They sat on a stone ledge, their feet dangling above the rock garden. Carla was between them; her hair was dark and her face pale. They sat like this, watching the lights of the city and listening to the sound of insects whirring in the night.
And Jim had said, embarrassed by the long silence, “It’s so peaceful here.”
The other two acted as if they had not heard him. Holton, sitting close beside Carla, touched her.
And then she had said, “It seems like such a long time ago.” They thought of this as they sat in the blue darkness.
Holton finally spoke, saying, “Isn’t it a shame that this has to change again?”
They had been surprised to hear him say this; Trebling was more surprised than Carla because, though he had known Holton longer, she knew him better. Trebling was surprised to hear Holton speak seriously: he was never serious at other times. He always tried to be funny.
“Why should this change again?” asked Carla, looking at him, trying to tell his expression in the dark.
Holton only sighed and said, “Because everything changes when you go away.”
“You can come back,” said Carla and Jim remembered now the exact way she had said that and he was sorry for her.
Holton didn’t answer for a moment and then he had said, “Yes, I suppose you can.” They knew then that he would not come back and Trebling could sense her sadness as they watched the lights flickering below them.