He returned a moment later and passed the shoes to Thomas, who thanked him and gave him back his keys.
“Was the view as beautiful as I said?”
“Even more so.”
Thomas thanked them again profusely and backed out of the room, still ducking his head.
“He’s certainly unique,” Lauren said when he was gone.
“Seems like a nice guy,” Arthur added. “You’re right, though. There is something strange about him.”
“You mean, like the fact that he took an eleven-hour flight to go to a funeral and forgot a suit?”
“Is he alone in the apartment?”
“He was when he got here. Why?”
“I heard him talking a few times.”
“He must have been talking to himself. I do it all the time in the ER. I’ve been known to yell at packages of gauze that won’t open. I even shout at uncooperative gurneys.”
“Yes, but you’re a little nuts. Not everyone is crazy in your special way, you know.” Arthur kissed his wife. “It was just a feeling I got.”
“What kind of feeling?”
“As if there was some sort of aura around him.”
Lauren turned and headed toward their bedroom but then stopped halfway.
“What do you mean by ‘some sort of aura’?”
“I don’t really know how to describe it. Why are you looking at me like that?”
“No reason,” Lauren said.
And then she walked out and shut the door behind her.
“Crisis averted,” Raymond said with a genuine sigh of relief.
“I’ll put on the suit, and then we can head to the funeral home. What’s the address?” asked Thomas.
“I don’t know exactly,” Raymond replied. “But I know I can guide you there.”
“How?”
“Just a gut feeling,” he answered nonchalantly.
Raymond categorically refused to say any more after that. He said that he was afraid he’d be called back to the afterlife for sharing information the living weren’t supposed to have. He promised to offer Thomas more details as they got closer to their destination.
“You chewed me out for forgetting a tie in Paris, but you don’t even know where the funeral is taking place!” Thomas grumbled.
“The place is green.” Raymond lifted his head calmly.
“Why are you sniffing the air?”
“I’m trying to concentrate. You’re distracting me.”
“Green,” Thomas repeated. “Any other clues, Lassie?”
