The Moment Of Truth

Jesse slapped his forehead with a palm. ‘That’s right! I totally forgot about it.’ He patted the buttocks of the hostess. ‘Get up. I need to talk to my friend.’ The girl rose obediently and went to sit on another sofa. Jesse swirled the tequila around in his glass. ‘You can’t blame me for not remembering. How long has it been? Five, six, seven years?’ Luca shrugged. ‘See? You can’t remember, either. It was ages ago. Yet, every year, when it gets close to the date she died, Austyn starts acting all weird and moody. I don’t like seeing him like this. Frankly, it’s rather pitiful.’ Luca poured himself a glass of brandy and downed it in one gulp. ‘I’ll go talk to him.’ ‘Yeah, you do that. Draw him out. Tell him to stop moping. It’s time to move on with his life.’ Luca sat down next to Austyn, who nodded at him. An open bottle of DRC La Tache 1998 lay on the table. One-third of it was already gone. Luca picked up the bottle and refilled Austyn’s glass before pouring one for himself. He clin