He joined Richard outside once he’d changed. Richard had settled down just inches away from where the water lapped at the sand. “Amelia got pregnant in high school? Did she marry in high school as well?”

Cio blinked at the return to the previous conversation, then remembered what he’d said about not being here since his wife died. If Richard wanted to focus on Amelia, then Cio was going to let him. “Yep. She was seventeen when she got pregnant. Our parents let her at least wait until she was 18. She married over Christmas break her senior year when she was about four months pregnant, I think.”

“Was it a big wedding like this?”

Cio laughed. “Are you kidding? It was very hush hush. I don’t think they told anyone in the family until Amelia had Martin.”

“It’s George Jr. Martin, and Sylvia?”

“Georgie. I mean, George Junior is his name, but no one calls him that.”

“When did George Senior disappear?”

“The day after they found out Amelia was pregnant again.”

Richard let out a heavy breath. “And then she moved back in with your parents?”

“Yep. They’re helping her make it. They watch the kids so she doesn’t have to pay childcare. She hates it though because parenting them has been taken over by our parents. She’s not in a spot where she can leave and she’s not in a spot where she can argue it, so she accepts it and keeps saving.”

They were silent for a moment as they watched the sun glistening off the water. It was hot out, but not unbearable. Cio glanced over. Richard’s lips were pulled down in a soft frown. 

“She’s figuring it out. I wouldn’t worry about it if I were you.”

Richard smiled at him. “Of course.”

Comfortable silence fell. Birds cawed overhead. The sky was endless blue spotted with the occasional fluff of white. Something splashed out in the ocean. Cio lay back and tossed an arm over his eyes. He knew he’d forget something. When lunch got in, he’d text Amelia to bring some shades for him.

“Lucy would make me call into work on her days off. We would spend it out here. Sometimes I’d go out surfing, sometimes I would just lay with her, like this. I wasn’t sure how I would feel being out here again.”

Cio lifted his arm enough to look over at Richard. Richard was lounging back on his elbows. His long legs were crossed at the ankle. Richard turned to him with a small grin.

“It’s nice. I’ve missed the beach. I didn’t realize how much.”

“How long were you married to Lucy?” It felt awkward saying her name. Almost like Cio was the other person, even though Lucy was dead.

“Married? 8 years. I’d known her my whole life though. She grew up across the street but was a year beneath me. We didn’t get close until college.”

God who Cio trying to fool. He couldn’t compete with that. How would Cio tell people he met Richard? ‘I was drunk and he was drunk and we had sex then fell off each others radar for two years then my sister basically conned him into going to a wedding with me.’ Not exactly the fairy tale Richard had had before.

“Have you been serious with anyone else?” Not that Richard was serious with him… but yeah.

“No.” Richard let out a heavy sigh and turned back to the ocean. “I spent a lot of time blaming myself for her death. Then a longer amount of time trying to make up for it. I never gave myself time to find someone else.” Richard snorted. “Though Natalie’s been doing her best to make me take time off since I hired her.” Richard side eyed him with a small grin. “You can thank her for me being here.”

Cio didn’t know if that was supposed to make him happy or not so he settled for covering his eyes with his arm again. Silence fell. A little more uncomfortable this time. Cio couldn’t get Richard’s words out of his mind. He’d known his wife forever and obviously loved her beyond what Cio’d ever experienced, so why did he blame himself for her dying. Unable to resist, he asked, “Lucy died from cancer, didn’t she? You can’t blame yourself for that.”

Richard sighed heavily. Cio peeked over at him again. He looked weary, or maybe it was melancholy. The small grin from before was long gone. “She was diagnosed with an aggressive brain cancer, but she didn’t die from it. We had a caregiver who would show up an hour after I left for work. Lucy wanted a bit of time to herself every day and she’d already lost so much that I didn’t argue. I gave her the hour, even when she could barely push herself up from bed, she wanted that time.”

Cio wished he hadn’t asked. Dread was pooling in his stomach. A vise around his chest was getting tighter. He didn’t want to know what happened anymore.

“She asked me to stay home from work. It was a Friday. I’d called in every day that week and I needed…” He blew a heavy breath out. “I needed a break. I told her I couldn’t miss the meeting that day and I would make it a half day. She asked me again not to go, said she wanted to go to the beach.”

Richard’s voice grew rough as his story went on. He paused and cleared his throat. Cio didn’t rush him. They listened to the gentle sounds of the ocean as Richard pulled himself together and Cio gave him space. “I ignored the first call from our caregiver. I was in the middle of reading up on what I’d missed and planned to call her back once I had finished. She called again immediately.”

Cio sat up. It wasn’t the type of story to listen to with his eyes covered. Richard didn’t even attempt a smile, just continued to stare out at the ocean. 

“She said when she walked in, Lucy was in the kitchen seizing. She had an unopened bottle of cranberry juice and an empty bottle of vodka along with an empty bottle of pain pills. She was pronounced at the hospital.” Richard closed his eyes. Cio watched him take a deep breath and relax his shoulders which had tightened over the course of the story. “I quit the next day and opened Price Labs the next year.”

And therapy? Cio didn’t think that was appropriate to ask, but damn. The man needed some after that. Cio shook his head. “I can’t even imagine.”

Richard gave him a tired smile. “Yeah. I used to wish she would have left a note, just something to explain why it was all too much that day.” He blew out a heavy breath. “I found peace in knowing I would never have an answer. Things could have been different if I’d stayed home that day, but I nearly went crazy thinking of the what-ifs. Spent too much time blaming myself and losing myself in whiskey.” He shook his head and stared at the horizon.

“Do you still have a problem with the whiskey?” Maybe an inappropriate question, but a necessary one with the amount of alcohol they were about to be around.

“Only on the bad nights which are few and far between these days.”

There wasn’t much to say after a heavy conversation like that. Cio sat up with his arms around his knees. Richard remained laying back on elbows. The night Richard was asleep in his office, he wondered what caused it. What made that night a bad night that required alcohol to see it through?

Thankfully, not much time passed until there was a knock on the bungalow’s door. Richard got up to open it and the wait staff arranged the lunch on the back porch. Cio joined him once the wait staff left. “I’ve never had anything serious,” he said as he settled down on one of the chairs. “When Ames got pregnant, I was only 14. Then watching how miserable she was in her marriage…” He shrugged. “I just wasn’t that interested in finding someone if that was how it could turn out.”

“They weren’t marrying for love, Cio. They married because of a bad situation and it made their bad situation worse.”

Cio gave a rueful chuckle. “Yeah. Ames has said herself that the best thing George ever did was leave her.”

“How’d your parents handle that situation?”

“They weren’t happy it happened, but they welcomed Ames back into the house, with a set of rules for her own children. Our parents love us, they just also have pretty strict beliefs about how things should go.” Cio knew he’d said it earlier, but it needed repeating. “It sucks, but it is what it is.”

“And they don’t approve of you being gay?”

“Not in the slightest.” Cio snagged the bowl of sliced strawberries. “Well, mamá doesn’t care, which is why I’m still around. What’s Natalie’s deal with wanting you to take more time off?”

“She’s convinced I lack a social life.”

Cio glanced up. Would it be rude to agree with that? Probably. “You do lack a social life. You leave later than I do and apparently sleep in your office fairly regularly.”

“I rarely sleep in my office. You’re the salaried employee who refuses to leave on time. You don’t get paid for overtime. Go home.”

Cio laughed. He enjoyed when Richard got a little riled up. Richard smiled at him. It was a softer smile than Cio was used to. Cio smiled back and shifted his focus to the food.