“It was a beautiful service, wasn’t it?”

Leilani looked at me with that same old stare. She hadn’t changed much since high school. Her hair still shined like little golden arches sprouting out of her head. Her lips and her fingers were just as delicate and strong as they used to be. Her eyes, while focused and alert, still displayed that slight bit of vulnerability and intrigue that could peak the curiosity of any man. Her skin still glowed with that tiny dazzle that could charm any man that ever set eyes on her. If she had aged at all, it certainly wasn’t noticeable from my end.

As we exchanged glances at the kitchen table, I couldn’t help but wonder how much I had changed. High school was a blast. I was captain of the football team, you know, “Go Wildcats!” I don’t watch much football now, though. Kids today don’t play for the love of the game, just for the money that comes along with it. They just don’t have the same focus or drive that players had back when I took the snaps. Still, back then, I was the king of the school. King of the town, too. Everybody knew who I was, and who I’d be in the future. If only I hadn’t failed my classes and, out of frustration, dropped out of school before the end of my senior year. Who needs academics, anyway? I mean, I’m a football player, not some sort of rocket scientist. My body was made for scrambling and making perfect passes on slant patterns and hook routes, not for filling up tubes with chemicals and writing essays on dead guys.

Still, money wasn’t easy to come by in my town, and my parents needed extra help with the bills, so I started working full-time at the local Fill ‘Er Up gas station. I still do work there, actually, but now it is for my own living expenses. My parents died a few years ago. They gave me the house, although I’m not sure why anyone else would get it. I mean, I’m their only son, so why wouldn’t I get the house?

The estate taxes, as my family’s attorney called them, on my inheritance were really expensive. I mean, why do I have to pay for my parents’ deaths? Am I not already paying for the grief from their loss? Still, I needed more money, so I got another job working as an assistant to the manager of a local funeral home. I call it the “Kill ‘Er Up.” I once told my boss, Mr. Hamlin, that he should change the name of the place to that, but he doesn’t seem to share my kind of creativity. He sometimes calls me “Dead Ed,” although I’m not sure why. I think he just gets confused every now and then, so I have to let him know that he isn’t the only living person in the building by yelling “I’m not dead, sir!” He is kind of old, I guess, so it’s possible that it could just be an “age” thing.

Anyway, a lot has changed with me. I’m doing alright, I guess. Leilani hadn’t changed a bit, though. She never forgot her roots and she never forgot me. She was still as beautiful as she was back then, when we used to go out. It’s too bad that we broke up when she left town to go to college, but I don’t hold any grudges. I knew she’d come back to me someday. I just knew it.

While we sat at the table, her skin just absorbed my attention. “I’m sorry for asking, but do you remember that moisturizing lotion I got you that one Valentine’s Day? Are you still using it? Because your skin just looks exactly like it used to.”

Her smiling nod was unmistakable. She still used it! What great news!

The breakfast I had prepared was surprisingly good, considering the circumstances of yesterday’s fateful day. Leilani showed up in town unexpectedly yesterday, and I didn’t have any really good food to offer her this morning. So, while she waited at my house, I picked up some take out from a local fast food restaurant. Thank goodness they were open. Leilani didn’t seem to mind, though. She looked happy to just be eating with me, no matter what we were eating. In fact, she really didn’t touch her food, so I snuck some food from her plate onto mine. I don’t think she had any problem with it; otherwise, she would’ve told me. Still, she and I just sat and ate breakfast, happy to be back together again. She was an angel. My angel. But even angels have to work.

“Well, this was an excellent breakfast, but I’ve got to get to work. I’ll be back here a little later if you want to meet up, okay?”

I glanced over to her and smiled. She was too beautiful to just leave hanging by a thread. I grabbed her arm and took her over to the family room, smoothly putting on a Barry White’s Greatest Hits album in the process. We danced in the open room, laughing and enjoying each other’s company all the while. A good ten minutes passed before I noticed that I would be late for work if I stayed any longer. I quickly got my things together and went to work, leaving Leilani to do whatever she pleased. But I knew she’d stick around. I mean, why wouldn’t she? She hasn’t tried to run away once since we got back together on that fateful day.

#

The funeral home was busier than normal today. Apparently, a much-loved woman in the community died recently, and almost everyone in the town wanted to pay their last respects.

When I arrived at the funeral home from my shift at the gas station, Mr. Hamlin was standing in the lobby, watching people come and go. I apologized for my lateness, which he understood. I unfortunately missed the opportunity to help him arrange the benches, tables, and flowers in the room where all the guests were going in and out of. He invited me to wait with him, which I agreed to do.

