Life—or rather, afterlife—continued, and it soon became obvious to Dennis that whenever Gabriel visited, it was always because of a friend or relative of Dennis’s was passing over, never someone Brett knew. At first Dennis thought this was because Brett’s friends would be young like Brett himself had been when he passed over, but surely the guy had grandparents, elderly aunts, and so on?
Although Dennis and Brett still talked, they rarely held lengthy and in-depth discussions just before going to sleep like they used to. There was no need. Each was so attuned to the other, they could go for some time without actually speaking, neither feeling the silence was uncomfortable.
One night, however, after Dennis had pondered the lack of arrivals for his surrogate son, he finally broached the
