Chapter 3
Hen
12th June
“🍼Operation: Feed the Pregnant Lady”
Chimney:
Hey, Hen. You free tomorrow? Wanted to take you and Karen out. Just a thank you for helping with the nursery stuff.
Hen:
Aw, that’s sweet. You saying I’m more helpful than your wife?
Chimney:
No comment. But yes.
Hen:
LMAO. We’re in. We can book that Mexican place Karen loves.
Chimney:
Yes! Maddie’s excited, she hasn’t had a night out in forever. And she loves watching you bully waiters into giving you extra salsa.
Hen:
Dude. I persuade them. With charm.
Chimney:
That’s one word for it.
Hen:
Karen’s in, as long as she can make fun of your drink choices.
Chimney:
Y’all are mean. But fine. I’m in if someone lets me eat nachos in peace.
Hen:
Should we bring Bobby and Athena? Triple date vibes?
Buck asked if he could have Denny and Mara over for the evening, so we are covered for childcare on our end.
Chimney:
YES. Let’s make it a whole thing. I’ll get Maddie to ask if Jee can spend some time with her Uncle Buck
Hen:
Genius. It’s been forever since the six of us did anything just us.
Hen (to Bobby & Athena):
Hey, dinner tomorrow? Me, Karen, Maddie, Chimney. Triple date?
Athena:
Only if there will be margaritas. I’ll ask Bobby
Count us in.
Hen:
Deal. Buck’s gonna watch the kids. He’ll be fine. He’s a dragon trainer now, according to Mara.
Two taps, a few emojis, and just like that, they had a plan. Hen sat back in her chair, satisfied. Karen looked up from her laptop at the table.
“You’re smiling like you just orchestrated a heist.”
Hen shrugged. “Triple date. We’ve earned it. Especially after all the free labour we gave Chim.”
13th June
The place was buzzing in that warm, Friday-night kind of way—dim lighting, the low hum of laughter and clinking glassware, and the comforting scent of garlic, lime, and something sizzling hot from the kitchen.
Hen sat in the booth next to Karen, Athena on Karen’s other side. Bobby sat opposite his wife, with Chimney and Maddie next to Bobby.
Hen raised her glass once everyone had drinks in hand. “To the miracle of babysitters and grown-up food!”
“To not hearing the phrase ‘I HAVE TO PEE’ mid-bite,” Chimney added.
“To nachos,” Maddie said solemnly, lifting hers like it was sacred.
Bobby leaned back with a smirk. “Remind me again how you 4 convinced Buck to say yes to babysitting the kids?”
“Jee guilted him,” Maddie said, laughing. “She told him the princesses had no one to rescue them and that he was the only dragon who could be trusted not to eat the kingdom.”
“That kid’s got a career in emotional manipulation,” Chimney said proudly.
Karen chuckled but her gaze drifted for just a moment, thoughtful. She turned to Athena, lowering her voice slightly “Buck asked last week if he could have Denny and Mara over. But when Maddie asked about Jee, he said yes right away.”
Athena glanced up, curious. “What? I figured he might hesitate a little. He’s been pulling back a bit lately, hasn’t he?”
Karen nodded faintly but didn’t say anything.
Chimney waved it off, pulling their attention back to the table. “He’s probably just tired. Long shifts. He’s still showing up, still the same Buck.”
“Sure,” Hen said lightly. But the thought lingered in the back of her mind. He was still showing up—but just enough. Just enough to keep them from worrying.
The food arrived in a wave—platters of sizzling fajitas, steaming enchiladas, and a bowl of queso so hot it nearly took Chimney out on first dip.
The conversation shifted easily—Chimney and Hen bickering like siblings, Athena and Bobby trading sarcasm, Maddie laughing harder than she had in weeks.
Karen leaned into it, smiling, sipping her margarita.
But somewhere between the second round of drinks and the complimentary churros, she caught herself thinking about Buck again.
He’d texted earlier. A photo of the kids mid-dress-up. Mara was knighting Jee with a feather duster. Denny had apparently given up playing video games, playing Jee’s trusty second in command. Somehow the kids had convinced Buck to wear another a tiara. Karen wondered where Jee kept finding them.
He’d captioned it: “Sir Dragon reporting for duty 🐉✨ Don’t worry, the castle is still standing.”
She’d laughed at the time. It was classic Buck.
But now, she wasn’t sure if she was laughing because it was funny—or because she missed when his smile was easier to read.
Buck
The tiara had slipped down over his eyes again.
Buck reached up without thinking and nudged it back into place, careful not to disturb the plastic jewels. Jee would absolutely notice if one of them went missing, and Mara had assigned a very specific backstory to each gem.
He sat cross-legged on the living room rug, a cup of lukewarm apple juice balanced precariously beside him—his royal chalice, according to Jee. The faint bleeps and rapid tapping from Denny’s controller buzzed softly from the corner, mixing with the soft rustle of pages and the occasional high-pitched giggle.
“Okay,” Mara announced dramatically, holding up a battered library book with a cracked spine. “This one’s called The Last Dragon Queen and it is so good, Uncle Buck. Like so good.”
Buck smiled, chin resting in his hand. “Yeah? What’s it about?”
Mara scooted forward like she was about to give a TED Talk. Her unicorn socks slid slightly against the hardwood floor. “Okay, so there’s this girl, Elira, and she’s, like, the only person in her whole kingdom who can speak Dragon.”
Jee gasped—genuinely, dramatically, hand over her tiny mouth. “The only one?”
“Yup,” Mara nodded seriously. “And she doesn’t know that she’s part dragon at first, but then she touches this ancient scale and starts glowing, and the dragons are like, ‘we’ve been waiting for you!’” She made her voice deep and slow, imitating a dragon. “And then the bad king tries to lock her up ‘cause he’s afraid of her powers, but she escapes and starts her dragon training with this giant purple dragon named—get this—Vornax the Magnificent.”
