Page 9 of Something Like Daybreak
“I can’t go with you,” Ben said, the words painful to speak.
Jace sighed. “At least I know you’ll be happy. You and Tim will take care of each other. Just like last time.”
Ben clung to him so tight that he was glad they could no longer hurt each other. Physically anyway. “When?” he finally managed to ask.
“Soon. That’s why I’m grateful Tim gave us privacy.”
“So all we need to do,” Ben said, raising his head and jutting out his jaw, “is squeeze an entire lifetime of love into a single day.”
Jace’s smile was gentle. “If anyone can do it, it’s you.”
— — —
Ben continued to cling to his man. They had made love countless times and reenacted some of their favorite memories, like ice skating at the afterlife’s version of the Houston Galleria. Ben even made himself old and tried to give Jace a crash courseon being elderly, as if that might alleviate his need to experience it for himself. They had eaten their favorite meals, listened to their most beloved songs, and cried together, because this wouldn’t be easy. Currently they were in bed again, Ben wrapped around Jace possessively, but eventually he released him and sat up.
“Who are you hoping to reincarnate as?” Ben asked.
“Why?” Jace smirked. “Do you have any requests? Maybe you want two husbands with impressive muscles. Or how about a new paint job? I could be black. Or Asian.”
“I get to design the new Jace?” Ben said, perking up. He seemed to think about it before his shoulders slumped. “I like you the way you are.”
“Thanks. I wouldn’t mind a few changes though.”
“Such as?”
“A creative outlet. I enjoyed being a flight attendant, but it’s not much use in the afterlife.”
“You could become a real pilot instead of just dressing like one.”
Jace chuckled. “Maybe. As we’ve discovered, a pilot’s license isn’t useful here either. I want to do something with my hands.”
“Let me grant that wish,” Ben said, grabbing Jace’s wrist and moving it beneath the sheets.
“You’re determined to break that record, huh?”
“Which one? I have a few.”
“All of them, at the rate we’ve been going.” Jace kissed him, but his thoughts had too tight a grip on him. “Iwouldlike your input on one decision.”
“I’m all ears,” Ben said.
“We need to figure out which era of Earth we’ll be returning to.”
Ben blinked. “It’s optional?”
Jace nodded. “It’s about the only thing you get to choose. Consciously, at least. We’re thinking about being born in the nineteen-seventies again.”
“Don’t do that!” Ben said with a groan. “The modern era is the way to go. Just look at what it means to be gay now. We can get married, star in movies and television shows, be influencers… In my lifetime we even had a gay president!”
“Spoilers,” Jace teased.
“People didn’t say that while you were still alive. You got that from me. Another reason not to be old fashioned.”
“That’s the concern,” Jace said. “Most people in the afterlife stay within the era they feel the strongest connection to.”
“Like all the pre-technology realms.”
“Exactly. A Viking has very little in common with a computer programmer. One lives intimately close to nature for survival, the other avoids it for the same reason. You saw how much the world had changed by the time you died. People live much longer, for instance.”
