“You are always a part of me Dex. You’re every part of me. Always have been. Always will be.”

“I hope I'm always a part of you, Eden. You'll forever be a part of me. A world without you in it is a song without the music. You need both to make it whole.”

“You know,” he began, voice low and full, “if you were to ever leave me, I’d come looking for you, on every street.” “You promise?” “Always.” And I knew he kept his promises.”

“Hey, kiddo,” Dex whispered. “It’s just me.”

“Oh, Dex,”Rebecca chided from beside me, bringing me back to reality. “Put your shirt back on. Are you trying to turn me straight or something?”

“Hello?” Bird’s stoic voice answered. “Hi, Bird?” This is Dex Foray, we met back in Red Fox last October…”“Dex,” he pronounced my name slowly. “I knew it was you.”“Oh,” I said, taken aback. Shit, maybe he was more new agey than I thought. “Could you sense me?”“No, I have caller ID”

“He might have loved something else more, that’s all. Look, love and respect don’t always go hand in hand. You can have one without the other. But if you want my advice, you should always have both.”