Being man (part 3)

He slid his hands into the back pockets of his faded blue Levi’s jeans and started giving himself some leisure steps by the shore. Leaving behind the empty bottle, I made a beeline for the cottage to withdraw beer from the fridge. Three pairs will be enough, I decided. As I went out the cottage, I realized how wonderfully lovely the evening darkness was. I turned back up to the glistening backdrop that outlined the mountaintops. Then something dawned upon me. “There is sure gonna be no bed before midnight,” I told the cold air.

“Your beer, sir,” I said in mock courtesy, laying the bottles on the ground, and seated myself beside them.

Mark grinned. “Thanks, Ken,” he replied as he joined me on the sand. He reached for a bottle then took the cap off by his teeth. “Here,” he said, holding the bottle toward me. I never learned to work my teeth when opening bottles. I smiled back to tell him “Thank you.” He uncapped another for himself. For a while, no words issued from our mouths. Instead, we let the soft rumblings of the waves and the silky hush of the wind fill the silence the seemed to divide us. Suddenly, a shiver ran through my skin. The air as if teasing us to a race had grown colder. Our shadows appeared where the water raged and foamed. I looked over my shoulder momentarily to see that the moon has leapt to a romantic height. Beneath it, the sea sparkled while it inspired an enchanting breath of beauty. Whew!

“What a beautiful place we got here!” he enthusiastically commented after taking a big gulp. “Looks like paradise to me. Thanks for inviting me in again, Ken.”

“Don’t say a word. It’s uncalled for. It always is my pleasure to make you comfortable. I am glad when you are.”

“It’s been a while since I’ve been to a spot on earth like this. This is one thing I always looked forward to – ‘coming home,’ you know.” I heard a sigh pass out his nostrils. Steadying his sight on the gems of the night for a moment, he exclaimed, “Look at the stars! Aren’t they wonderful?”

“Truly wonderful,” I agreed. “And magical.”

“And somehow, friends are like the stars. They are there unconditionally burning for us through the dark night. Especially on dark, cold nights. Won’t ever choose to leave us cuddled up alone on one corner, frightened and not knowing what to do. Sometimes, we don’t see them. But we’d realize that they were there standing by us all along. Ken, am I so glad I got one true friend in you.”

“There goes the emotional Mark again! Man, I got same words for you. You never let me down. Ever. You saw me through thick and thin. How can I forget the exams I passed because answers rained down on my paper like torrent?!”

A hearty laugh.

“Hey, I lay my life on the line for you on that Science quiz, huh! How did I throw that paper to you over the head of Ms. Antonio again? Goodness, I could have been sent out.”

Honestly, I was mischievous during exams not because I was numb but I was lazy. Modesty aside, I could be on the dean’s list if I wanted it. “They keep the good and intelligent people. They could not have afforded losing a brilliant . . .”

“Cheater!” he cut me. “O, boy, those years seem like yesterday,” his tone nostalgic. He slowly shook his head the way someone does when he lost something that can never be replaced. “I wish they had not dragged on so quickly.”

“Time really flies so fast. Several years more, and you’ll be there.” (January, 1998)

To be continued...