All Night Long

need.”
    “That’s sort of how I’m looking at it,” Luke said. “By the way, while we’re on the subject of my little idiosyncrasies, I would like to clarify what appears to be a serious misunderstanding of what, exactly, happened the weekend that Katy and I went away together.”
    Hackett stopped smiling. “I heard that nothing happened because of, uh, your problem.”
    “That’s half true.”
    “Only half?” Hackett looked wary.

    “Nothing happened. But the real reason nothing happened was that Katy and I came to our senses and realized that, although we will always be very fond of each other, we are never going to be in love.”
    “She had a crush on you when she was a teenager.”
    “That’s all it was, a crush. Lasted about five seconds, as I recall. Hell, I’m too old for her, and she’s way too young for me.”
    “She agreed to marry you,” Hackett said evenly.
    “Don’t blame me for that. It was your fault.”
    ”
My
fault?”
    “Yours and the Old Man’s and everyone else’s in the family. Katy went along with the engagement because you and the others put the mother of all guilt trips on her.
    You convinced her that I was an emotional basket case and that I might crack under the slightest bit of pressure. She was terrified tha f she rejected me, I might follow the same path that my mother took.”
    Hackett was appalled. “I swear, we never meant to make her think that she would be responsible i ou did something like that.”
    “Yeah, well, that was how it went down. Guess it falls into the no-good-deed-goes-unpunished category.”
    “Well, damn.” Hackett sagged a little, as though he had taken a body blow. Then he straightened.
    “You really aren’t in love with Katy?”
    Luke gripped the arms of the chair and pushed himself to his feet. “No. And she is definitely not in love with me.”
    “Wait a second. If you weren’t in love with her, why the hell did you ask her to marry you in the first place?”
    Luke walked to the door. “Getting married was part of my strategy. It was one of the things I though needed to do to feel normal again.”
    He opened the door.

    Hackett was on his feet, circling his desk. “Luke, wait.”
    Luke looked back at him, smiling slightly. “It’s okay, Hack. Turns out I had the wrong objective. The trick to dealing with real life is to accept the fact that sometimes things never go all the way back to normal.”
    He went out into the carpeted hall and closed the door.

----
    Hackett stood perfectly still for a few seconds, savoring the incredible sensation that was sweeping through him. He felt as if he had just been released from the weight of an ocean that had been crushing him for the past few months.
p. He lunged for the door, flung it open and went swiftly down the hall to Public Relations.
    Jason came around the corner, a half-eaten wedge of pizza in one hand. “What’s up?”
    Hackett did not break his stride. “I’m going to try to get a date. Wish me luck.”
    Jason grinned. “This sounds like fun. Can I watch?”
    “Go eat your pizza.”
    He went through the open door of Public Relations. Katy was seated at her desk, talking on the phone. Her eyes widened a little when she saw him.
    “I’ll get right back to you, Mr. Perkins,” she said quickly. She hung up and looked at Hackett. “What’s wrong?”
    “Nothing is wrong today.” He reached down and hauled her up out of the chair.
    “Today is a perfect day.”
    She laughed, confused but delighted. “How is it perfect?”
    “Luke just told me that he is not in love with you. He said he never was in love with you and you ar ot in love with him, and that is the real reason nothing happened that weekend when the two of you went away together.”
    She went still. “He said all that?”
    “Yes. Can you confirm?”

    She swallowed hard. “I can definitely confirm that I am not in love with him.”
    “He also assured me that in spite of the Old Man’s and Dr. Van Dyke’s fears, he is not in the slightest danger of doing himself any harm. You know what? I believe him.
    Luke can be stubborn and difficul nd unpredictable, but he has never lied to me in my entire life.”
    “Good point,” Jason said around a mouthful of pizza. “Maybe we should have listened when he kept telling us not to worry about him.”
    Katy glowed with hope. “Does this mean we don’t have to be concerned about Luke anymore?”
    “Luke can take care of himself,” Hackett said. “What’s