“Which will be when, precisely?”
I check my watch. “Fifteen minutes.”
She sighs. “Fine. Did you give Arslan my gift?”
I pat the inner pocket of my jacket. “Oh, s**t. No. But I will.”
“You’re a good friend,” she says, a smile in her voice. “I’ll see you soon.”
I hang up and pull out Belle’s gift. The liquor bottle is so small I almost forgot about it. I pop the lidand dump the shot out on the velvety grass. “God, you would have really liked Belle, man. She gotyou a better gift than I did and she barely knew you.”
The alcohol soaks into the ground. There will probably be a brown spot in the grass, but I knowArslan wouldn’t care.
I push up to standing, slap the headstone lightly, and then head back to the car idling along the curb.I’m a few feet away when the driver d
