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He knew something was wrong when they didn’t return on time. Patience was never his strongest trait, but for the sake of treats and chin scratches, he would wait.
Fanny too was growing restless. She laid her chin on her paws as her eyes were trained on the door, expecting it to open at any moment. But with each passing moment, Lucky felt the house growing colder and colder. His little heart felt heavy, and his one eye darted around in worry, but they always came back as they promised. They will come back.
His worry must have been thick in the air. Fanny stood gingerly and trotted towards him, before plopping down next to him too. Together, the two dogs shared whatever warmth their bodies could gather.
Then the door opened. Lucky perked up, his tail already wagging in excitement.
Except something became very, very wrong.
He expected loud, boisterous laughter, or muffled giggles, or Yelena’s silent footsteps, or perhaps even the way Kate would clumsily toss her bow the moment she pulled off her shoes. However, only a single silhouette stood in the doorway, and from her height alone Lucky knew it was Yelena. Kate, however, was nowhere to be seen.
She looked defeated – her shoulders were slumped, her hands swaying aimlessly by her sides, she wore only a white shirt stained with blood, and its scent had Fanny riled up instantly. The alarms in Lucky’s head went off abruptly, and nothing he did could silence them.
When Yelena walked into the living room, her gait resembled a walking cadaver. Fanny went up to her questioningly, and so did Lucky. He kept glancing at the door, then back at her blood-stained shirt, wondering where his human companion was. Yelena only knelt, and Lucky could see tear tracks down her face.
She looked absolutely worn, like she no longer had a purpose. Fanny whined, pushing her nose into her embrace, but Yelena was completely numb and refused to move. Her dead-eyed gaze was fixed on the wall, and he couldn’t understand anything at all. Where is Kate? Why is Yelena crying?
Yelena's mouth opened, and the most painful sob emerged from her throat. It only terrified him even further. He had only seen her face like this and heard her voice that harrowing once – when she was mourning for someone and Kate was by her side, holding her and comforting her. Except now Yelena was completely alone and her source of comfort was nowhere to be found.
Lucky whined in distress. Even calm and composed Fanny began to grow agitated. He wanted to bolt out of the door and run out into the streets. He wanted to find Kate, to be covered in her soothing scent and ruffled by her calloused fingers again.
Instead, Yelena threw her arms around Lucky, keeping him in place. Lucky squirmed a bit before giving up completely, whining and whimpering while the same question repeated itself in his mind. Where is Kate? Where is Kate? Where is Kate?
“I’m sorry, Lucky,” Yelena sobbed. “I’m so sorry.”
He couldn’t understand her. But he decided to just let her find comfort in him anyway.
Yelena laid down on the floor and wailed until she fell asleep, with Fanny and Lucky curled around her like silent guardians. The golden retriever still stared at the door, wishing Kate would come home soon. Yelena needed her, and he knew Kate never liked seeing her this way.
For some unknown reason, everyone was wearing black. There weren’t many colours that Lucky could tell apart, but the emptiness in the colour brought out a sense of dread within him. It became his least favourite hue that day.
Cassie, usually in lively purple like Kate’s suit, was dressed in black. America, always with her denim jacket and star-spangled shirts, was dressed in black. Billy and Tommy with their signature vibrant colours, too, were dressed in black. With everyone huddled together, it seemed as though Lucky might be engulfed by the shadows. Yelena stood at the front, and the two dogs were leashed and seated obediently by her side. They were all staring ahead with their heads low, but Lucky had no idea why.
In front of them, a large rectangular hole was dug out. A wooden box was laid inside, but he didn’t know what it was supposed to mean. At the front of the hole, a large stone was carved and placed there. He tilted his head questioningly – the boulders he and Fanny usually ran around weren’t so intricately carved.
Someone was speaking, but Lucky wasn’t even paying attention. He looked around, wondering if Kate might be around after all, just hiding in a corner playing a prank on them. She had done that countless times with Yelena after all, thinking she could startle her girlfriend. Of course, Yelena was always alert as a cat, and Kate would usually end up being startled in the end.
It’s just another game, he thought. Yet it had been days, surely Kate would be bored by now?
Yelena knelt down. She hadn’t smiled ever since Kate went missing. Her green eyes lost their sparkle, and she barely spoke except to call them for dinner. Lucky’s ears drooped a little at the thought. He wondered if there was anything that might bring a smile to her face again?
She held a handful of dirt. He didn’t know why, but she tossed it into the hole before standing to the side. Everyone behind her did the same. Cassie and America wept, and even Tommy who loved to laugh was quiet as a mute.
Nonetheless, Lucky stood to the side with his head high like Kate always taught him. Surely Kate would be watching even in hiding. He wanted to make her proud at least, in case she was watching from afar.
He had hope in his little heart, but it was getting harder to get over his disappointment when Kate failed to appear that day too.
Even the house grew unbearably frigid and lonely without Kate. Yelena bought them pizza that day, something that she was often reluctant to do. Lucky only knew this fact because Kate had to sneak him pieces under the table while she wasn’t looking.
It was strange indeed, but Pizza Dog wasn’t complaining of course. Yet, he found himself holding back – he always had pizza with Kate and never alone. Fanny had her wet food, and Yelena seemed reluctant to eat too.
