“I see a lot of nearly dead people every day. Gotta find the jokes where you can.”
We stood there in silence for a moment. After what felt like a respectful amount of time, I felt his gaze slide over me. “Ready?”
I nodded and we ducked out of the room to the foyer. We moved along the outskirts of the guests toward the exit, but just as we were about to leave, a woman in a navy blue skirt suit stepped out in front of us. “Hi there,” she said. “I couldn’t help but notice your name tags.”
I glanced down to the Starlight Palms tag on my chest. “Oh. Right.”
“I hope this is okay, but I’d love to send you back to the facility with some literature for your residents.”
Eli eyed her suspiciously.
“I’m new here,” she quickly explained. “I’m looking for ways to capture new clients, but, um, there’s no real way to go about that without feeling like a leech.” She shrugged. “But hey, everyone dies, right? And planning in advance really is the kindest thing you—”
“We’d love to take some pamphlets back with us,” I said.
Eli made a grumbling noise as she stepped into the front office to retrieve a handful. “Maybe she wouldn’t feel like a leech if funeral homesweren’t in the business of draining the life savings from grieving families. What’s the point of an upgraded casket if it’s just going in the ground?”
“Is that more trauma I smell?” I asked.
“Not trauma,” he said. “Annoyance.”
As we walked past the guest book, I noticed Hollis bent over as she signed her name. She wore dark green slacks and a black silk blouse.
“I’ll be right out,” I told Eli, and he nodded.
“I hear we’re going to New Orleans together,” I said to Hollis.
She stood up and turned to me, her expression moving from briefly uneasy to her usual nonchalance. “Vera, so good to see you. How did you know Russ?”
“Oh,” I said, “I didn’t. I’m here as a Starlight Palms ambassador.”
She stepped aside so the next guest could sign the book. “Right.”
“And you?” I asked.
“Old rivals, you could say. We never liked each other, but we always shared a sort of respect. Despite playing a handsy grandpa, he actually looked out for the women in this business behind the camera. Even if his ego was more inflated than half the breast implants in Hollywood.”
My lips parted into a slight smile. That was the kind of thing I wanted to hear about someone at their funeral. It was the sort of honest truth I hoped people would say about me one day.
Hollis cleared her throat. “Vera, you should know that I won’t be going to New Orleans with you and Ruby.”
I shook my head, trying to understand what she meant. “Something more important on your dance card?”
She moved half a step closer to me. “We decided to take a little break.”
“Oh. I... I’m sorry.” Ruby was definitely the kind of person you might need a break from, but she and Hollis had seemed more closely sewn since I’d arrived at Starlight Palms.
She nodded. “Would you do me a favor and check on Ruby?”
“Of course,” I said. Although, I’d only seen Ruby wounded a handful of times. She tended to be a little vicious during moments like these. You approached at your own risk.
In the car, I thumbed through one of the pamphlets from the funeral home.
The outside readEnd of Life Planningand then in a smaller font:The earlier you plan, the more control you have.The inside broke down every possible option in broad strokes. Burial, cremation, a memory grove for natural burials, and even a burial at sea.
On the back, the last heading read:Living Funeral.
Say goodbye on your own terms. A living funeral is sometimes referred to as a pre-funeral or a living wake and is held while a person is still alive. It is a chance for the predeceased and their loved ones to celebrate life and ease anxiety surrounding death.
