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Suzie’s death felt like an untimely one, but Joseph knew it was inevitable. Still, he mourned. It was a surprise to find out his wife would die before him, though at the same time he was sure his occasional use of Hamon tied into his longer life.
The way it all happened was sudden; just the day before they’d had a date in their favorite restaurant in all of New York after long days of work despite their age. Soon, they headed home, and reminisced of their days in Air Supplena Island. They’d exchanged soft kisses and ‘I love you’s before heading to bed, cuddled up in each other’s arms. It was a spectacular day: a pleasant break from their typical busy routine.
That’s why, while waking up in the middle of the night, he hadn’t realized what had happened immediately. He’d notice her still in his arms, and he smiled for a moment. Even in her older years, she’d stayed so beautiful, and he admired her more and more each day. Wanting to lean in to leave a small kiss on his forehead, he paused. Then, he realized it was only his breath heard in the silence of the room. Blinking, he couldn’t help but notice how cold her skin was as well. He furrowed his eyebrows for a moment as a thought ran through his mind.
No, that couldn’t be right.
“Suzie?” Joseph asked, his once powerful voice now frail in his older years. He awaited an answer, whether it be a few words or even a snore, though it didn’t come. Yet, he persisted. “Suzie, wake up,” he murmured, shaking her slightly, knowing that even the smallest of disturbances woke her up. And yet, she didn’t.
He took a deep breath, felt himself grow teary-eyed, and let her go. Whether he’d like to believe it or not, she was gone. Hesitantly, he stood from the bed, finding it too hard to look down where she peacefully lain amongst the sheets. And yet, he wanted to return to lie with her a little longer. All the while a few tears slid down his face.
Soon, he sighed and shook his head, taking his cane from the side and making way to Shizuka’s room to break the news to the girl. His grip on his cane grew tighter with each step. He didn’t want to cry too much, not today, and instead let all the pain set as a heaviness into his heart. He could deal with that some other time.
As soon as he’d told Shizuka, she was quick to inform everyone else in the family she had contact with even in her teary-eyed state: Jotaro, Holy, and an assortment of friends Suzie had made over the years. Hell, even Lisa Lisa was told (and everyone would be surprised she’d still seemed youthful for her age). While his daughter—it still felt odd to call her that—contacted all of them, he was quick to call 911.
Soon, the paramedics arrived and took her away, and Joseph and Shizuka followed suit. Having to comfort the girl took a toll on him, and he couldn’t help but cry with her, though he knew in himself that wasn’t the full extent of his emotions.
As soon as they’d arrive in the emergency room, it took no time for her time of death to be announced: 2:43 AM, on the 25th of May in 2009. Thankfully, Suzie already planned out everything she’d wanted to happen in her death, so she was taken to the funeral home immediately. Afterward, they were advised to come home.
The condolences given towards the family suddenly flooded in later in the day. Whether it be through phone calls or emails, Joseph was drowning in these messages and didn’t know what to do. Other than utterances of thanks, he didn’t end up saying much; he hated to admit it, but all of this added to the weight on his heart. He didn’t know when he could let it all out.
Then the wake happened, and they’d kept the space as simple as possible. The first people there were Shizuka and him, and both of them found it hard to look into the casket. The only reason he’d gained any semblance of will to look at his deceased lover was Shizuka, who tugged at his hand and urged him to take a look in between sobs. Reluctantly moving towards where Suzie now stayed, he froze as soon as the sight of her met his eyes, and he couldn’t help but smile despite his throat tightening as his body threatened for him to break down.
Suzie seemed alive, all the color lacking in her face a day before suddenly returning. She stayed there, seeming as serene as she typically would in her sleep, and wearing a burial robe that reminded Joseph of her favorite pair of baby blue pajamas. While she typically kept her hair styled up, her silver locks now cascaded by her face.
When Joseph moved a little closer, squinting with strained eyes, he noticed the corners of her lips upturned slightly. He let out a soft chuckle; even in death, she’d still stay the same cheerful woman they all came to know.
Soon after, people began to arrive, and so did flowers that would end up littered around the room. Regretfully, nearly all of their closest loved ones struggled to attend for several reasons; the select few able to attend were fellow businessmen that struggled to stay too long to chat. The rest of the visitors were, for lack of a better term, phonies. They didn’t really care about Suzie when she’d lived, not at all, and Joseph knew they’d come around to try to catch him in a vulnerable time for a business opportunity. Thankfully, he stayed strong since he knew Suzie would haunt him if he’d faltered, and shrugged them all off with spurious smiles and false laughs. The wake lasted for three days.
