Goodbye, Mr. Regret

When he was a kid, he'd been a little troublemaker-snipping off the pigtails that little girl had worked so hard to grow. Mrs. Zimmerman had been furious, ready to give him a good scolding, but it was the girl herself who pleaded on his behalf. She'd insisted it didn't matter; she was pretty enough that even losing her pigtails wouldn't make a difference. She wasn't upset at all.

She was such a sweet, clever little thing. He'd always spoiled her like a kid sister -until, sadly, she disappeared one day.

Vince's enthusiasm for Jessica probably stemmed from the fact that her gentle nature reminded him of his own little sister.

Yates took a drag from his cigarette just as Timothy arrived. "Why aren't you inside?"

Yates raised his hand, cigarette pinched between his fingers. "Didn't you see I'm out here smoking? Want one?"

He pulled out his pack, shook one loose, and offered it to Timothy.

Timothy took it.

The night was seductive, the outdoor lights casting a dim glow. Two striking, distinguished men stood cloaked in pale blue smoke a sight for sore eyes. "You know, Timothy, I've noticed you seem to have a soft spot for gentle girls." Timothy blew out a stream of smoke, his sharp brows arching, voice cool. "Do I?" "When we were kids, you were pretty fond of Vince's little sister. Remember when we played house? You even dragged her over to divorce me. Forgotten that?"

"That was ages ago. Does it even count?"

as kids. But what about Sheila later

had been raised as a proper lady in the Howard family, her personality mild

was all learned. Vince's little sister-she'd been a natural from the start, soft

no point dwelling on

cool, betraying little

the recent past

his lips together and

just bumped into your sister, by the way. Judging by

of a talker. If someone bullies her, she doesn't fight back. Looks pretty pitiful, honestly. I bet she's

"Don't talk nonsense."

cigarette, and came back to clap Timothy on the shoulder. "The way a man treats his wife sets the tone for how everyone else does, Timothy. I'm not blind, you know. As your friend, let me give you a

took a deep drag from his cigarette. "You

may not be married, but I haven't exactly been

been in the film industry for a while, and if there was one thing that place didn't lack, it was women. Girlfriends came and

"Timothy, Yates."