"Don't you know too much already?

I'll only hurt you if you let me

Call me friend but keep me closer (call me back)

And I'll call you when the party's over"

~When the Party is Over, Billie Eilish

..

"Your daughter?"

"If your eyebrows go any higher they'll reach your hairline," Ben told Elena as he came back with a now leashed Kevin. The dog eyed the other one excitedly, but Ben told him to sit and so he didn't move. That didn't stop his tail from thumping happily. 

"That's a good dog," Alonzo commented with a nod towards Kevin. "Great Dane?"
"Yeah. What type of dog is yours? She looks like a pitbull, but there's something different there, too."

Alonzo smiled at his dog who sat next to him like a proper lady. She was mostly white with patches of brown over her body. Her tail had a patch of brown at the tip and her head had a circular patch that covered one eye. "This is Luna. She's part American Staffordshire Terrier and part Boxer. She's my other princess."

"Ah, that would explain the chest shape and droopy lips. She's a good-looking dog." Ben concluded. He noticed the girl was clinging to Alonzo's neck and Elena was looking a little flustered. "Your baby girl?"

"Yes. This is Ana Maria. Baby, say hello to the nice man," Alonzo encouraged, but little Ana wouldn't budge from her spot around his neck. He shook his head and looked at them apologetically. "She's a bit shy. She's not too good with strangers but we're working on it."

Ben glanced at Elena who was biting her lip slightly. Had she been that surprised to find out the man had a kid already? Had she actually been interested in Alonzo that much? He huffed internally at the thought.

"Ah! Alli estan!" There you are! 

The group turned to an older couple coming up at the trail. An older woman in her sixties with round glasses and graying hair waved at them, while a man of about the same age came following behind her. Ben blinked. It was like watching Alonzo but as a senior.

"Vale! Te digo mujer! Este tu hijo me va a matar!" I'm telling you woman, your son is going to kill me!, The man huffed as he rested against a tree. The woman waved a pamphlet in his face trying to give him some air.

"Los estabamos esperando. Padre, ereis tan dramatico!" We were waiting for you. Father, you're so dramatic, Alonzo told the older man who gave him the stink eye. "Papa, Mama, say hello to Miss Elena and uh, I'm sorry, I don't know your name." 

"Benjamin Ross." Ben shook hands with the man and woman. "Nice to meet you."

The woman smiled widely, "Ah, nice to meet you! I'm Roxana. And my husband, Fernando." 

"Nice to meet you, I'm Elena O'Sullivan." Elena said as she shook hands with them as well. Even though she knew of their custom of greeting people with kisses on their cheeks as a sign of friendliness, she was still surprised when Roxana kissed both her cheeks and gave her a hug. 

"She's a very beautiful lady!" Roxana commented with a nod and gave Ben thumbs up signs. "Good choice! Very beautiful wife!"

"Mother!"

"Oh!" Elena blushed deeply, shaking her head and throwing a hand to her cheek. "We're not married."

"Yeah, she's not my wife." Ben chuckled at the confused look on Roxana's face.

"Girl friend, then."

Elena didn't know what to say. Why did everyone keep assuming they were a couple?

"Madre, that's not his girlfriend. They are friends, they're travelling together." Alonzo explained to his mother who flushed slightly in embarrassment.

"But she's very pretty, no?" Fernando told Ben with a nudge on his side. It was Ben's turn to blush slightly, but he smiled either way trying to decrease the awkwardness.

"Yes, very beautiful," Ben started and Elena gave him a look. "But she hates me telling her that because she doesn't think so, so I don't say it." He shrugged and looked away from her.

"You young folks! Mark my words, wait a couple years down the road and you're going to be sitting around the living room together, married, wondering why you didn't do that sooner." Fernando commented with a wiggle of a finger. Elena gaped at Ben who laughed loudly.

"Oh! I like you, Sir!" Ben told him as he patted him on the shoulder. Maybe he wasn't too fond of Alonzo, but the older man was a hoot. Alonzo was scowling at his father while his mother beamed.

"Hey, will you two be around for a couple days?” Roxana asked them with a smile. “We’re having a get together with friends and I would like to extend that invitation to you two, if you would like to come.”

For her part, Elena wasn’t sure what to make of the invitation. She didn’t know how to feel about showing up to a party thrown by people she just met. Like, literally, just met. She glanced over at Ben who was nodding along when Roxana was speaking, but hadn’t given her an answer yet. She hoped that he would notice her mild panicked face and not say something drastic.

He looked over at her.

