Long Dead New Love: A Buckey the Space Pirate story Read online

  “You are going to do produce Fred’s book for him?” Mary asked, smiling.

  “I am,” I said. “But I am surprised you have heard some of his limericks?”

  “I have been appropriate,” Fred said, “in my telling and choice of subject matter.”

  “I find them wonderful and funny and unique,” she said.

  “They are unique,” I said. “Now Fred, would you please honor us?”

  “I would be glad to,” Fred said.

  Then there was a pause and if an oak tree could clear his throat, or even had a throat, I was sure Fred would have cleared it.

  “There was a woman named Mary

  Who found my voice to be scary.

  But I told her of Buckey

  And how she’d be lucky

  To find a pirate to marry.”

  For a moment the silence in the room seemed to grow and then Mary smiled at me and raised her right eyebrow and I smiled back and then we both started applauding and cheering while smiling at each other.

  Yesterday the idea of marrying anyone would have scared me to death. Now, even though Mary died many years before I was born, the idea of marrying her just made me smile.

  It would take some figuring on how to be together, but I was sure we could do it with Fred’s help.

  “Thank you. Thank you,” Fred said.

  If an oak tree could bow, Fred would be bowing.

  “I would be honored to put your book together,” I said.

  “Wonderful,” Fred said.

  “I might be able to actually give you a short introduction as well,” I said.

  “It would have to be in limerick form,” Fred said.

  I smiled at Mary. “Oh, it would be.”

  Then I said, “How about this?”

  “There was a pirate named Buckey

  Who one day was very lucky

  To travel in time

  To listen to a rhyme

  From Fred, a friend, an oak tree.”

  Mary smiled, stood and came over and gave me a long kiss that I did not want to break.

  “That was wonderful,” she said, finally, pulling away, but still holding me.

  “It will do,” Fred said.

  “That’s the nicest thing you have ever said about my writing,” I said to Fred, winking at Mary.

  “Don’t push it,” Fred said.

  But I could tell the oak tree was as happy as I was.

  About the Author

  Bestselling author Dean Wesley Smith has written more than one hundred popular novels and hundreds of published short stories. His novels include the science fiction novel Laying the Music to Rest and the thriller The Hunted as D.W. Smith. With Kristine Kathryn Rusch, he is the coauthor of The Tenth Planet trilogy and The 10th Kingdom.

  He writes under many pen names and has also ghosted for a number of top bestselling writers.

  Dean has also written books and comics for all three major comic book companies, Marvel, DC, and Dark Horse, and has done scripts for Hollywood. One movie was actually made.

  Over his career he has also been an editor and publisher, first at Pulphouse Publishing, then for VB Tech Journal, then for Pocket Books. He is now an executive editor for Fiction River.

  Currently, he is writing thrillers and mystery novels under another name.