Cemetery, El Paso, Texas, Sunday Afternoon

[weldedtomyspine]

The Day of the Dead. Every year found Jaime ending his rounds in the same cemetery, at the same grave.

Nadia.

Just like every year, the first thing he did was look to see if anyone else had been by before to leave anything for her. And just like every year, there was nothing. So he knelt in front of the grave marker and lay the small bouquet of cempasúchitl against the granite.

He didn't say anything. Even years later he wasn't sure what to say. He just knelt in silence for a bit, remembering.

Comments

[weldedtomyspine]

"I haven't really been trying." Not exactly, anyway.

[heromaniac]

Momoko snickered.

[weldedtomyspine]

Hey! "I heard that!"

[heromaniac]

"I didn't say anything!"

[weldedtomyspine]

"Don't you play innocent with me, missy. I know you too well."

[heromaniac]

She snickered again, but gave in. "I was just thinking about how you've had the scruff for as long as I've known you and it's never really gotten... more."

[weldedtomyspine]

"That's because I shave!" You know. Sometimes. When he remembered to.

[heromaniac]

"So you're suggesting you could grow more?" she pulled away to eye him teasingly.

[weldedtomyspine]

"If I wanted to, sure."

Probably.

[heromaniac]

"Hmmmmmm?" She tapped his cheek, considering. "Now I'm wondering what you'd look like."

[weldedtomyspine]

"Super mature, I bet."

[heromaniac]

"..." Momoko raised an eyebrow, then leaned further away from him and towards Nadia's tombstone. "Now we know why he's never grown more than the scruff," she stage-whispered to it.

[weldedtomyspine]

"Because I never wanted to," Jaime announced.

[heromaniac]

Momoko and the tombstone were both just deadpan staring at you, Jaime.

Though in two seconds, Momoko was probably going to start giggling.

[weldedtomyspine]

Jaime just sighed a long-suffering sigh.

This is why he couldn't introduce Momoko to anyone.