In the evening, Yoel came to the cemetery wearing sunglasses. It was raining lightly and breezy, but he
did not hold an umbrella and let the rain drench his body. A depressing air loomed around the prude
man.
Yoel took off the sunglasses, revealing his beautiful eyes that were still a little red. He lit a cigarette and
took a long, hard drag. Then, he coughed from the cigarette.
Yoel and Cole had been busy lately.
They were both Jace’s best buddies and comrades. They gave him a final send-off and took care of his
affairs.
At least Cole watched Jace die in front of his eyes. Yoel did not even get to see him for the last time.
When he saw Jace again, Jace’s body was already in the cold morgue.
Jace was dead.
“We were in the army and have experienced so many difficult missions and countless times escaping
from death. There were so many close encounters with death, but we survived them
all.”
Yoel puffed out a cloud of white smoke and coughed again. He said in a raspy voice, “I didn’t think he’d
leave like this. He didn’t even say anything before he died. D*mn it.”
Sage knelt in front of the tombstone and stared at Jace’s photo. He had a stern face and a pair of
beautiful and deep eyes. There were so many things they wanted to talk about, but they could not hear
from him anymore.
Yoel would not hear his goodbye. She, too, would never hear his apology again.
The rain got heavier. Tim and the rest took Grandpa Wayne home. Meanwhile, Sage got into Yoel’s car
and wanted to go for a drink with him.
Tim frowned but did not stop them. He only urged, “Take care of yourself and don’t throw up so hard
anymore.” Sage promised she would not. Kane glared at Yoel and said, “Take good care of her for me.”
It was a rare time for Yoel not to fight Kane. “Don’t worry. I’ll have her back by nine o’clock.” They found
a music bar to hang out and went in. A singer was playing the guitar and singing folk songs. The bar
was quiet and not too crowded. Yoel wanted to order a simple fruit wine for Sage, but Sage glared at
him. Then, he switched to red wine.
Sage was not here to taste wine with him. She was here to get drunk.
Sage finished the glass of wine in a gulp. Yoel reached out to stop her. “You need to drink less.
If you drink yourself to death, you’ll end up dying for love.” Yoel’s words made Sage spit out the liquor.
She choked on the wine and coughed violently. “Hey, just look at yourself…”
Yoel went over and patted her back. He handed her two tissues for her to wipe her mouth.
The waiter came over with a mop and cleaned the floor. Yoel gave him a two hundred dollar tip and
thanked him.
As they spoke, the smell of tobacco surrounded them.
Sage lit a cigarette and took a long drag. She looked intoxicated and unlike herself. Yoel took a deep
look at her and remembered the first time he saw her at Skye Hotel six months ago. She had sad eyes,
but she looked like a wild kitty on the outside.
Jace had always been the only one who could make her look like this.
“What are you trying to do?” Yoel said, “Jace is gone. Are you going to let go of yourself? Did you
regret it?” Sage cocked an eyebrow to his question. She stared at him with her sore and cold eyes.
“Regret what?” Yoel said, “Regret not forgiving him.” He looked at Sage and choked out, “You still love
him, don’t you?”
Sage smoked and said nothing. A beam of light flashed past her, hurting her eyes. She narrowed her
eyes slightly as things blurred in front of her. Jace was already dead. It was pointless to dwell on her
love for him.
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