Buck gave an approving little whistle. “That’s a pretty solid dragon name.”
“I know, right? Vornax is so cool. He teaches her how to fly, and she breathes fire one time, by accident, and burns down a tower. It’s awesome.”
Jee’s eyes were round and shining. “Does she get to ride him?”
“Oh yeah,” Mara said with absolute authority. “They fly over all the mountains. There’s this one part where they rescue a whole village from falling rocks and—wait—”
She flipped through the book frantically, then shoved it toward Buck. “Here. Look. This part. Vornax saves her after she falls. Like, she almost dies.”
Buck leaned in, letting her narrate, his eyes scanning the page more slowly than hers.
“‘...and in that moment, with the wind screaming past and the mountains rising up to meet her, Elira closed her eyes. She didn’t want to fall. She didn’t want to be alone anymore. But then—there was heat. A rush of wings. And Vornax was there.’”
Mara closed the book with a proud little nod. “Tell me that’s not epic.”
Buck smiled. “Okay, yeah. That’s actually pretty badass.”
Jee tugged at his sleeve. “Do you speak dragon, Uncle Buck?”
He laughed gently. “I think you two know more than I do. I mostly just do the roaring and the flying and the rescuing parts.”
Denny snorted from the couch without looking up. “He’s got the tiara for it, though.”
Buck stuck his tongue out at him. “Respect the royal headgear.”
Denny grinned, eyes still glued to the screen.
Mara flopped back onto the floor, arms stretched wide. “I wish I could ride a dragon.”
“You kind of already do,” Jee said sagely, climbing onto Buck’s lap like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “You ride Uncle Buck all the time.”
“She’s not wrong,” Denny muttered.
Buck couldn’t help the chuckle that slipped out. Jee tucked herself under his arm like a cat curling up into the safest corner of the world.
He looked down at her—tiara crooked on her head, cheeks smudged with cookie crumbs—and felt it again.
That swell in his chest. Not joy, not quite. More like… bittersweet warmth. The kind that filled you up just enough to make the empty parts feel more hollow when it faded.
He loved these kids. With everything in him. And for a little while—right now—he felt okay.
Mara started reading again, softly now, her voice lowering as the hour grew later. Denny’s game quieted as he put the controller aside and pulled out his phone. Jee was already half-asleep on Buck’s shoulder, breathing steady and soft.
The sun had dipped behind the trees outside, the living room cast in soft golden shadow.
Buck tilted his head back against the couch and let his eyes close, just for a moment.
Maybe tomorrow would be harder. Maybe the silence would come back louder when the kids went home. Maybe therapy would feel heavier than usual.
But for tonight, he was the dragon. And the kingdom was safe.
At least there was some noise in the house.
Karen
The night had settled into a cool hush, the kind that made the stars feel a little sharper against the sky. Karen stood on the front porch, arms folded loosely as she watched the headlights cut a slow curve up the driveway.
Mara was asleep in the back of the car, slumped over with a paper crown crumpled in her lap. Denny was still scrolling through something on his phone, hoodie pulled halfway over his head. Buck stepped out quietly, rounding the car with that familiar careful energy—half composed, half exhausted.
Karen smiled, small but warm. “So. Did the royal court tire out their noble steed?”
Buck let out a dry chuckle, running a hand over his face. “You could say that, Karen.” His smile was brief, and not quite full. “But it was really nice to hang out with all three of them. Even if Denny spent the whole time gaming with his friends and pretending to ignore us.”
Denny, without looking up, mumbled, “I was multitasking.”
Buck raised an eyebrow, but didn’t argue. Instead, he turned toward the car door, gently nudging it open to lift Mara out. She stirred only slightly, arms flopping around his neck like muscle memory. Karen stepped forward to take her, but Buck shook his head softly.
“I’ve got her.”
He carried Mara to the porch with such ease, her cheek resting against his shoulder, tiara slipping sideways. When he handed her over, Karen felt the warmth of his hand linger at her arm for just a moment too long.
He winced, subtly, rubbing at the back of his neck.
“Everything okay?” she asked gently, not crowding him but not pretending not to notice.
He gave her that crooked half-smile again. “Just a bit of a knot. Probably from playing dragon for three hours straight.”
“You should start charging for it,” she offered lightly. “You’re basically their live-in mythical creature.”
That earned a tiny laugh. Then his expression softened, more sincere. “Thanks for letting them come over. They’re good kids. It was nice to have some noise in the house.”
“They are,” she agreed. “And they love you.”
There was a pause. The kind of pause that could stretch into something real if you let it.
Buck looked like he might say something more. But then he didn’t.
Instead, he turned toward the car, his voice quieter. “I should go. It’s getting late.”
Karen hesitated. Her arms tightened slightly around Mara’s small, sleeping weight. She watched him walk toward the car, watched how his shoulders didn’t quite square the way they used to. How his head dipped a little lower than normal.
Her chest tugged painfully. She wanted to say something—Stay a minute. Let’s talk. Are you okay, really?—but the words jammed up in her throat.
He opened the driver’s door, gave her one last look over the roof of the car, and nodded.
“Night, Karen.”
“Night, Buck,” she said quietly.
He pulled away, headlights flickering against the mailbox before disappearing down the street. The house felt too still in his absence.
Karen stood there for a while, unmoving, rocking Mara just slightly, as if it helped steady her own thoughts.
He was slipping. Slowly. Quietly. And no one else seemed to notice.
But she did.
And part of her wasn’t sure how much longer she could just stand and watch it happen. She suspected that she would need to loop Athena in on her suspicions.