This chapter was supposed to be a part of the previous chapter, but I decided to separate it...Even if it is a little short. XD;
-2003-
"Vina?" Felix's voice was quiet; it was a shy tone, a forbidding one. Luck didn't ask it again. He felt that he had touched something that was meant to be forgotten. "She died a few months ago."
Luck swore to himself, looking down at the obnoxious, dirty table and hoping without asking that Felix would forgive him. Felix loved that girl. Why did he ask that? Stupid. So stupid.
"I'm so sorry, Claire. Really."
Felix waved him off, messing with the salt shaker on the table surface, his mind far away and visiting memories. "No, you didn't know," he said. "She was a wonderful daughter."
"She was."
They didn't say anything to each other for a few moments, until Felix spoke again. "I'm thinking about things lately, Luck. And now that Vina's gone, I don't think there's much left. Richie died a few years ago, and the grandkids are grown with kids of their own. There's nothing here for Chane and I."
Luck said nothing, so Felix went on. "Chane misses France, and so do I. I think we're going to leave, start a new life over there."
"How long will you be gone?" Luck asked. His voice was very quiet.
"A very long time."
"So, this is goodbye?"
"For a long time, yes."
Neither man said a thing to the other. It was a difficult moment. It was, in a sense, dying for the both of them. Leaving one another behind and moving on into the ever-changing world. The sky would be different, the air would be heavier. The ocean would have a higher lust for vengeance and people would be strangers, even more so than they were now. It would be another place, another era, by the time they met up again, if they ever did. It was the end.
"When will you come back?"
Felix shrugged and stood, crossing his arms over his chest with a grin. "Time doesn't matter to us anymore. It's not 'when,' it's 'if,' Luck."
"Will you come back at all?"
"Luck," he said, slipping his sunglasses over his eyes. "It's a pretty small world and we have all the time in it. I'll be back." They walked out to the car under the harsh sun, the hot day. "I'll be back again."
And that's it! ^^ Thanks to all of the reviewers who liked this story! My friend worked very hard on it, and I was very pleased to help her! ^^ Wow, I can't believe we're done! D: It's harder to let this go now that we're actually done. XD; Anyway, thank you, and feel free to keep reviewing! ^^