Free A Kiss Before the Apocalypse by Thomas E. Sniegoski Page A

nodded, understanding completely, but not wanting to accept it.
    “I love you now, and will always love you, Remy Chandler,” Madeline said, smiling at him wistfully. And he was reminded of his wedding day, when she had said the very same thing to him.
    “And I love you now, and always will, Madeline Chandler.”
    “That’s nice,” she said, and hugged him again.
    Remy hugged her back, kissing the top of her gray head. And they stood there like that for quite some time, breaking apart only when Marlowe finally found his way back to them, tennis ball in his mouth.
    “There he is,” Madeline said happily, and Marlowe’s tail began to wag. She squatted down, putting her arms around the black dog, hugging him close, pressing her face to his. “Thank you so much for coming to visit me, you goofy thing.”
    Marlowe licked her face, and she began to laugh.
    Again, Remy thought of how much he loved that sound.
    And how much he would miss it when it was gone.

CHAPTER FIVE
    "M addie come home?” Marlowe asked from the backseat of the car, tilting his head and pointing his moist, jet-black nose toward the flow of air coming in from the partially open windows.
    “No,” Remy responded more sharply than he meant to as he tried to navigate Huntington Avenue’s rush-hour traffic.
    It had to have been the fourth time the dog had asked about Madeline since they’d left Cresthaven. Remy understood exactly where the pup was coming from, which just made it all the harder for him to explain why Marlowe’s favorite female wasn’t going to return to the pack.
    Remy brought the car to a gradual stop at a traffic light near the Pru and casually looked into the rearview mirror to check on his buddy. He found himself staring into the dark, reflective eyes of the Labrador.
    “Why?” the dog asked.
    Remy sighed, turning the corner as the light changed to green.
    “You know why,” he told the animal. “Madeline’s sick and needs to stay at the get-well place, where they’ll take care of her.”
    The dog’s head suddenly turned, zeroing in on a particularly interesting scent as they made their way down Boylston Street toward the Public Garden. Remy hoped that he would lose interest in the discussion of Madeline, but that wasn’t the case.
    “When?”
    They always ended up in this uncomfortable place. He could tell Marlowe just about anything: tomorrow, two weeks from tomorrow, a year from next Tuesday, and to the simple animal it all meant pretty much the same thing. The dog, as with almost all animals, had no real concept of the passage of time. He lived for the moment, the now. That was what Marlowe truly wanted. He wanted Madeline home with them now, probably just as much as Remy himself did. Marlowe wanted the pack to be whole again, wanted life to be how it used to be.
    How it was supposed to be.
    But things had changed, and life never would be the same again. And how did he explain to this simple, loving animal that what it desired most could never be? Remy was the alpha male. . . . The master, the provider. How could he not make this happen?
    Instead, Remy ignored the dog, concentrating on getting home as quickly as possible. The remainder of the ride was filled with silent tension as Remy waited for the animal to press the issue, but Marlowe chose not to. In fact, he seemed more concerned with barking a greeting through the open window every now and again as they passed people walking their dogs.
    The gods of parking must have been feeling especially benevolent, for Remy managed to find a space right on Hancock Street, near the State House. With a dazzling display of parallel parking— one of the most difficult things I’ve had to master as a human —Remy parked the Toyota for the night.
    After a leisurely walk back to the brownstone, Remy retrieved his mail from the basket in the foyer and, unlocking the inner door, let them both into the hallway. The house was stuffy, and he walked around opening the windows to let in