The Sire

Chapter 30

The mountain's sky was really dark. Darker than in the city for there was no, or little, artificial light under it. Consequently, the stars were more than usual too. The sky teeming with little white dots that twinkled. Heaven's black cradled the stars in what seemed to be a simple but perfect piece of art. A black canvas with bright drops of white. A blanket of cold air sited on the valley at night too but it was all just part of the beauty of the place. Crickets could be heard nonetheless and some owls cooed from somewhere in the near trees. Jeff and Stone were out on the porch having a beer after dinner, each one sitting on a different swing while they waited for the girls to join them. The tip of their fingers freezing and the tip of their nose red. Puffs of white breath came out of their mouth as they spoke, dissolving in the air in mere seconds.

"I can't believe you proposed to Iris again." Jeff smiled at Stone as at the same time he shook his head. "You got married three months ago..." Stone nodded understanding his surprising tone and looked at his friend while he spoke. "... isn't it too soon to renew your vows?" There, Stone sensed a bit of a mocking tone, but it didn't bother him. "Most people do it only years after!"

"Everybody was mad at us. Our parents most of all..." He made a pause there to have a sip of his beer. When he pulled the bottle away, he licked the remains of the liquid off his lips and he continued. "You guys too..." He shrugged. "I thought it would be good to celebrate it with all of you..." Next, he scowled slightly. "I also think Iris deserves a proper wedding; you know..."

"I was pissed off." Jeff nodded and laughed. "I've always thought you would do it. Even more because you had Zane and shit... that morning when you told us that you got married I felt robbed." Stone laughed loud, throwing his head back a little. The sound of his laughter resonating throughout the valley.

"Because you want a free meal?" He added with his sarcastic tone and Jeff rolled his eyes.

"I wanted to celebrate with you!" He pointed his index finger at Stone. "You are our friends. Close friends...we all rooted so much for you to be together. Remember that time?" Stone nodded.

"I swear I thought she wasn't into me..." He breathed while he drank a bit more. "Not in that way, I mean..."

"You were always into one another. None of you wanted to admit it." Jeff curled an eyebrow. "I don't know what took you so long. It was so fucking obvious."

"Things happen when they have to happen. It took a while for us..." Stone shrugged.

"See why we were so fucking pissed off?" Jeff made a pause looking at him. "Because we all wanted to celebrate such an important event with you!"

"That's why I thought we should do it." Stone pointed his beer at Jeff and nodded at the same time. "We are not getting married for real because we are legally married, but we will do a small ceremony just to renew our vows and you can all be part of it."

"Are you really married? Paper and shit?" Jeff curled an eyebrow and Stone did too.

"What the fuck?" Stone shrugged.

"Come on!" Jeff raised his tone and his eyes opened wide. "The next day none of you seemed to remember quite well what happened!" They both laughed loud. "It's a legit question!"

"Because we were so high..." Stone said in between laughter and shaking his head. "We didn't have Zane with us and we wanted to party..." He smiled recalling it. "But yeah... we are really married."

"It changes a lot doesn't it?" Jeff lost the smile on his lips as he asked so. Stone nodded.

"But don't get me wrong..." He drank a little. "... I wouldn't change a thing. I know that he wouldn't be here if it hadn't been an accident. But Zane..." Stone smiled tenderly. "... means the world to me. I love him so much it's impossible to imagine my life without him now."