“Ah, you know, I don’t know if we will be able to make it tonight. We have an early day tomorrow and couple things planned.” Ben explained to Roxana who nodded.

“Okay, okay. But if you change your mind, let us know,” She turned to Alonzo, “Give them our number, in case they change their minds.”

“I gave her mine already,” Alonzo explained as he turned to Elena. “Call me if you change your mind.”

“We’ll see,” Ben muttered giving him a look as well which Alonzo ignored. Fernando, who was more observant than his wife, noticed the exchange between the two men. Ah. So, his son was trying to tread upon something already claimed by the blond man—Elena’s attention.

“We understand, it’s no problem whatsoever,” Fernando said with a nod. “My wife understands and so does Alonzo. Don’t you?” He gave Alonzo a pointed look that had his son reddening slightly.

“Yes.”

Ben nodded at the group and turned to Elena who hadn’t spoken in a bit.

“Well, we were just heading back,” Alonzo said as he gave his parents a look. Little Ana was still clinging tightly to him. Ben noticed that Elena was looking in Alonzo’s direction, but thought he was checking the other man out until he realized she was observing the little girl on his shoulder. “Very nice to see you again,” he started with a smile at Elena that brought her out of her reverie and a nod towards Ben. “Hopefully, this is not the last time we run into each other.”

“Yeah,” Ben said. Honestly, he didn’t care for the other man. He turned back to Elena. “Want to keep walking?”

“Yeah, let’s go.” Elena waved at the other couple and Alonzo. “Thank you for the invitation. We’ll think about it.” Ben nodded toward the group before they turned back to the path they had been heading in. Elena pulled him on his sleeve, making him turn to look at her.

“Give me a second. I need to talk to Alonzo about something.”

Ben frowned. “Alright. I’ll just start ahead slowly.”

“Yes.”

He watched Elena run to catch up with the receding group, calling Alonzo’s name once. He stopped, said something to his parents who nodded and kept on walking. Whatever Elena was telling him must have surprised the older man because he looked startled and nodded a few times. Elena pointed at his daughter and Alonzo nodded again. Ben watched Elena take out her phone and look something up. Ben sighed and started walking away.

Not my business, not my business.

Five minutes later, Elena caught up with Ben again.

“Done?” He really was fighting the urge to ask her what she’d talked about with Alonzo, but bit his tongue because it wasn’t his business. She wasn’t his girlfriend, she wasn’t his sister, they were barely even friends.

“Yeah, I had to ask him something about Ana. I feel so much better.” Elena smiled warmly as she finished typing something on her phone.

“His daughter? Something wrong with her?”

“Not wrong, per say, just I though he needed some help.” Elena stretched her arms out, trying to shake out the cold from the ocean breeze blowing through. “I…rather not mention what it was about. It’s a personal thing.”

“Hmm.” Ben said nothing else. They walked along the path until they came to the beach, preferring to avoid the water since the tide was up a bit. He let Kevin run around for a bit, making sure that he wouldn’t go too far into the water.

Elena decided to go for a run, and since Ben felt bad at having Kevin sitting in the car all day, he stayed at the beach tossing twigs for the dog to fetch. Every once in a while, he would look up and observe Elena who was mainly doing laps around the area they were at.

She really was a sight to see, lean and quick, jogging easily from one side of the beach to the other. Ben watched her, unabashedly. The legs he had noticed the first time he gave her a ride home appeared even stronger as she ran. Her back was straight, head held high, arms swinging—she obviously did this a lot and had perfected her running stance.

He rolled his eyes at himself when he realized that he was blatantly checking her out while she wasn’t paying attention. He knew that she would hate for him to be doing that, would feel uncomfortable for the rest of their trip. Sighing, he took a seat on a log and stared out to the ocean. With it being Winter and the time being later in the evening the sun was starting it’s decline over the horizon.

He felt bad for himself for a moment as he thought how usually it was a couple’s thing to sit and stare at sunsets, but here he was by himself and his dog, staring at the sun readying itself to sink into the horizon. He threw Elena another glance and saw her looking at him funny.

Sherry was the one that was into this mushy sort of stuff. Sunsets, dinners, dates.

He wasn’t sure what Elena was into, but he was sure it mostly involved staying home and not out and about in night clubs or bars like he had done with Sherry the last time.

Remembering that, it immediately brought back what had occurred that night between himself and Sherry and… Elena’s face…

“What are you thinking about?”

“Jeezus crisp!” Ben jumped startled and Elena laughed.