The funeral. Only then did his Holy as well as Jotaro and his daughter Jolyne find the time to appear, and Lisa Lisa surprisingly showed up as well. Fewer people showed up in comparison to the wake, but Joseph didn’t mind. Only then did he let go of his heart’s heaviness. He couldn’t hold back his emotion any longer, it would be too much for him to bear.
While Joseph wasn’t the most religious, Suzie was, and he’d respected her wishes by holding a mass. Sitting in the front pew, surrounded by his closest family, he was sure he’d surprised them all when he’d broken down. Lisa Lisa, typically cold with him in his old age, took him into her arms in an attempt to soothe him. From the corner of his eye, he could see Jotaro trying to calm Holy and Shizuka at the same time.
“She’s in a better place,” Lisa Lisa reassured, though even her own voice was shaky as the words left her.
“I know,” Joseph replied, gulping as the priest announced they’d all be able to stand closer to the coffin to pray for her for a moment. While all of them stood, not one of them prayed, though all returned to their seats in various states of misery. No one in the family was as devout as Suzie was, and they’d all silently watched visitors stand to send prayers they hadn’t.
The walk to the cemetery ended up a blur for Joseph as all he could do was sob, feeling reassuring hugs and pats on the back from all sides that didn’t do much to aid him. Instead, he’d look down at the ground and took his time to think of all the wrong he’d done to her over the years. Whether it be their disagreements that always went nowhere or the large arguments where she’d refused to speak to him on days without end, all of it brought him the same feeling of guilt. He clenched his teeth at the thought he couldn’t repay for any of it anymore.
Sooner than he’d expected, he heard Jotaro behind him telling him to look up, and they’d arrive at the mausoleum where she’d stay. Considering it’d been decades since they’d purchased the plot and had it built, it still looked new, everything clean and made with marble as she’d liked it. The people carrying the casket entered first, and they’d all enter after, leaving all outsiders to gawk at the building.
In the center were two single crypts set side by side. While one now stayed open for Suzie’s casket to enter, the one beside it would stay closed for the time being; one day, Joseph knew he’d lie next to Suzie in a gentle slumber as they’d done before.
There, they were given one last chance to look over her, and all of them crowded around her casket to leave her their wishes. While most murmured what they’d wanted for her under their breaths, all Joseph could do was stare, afraid of sobbing out each word he’d wished to utter. In his mind, all he could say to her was this: Let’s meet in another life.
Shortly after, the casket was closed then carried into where it would stay for the rest of eternity. Each one of them threw their flowers into the crypt, and they all gave their best wishes for her to prosper wherever she’d go. There’d be no funeral reception; Joseph could still remember Suzie blabbering on about how she detested those.
The family stayed there for a little longer. They’d all spoken for half an hour, reminiscing about the woman’s life, though after that did they begin to leave one by one. Lisa Lisa left first, having had to attend to matters she refused to name. Jotaro left as well, though only because his phone was suddenly bombarded with texts from employees who never let him have a break. Reluctantly, Jolyne followed him outside, though only after giving Joseph a tight hug. The last person to leave was Holy, who’d finally had a chance to let out wails she’d held back for hours, and Joseph listened to her agony that worsened his own. Hesitantly after, he let her go.
Joseph, sitting alone amongst the set up chairs, found it hard to leave. He sat and stared at where his wife would stay for, well, forever. His eyes remained fixated on the casket’s end panel, the only thing visible from the inside of the crypt, its deep oak contrasting with the stark white of the marble. Was this really going to be the last time he’d see her? He’d already shed so many tears, but he could feel more planning to escape him.
“Did we arrive too late?”
Joseph’s eyes went wide as he’d heard the voice, youthful and solemn, though unfamiliar. Was it Shizuka? No, this voice was older than hers, and she’d already told the girl to head home before him. Not only that, but the English was accented, possibly Japanese. The unfamiliarity caused him to turn around to see who stood there, and his mouth went agape at who stood before him.
Two people stood in the mausoleum’s entrance, clad in clean, all black clothing from head to toe. Both of them were people Joseph never expected to see ever again, though one more than the other: Josuke Higashikata, and his mother Tomoko. While the former gave him a small smile and still seemed rather young, he instead focused on the latter who'd looked much older than he'd remembered. Unsettling to Joseph, she was frowning, staring right through him.
He hadn’t expected to see Tomoko after all this time, especially in a situation like this. For a moment, he was brought back to nearly thirty years in the past, remembering careless nights of drinking and making love with the woman. Suddenly, blurred memories turned clear, remembering how he’d wiped up her tears and promised to return after leaving her on his flight home. Unbeknownst to her, he would never keep his promise. His sadness over Suzie suddenly intertwined with guilt from the lie, and he felt as if his heart would fall apart from the stress that stacked up.
