When I got to the station that morning, I hesitated before going in. I didn't know how much Steve would want me to tell our boss about what had happened, so I settled on family emergency, took a deep breath, opened the door… and stopped in shock.

Steve was already there, leaning against the counter, and joking with some of the other guys. I walked in slowly and wondered if I had imagined the whole morning. Then he suddenly looked up, saw me, and I knew from the look I quickly caught in his eyes that none of it had been a dream. As much as he was clearly trying to hide it, it was suddenly very clear to me that my best friend was now living in his very own personal nightmare.

It was also very clear to me that he didn't want me to mention it, so I just joined the guys and got to work. If he wanted to talk, I had to figure he would. He sure as heck knew how to find me when he was ready.

Luckily for both of us, the morning was busy, and we had little time to think let alone talk. We had broken for lunch and were barely saying a word to each other when Steve suddenly mumbled, "Wake's going to be tomorrow. I'm just going to tell them here that I'm sick."

I looked at him in surprise but just nodded. I wondered how I would get the time off to go if Steve were going to say he was sick (and part of me even wondered if he'd even want anyone there), but then he muttered in an even lower voice, "and… and you're coming to all of it, right?"

"Of … of course," I said as quickly as I could. "What time?"

"2 – 5 and 7 – 9 tomorrow, and then the funeral will be the next day at 10 in the morning."

"Ok. We'll all be there for all of it. You know that, right?"

Steve nodded, staring down at the ground. "Yeah, I do. Thanks, Soda."

Before I could say another word, he stood up and walked back over to the pumps. I wasn't paying attention to the car that had just pulled up. If I had been, I'd have tried to get there first. As it was, I watched Steve's face turn white as he tried to pump gas as quickly as possible for a family of three… a father, a mother, and their son. That, in itself, would have been bad enough… but they were even driving the same car that Steve's dad had… and must have been driving last night. I was trying to keep an eye on Steve, but then another customer pulled in, so I had to get to work, which was why I didn't know that Steve had disappeared after that car until someone pointed it out to me. Actually, it was more like one of the guys said, "Hey, Soda, go find your friend, will you? We're short a man out here."

I looked around quickly, nodded, and then went inside. I figured he must have gone to use the bathrooms, but there was no one in there. I was standing in front of the station when it hit me. I glanced around to make sure no one else was watching to see where I went, and then I walked around the back of the DX and into the woods behind it. I'd gone only partway in when I heard the sound I'd been dreading but expecting… angry sobs. Steve doesn't usually get upset. He usually gets angry. And I knew that it would take him a long time to be able to deal with this without his usual level of fury.

I walked towards the sound cautiously, and then I saw him crouched on the ground behind some scraggly bushes. He was sobbing so hard that he didn't hear me, and I approached him as I would an injured animal… very carefully. He finally looked up when I was already kneeling next to him, and I could see from the look on his face that I was the only person he could tolerate at all right then.

I didn't say anything. I just sat with him until the storm passed, and then he finally let out a deep breath and wiped at his eyes roughly with the back of his sleeve.

"How'd you know I'd be here?" he asked. His voice was still strained, so knew it was my turn to talk.

I smiled sadly. "Steve, don't you remember? You found me out here when that guy drove up in the same car my parents used to drive. We seem to have the same reactions to that kind of thing… but at least mine wasn't the next day. I'm really sorry, man."

Steve just kind of nodded, let out an explosive breath and stood up, brushing off his jeans.

"Thanks, Soda. Let's go back."

I nodded. "Ok."

He wasn't ready to talk anymore than this... but at least I knew now that he would talk to me when he needed to. That was enough, at least, to make me feel better.