Ellen Candi went downstairs and saw Eric Candi sitting on the steps at the entrance, smoking a cigarette while gazing at the ocean.
The night was as deep as thick fog, and the smoke swirling around his fingertips seemed darker than the night itself.
He sat there, silent like a plant.
"Are you okay?"
Ellen walked over.
Eric raised his head and looked at her indifferently, the smoke making his typically stern face seem a bit lazy and slack, unlike the vigor he showed during the day.
With a cigarette in his mouth, his voice was somewhat muffled: "What could possibly be wrong with me."
"I'm just worried you might be upset..." Ellen squatted down next to him, propping her face with her hand, and gazed at the calm and deep ocean in front of them, whispering, "I didn't expect you to actually agree to Jimmy Blythe pursuing Aldana."
"She can't possibly like me," Eric said indifferently, "I can't stop other men from liking her just because she doesn't like me."
