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I slow ure out ere"

"So you’d be cool withher out?"

I slaet ready to pounce on him

He raises his hands surrender-style "Whoa,ure that out if I were you"

Even though it pains ht," I say to him, and head toward the door

"I’m headed out if you want to join me"

"No, thanks, man" I hit the shower

On my way home from the office, I stop by Blondie’s to say hi to Noel

"Just a fking brilliant way to expand the merchandise," I say I say it every time I walk in because I’m so impressed

He beas you by?" And he says it just as he always does

"Wanted to check on you" But that’s not the truth I want soure out what the hell is going on inready to close up and take Faith out for a night on the town Ifor a hotel suite if she’s up for it Walk withher?"

The breeze pushes his salt-and-pepper hair in front of his eyes He swipes it away "I don’t know," he says

I bend down to pick up one of the boards lying in the sand

"I was thinking about one of those fancy hotels in don LA where they have what they call the heavenly beds"

I glance over my shoulder toward hi the shutters closed over the s

I shove the board under the shack "I think you should letfor it Call it a late Christmas present"

He sits on one of the broken steps and looks up atyou want to talk about?"

I put my hands in my pockets "Whatnice for you?"

"No, Benny, because you look like shit and your leg isa hundred oing on"

I give him a tentative sain and as thein the wind, I tell hi from my first conversation with S’belle in the library to our last one in the restaurant

He looks out toward the water once I’ve finished to where the sun glea to be honest with you I think you’re scared"

"Scared?" I feign indifference

"Yeah, I do And I’ up She was your life When you lost her, soed and that’s to be expected" He pauses to look at me, but it’s without the smile he usually wears, then casts his eyes back out toward the horizon "Did I ever tell you about irl I married in Hawaii?"

My eyes dart to his "No"

"Her name was Keilani I hteen I had never been in love, but I thought I ith her I asked her to ht away Needless to say, it didn’t work out We divorced two years later But then I met Faith And what I felt for her was so different fro rin at hi that"

He rests his hand on irl?"

I look at him stunned for a minute "Love her?"

"Yeah, love her You don’t have to answer ure it out for yourself I think you’re afraid to adirl because they’re different fros for Dahlia But it’s okay if they are"

He stands up "Think about it, Ben And if I’o because it sounds to me like she really loves you"

It hits ht about it from her point of view

He locks the door to the shop "Call me and come over for dinner next week I want to finish this conversation after you’ve had tis a little wobbly I try to ignore what thattoward my bike and turn around "Noel, head over to the Beverly Wilshire It’s onnow Tell Faith I said Merry Christmas"

Even fro "Thank you," he calls out hoarsely

I jule s she’s said, things I’ve said And fkon the horizon--all she wanted fros for her--was it really that easy? Because if it hy didn’t she just ask me? Am I really that thick that I didn’t see it? Yeah, you are, the devil that’s been sitting onfor me to fk up announces in my ear Fuck that-- I’ll show hie I know exactly where I plan to spend New Year’s Eve