Ednah stayed quiet for a long time before she finally pressed a palm against Talia’s cheek. “I have a better idea.”
“I thought you wanted no part of this.”
“I don’t, but I have a friend who works at the morgue at the hospital…”
Talia straightened and blinked several times before speaking. “What friend?”
“Oh, just someone who comes and goes.”
“Like a special friend?”
“Something like that.” Ednah grinned. “Anyway, we’ll go back to my place, you’ll get cleaned up, and then we’ll go shopping when night falls.”
Talia felt as if all the pieces were coming together. She wrapped her hands around the cooler, pressing her head against the plastic. This is going to work, she silently told Shea.
Once back at Ednah’s home, Talia wiped the blood from the outside of the cooler and took a shower. The water felt cold against her skin—she closed her eyes and thought about Shea.
“Why do you not want to marry me, love?” Shea placed his forehead against Talia’s naked shoulder and kissed the side of her neck.
“I just can’t...” Talia rolled away from him.
“Is it someone else?” He quickly sat up and ran an agitated hand through his hair. “You can tell me, you know.”
“No, there’s only you, so stop asking that!” she ground out. “Isn’t here and now good enough?”
“But I love you.”
“And I’m sure I love you more, that’s why I can’t.” Talia pressed her hand against his warm cheek. He was in need of a shave, but she liked the way the prickly hairs felt against her palm.
He stayed silent.
Softly, she slid her hand away from his cheek and found Shea’s hand, interlacing their fingers.
“When you get older, you’ll understand.”
“When we get older.”
“No, Shea, when you get older.”
After night bled its inky color over the day sky, Ednah grabbed her keys. “Ready?” she asked, the anxiousness showing in her twitchy hands.
“Yes.” Talia’s heart had been beating quicker than usual the rest of the day while she’d waited to leave. She grabbed the handle of the cooler because she didn’t want something to happen to Shea. Just in case.
Once they got in the car, Ednah sped the entire drive until she arrived at the nearby hospital. It was small compared to the one farther in town with lamps framing the front of the building and two flags flying from their posts.
Ednah looped around the building and took the way that brought them to an open area where the entrance to the basement would be. Outside, a lanky man, a few years younger than Ednah, stood. Talia’s breathing increased as Ednah slowed to a stop. The man walked over and shined a flashlight on their faces.
Ednah cranked down the window, its glassy squeak making too much noise. “We’re here from the funeral home to pick up a body.”
“A body, huh?” The man scratched the side of his balding head. “You know this is illegal.”
“Trust me.” Ednah reached out and patted the man’s forearm. “I’ll explain it all to you later.”
“This is the guy?” Talia asked.
“So, you’ve heard about me?” Talia didn’t know how to answer his question because she didn’t really know anything about this man, but she nodded.
“Julio, I know you’re not going to believe me if I explain this to you, but trust me, I’ll tell you everything later, like I said. And it will be the real-life miracles you hear about.”
The man, Julio, shifted side to side with nervousness. “It’s for the funeral home, you say?”
Ednah ticked her head side to side. “The family will thank you for this, I promise.”
Talia didn’t know what kind of plan Ednah was concocting on her own, but Julio waved them on.
“I suppose I’ll go shop now, as you suggested.” Talia opened the car door and leaned back in. “Are you coming?”
“Nope. Can’t be an accomplice.” Ednah kept her gaze focused ahead, pretending she couldn’t see a thing.
Rolling her eyes, Talia shook her head. “Will you watch over Shea?”
“With my life,” Ednah promised.
Talia gently closed the car door and followed behind Julio. He held the door open for her and led her down a long hallway. Her heart pounded as the room grew colder. The fluorescent lights were bright and perfectly lit above. She didn’t know what she’d expected. Possibly flickering lights or a dimmer area like in the movies, but the place wasn’t any of those things. Only bare white walls and white tile, guiding Talia to her destination.
Julio stopped in front of a door and unlocked it, letting her inside. Before he closed the door, he looked side to side, and said, “Just hurry.”
Talia gave a quick nod and slipped farther inside, the quiet enveloping her. Taking in a deep breath and inhaling disinfectant, Talia peered around the room at rows and rows of silver metal drawers. She padded across the linoleum to the first one she saw and drew it open.
In her imagination, Talia assumed all the bodies would look perfect and restful, as if in a sleeping state. However, she knew better, and they weren’t. One was a young girl around seven who looked too bloated and too blue. She closed that drawer with a soft click and held her eyes shut for a moment to keep tears from escaping. Another was possibly a man, but Talia couldn’t tell because the face was mangled with skin missing in places.
She had thought she could take anyone, but with each person she pictured being Shea, it just … wasn’t. She couldn’t imagine any of these hollow bodies opening their eyes or their blue and cracked lips laughing his perfect laugh.
At the end of the row, hands shaking, Talia drew open the next one. Inside rested a man close to her age or at least how old she appeared. Dark hair, brown skin, a wound in the center of his chest from a bullet. She was growing tired and worried and didn’t want to keep opening drawers. His body would serve its purpose.
Walking to the door, she cracked it open and said in a professional manner, “I found the one for the funeral home.”
Julio didn’t look impressed, but he nodded and handed her a clipboard with papers attached. “Just sign this.” She grabbed the form and filled it out with lies, all lies.
As she pressed the pen to the form, she nodded to the open drawer. Julio grabbed a rolling table from the corner. Talia set down the clipboard and helped him load the body onto the metal. Anticipation sang in her veins as she followed Julio out the door to her car.
Ednah stayed inside, but the trunk was already popped open. Together, she and Julio loaded the body inside the trunk.
“Why would you risk this?” she asked, closing the trunk.
“I’m old, and there’s just something about that woman in the front seat of that car that I can’t say no to. I want to live life while I still can.”
“Ednah really is something special.” Talia smiled. “Thank you.”
Julio gave a nod to Ednah and walked away.
As soon as Talia got adjusted back in the car with the cooler in her lap, Ednah asked, “Did it feel as if it was Shea?”