Under_The_Whispering_Door_by_TJ_Klune

He’d startled her when he’d laughed loudly. He’d been a little drunk
himself. She’d probably never seen him laugh before.
If only she could see him now.
Here, in Charon’s Crossing, with three days left until the Manager
returned, Wallace ran through the backyard as night gave way to the rising
sun, Apollo chasing after him in a sort of game of tag, barking brightly.
Wallace worried for a moment about disturbing the tea plants, but he and
Apollo were dead. The plants wouldn’t be bothered if he didn’t want them to
be.
“Got you,” he said, pressing his fingers between Apollo’s ears before
taking off again.
He laughed when Apollo jumped on him, paws hitting his back, knocking
him off his feet. He landed roughly on the ground and managed to roll over in
time to get his face spectacularly licked. “Ugh!” he cried. “Your breath is
awful.”
Apollo didn’t seem to mind.
Wallace allowed it to go on for a few moments longer before pushing the
dog off. Apollo crouched down on his front paws, ears twitching, ready to
play again.
“Did you ever have a dog?” Nelson asked him from his perch on the back
deck.
Wallace shook his head as he pushed himself off the ground. “Too busy.
Seemed a little mean to get one, only to be gone for most of the day.
Especially in the city.”
“When you were younger?”
“My father was allergic. We had a cat, but it was an asshole.”
“Cats usually are. He’s a good boy. I worried, when we knew his time had
come. We didn’t know what happened to dogs when they passed. They take a
piece of our souls with them when they leave. I thought … I didn’t know
what it’d do to Hugo.” He nodded toward the tea plants. “Toward the end,
Apollo could barely walk. Hugo had to make a hard choice. Let him stay as
he was, and be in pain, or give him the ultimate gift. It was an easier decision
for him than I expected it to be. The vet came here, and they laid a blanket out
in the garden. It was quick. Hugo said his goodbyes. Apollo smiled in that
way that dogs do, like he knew what was happening. He took a breath and