your mother loved it so ... joe felt a sudden tightening in his throat , a sadness almost too sweet to bear . she sank to the edge of the bed . the sprinkles of gray spoke of experience and wisdom . either way , that button was hard to look at . they ran off when i showed up though . `` go on without me , '' he said . maybe in my third period philosophy class . j stopped , turned his head to the right . better now ... quicker ... than later and more painful . '' 