Seven Drinks And A Goodbye

Synopsis

Stranded and penniless on a street in Veridia, I was lost in thought, contemplating selling the ring on my finger for a ticket home. Then I came across the video posted by Claire Summers, Ethan Rivers' ex-girlfriend. On the screen, she stared into the camera, eyes rimmed with red, a glass held aloft in her hand. "Seven toasts to my ex," she began. "The first, to the boy who sold the gaming account he had built over eight years, just to pay for our first Valentine's Day when we were eighteen. "The second, to the silver bracelet he gave me when we parted ways. I only discovered its true value when I fell ill and needed money desperately: it was solid gold, wrapped in silver." In the end, she said, "And the last, to the man who dropped everything and crossed thousands of miles just to see me." Then, at the end of the video, someone I knew all too well appeared beside her. Ethan's voice choked with emotion as he held out a bouquet of jasmine to her. "Claire," he murmured, "how have you been?"