Pending Title (Part 2)

"Hey man, you look horrible."
Jay, my best bud since law school.  We've established a law firm together and achieved our goals of fame and wealth.

"Is Mr. Sanchez giving you a hard time on his testimony?"
Right. I must have dozed off while reading the signed testimony of Mr. Sanchez.  A company whistle blower who had the guts to expose the misdeals of his employer.

"Ah, wait a minute. Come on lemme see." He turned my seat around.
"Who is it?" He excitedly asked me.

"What?" I replied. But I pretty much know what he meant.
"You heard me, who is it?" And he gave me the I-know-that-look-face.

"I don't know what you mean Jay. I'm just tired.  This case is really draining up all my energy."
I tried to divert the conversation. But I know Jay. He would know and would ask me to...

"Come on let's get some grub." I am pretty sure he'll beat it out of me.  And I'm not really sure if I will even tell him.  We haven't spoke about A since the accident happened, and I moved on.

Jay picked a different place this time. Instead of going to our favorite hang out place which is the Diners along the corner, he led me into a bar.

"Come on Jay, it's high noon and you wanna drink?" In my mind, I felt like I needed to.

 "What's wrong with having a few beers over lunch? Besides their pesto here is damn good than the one at Diners."
Pesto, hah. The only pasta A liked to eat. She loved to eat it with lots of cheese.  That was weird, I thought.  But it's weirder to think about her like this after 3 years.

"So, is it Tasha? You guys having problems?" He started the conversation as he opened the first bottle of beer and gave it to me.

"Nah, we're good." Yes, I think we were good. As long as she didn't know who that visitor was yesterday.
"Then what is it then? I haven't seen that face since A passed away."
Right there. A sure-hit.  I never thought that I had a signature face when it comes to A. And now my urgency to tell other people about yesterday became unbearable.

"You got me." I grimaced, and gulped down a mouthful of beer. It was bitter. I never liked drinking anyway.
"What do you mean? This is about A? Come on man, A's long gone."
He chewed on his pesto while he talked. I just fell silent and drank another mouthful of beer. Jay looked at me.

"No." He looked at me again.
"Are you serious?!" I motioned my hand to his face since he was too loud.
"So she's not dead?" He whispered.

"Well she really wasn't dead when I moved away. She was in a coma."
"You left her just like that?"
"I did. Her mom told me to leave.  They were thinking of pulling off the plug. Or I guess that's what they told me." My face reflected regret.

"And you didn't even check on her or  resisted?" I saw regret and pity on his face.

"I was suffering too man! I couldn't bear seeing her like that! So I left when they told me to." I tried my best not to cry. It would be too embarrassing to do that in a public place, and to my ego.

"I really shouldn't be talking about this. Let's just go back to the office." I stood up and left a bill on the counter for the beer and Jay's pesto.

"But you haven't told me everything yet!" He snarled at me as I walked past him towards the door.


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