“What about her parents?” I asked, ignoring thoughts of Zander. “Do they know?”
Petra held out the box with the last slice of pizza, pulling it onto her plate when I declined. “I don’t think so. I imagine they’d have mentioned it at admission. I think Demetria’s the only one who knows.”
“Demetria and maybe the boy,” I corrected.
“Right,” Petra agreed. “And maybe the boy.”
Saturday at the funeral home was a bummer: a wake where almost no one came, the worst kind. The guy wasn’t old, maybe fifty. He’d died of lung cancer.
I’d been disappointed, too, that Ryan wasn’t around. I’d thought about our conversation a lot, sure he thought I was some kind of weirdo.
But when I went to my locker at the end of the shift, a stack of books was waiting: Death, Dying, and Religion; Coming to Grips with Death; and The Ultimate Journey.
There was also a note:
Thought these would feed your non-perverse fascination.
Enjoy.
Ryan
It made me smile.
“How’s My Guy sound?” Liv asked as I slid into her car, idling outside my apartment building just after seven.
I grimaced. “Horrible.”
She laughed. “Yeah, I told Hannah no chick flicks. Zombie Queen II?”
“Much better.”
We were meeting Erin, Hannah, and her friend Pete at the mall. I wasn’t a huge fan of the mall. Shopping was fine, but there were always a lot of people there and lots of people meant more risk of seeing the mark.
“So my friend knew that guy you asked about,” Liv said, pulling sharply in front of a car on our left so she’d make the light. Liv was a frightening driver. If I ever saw the mark on her, I’d demand she hand over her keys.
“Oh yeah?” I said casually. I had to hide a grin, thinking of his note on the books. I didn’t want Liv to read anything into it.
“Yeah.”
I waited. Nothing. “Well?”
“Oh!” Liv feigned surprise, looking over at me wide eyed. “You want to hear about him?”
“Ha-ha.”
“My bad,” she said, smiling and weaving through traffic way too fast. “I thought you weren’t into him or anything.”
“I’m not,” I answered, gripping the seat. “But since your friend went to the trouble and all, you might as well tell me.”
“Riiight. Well, for starters, his family owns a funeral parlor.” Liv paused dramatically. “And he works there.”
“Uh-huh.”
“You knew that.” She sounded disappointed.
“Yeah, I did.”
“But I thought you said you worked with him.”
I had, hadn’t I? “Uh …” I could see that playing out the lie about my job was about to get trickier than just telling her they weren’t hiring. I liked Liv and decided to come clean instead, hoping she’d understand. “I do work with him.”
She glanced over, frowning. “So … he works at a restaurant too?”
“No.” I paused for a second, wondering if this was really a good idea. “Actually, I don’t work at a restaurant.”
“You don’t?”
I shook my head. “I work at a funeral parlor. The one Ryan’s dad owns.”
“Huh?” Liv looked over, her nose crinkling as she squinted at me. Totally confused. I wished she’d put her eyes back on the road.
“I didn’t tell you guys because I thought you’d think it was gross.”
“It is gross.”
“Yeah, it is kinda,” I admitted. “But it’s good money and it’s actually sort of interesting.”
“Um … once you get past the dead bodies and stuff ?”
“Right.”
Liv was quiet and I wondered if she was mad, freaked out, or both. Or maybe trying to decide whether to take me home or just drop me by the side of the road. At least it was suburbia. I could definitely get back to the apartment from here.
“Liv?”
“Yeah?” She was still frowning, but her voice wasn’t angry.
“I’m sorry I lied. I wasn’t sure how you guys—Hannah and Erin especially—would take it. A restaurant sounded like a more normal job.”
“It is.” Liv flicked her turn signal. Left, toward the mall. I guess she wasn’t going to dump me off just yet. “I don’t think I’d tell them about your real job.”
“No, probably not.”
“They’d think it’s creepy, for sure.”
“But you don’t?” I asked hopefully.
“No, it’s creepy all right.” Liv stopped at the light just before the mall and grinned at me. “But where else would I get to hear about dead bodies and hot guys all in the same place?”
I smiled back, more relieved than I would have guessed. I wasn’t here to make friends, but as I’d learned in Kansas, being in a new place is hard enough. Being there totally on your own is a lot harder. I would have missed Liv.
“I guess this means you can’t hook me up with a job, huh?”
“Well, I don’t know,” I said, trying not to smile. “I could talk to my boss …”
“Kidding!” Liv shrieked. “I do not want to work there!”
I laughed. “What? Dead bodies, hot guys, what’s not to like?” She was laughing too and I decided to ask. “So why the sudden job search anyway?”
Liv’s smile vanished immediately. She sighed, hesitating long enough that I thought she might not answer. Then she said, “My dad lost his job.”
“Oh no.” I kicked myself for bringing it up, but that hadn’t occurred to me at all. I’d thought maybe she wanted something her parents wouldn’t buy. Although, having seen her room, it was hard to imagine what that might be. “I’m really sorry, Liv.”
“Yeah, thanks,” she said. “It’s not like we’re going to be destitute or anything. I just … I don’t know. I thought maybe I should try to help out.”
“I bet that’d mean a lot to your parents,” I said, surprised by her thoughtfulness. I probably shouldn’t have been. Liv was quirky and fun, but she wasn’t shallow. “If you want help applying and stuff, I could make the rounds with you,” I said. “I actually already started a list of some places you could try …”
“Since your restaurant wouldn’t have hired me?” she said pointedly.