Her eyes look right into mine once more, but this time, with hope. “Thank you. I just need him to stay with me a little while longer.”
I can’t stomach her pain. “We can make them wait, Angie. Promise.” It’s a relief to witness her agony subside slightly.
“Mrs C, can you help me get her sat down again?” I ask in a lower tone.
“Of course, love.”
“I need to talk to some people and let them know what we’re doing,” I explain to Angie, leading her back to her chair.
“Thank you, Tommy. Thank you both.” She sobs, and when I take her fully in my arms to steady her forward, I notice how weak she’s become. I doubt she’s eaten a damn thing in recent days.
The officiant gives me a strange look as silence falls across the room. Once I have Angie settled, I head over to speak to her.
“Who do I talk to about delaying the cremation for a while?” I ask.
“I don’t think that will be possible, sir.”
“Let me try, at least. Please, can you help?”
Her head tilts to the side. “Well, you could talk to the funeral director. He’s just outside those doors.”
“Thank you.” I head over and tell Ash quietly what I’m doing and ask Bernie if he can sort out some music during the pause.
I rush out and see four men standing by the hearse in black suits. One of them has to be the right guy.
“Excuse me. Is one of you the funeral director for the Knox funeral?”
“I am, sir. How can I help?” A tall, older dude steps forward. His black suit is sharp, and his grey hair is neat and perfectly slicked back. He looks efficient, like a guy you can rely on. I hope to God I can.
“We need to delay the cremation and keep the room for a while.”
His face is ashen. “What do you mean?”
“Angie—Mrs Knox—hasn’t said all her goodbyes, so the cremation has to wait until she’s ready.”
“I’m so sorry, but we can’t use the chapel for longer than the allocated time.”
I scratch my forehead. “Why not?”
“There’s another cremation in forty-five minutes. We must clear the room.”
Not good enough. “Look, I don’t care what you have to do, but Mrs Knox is in bits. She’s lost the love of her life and is fucking devastated. She needs time.”
“I’m sorry, sir?—”
“Tell me what you need. I’ll pay for the other family to have their funeral elsewhere, whatever it takes. Just please let us have that room.”
“Look, sir, I’m truly sorry, but I’m not in a position to offer an extension on the chapel here at the crematorium. However, I can offer to move Mr Knox back to the funeral home and into our chapel of rest there. That way, Mrs Knox can have the time she needs and we could arrange a private cremation at a later date. Would that help?”
I exhale my relief. “That would be amazing… sorry, I didn’t get your name.”
“Joseph, sir.”
“Joseph, you’re a gentleman. Thank you.”
“We’ll arrange it now, sir, but we will have to arrange another appointment for Mr Knox to be cremated as soon as possible. Perhaps I could call the family later in the day?”
“Yeah, I’ll let Ash—Mr Chambers—know.”