“Who told you? About this?” Joseph asked as the pair walked closer, watching as Josuke walked past him to throw a rose into the crypt as well. Tomoko merely stood by Joseph’s side.
“Jotaro,” she said, arms crossed over her chest and looking down at Joseph. “I’m not here to start anything, I hope you know that. I just want to pay respects.”
Joseph nodded, and he finally stood from his seat after hours. He looked to Josuke. “Do you mind if we go ahead?” he asked, the uncertainty in his voice making Josuke quirk up an eyebrow.
“Uh, yeah. Sure,” Josuke answered with a nod, and he watched as Tomoko assisted Joseph in walking out of the building. A few minutes after their departure, he’d leave to return to the hotel room Jotaro reserved for them.
The pair stayed silent while they walked, ignoring the heat that practically attacked them in their thick clothing as they walked down the paved roads of the cemetery. Only after being a good distance away from the mausoleum did anyone decide to speak, and it was Tomoko.
“Why’d you want to leave?” she asked, glancing towards Joseph and realizing she didn’t have to look up as much as she’d used to. While they’d met decades before, each and every detail of their days together remained vivid in her mind, and it was clear the man had grown shorter with his age.
Joseph shrugged. Why did he want them to go out? “Just don’t want to disrespect her, that’s all,” he answered, letting his eyes meet with Tomoko’s. “She’s forgiven me for all of this. She was never mad at you, you know.”
“Well, that’s nice,” she began. “But why did you never tell me you were married?” Tomoko abruptly asked.
For a moment, Joseph paused to think, finding it hard to speak. “Um, I didn’t want you hurt,” he replied, and Tomoko let out a scoff before rolling her eyes.
“And you didn’t expect your wife to be hurt?” Tomoko asked, suddenly sounding harsher, though she knew in herself she didn’t mean for the words to leave that way. “Jotaro told me how long you two argued. I wish you just told me before so that—ugh, nevermind. I’m sorry.”
“So that what?” Joseph asked, though he didn’t gain an response for a few moments, instead stuck staring at Tomoko who looked off into nowhere for a moment or two. If she didn’t want to speak, he wouldn’t push her. He knew she meant no harm.
Tomoko shook her head. “I’m sorry. Is it okay that I ask all of these questions?” She seemed frustrated now, mostly at herself. “God, I know it’s a really bad time for you.”
Joseph gave her a small smile in an attempt to reassure her. “It’s fine. I think I owe you this much.”
Even when Tomoko doubted those words—mostly because of how he sounded shaky and unsure—she decided that he meant those words; though maybe it was only because of her desperation for answers as well. “I want you to be real honest when you answer me, okay?” she asked, and she looked back to Joseph who nodded.
“Did you ever actually love me?”
Joseph sighed. He’d expected the question to come up at some point, though not this early into their conversation. Not knowing how to respond, his mind returned for a second to the nights they’d spent together. He’d remember all the emotions he’d felt with her; excitement and happiness, a few moments of sadness, and even anger caused by a drunken fit of hers. Though had he felt love? He chewed down on his bottom lip.
“I never did, no,” he admitted, and he nodded slowly as he felt her grip on him grow loose. What else was he expecting to happen?
Tomoko was hurt, there was no doubt about that, especially since she’d clung to the idea of him to return and take care of her after all these years. In a matter of a few days, everything she’d hoped for had been destroyed, and it pained her to know it was for the best. “Glad you were honest,” she said, voice still firm despite her emotions faltering. “So it was just a wild fling to you?”
Joseph nodded. “It was.”
A pause. “But now?” she asked.
He shrugged. “I care about Josuke and you, but not to the extent you’d hope for, I think.”
“Alright.” Tomoko turned away, just so Joseph couldn’t see the tears that slipped.
At that point, the silence became deafening, and all Joseph felt was guilt. “I’m sorry,” he apologized, though he knew it wouldn’t help much. He knew the pain he’d caused toward her over the years had amplified with his answers to her questions.
“I know,” Tomoko replied.
Joseph tried to reach for her hand, to take it into his, but she pulled her hand away as soon as his gloved fingers brushed against hers.
“I think I’d like to leave now,” Tomoko said, the announcement sudden, but Joseph understood. He nodded even though she wouldn’t see it.
“Go ahead.”
And with that, she turned around and walked away, and Joseph was all alone again.