Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 90721 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 454(@200wpm)___ 363(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90721 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 454(@200wpm)___ 363(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
I left Sebastian when he reached the first grave marked, Mitchell Ryan Reid, 1984-2006. He hadn’t said that he wanted time, but I’d given it to him anyway. I did see him place a quarter on the grave as I walked a few graves away.
I’d noticed how there were other coins on the graves besides pennies, and decided I needed to know more.
Pulling out my phone, I googled the practice, and found what I was looking for.
Nickels meant that the deceased and visitor to the grave attended boot camp together. A dime meant that they served with the person in some capacity. And a quarter, like the one Sebastian had just left, meant that they were with them when they’d died.
When I read the last sentence, my heart broke, and I knew for sure that was exactly whom he was visiting. The three best friends that had died while they were on deployment.
Twenty minutes and two hundred pennies later, I found him at another grave a little further back from the first. As I passed, I placed my penny and read the grave. Albert Lee Cordell, 1982-2006.
I had just placed my last penny on the grave of a young man who’d died when he was seventeen years of age, when I found Sebastian standing on the edge of the pathway watching me.
“What?” I asked, surveying him.
He shook his head. “Nothing. How did I know you’d go through all 500 pennies?”
I smiled widely and walked towards him. Once I was in arm range, I lifted my own and wrapped them around Sebastian’s neck, and gave him a soft kiss on the mouth.
He held me tight and looked into my eyes. “Thank you for coming.”
I tried to study his eyes to gauge his emotions, but all I could see was my own reflection on the glasses he wore. “I don’t know that I was much help, but you’re welcome.”
He shook his head, took his hat off, and ran the fingers of one hand through the very short locks before replacing the hat back on his head.
“That drive is normally horrible for me. I visit them every year at this time.” He told me, taking me by the hand and leading me to the entrance.
“Why are every one of these flowers on the graves brand new looking?” I asked absently, seeing a gorgeous display on one man’s grave.
His eyes moved toward the graves before answering. “The cemetery’s keepers clean the old flowers off the graves when they start dying. They also don’t allow plastic flowers unless it’s during the winter months.”
“Wow.” Was all I could think to say.
Then another thought occurred to me.
“You only mentioned two graves. Why didn’t we visit the other grave?” I asked as we walked to the car.
Sebastian grimaced. “His wife didn’t want me to visit him, and I’m respecting her wishes.”
Baylee’s eyes turned up to survey Sebastian’s face. “What? Why?”
He shrugged. “She blamed me. Was mad that I’d lived and her husband had died. Pretty much normal, I suppose.”
I froze, and turned to look at Sebastian. The lines around his mouth were hard. His lips were thinned into a hard, immovable line.
“Where is his grave, I’ll put the quarter on it.” I told him, turning to start back into the cemetery.
I stopped once I realized Sebastian wasn’t following me. “Are you coming?” I asked, turning around.
He looked like he really wanted to, so I decided to keep walking and let him catch up. Not that I knew where I was going, but, eventually, Sebastian would tell my where to go. I knew he’d know. He may not visit it, but he’d know exactly where it was.
His large hand circled around the top fleshy part of my arm, and turned me until I was pointed towards the correct direction. We walked for another 500 yards until we came to a row that was near the back of the cemetery itself.
“Fifteen graves down.” He instructed.
He turned to go, but I stopped him when I grabbed the hand in his back pocket. He stopped where he was, but didn’t turn around. So I reached into his pocked, pulled out all of his change, and started walking, counting carefully.
The fifteenth grave was excessively decorated, as if the wife came to visit the grave, and kept flowers there constantly. The grave marker read Jason Ray Merhens, 1982-2006.
Squatting down to my haunches, I let my hand open until I could see the coins, grabbed a quarter, and pocketed the others. Placing the quarter at the very edge of the grave.
“Don’t give up on him. He’ll visit one day.” I whispered, brushing a fleck of dirt off the stone, before standing up and heading back to my man who was nearly all the way back at the gates.
I caught up to him at the truck. He was leaning against the side of it, arms crossed, and hat pulled down low. “Let’s go get something to eat, big boy.”
“Where?” He rasped, going to my door and opening it for me.
Once I was in my seat, I turned in the open door and studied Sebastian’s haggard face. “Anywhere. I’ll go anywhere with you.”
Chapter 12
I’m going to hell in every religion.
-Baylee’s latest diary entry
Baylee
The ringing of my phone woke me.
My eyes peeled open, and I glared at the offending object that was omitting the most obnoxious sound I’d ever heard.
Sadly, it was my mother and I couldn’t ignore it. Otherwise, she would keep calling until I finally answered.
I hit the answer button and let my hand fall back to the bed.
“Hello?” I mumbled with face still partially smashed into the pillow.
“Hi, pumpkin. Who’re you sleeping with?” She asked with a smile.
My eye snapped open; I looked behind me before looking back to my phone, and realized that my mother was on the freaking screen, looking at a very naked Sebastian at my back.
“My, my.” She said with a bright smile. “He’s in excellent shape.”
I snorted, pulled the sheet up from the floor, and placed it directly over Sebastian’s most significant endowment.