Seth opened his mouth and shut it again. He was clearly at a loss. The Christian thing to do was to offer the space, but she could tell a part of him didn’t like the idea of trying to keep a corpse on ice in the room where he sought heavenly guidance. There wasn’t really another option, though. The kitchen was too warm this time of day due to the south-facing windows, and the gathering hall was too big and not at all private enough. The gentleman deserved a bit of privacy and respect. Well, his remains did, anyway.
Evie stepped in front of Seth. “I’ll show you the way.” She waved her arm like a gracious hostess, but this was the oddest get-together she’d ever seen.
Seth stepped beside her, his hand on her lower back. “You okay?” he whispered in her ear.
Evie nodded, grateful that he cared enough to think of her in this crazy moment when his carefully prepared sermon had been derailed. “You know I was kidding when I told you to knock ’em dead, right?” she said out of the corner of her mouth.
He pinched her side, and she clamped her lips on her squeal. “Tease,” he called her.
She was too busy trying not to laugh to respond.
“You gonna finish your preachin’?” Mr. Green called out. He was a no-nonsense kind of man who wore an Army ball hat right to the doors of the building and took it off the moment he stepped inside. It was sitting on the bench next to him.
Evie shooed Seth toward the front of the room. “Go. You haven’t even gotten to the best part yet.”
He shook his head. “This is crazy.”
She lifted a shoulder. “Life is crazy—why should death be any different?”
He gave her an appraising look. “That’s profound and funny.”
“If you use it in a sermon, you have to give me credit.” She winked and moved into the lobby, walking just in front of the wheelchair.
The sounds of people turning around in their seats and settling faded away as they got into the foyer.
“You two are a cute couple,” said the nurse. “I’m Terri, by the way.”
“Evie. It’s nice to meet you.” She unlocked the office door and moved to the side, holding the door so it wouldn’t swing shut on the wheelchair.
“So can anybody come to your church, or do you have to pay a fee or something?” Terri pushed the wheelchair around and maneuvered the occupant up to the desk as if he were going to write a letter.
Evie shook off the image of him coming to life and typing out an email. At least his eyes were closed. “Everyone is welcome.”
“Well, I might just bring my Scott by. He could use some straightening up. Your preacher’s story was real pretty.” She crossed the room. “I’m going to crank up the AC. Don’t want him to stink up the place.”
Evie chewed her lip. Exactly how long did it take for a body to start decomposing? Wasn’t there a three-day rule of thumb on that? “H-how long do you plan on leaving him?”
“Just until the coroner gets here.” Terri fished out her phone. “I’m calling now.”
“Okay, but we have a strict ‘no dead bodies overnight’ policy,” Evie joked.
Terri glanced up from her screen. “Shoot. I’d better get going, then.” The way she said that made Evie grateful she’d created the policy just then. She hesitantly wondered what other kind of odd rules they should make—and did they need to post them in the lobby?
She stood there for a moment, not sure what the proper etiquette was in this situation. Every time she looked at the dead man, she felt like she was invading his privacy, so she let her eyes roam over the bookshelves. “Do you need anything?”
“I’m fine.” Terri started talking to the person on the phone.
Evie slipped out the door and breathed a sigh of relief. After dithering for a moment, she finally decided to skip back home and down a diet soda to give her the strength to get through the rest of the afternoon. “Storing corpses wasn’t in the job description,” she mumbled to the Lord as she slipped out the door.
The warm spring sunshine did wonders for her case of the heebie-jeebies. The poor dead man—she didn’t even know his name—hadn’t meant to freak her out. He was just passing from this world to the next, minding his own business, when he’d inadvertently tripped into her life.
Lord, everything happens for a reason, so I’m awfully curious what you’ve got up your sleeve here.
She’d just opened the fridge door when someone pinched her side. She shrieked and flipped around, shoving her backside into the open fridge. “Seth Powell!” she scolded.
He laughed, tipping his head back and looking far too good for any man of God. “Sorry. I saw you sneak over here.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be preaching?” she scolded, removing herself from the fridge. Lucky for him, the Jell-O salad was still intact.
