Chapter 30

We made a toast to Lewis, and Sander said another haiku. I was too trashed to remember any of it.

“I can’t nap with you two,” Toby said. “I hate doing that. I like a place all to myself. I’ll take the sofa in the living room, and the two of you can have the bed.”

“But, Toby,” I said.

Sander tugged on my right arm, stopping me. “Kal, it’s all right. That’s what he does.”

* * * *

Afternoon fell into evening. Sander and I entwined arms together as we slept in Toby’s bed. Toby snored on the sofa in the living room, lost in his dreams.

Men at sleep.

Men at peace.

Dreaming.

* * * *

Toby lay dead on the sofa later that evening with a plastic bag wrapped around his head. Silver duct tape secured the bag around his neck.

Sander and I didn’t know the danger we were in. He stared down at the body, shaking his head and lost in a state of disbelief. He held his head low and started to sob.