After a short while of waiting quietly, I broke the silence and said something. “The “Kill ‘Er Up” is really busy today with this funeral, eh?”

Mr. Hamlin was dismayed. “Come now, Ed. You know that name is not very appropriate for this business. Look: I like you, Ed. You are a good person who helps me out a great deal, but do not push your luck. Calling this place a name like that just sullies our intentions of helping loved ones to pay their respects in a comfortable manner. Besides, this is not the funeral, Ed. This is the wake. We will be taking care of the body as the family continues to mourn their loss until the funeral in a week or so. I will need you to make sure that the body is taken care of as gently as possible after the event. I have a lot of meetings popping up today, and I really need you to do the best job you can at caring for the body. I will be relying on you to do your best work, Ed!

“The community was very keen on having a wake for this lovely young lady. She was a shining star among the many children who grew up here. I just wish we would have had more time to prepare for her arrival. She died so suddenly. It was a heart attack, I believe. Still, it is quite the pity. She would have been 24 years old next month. I would have liked to have put up some photos of the young woman and planned a more ‘her’ floral arrangement for her family. But, we did the best we could, Ed.”

I nodded in regret of my unacceptable comment and in agreement towards the job that was done. The funeral home looked great. It looked really classy, even more than usual. I decided it would be a good idea to apologize to Mr. Hamlin. “I didn’t mean to hurt anyone by calling the funeral home that. I just thought it would be clever, you know?”

Mr. Hamlin gave me a firm pat on the back and a warm smile as he looked over at me. “We both know you are a clever young man, Ed. But still, that does not make a name like that suitable for this business. Hmm... Actually, Ed, how old are you again? I don’t remember, but aren’t you 24 years old yourself?”

“I am.”

“Well, maybe you knew this young woman. Why not go ahead and pay your respects as well? I will be fine out here.”

I gulped a little bit. Did I know this person? I nodded and left Mr. Hamlin in the lobby.

The people in the room were doing the Super Bowl Shuffle as they tried to enter and exit the large room where the casket serenely sat. Even though it was less crowded than earlier in the day, there were still a pretty sizable number of people paying their respects. I couldn’t help but notice that many of the visitors were huddled around the guest book, signing their names and adding personal messages of support to the family of the deceased.

As I walked towards the casket, the other visitors became more recognizable. I saw Jared Starks sitting in the third row. He was still as scrawny and dorky as he looked in school. He seemed to have his emotions together, though. Over in the fifth row was Daniel Wade. He looked much stronger than I remembered. His gold watch and pricey haircut made me wonder about how successful he had become with his basketball career. He was crying about how he never told the deceased woman how he felt about her. I almost broke out in laughter when I heard that. What a loser. Can’t he get over the past? He’s a multimillionaire, for goodness sakes! If I had his money, I’d just go out and buy another love.

When I saw Daniel, I also wondered about Leilani. Was she there? I didn’t see her enter or leave when I was in the lobby. I decided to look around the large room for her.

The room itself was very neat and organized. There were small, white tables leaned up against the light blue and white colored walls. The tables featured mixtures of flowers on them, as did the flowers that surrounded the casket. Mr. Hamlin said the arrangement provided a “heavenly atmosphere” for the visitors. He was right. The room looked amazing. He did a great job. The polished wooden benches in the middle of the room were placed in the usual five row setup. People were seated in bunches on the benches, praying and mourning for the deceased woman. The main attraction, though, was the coffin. It featured a great deal of flowers spread around its tough, wooden exterior. The golden bars that surrounded its opening matched the patterns that were carved into the coffin. The family clearly spent a lot of money on this young woman’s final resting place.

As I walked towards the coffin, I heard a number of things about this deceased woman. She went to a prestigious four-year university. She was also a talented pianist. Apparently, she was quite the charmer. And, most importantly of all, she never forgot where she came from or the people who helped her to succeed. Unfortunately, even with all of those nice comments, I still didn’t see Leilani. Too bad. I thought she’d be here at the very least.

After resigning myself to the fact that I must’ve missed Leilani, I finally approached the gathering of guests that stood around the coffin. “Too bad I missed her.”
A mysterious voice flooded my ears. “Missed who, son?”
I turned around. An elderly woman was standing behind me, meekly smiling. “Leilani Palmer, ma’am. That’s who I missed.”

The woman grabbed my hand. “We all miss her, son. We all do.”

I was shocked. This was Leilani’s wake? I quickly turned around and peeked into the coffin.

“God, I can’t believe how beautiful she still is after all these years.”

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