Epilogue: September and Grounded
12:20 P.M.
September 8 was dismal with a heavy overcast. Drizzle fell from the heavens, and black-and-blue clouds floated across Eastwind. Jax and Corky sat in two seats at Gate B28. Their flight to California was delayed for an hour because of the late summer storm. Jax was reading a short thriller on his cellphone called Barefoot Kill, and Corky was napping next to him.
Jax looked up from his reading and glanced over at Corky. His lover’s mouth was ajar, and a bubble of white saliva leaked out of one corner. He wheezed, grunted, wheezed again, and mumbled something unrecognizable. His massive chest, covered in a tight T-shirt, rose and fell. He snorted a few times, almost woke himself up, but stayed in his dreamland state. Jax had never seen anything s
