Part 12 (1/2)

”Here. You're going to want this. I don't have near enough, since I know you'll want to do it to everyone, but there's over five hundred pennies there.” Sebastian said, handing me a thick Crown Royal bag.

The coins in the bag jingled, and I sat it in my lap, looking at Sebastian curiously. ”I guess I never really asked what kind of errand we were running. Will you tell me now?”

Sebastian was currently driving on the highway. His right hand was on the steering wheel, and his left was hanging absently out the window. He had an empty Dr. Pepper bottle that he was spitting sunflower seeds into in between his legs. The black hat that was on his head partially s.h.i.+elded his eyes when he looked over to me and smiled sadly.

”We're visiting a few friends.” He said with a crack in his voice, and then stayed silent for the remaining miles it took to get to our destination.

I stayed silent as well, feeling the change that had overcome him when he pa.s.sed over the Oklahoma border.

The radio was silent; the only thing breaking through was the sound of wind pounding through the open window.

It was when we pulled up to the Fort Hill Cemetery gates that I finally understood his somber mood. He said 'we're visiting friends,' but I didn't understand that 'friends' meant deceased. I'd thought he'd meant friends who were alive. Now, seeing the big beautiful gates, I understood.

And my eyes started tearing up.

The friends I'd seen in the picture hanging on his office. He'd spoken about them like they were his best friends in the world. Were they who he was visiting?

When he found a parking spot towards the back of the lot, he put the truck in park, released his seatbelt, and reached behind him, removing a big black gun from the small of his back. Another one came off his ankle. And yet another one came from his other ankle.

He watched my face impa.s.sively as he removed his weapons. Knives came from pockets, and I wondered what the h.e.l.l he was doing.

”What the heck are you doing with all those on you?” I asked baffled.

He smiled. ”I always have them on me.”

Don't think I didn't notice that f.u.c.king ankle bracelet on him. Which meant he wasn't allowed to have all those weapons. Although, I was more concerned with him getting in trouble, rather than the fact that a person with an ankle bracelet that monitored his whereabouts was carrying weapons.

”Why are you taking them all off?” I asked.

”Cemetery prohibits weapons, concealed or otherwise. Out of respect, everyone follows it. If you're carrying anything weapon wise, you should take it out of your pockets.” He said, looking pointedly at the bulge in the pocket of my jeans.

”How did you know I was carrying anything that resembled a weapon?” I asked as I removed my keys, which remarkably had a Swiss Army Knife attached to them, from my pocket.

He gave me a look. You know, the kind that resembled a 'do you think I'm a dumba.s.s' stare. Then he hopped out of the truck, walked around to my side, and opened it for me.

I smiled at his chivalry, and squinted at the bright noonday sun. The sky was cloudless; so pure and blue that it hurt my eyes to look up.

Sebastian pulled the sungla.s.ses that were hung at the collar on his s.h.i.+rt, and slid them on his face, effectively covering his eyes, as well as his emotions from me. Then, he took my hand that wasn't holding the coins and walked with me to the entrance of the cemetery.

”Have you ever seen the coins on a grave before?” He asked as he nodded to the uniformed guards that were standing sigil at the gates.

”No,” I asked, confused.

His hand went to his necklace, pulling until the dog tags lay on top of his clothing.

Then he started fiddling with the bill of his cap, and I finally understood he was nervous.

”You'll see a bunch of coins on these graves. Many times, people pay their respects by leaving pennies on the graves, it tells the families that someone visited. That's why I brought you the bag. There's no way you'll be able to put that on each grave, but there are 194 stones we pa.s.s until we reach the first one I'm after, and 139 until we reach the next one. I don't know if you want to put out all the pennies, but I expect you will.” He said, clearing his throat.

Consequently, that was how I found myself putting pennies on graves of soldiers that I never even knew. There were so many of them. It was like a sea of graves. Some dated as far back as 1919; although, Sebastian informed me that they founded the cemetery in the 1800s.

I left Sebastian when he reached the first grave marked, Mitch.e.l.l 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 pa.s.sed, 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 gla.s.ses 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.