“Keep ‘em coming,” Xander nodded, taking one last glug and then waving the empty glass at him before turning it upside down on his coaster.
The man frowned, but turned back toward the cooler anyway.
“This is your idea of celebrating?” Megan remarked dryly, laying her purse on the bar as she took up the stool beside him.
“You’re late,” Xander smiled, winking at her as the bartender slid him another glass, filled to its brim with black, bubbling liquid. “If you hadn’t been, you’d know it was cola.”
She smiled, rolling her eyes at him as she leaned in and gave him a quick hug hello. “I don’t even understand how you got in here to begin with.”
“I have my ways.”
“Whatever,” she laughed, smirking at him as the bartender walked over to her. “Water, no ice. How’ve you been? Haven’t seen much of you this past week.”
“Genblade’s not getting the death penalty,” Xander shrugged, staring at the bubbles that popped and fizzed in his glass. “I did what I set out to do, no need to drag it out.”
“But how do you feel?” she pried, poking him in the chest near his heart as the bartender slid her bottled water in front of her.
He sat silent for a moment, letting out a long sigh... and then smiled. “I feel like a great weight’s been lifted off of me. I feel like I’ve found something that I thought I’d lost forever.”
“That sounds like a good thing,” she said, smiling.
“Yes, it is,” he replied, sipping his coke.
“But...” she pried.
“But, there’s still that one thing.”
“Sara.”
“Yeah.”
Megan giggled, pointing at him as she took a sip of her water. “You’re just like him. Right down to that damn guilt.”
Xander raised an eyebrow, looking her up and down.
“When I was young, I had this friend, like you... always obsessing over everything, trying to make sure everyone was happy, that he was making them happy, that he didn’t do anything wrong... right up until he died.”
Xander winced, but continued to listen.
“He used to give me all this advice. Made me promise to ‘live life with no regrets’ and ‘focus on the positive’... I never really bought into it before. Even after he died. It all just seemed like a pretty contrived way to live, I guess.”
Xander stopped, clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth. “Wow. That’s a great moral, Megan,” he nodded sarcastically.
“Not done. Anyway, I’ve been doing fine like that since...” she paused, staring off at the line of bottles behind the bartender. “...and then I met you, and kinda saw the way you lived. The way he probably would have, at least in practice. It kinda made me think... ‘No regrets’, ‘focus on the positive’... if I didn’t want to live like that, what did it say about me?”
“You’re doing okay to me.”
She held up her bare palm. “See this ring finger? It’s not empty because I’m agnostic.”
“Ag-what?”
“Never mind. The point is, seeing you fight for Genblade... made me reevaluate some things. Maybe you should, too.”
“What? You’re saying I should forget what happened? Forget... her?”
“Not forget. Forgive. Forgive yourself.” She touched his hand. “It’s not your fault.”
There was a long pause, then he squinted in thought and turned away.
“Look,” she continued, squeezing his hand. “Sara wouldn’t want you to focus on the negative of her death, but on the positive of her life. Just like my friend wouldn’t have wanted me to focus on the bad either. Realize that she’s still somewhere, and that it makes her sad to see what you’re doing to yourself. I did, and it’s how I’ve come to terms with my friend’s death.” She paused. “No regrets, alright?”
Xander smiled. “She used to say that, too.”
“Then take her advice.” she leaned in and kissed him lightly on the cheek.
The door to the bar opened again, and Anthony Jones stepped into the bar. He walked over and put his arm around Megan. They kissed, ever so briefly, then she turned and smiled at Xander. “I gotta go. But, I’ll see you around, okay?” she said smiling at him.
He smiled back. “Not if I see you first.”
“Remember what I’ve said. You’re a good man, Xander. And a good friend.” She kissed his cheek again, then walked out of the bar with Tony.
Xander finished his drink and got up.
“Hello, Genblade,” Xander said, sitting down in the uncomfortable plastic chair opposite Genblade.
“Hey, pal,” Genblade replied, smiling with his jagged teeth from the other side of the thick glass. “How you healing up?”
“Pretty good,” he nodded, leaning the chair back on two legs as he held the phone lazily next to his ear. “You?”
“Oh, you know me,” Genblade laughed, thrusting his head in the direction of the gash on his forehead. “Only the good die young.”
To his surprise, Xander found himself laughing as well.
“How’s the rest of the family doing? Good, I assume.”
“Mike’s on the mend. Cathy’s actually doing all right now... she doesn’t feel like she’s nothing anymore. If it wasn’t Mike and me that convinced her, then all the media attention definitely did. They’re treating her like the hero of all this.”
“Not you?” Genblade grinned. “She always was a show-stealer.”
“Nah, it’s good,” Xander smirked, dismissing the notion with a wave of his hand. “I don’t feel much like a hero right now, anyway.”
“But you beat the bad guy,” Genblade mocked happily, switching the phone from one ear to the other. “Put him away in a cell so deep and dark that not even the devil’ll come looking for him. They can hold him, can’t they?”
“Oh, yeah,” Xander nodded, the smile fading from his lips. “If your word and the stunt he pulled at the