“What?”

“You scared the crap out of me.” He shook his head, hand on his chest feeling his heart pounding.

“You seemed very deep in thought,” Elena said with a grin as she sat on the other corner of the log. “What were you thinking about?”

Ben felt his face heat up. Hell no, he wouldn’t just tell her that he was thinking about how he imagined her face when getting it on with Sherry. She would probably smack him.

“Just thinking. You startled me.” He muttered as he glanced over at her. She was breathing hard from her jog. “Are you a sunset type of girl?”

“Like do I imagine romantic things while staring at a sunset? No. It’s just a sunset. It happens all the time. Why? Are you a sunset type of guy?” She smirked at him and raised an eyebrow. He scowled at her.

“Not exactly. I was just thinking that Sherry is a sunset type of girl. I don’t get it.”

“Poor, poor girl.” Elena mused with a grin as she leaned on her arms and turned to the horizon. They sat in silence for a moment, until she got to her feet. “Well, we should go back since it’s starting to get dark. I don’t feel like getting lost on my day off.”

“Yeah. Let’s go back.”

With Kevin leashed, they headed back up the path they had come from, talking about work and other things. 

~A month earlier, somewhere else in the state~

"Kyle, you really should sit down, son."

"I got it, Dad. I'm fine."

"You really should listen to your father, Kyle. You look very pale."

"I'm fine, guys! I can... I can do-"

"Shit!"

Both parents held on to their son's thin arm. He let them hold him, dropping his head in embarrassment at being so weak and frail. He hated this, having to rely on them for assistance. He couldn't even walk across a room without becoming so short of breath. 

"Kyle, sweetheart..." His mother started and he nodded with a sigh.

"I know, Mom, I'm going to take a seat."

Having seated him safely on one of the chairs in the lobby, they perked up when one of the doors opened and a nurse called his name.

"I'm

“Can we get a wheelchair for him?" Kyle's dad asked. "He's not feeling like himself today."

Which translates to me being fucking weak and useless, thought Kyle, but he didn't mention it out loud.

"Yes, sure. Give me a moment," the nurse said and went back inside, coming out moments later pushing a wheelchair.

"Come on, son." Kyle let his dad help him up slightly and slide over into the wheelchair. He didn't say anything else as his father wheeled him down the hallway following behind the nurse.

"Well, I have good news and bad news."

Kyle watched his parents look at each other, neither one wanting to look at him. Better that way, since he hated them feeling sorry for him. He didn't need his pity anyways.

"So what's the good?" Kyle asked the older man, the doctor, sitting across from them in his chair.

"Usually, people want to hear the bad first to counteract it with the good news." The doctor smiled at him, but Kyle shrugged.

"At this point, everything feels the same to me," Kyle murmured.

"Ah. Okay. So, let's see... The good news is that your chest x-rays came back much, much clearer than last time. It seems like your pneumonia is clearing up quite well and the antibiotics are working." The doctor nodded at the parents who sighed in relief.

"What's the bad?" Kyle didn't even respond to the news he had just received. He watched the expression on the doctor's face turn somber. "Just tell me doctor. I know it's bad. It can't get much worse than the fact that I'm dying."

The doctor sighed. "Well, you're...not wrong, I suppose. I'm sorry, son, but it seems like the cancer has now made its way over to your kidney. It's not just your stomach anymore. We're not 100% sure that it won't continue to spread upwards to your liver, but I won't tell you that everything is fine."

Kyle glanced over at his mother who sobbed and buried her face in her husband's shirt. He patted her back, turning back to the doctor and his son.

"What else can we do? I hate being poked and prodded. I already have problems with urinating, so I don't think it'll make a difference..." Kyle started.

"We can try other medications..."

"But that's simply delaying the process of me dying." Kyle pointed out. "I know I'm going to die, my stomach is pretty much gone. I already have this tube in my stomach, and I haven't had a normal bowel movement in almost two years. Everything hurts, doctor. Forget the treatment to get rid of it-- can you tell me what you can do to alleviate my aches, make it go down smoother? I went to nursing school, doctor. One thing I do recall from that was quantity of life versus quality of life." He noticed his parents gawking at him, but they said nothing. The doctor nodded.

"I understand what you mean, son. To be clear here, what you're telling me is that--"

"I don't want to continue the treatments. I want to live without the pain. Why drag out the fact that I am heading towards death? It's going to happen and I'd rather have... time to spend with my family without drugs blurring out the memories..."

"Okay, Kyle. Let's talk about our plan change..."