The sun was setting, showing a glare over the deep waters of the Salinas River. The leaves on the trees were rusting in the wind falling apart. There was a splash in the river where a crocodile slaps it of the top of the water. On the bank of the river, loose dirt was being packed into the ground from Lennie’s gravesite. George lifted the shovel from the ground and stared down at the gravestone, his hat pushed down low over his eyes. Curley’s wife’s funeral had been about a week ago, her grave behind the shack that only Curley now lived in. All of the men had attended her funeral, but only George, Slim, Candy, and Crooks were standing by the bank of the river in the quite sound of the river them imaging the angel of Lennie looking at them. They stood in silence for a little bit till the wind died down a bit. George looked up at the sunset while the sun was disappearing. “We could have had her,” Candy said softly. George turned and glaced at Candy. “If it weren’t for that tramp, we could have had her, doesn’t make no difference now but I really wished it did” George said, looking at Lennie’s grave. He stared at the ground by his feet. “It’s what you have to do,” Slim said, taking off his hat. “I told you there’s nothing else that could have been done.” “Yeah,” George said with no tone in his voice acting very sad “And here I thought you’d actually do it,” Crooks said. “I’m heading back,” George said, turning and stumbling back in the direction of the footprints on how they got back there in the first place. “We could still get that place, we’d still have enough money. It wouldn’t be the same, that’s for sure, but we could still get her.” Candy looked at the back of George’s head which was stilling looking at the ground “George?” Candy asked when his question was answered with silence. “No,” George said softly. “No.” His voice was far off and distance through the pat