Page 32 of The Millionaire Mortician
Somewhere between his second drink and the last bite of my pasta, he leaned back and looked me dead in the eye. “I like your energy, Daija. Real talk, I’d love to get to know you outside of the shop.”
My throat went dry instantly. I shook my head and forced a small smile. “I’m flattered, Fabian, but I’m taken.”
His grin softened. “I figured that much. Still, you can’t fault a man for shooting his shot.” He shrugged casually. “Friends, then?”
I should’ve said no and immediately shut him down, but against my better judgment, I found myself nodding again. “Yeah, friends.”
When we stood up to leave, he handed me his phone without even asking. I typed my number in with my heart racing the whole time. We then stepped outside, said our goodbyes, and went our separate ways.
Walking back to the shop, I couldn’t shake the guilt sitting heavy in my chest. I loved Milan without a doubt. However, the butterflies and the rush Fabian gave me were the exact thing I’d been missing, and I hated myself for craving it.
Iwas just finishing up with a body when I felt somebody standing in the doorway. There was no need for me even to look up. I knew it was Maverick. I instructed the other embalmer to wash the body down and slide it back into the drawer for me. Peeling off my gloves, I then pulled the mask and gown off my shoulders and stepped into the hall, with Mav trailing me with his eyes.
Before he could even open his mouth, Parys came rushing up. “Five bodies just came in... from overseas,” he informed me, almost out of breath.
I glanced at Mav as he looked back at me. No words were needed. We both knew it was no ordinary remains. This was our shipment. That’s when I realized his reason for popping up on me.
“Put them in morgue number two,” I instructed.
Parys nodded quickly, then disappeared down the corridor. Mav and I started to make our way upstairs to my office. The ride up in the elevator was silent. We never spoke outside my office when people were around. There were always eyes and ears lurking, or at least that’s how we felt.
As soon as we reached the office, my personal phone rang. First, I thought it was Daija, but when I pulled it from my pocket, I saw it was my aunt, Patrice.
Before answering, I showed Mav the phone. “Hey Auntie,” I answered, putting it on speaker so he could hear.
Aunty Patrice was my aunt on my father’s side. She was back home in Trinidad, calling through WhatsApp.
“How allyuh boys doing? It’s been a rell long time ino.” Her voice carried that mix of warmth and distance.
I cracked a little smile at her heavy accent. “We’re good, Auntie. How are things with you?”
“I dey, can’t complain. Getting old, yuh know how the ting go. Ah calling because ah want to know if allyuh coming down for...” her voice trailed off. “Umm, we trying tuh do somethin’ on behalf of yuh parents. Give back tuh de community, yuh know?”
My parents’ death anniversary was approaching in a few days, so I knew exactly what she was talking about before she could get it out.
I rubbed the back of my neck, something I did when I became uneasy about something. Those were the kind of conversations I dreaded having. Then I heard another voice jump on the line.
“Yo, big bro, wah goin’ on? Ah need to holla at allyuh ‘bouta business scene here,” he stated, speaking in codes, just enough to slide past Auntie’s ear. “It hadda be face-to-face, though.”
I flicked my eyes to Mav, who was listening attentively. He looked at me and nodded once.
“Aight,” I gave in. “We’ll fly in.”
Auntie Patrice screamed out in the back with excitement, then jumped back on the phone. “Ah cyah wait tuh see allyuh.”
“We can’t wait to see y’all, too. Listen, Auntie, we’ll send some money up front so you can organize whatever for the give back, aight?” I offered, looking at Mav, who nodded in agreement.
“Awwwhhh, thank you, thank you!”
“That’s no problem at all. I’ll have my assistant give you a call in a minute to sort it out.”
We spoke for another minute, and then we finally hung up.
Silence sat heavy in the office after that phone call. I leaned back in the chair, watching Mav lean against the wall with his arms crossed.
“You sure about this trip back home?” I asked him in a low voice.
Mav’s eyes cut sharply before they softened just a little. “It’s about time.”
