Maybe Doc went back to the beach where he’d had the accident. Maybe he mourned the life he would have had without the crash, watched the exact spot, watched the waves crashing to the shore.
Maybe Smokey went with him and already saw the restlessness in Hud‘s eyes.
Maybe Smokey had seen the news—the news he'd never shown Hud. Though Hud found out one day anyway. The replacement. The next rookie.
And maybe Smokey felt in that exact moment that there was a good chance Hud would want to leave as soon as he found out. He knew that man. Smokey just wasn't ready for it. So he just stood there and watched Hud at the beach. Maybe the last time he’d seen him at this very place.
