After breakfast, John and Caryn sat in the living room. John asked Caryn for his guitar. He started strumming it, and Caryn started singing along to the melody. John smiled and said, "Caryn, you never told me you could sing." She said, "I'm a decent singer, I guess." He said, "I think you're a great singer." She said, "Thanks. I never considered it. Besides, I'm an artist at heart. You're the musician, John." He smiled and said, "Music is something I've always had. I didn't have a ton of friends growing up, so music has always been like therapy for me." Caryn said, "I understand, John." He said, "I'll let you in on a secret. Promise you won't tell anyone?" She said, "Of course." He said, "Not long after my uncle died, I contemplated suicide. I just felt like I had lost so many people I loved, and I just didn't want to live anymore." Caryn said, "That's so sad. What made you change your mind, John?" He said, "Music made me change my mind. As I was getting ready to drive my car off the bridge, I heard this song called 'Live Forever'. The lyrics just struck me: 'Maybe I just wanna fly, wanna live, I don't wanna die. Maybe I just wanna breathe. Maybe I just don't believe. Maybe you're the same as me. We see things they'll never see. You and I are gonna live forever.' I just started crying. I then heard my uncle's voice. He said, 'Those tears say you're not ready to die. You still want to live. You have so much to live for.' That's when I decided to go get help." Caryn hugged John and said, "I'm so glad you got the help you needed. I don't know what I would do without you." John held Caryn close and said, "I don't know what I'd do without you either, darling." John had never shared this with anyone other than his mates. It felt good to finally share it with Caryn as they watched the snow fall that Christmas Eve.
The next day, Leila and Greeley took Paul for a walk on the beach while Leila's aunt and uncle relaxed on the beach. Greeley said, "I can't believe today is our last day here." Leila said, "I know. Vacations always go by so quickly." He said, "Let's make the most of the time we have." She said, "Yes." That evening, they had a seafood meal. They then began packing for their things so that they would be ready for their trip back home. Greeley said to Leila, "Thank you for inviting me to go on vacation with you, Leila." She said, "You're welcome, Greeley." He said, "We'll have to do some more fun things this summer." She said, "Yeah. That would be great." They settled into their beds to rest for the trip the next morning.
The next day, Greeley accompanied Leila and her aunt and uncle on a ride to the nearest beach. Leila's uncle drove. Leila's dog, Paul, enjoyed looking out the window at the sights. When they stopped for lunch, Leila took Paul out on a leash to "do his business". A few people stopped Leila and asked her, "What kind of dog is that?" Most people didn't believe her when she told them that Paul is a purebred German Shepherd Dog. Leila didn't mind, though. She was aware that most people don't know that Shepherds can be blue, especially solid blue like Paul. Around 6:00 that evening, Leila, Greeley, Leila's aunt and uncle, and Paul arrived at the property. It was a nice beach house, and it was very pet friendly. They were all tired from their trip. After unpacking, they got dinner and relaxed for the rest of the evening. A few hours later, they called it a night.
Leila and Greeley had just finished their first year of college. They were looking forward to the summer. Greeley asked, "What are you going to do this summer, Leila?" She said, "I'm mostly going to relax and take it easy. What are you going to do?" He said, "I think I'll do the same, but we should do some fun things this summer. After all, summer doesn't last forever." She said, "You're right. We should do some fun things together." He said, "I'd like that." Later, Leila texted Greeley and said, "My aunt and uncle and I are going to the beach this weekend. They said that I can bring one friend with me. I first asked Rita, but she can't come, because she's taking summer classes as well as taking on a summer job. Would you like to come with us, Greeley?" He said, "I'd love to, Leila." She said, "Great!" He asked, "Is your dog, Paul, going too?" She said, "Of course he is." The two friends were looking forward to their weekend getaway.
