover, is not who he says he is. He wants to give you the world, but you mustn’t let him.” She spoke as the east Asian woman. 

“Let him.” Repeated the ethereal woman in a soft echo. 

They shook their collective head. 

“He’s lying to you. He’ll ask you soon to make a big decision with him. It’ll seem like a dream come true. But everything he’s done to reach that dream has been wrong. It’s been cruel. It’s been everything you’ve stood against all this time.”

“What do you mean?” Rene asked. 

“You’ll understand, when he asks you. I’ve waited so long to speak to you. I’m so glad you’re here.”

“Who are you?” Rene asked again. 

The woman smiled and gently touched a hand to Rene’s cheek. Rene immediately woke up and took a deep breath, struck by the strange familiarity of the dream. He glanced over at Khal’s resting form, and watched him sleep for a bit, curiosity making it difficult to fall back asleep. 

*****

The next morning, Ari had taken Emory on a drive to look at the mountain. Rene came down to the kitchen in the Airbnb to find Khal had made him breakfast, and was sitting at the table waiting. He was grinning, looking like he had something on his mind. 

“What is it?” Rene asked, sitting at the table and digging into his French toast. He smiled as he took a delicious bite. 

“What is what?” Khal asked innocently. 

“You look like there’s something on your mind.” Rene said after swallowing another bite. “What’s up?”

Khal chuckled, “You know me so well. There is something on my mind. Truth is, I came into a bit of money recently, and I’ve been giving it a lot of thought. The place we’re living now is so small. Only two bedrooms and that small office area. I know it’s special to you, but I found something I think you’ll really love, and I talked to them about buying it straight out.”

As Rene froze in confusion, trying to process what Khal had just said, Khal flipped through his phone, then turned it to face Rene. On the screen was a rather large house for sale. It had six bedrooms, four bathrooms, a huge garden, even a fountain. There was a secret room with a reading nook that Emory would likely love. 

To top it all off, the entire house was painted a stunning shade of turquoise.

“Money is no issue.” Khal said. “I want to do this for us. I think it would be absolutely perfect. And the schools are the best in the city. Emory will have the top educational opportunities. What do you think?”

Rene’s dream came rushing back to him like a slap in the face. He stared at Khal in shock.

“I’m- I’m not sure.” Rene said. “Can I think about this?”

“Of course!” Khal said. He stood up looking positively pleased with himself. Rene watched him walk over to the sink and start washing some dishes while he whistled away. 

A lump of ice churned in Rene’s gut as he looked down at his French Toast. 

Chapter 24 https://storiesfrommontana.com/2023/07/02/writing-challenge-2023-chapter-24-lights-out/