Clark wiped the tears from Justin's cheeks and kissed him lovingly where the tears streamed from Justin's sad eyes. Their tears mingled and dampened their faces. Clark held Justin in his arms and rocked him back and forth as though they were in a rocking chair, one that a mother would sit in to rock her child to sleep while it was cradled in her loving arms. Clark regained his composure and wiped the tears from his eyes and face. He looked into Justin's saddened eyes as Justin looked blankly back it him, looked back at him but didn't see him, only the visions stirred up from the emotional depths of his being held is pained attention.
Finally Justin spoke, his voice weak and trembling, "I got to go home."
"Okay, sure if that's what you want." Clark replied. Clark let go of Justin then stood up next to the chair. He waited and watched as Justin also regained his composure. "Lets wash up, then we can go, okay?"
Justin nodded as he wiped the tears from his face with his hands, then rubbed his hands on his pants. Clark led the way back to the bathroom where he turned the water on for each sink. Justin stood before the sink beside Clark, looked in the mirror at Clark's reflection, then his own, leaned forward with his stiffened arms supporting some of his weight, then leaned further forward and lowered his head to just above the sink and running water. He let the warm water fill his cupped hands and splashed his face with it. He did that several times then wiped his eyes and face before standing up again, with his face dripping water. Clark was doing much the same thing at the same time. They both reached for the same towel at the same time, which struck them both as funny. The laughter broke the tension for a moment. Clark let Justin take that towel and then took the remaining one beside it. They both dried their faces, combed their hair and made themselves presentable again before leaving the bathroom one after the other.
When they entered the game room, Clark turned off the TV and opened the curtains so the room was once again well lit by the morning sun. Clark led the way out of the guest house and back to his car. The morning sky was blue and clear, there was a slight breeze that felt good as they walked to the car. The birds were singing in the trees, the smell of fresh cut grass mixed with the scents of flowers filled the air. Even though it was a beautiful day, full of life and promise, Justin didn't see it, his heart and mind still being filled with the feelings and thoughts of his loss.
Clark drove without saying a word. He turned on the radio then turned down the volume since it had been set very high from the last time he had it on. Justin sat in the passengers seat quietly and motionless, looking at the view before him. As they approached the neighborhood where Justin's apartment complex had been, the traffic became increasingly more and more heavy. It wasn't usual for traffic to be this heavy in this part of town. So many people had seen and heard about the accident and wanted to see the site for themselves, so the place was swarming with looky-loos. They were several blocks from the site, and the traffic was at a stand still so Clark said, "We might as well find a place to park and walk from here if you want." He looked over to see Justin's reply.
"Yeah, okay. That's fine with me." Justin said blankly.
Clark found an empty spot to park along the street and took it. Once the car was turned off, they both got out and started walking down the sidewalk in the direction of Justin's place. They weren't alone on the walk, there were others heading that way speaking amongst themselves about the disaster and how awful it was. There were other people they passed who, by the tone of their conversation seemed to be on a vacation because they were joking and laughing.
When they were about a block away, their progress was blocked by road blocks and that yellow plastic tape they use to cordon off a crime scene. There were several uniformed police officers directing people and cars to turn around because, they weren't letting anyone into the area except rescue workers, investigators and emergency response personnel. When they approached the officer blocking the path on the sidewalk, Justin started to walk by him, but the officer extended his arm, blocking Justin's advance and said, "Sorry son, you can't go any further."
Justin quickly replied, "But I live in there. That was my home."
