I looked out over the ocean. All my life I’d lived near it, but never really seen it. I’d only thought that the beach was a good place for a smuggling drop and that water was a dangerous place to dump a body because sooner or later it washed up on shore.
But today, with the sun setting on the horizon and the minister saying words of love and lifetime commitment, I realized there’s a lot of beauty on earth. Too bad I didn’t learn that lesson while I was still alive.
Adam gave a Jayne a kiss that was too intense for public viewing. I turned away and felt Didi’s hand slip through my arm. I’d never admit it, but I’d enjoyed her company on earth.
And once she’d stopped dressing like my maiden aunt, she looked great.
“Nice job,” she said softly.
I took her hand in mine and started walking down the beach. “I know.”
“Pasquale, you need to work on humility.”
“Babe, I never really grasped why pretending you don’t know you’re good at something was a good thing.”
“I thought I warned you about calling me babe.”
“You might have,” I said.
She chuckled. “You’ve got too much charm for your own good.”
“Ah, babe, I didn’t think you’d noticed.”
“Save it for your couples,” she said. And I felt my body start to dissolve. She might think she’d had the last word this time, but she’d gone soft against my side before she disappeared. Maybe it was the fact that I spent so much time around couples falling in love, but I was starting to like Didi.