I stood up from the chair, the leather seat making a soft creak as I pushed it back. The room still smelled faintly of cigar smoke and whiskey.
"Good to see at least someone of us is having a family to live for," I said, raising one eyebrow while looking at Jonathan.
He turned halfway toward the door, already stepping out, and laughed—big, deep, the way he always did when he thought something was funny and true at the same time.
"Haha, you're young, Ezra. You'll be there someday as well. Chill out and enjoy as much as you can right now."
"Yeah, sure…" I said lazily, shaking my head side to side. "Like I'm enjoying."
Jonathan paused in the doorway, one hand on the frame. He looked back at me with a curved, knowing smile.
"And hopefully it will be with the woman you love," he said. "i.e. Aeri."
The name landed soft but heavy. I pictured her face for a second—pale on the hospital pillow, eyes closed, breathing slow under the thin blanket. My chest tightened.
