Memories to Burn a Broken Soul

Chapter 5

Present Day
11:36am

Thankfully, Sal had fallen asleep shortly after the movie began, giving Joe a chance to figure out how to approach the situation. After a few hours of thinking, Joe decided he would just act like it was a normal day, and if Sal needed to talk, or needed anything in particular, then Joe would be there to give it.

Feeling Sal roll over in the bed, Joe knew he had finally woken.

"Do you remember how he would always eat the pepperoni off the pizza before actually eating it?" Sal asked, knowing Joe would understand who he was talking about. Sal had refused to say his name since the funeral.

He feels Joe roll back towards him, chuckling a bit. "Yeah, I do remember bud. We would always yell at him if he tried to sneak pepperoni from our slices." Joe responded, careful not to say his name either.

"Joey, did you know I've always hated pepperoni?" Sal asks again, turning to look at his friend.

Joe wrinkles his brows, "What? You always used to order it! You forced us to always get pepperoni!" Joe nudges Sal a bit, getting the slightest smile out of him.

"I made sure he always had pepperoni. He loved pizza so much." Sal bites his lip, a small sigh coming from his mouth.

"I haven't thought about him in ten years Joey... Why now?" Sal questions, looking up to Joe hoping for answers he knows the man won't have.

Joe puts his hand on Sal's cheek, giving him a weak smile. "I wish I knew buddy. My best guess is that you've been pushing down the pain for so long, it was bound to make an appearance at some point. And with the recent passing of your dad, death may be on your mind. Plus, isn't today..."

Sal shakes his head, "It doesn't matter. He's not here. There's no such thing as an anniversary with one person."

He sits up in bed, rubbing his eyes roughly, seeing stars. "He would always yell at me when I rubbed my eyes too hard, 'Sally! You're going to go blind if you do that!'" Sal mimics his former love.

"He wasn't wrong." Joe says back, grabbing both of Sal's wrists forcing him to stop. "How about we invite Murr over, and the three of us do something fun?" Joe suggests, smirking at Sal.

"Fine, invite the ferret." Sal snickers back at Joe, getting up and heads for the shower as Joe calls their other best friend, James who they've nicknamed Murr.