He knew he would see her again.
As soon as he saw Jake's death notice in the newspaper, Joe knew he would be seeing Sophie. And of all the days of the year for it to happen, it had to be the one that had always meant the most to them. At least back when they meant something to each other.
He was devastated by his friends death, and there was no way he would miss paying his last respects, but he knew he would see her there, on that day.
But he didn't think she would be the very first person he would see when he walked into the funeral home. Yet there she was, the same short, wavy, strawberry blonde hair, streaked with gray now. The same slim figure, encased in a black dress that stopped just above her knees. Her black heels making her calf muscles pop, like they always had.
Her hourglass figure had straightened out some, and her sweet little ass was flatter, but when she turned to see who had entered, her light blue eyes were the same. And they very nearly stopped him dead in his tracks.
He walked up to her through sheer force of will, having been mentally prepared for this moment. "Hi Sophie, how've you been?" He couldn't read her eyes. They were always so expressive, but at that moment, they seemed to convey a range of emotions. He saw sorrow, but he thought he also saw fear, which was so unlike her. But also curiosity? Or maybe a hopefulness?
She extended her hand and her voice cracked a bit as she said, "Hello Joe. I'm good. How are you? You were as tight with Jake as anybody." They both knew that it was Jake who had inadvertently brought them together all those years before.
"I'm good too Soph, just stunned I guess." He took her hand and noticed it was warm and slightly sweaty. He smiled wryly and continued, "It's funny. Nobody thought that crazy bastard would see thirty, let alone fifty. I think I was starting to believe he was another Keith fucking Richards, and would outlive all of us!"
She laughed along with him, and he noted the crows feet along her eyes, the creases between her cheeks and mouth were deeper. He tried not to look at that brightly painted mouth, tried not to remember the things she could do with it.
He noticed that she was checking him out too. Her eyes took in his thick beard, he hadn't been able to grow a proper beard yet back then. And now it was thick and mostly gray, as was what was left of the hair on his head. Which was also way shorter than it used to be.
They parted soon after, Joe had to go through the ritual of signing the book, and giving his condolences to Jakes family, as well as catching up with what was left of the old gang.
He went through the repeated conversations of what was going on with everyone. The brief bio that he gave as a response each time felt repetitive the third time he had to explain it. By the time he'd made his way through the room it was excruciating.
Granted, he was glad to see many of the people in attendance. He had a bond with some of them that would never fade, despite the passage of time, or the fact that they had all grown up and lived different lives now.
And then he was kneeling at the casket. Going through the old Catholic ritual out of habit, even though he really didn't consider himself catholic anymore.
Once he had the Hail Mary out of the way, he took a moment to look at his old friend, the phrase "pray for us sinners" ringing in his head. "We certainly did some sinnin', didn't we old buddy?" Joe thought to his friend.
But this was not Jake, just his body. Gone was the devious smile and the eyes sparkling with mischief.
The funeral people had made Jake look dignified, respectable even, and Joe fought back a smile as he thought how ridiculous that was. "You never had a respectable bone in your body you fucker!" He thought.
Joe noticed they even managed to cover the scar on his face from Jake charging into a bar fight, just as Joe was swinging at some dude. It was forever known as his "friendly fire scar".
Joe stood and touched his friend's hand, one last time. He realized he was smiling at the memory of his friends indomitable spirit, even while the tears rolled down his face.
He sniffed and wiped his face, saying quietly, "Now look what you did you fucker!" Turning from the bias he saw Sophie, handing him a tissue with a look of understanding and compassion.
"Thanks Soph." He said as he took the tissue and wiped his eyes. "I told myself I wasn't going to cry." He said with a half chuckle.
"I think it's understandable, you two knew each other forever." She smiled. "Like grade school right?"
"Yep, sixth grade. I was the new kid in school and he picked on me, to see what I was all about I guess. We met on the playground, in the dodgeball circle, after school, and beat the snot out of each other until Ms. Furman broke us up. We called it a draw and were best friends ever since."
"Yeah, I remember that story now. You two were arguing about who won that fight well into your twenties!" Sophie laughed.
"Yeah," Joe chuckled "I need a smoke. I'm going outside. You still smoke?" Joe asked.
"Yeah." She said turning to go with him. "But just cigarettes." She added with a grin.
He laughed, "Yeah, definitely just cigarettes! Hell, Jakes sister would kick both our asses if we blazed up in the parking lot!"
She laughed along with him. For a minute they were both comfortable together again. They shared a smile, and started for the door.
They had to stop and give condolences to Jakes sister again on the way out. Joe giving her a big hug, fighting off the image of her reaction if she actually would catch them getting stoned in the parking lot. It just wouldn't be right to start laughing again.
Once outside they lit up their cigarettes, and talked briefly about the brands they now smoked, and how they transitioned from what they used to smoke. It used to be the same brand.
Then they got quiet. And the discomfort set in. And as Joe tried to think of something to say, she broke his thoughts with, "You know, I was worried about seeing you again. I wondered what it would be like."
"Yeah," He sighed, "I wondered too. I knew you were back in town. And I knew I'd see you here. I really didn't know what to expect."
Sophie was about to say something else, but was interrupted by Tommy, another one of the old gang. "Hey guys! A bunch of us are going over to the Neighbors for a few. You guys coming?!"
Joe laughed, "It's not Neighbors anymore Tommy. Hasn't been for years. New owners, new name!"
