"But can she?" Yonnie asked, referring to Tara. "This is more than an elevation rush I got here."
Tara nodded, and placed a hand over Gabrielle's. "I'll stay with him. Stock the suite bar. He'll torch you or flatline me in this condition."
Yonnie turned away from the window slowly, his eyes glowing red as he appraised Tara, and simply nodded.
"You all right, man?" Jose said quietly as he came onto the porch. He peered at Rider, whose jaw muscle kept working as though he were chewing tobacco. His gaze discreetly slid to the bottle of Jack Daniel's and fresh pack of smokes that sat beside Rider, untouched.
"Yeah," Rider said. His voice was low and he never turned to look at Jose when he'd spoken. "Time for a change, partner."
Jose nodded and came down a step to plop down beside Rider. "Yeah."
They sat that way for a long time, staring out at the stars and saying nothing.
"You taught me a lot of things along the way, man," Jose said in a cautious tone. "I appreciate that."
"It was my job," Rider said flatly.
Jose smiled. "No it wasn't. Not all the things you taught me since I was a kid. But it kept my head right."
Rider nodded and spit over the edge of the step. "Then I suppose I served my purpose."
"Things change, man," Jose said, his tone gentle, probing lightly as he collected each word. "You taught me that. I had to accept things and move on."
"You are gonna make me open this bottle of Jack and pull out a butt, if you keep traveling down this particular road, partner. Not tonight, okay?"
Jose leaned over, reached around Rider's stone posture, and gathered up the booze and cigarettes to place them neatly by his side. "You told me I couldn't die from this shit, and you know what? You were right."
"I lied," Rider said in a flat tone, and began polishing the barrel of his gun.
"Nah, you didn't lie. I lived, made my peace; I see her with who she's supposed to be with, found somebody else. We cool. It's all good."
For the first time since Jose had sat down, Rider offered him a sidelong glance. "Yeah, you do see her every day, don't you?"
"With him, too," Jose said, opening the Jack Daniel's and taking a swig. "First time they went into a hotel room together, was about to put a nine to my skull... And hearing that shit down the hall?" Jose shook his head. "Wasn't right for weeks. But, like you told me, I had to suck it up. That's where she was supposed to be. The two of them are a matched pair; they have the same energy, same lifestyle and mission. The sooner you let it go and realize that it wasn't because she didn't care, wasn't like she didn't ever love you..." Jose held out the bottle, but Rider held up his hand and closed his eyes as he took in a deep whiff of its fragrance.
"I still got that shit in my nose," Rider said. "Cap it up for me, would ya?"
Jose quickly complied. "My bad."
"One day I'll be able to smell it, be around it, and it won't give me the shakes, but tonight, while I'm trying to go cold turkey, I can't tolerate it."
"You're gonna feel like shit for a while," Jose said, nodding and hiding the bottle behind him. "If you need a coach, you call me. Sheeit, I still need a coach myself."
Rider smiled a half smile. "Once an addict, always an addict."
Jose pounded his fist. "No relapse, brother."
"No relapse, brother." Rider stared at the horizon. "Yeah. Time to shake this and move on. Might even go buy me a brand-new Harley - red seat this time. Maybe flaming-fucking-yellow. Who knows?"
"New people, places, and things," Jose said, standing and collecting the bottle and smokes.
Rider stood and stretched. "You think Mar is serious about going to Tibet? I can see it now, going on another Marlene-inspired, spiritual, monastic quest to no-man's-land."
"Marlene has more reason to go to Tibet than any of us are talking about', man," Jose said quietly. "How's your nose?"
Rider absently pounded Jose's fist and kept his eyes on the horizon. "Were-jag all in it. How's our brother Shabazz holding up under the pressure?"
"Like me and you - f**ked up one minute, cool the next. Sometimes when I get too deep into my own drama, I forget I got brothers dealing with the same pain. But, hey, I'm human. At least I am for the next thirty days."