His stomach grumbled, still he took only a slice, deciding he would leave the rest for Kate when she would return. It had her favourite toppings after all – beef and chicken pepperoni. After wolfing it down, he drank from his water bowl, before looking up when the bedroom door closed gently.
Fanny perked up, and so did Lucky. They both knew what was going to happen. She had been doing it every night since she came home alone.
The dogs shared a glance, then both got up and trotted into the room. Fanny laid down on the doggy bed in silent vigil once more, her curious eyes trained on her human who was sitting in the cold, empty bed.
She was barely doing anything at all. A clear bottle was right in front of her and it was uncorked. Her green eyes glared, lips were pulled into a grimace so glum Lucky wondered if she would ever smile again.
He knew what that bottle was. It even reeked of that one thing Kate tried to keep Yelena away from. Lucky had been frightened when they both argued that one fateful day, with Yelena clutching the bottle so tightly as she screamed in Kate’s face. He didn’t understand anything they said, but he remembered the same words being thrown around – alcohol, addiction, let me in, you need help.
The fight ended with Yelena fallen to her knees, crying, while Kate only drew her into her arms and took the bottle away from her. Lucky never saw it ever since.
Now without Kate around, the bottle appeared again. Lucky wondered if it was a ruse so his human would return. Perhaps anytime now, she would appear and admonish Yelena for even parading it around.
He waited patiently. Yelena’s fingers twitched. The clock ticked in rhythm. The room was still silent as the dead.
Anytime now! Lucky thought, half expecting Kate to leap from the bathroom, screaming “Surprise!”. Maybe Yelena would finally be startled, maybe seeing her would finally light her up again.
Except there was no Kate. And Yelena’s eyes were growing darker, falling deeper and deeper into the bottomless abyss.
His throat bobbed, and Lucky finally grumbled. The loud sound reverberated through the room, but it did what it was supposed to do.
Yelena broke out of her reverie, her eyes widening in horror before darting around. She breathed heavily, then stared at the bottle in disgust.
“What was I thinking?” she whispered. “Kate Bishop, the promise I made to you... how can I even –”
Fanny whined, reaching up the bed to push her wet snout into her hand. Yelena huffed, her eyes swelling with tears as she finally ran her hand through Fanny’s scruff after days being deprived of her favourite person’s touch. The Akita cooed in satisfaction, while Lucky was left wondering if he might even feel Kate’s scratches and playful tickles again.
Yelena seemed ashamed of herself, before grabbing the bottle and finally putting it aside, sealing it with the broken cap once more. Lucky relaxed when the smell of alcohol was finally abated, before leaping onto Kate’s side of the bed and curling into himself. He stared at the bathroom door, his floppy ears twitching when Yelena silently wept again.
All he could do was wait. The pizza had gone cold. The sheets on the bed felt like ice without her.
Suddenly, he felt a gentle breeze ruffling his fur. Lucky perked, but Yelena seemed too deep in her sorrow to even acknowledge anything. Lucky’s one eye focused, until he noticed a shift in the air — like a disturbance as some mist gathered and moulded into a familiar figure. His whine was caught in his throat at the peculiar sight.
He recognized her immediately. The wide shoulders and tall stature, the long hair and the kind blue eyes. Even her scent filled the room once more — the lavender notes that she would use to clean her hair or do her laundry. It was her, and she was finally back.
Lucky jumped to his feet in excitement, barking happily while his tail wagged. Yelena sniffled but turned towards him. “Lucky? What’s wrong?”
The golden retriever barked again, jumping off the bed thinking he would hop right into his partner’s warm arms. Instead, he only landed on his paws while Kate Bishop’s form swirled and shifted around him. Instead of warmth, he felt only an unsettling chill fluttering through his golden coat, sending shivers down his spine. He whined and turned around in circles, not understanding why he couldn’t touch her. The poor mutt looked up at her questioningly, but all that greeted him were tearful blue eyes accompanied with a devastated smile.
“Sorry I have to go first, boy. Take care of her for me, okay?” Kate threw a quick glance at Yelena, but when her tears fell, her ghostly form only shifted. “I love you. I promise we’ll meet again one day.”
Lucky panicked. It undoubtedly felt like a goodbye, but all he could do was whimper. Don’t go! Please come back!
The mist disappeared, leaving Lucky standing there with his tail between his legs, and Yelena calling out for him. Realization struck him then, and he shivered in pure, uncontrollable sorrow.
Kate is gone, and she is never coming back.
And he could never touch her again, nor play with her, not let her cuddle him to sleep. Her side of the bed that was once warm and filled with her lavender scent, was now cold and bland to his nose.
Lucky whimpered uncontrollably. He curled up on the floor, pleading for her to come back but only silence answered him. He kept shaking until a pair of hands held him, before lifting him up into the bed again. But everything felt foreign now.
Yelena, grief-stricken, held him close to her chest while Fanny laid down next to him. His whimpers didn’t stop even with Yelena’s gentle fingers running through his coat. Worst of all, he could not understand why Kate would ever leave them, why she would ever leave him.
“It’s okay,” Yelena said softly. “We’ll mourn together.”
Lucky only answered with a painful whimper.