Maybe This Time(44)

“I’m sure the hearse is out front right now,” Andrew said. “The hearse wouldn’t leave without the casket.”

“You know who drives the hearse?” Micah said.

I put a hand to my forehead. “Oh crap, you’re right. Harry.”

“What’s wrong with Harry?” Andrew asked.

“He’s a total space case,” I explained. “He’d forget his own name if someone asked him.”

We were all walking to the double doors that led out of the chapel. By the time we got outside, we saw the last car pulling away. Only the flower van remained.

“It’s possible …” Andrew said, staring at the van.

“No,” I said.

Andrew crossed his arms. “Why not? By the time they get to the cemetery, realize the mistake, and come back, it will be forever. It’s hot out here. Hot and muggy. Do you really want to make everyone wait outside for Mr. Farnsworth?”

“We couldn’t even lift that casket with just the three of us,” I said.

“It’s on wheels,” Micah said. Why did she always take his side? Even when it was dumb. “And the cemetery is twenty-five minutes away.”

“I know how far the cemetery is,” I said. “They’ll realize before they get there.” I looked at both of them. Andrew had an of course you’re chicken look on his face, while Micah had a they will never realize one on hers.

I let out a breath.

“Fine,” I said. “Let’s see how hard it is to move.”

Andrew smirked like he’d just played me. He hadn’t. Micah’s logical argument—the distance to the cemetery—was what swayed me.

The casket was surprisingly easy to wheel down the aisle and out the doors. It was when we got to the back of the flower van that we realized we might be in trouble. The van was higher than the casket. I began clearing away buckets and bins so we’d have room.

“I think there’s a way to raise or lower the wheels,” Andrew said, bending down.

“Like an office chair?” I asked.

“Yes, something like that, smart aleck.” Despite his confidence in casket knowledge, though, Andrew couldn’t find this device he was sure existed.

“Well, we tried,” I said.

“Is this really happening?” Micah wondered out loud.

Andrew pointed. “How about if I stand at the end, and you two lift it up front from the sides so it clears the lip, and then I shove from the back?”

“You’ll be in the back?” I asked. “Okay, yeah, let’s see how that plays out.”

Andrew crossed his arms. “She wants me to get smashed. By a coffin.”

“It was your idea,” I said. “I’m just agreeing with it.”

“While she’s picturing you being smashed,” Micah said.

“Are we going to try this or not?” I moved into position.

Andrew got into place, putting his back against the end of the casket. “Ready?” He paused for a minute. “You’re actually going to try, right?”

I laughed, Micah laughing along with me.

“It’s a fair question,” Andrew said.

“We’ll try!” she said.

For a moment I had a surge of guilt at how we were acting. There was an actual dead body in this casket. But then a realization came over me.

“John would’ve found this hilarious,” I said. An image of him eating that tiny cup of dessert, of him telling Andrew to move along, popped into my mind. His smiling, satisfied face. His bright, shining eyes. And suddenly I was crying.

“Soph,” Micah said, coming around the casket and putting her arms around me, which immediately had this way of making me feel better. “What’s wrong?”

“One of her only dates in the last year is dead,” Andrew said.

“Seriously,” Micah said to him, “you think now is the time?”

“I was trying to lighten the mood.”

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. The finality of John’s life had just hit me. Had he done everything he wanted to do? Did he feel like nobody understood him? Like nobody supported him? Was he ready to move on? “It’s fine. I’m fine,” I said, wiping beneath my eyes.

“Are you sure?” Micah asked. It’s not that she’d never seen me cry, but it was still a pretty rare occasion.

I nodded. A car pulling up beside us had me straightening up. I wiped my eyes again and looked over. The long black hearse idled there.

Harry rolled down the window. He was twentysomething and clueless. “Yeah, we forgot that.”

“You think?” Micah said.

Harry hopped out and, like it was nothing, transferred the casket into the back of the hearse. The wheels being the exact right height really did make a difference.

“Bye, Micah. Later, Sophie,” he said. He climbed back into the hearse and was off.

“Am I invisible?” Andrew asked, and sat down on the back of the van.

“He just didn’t know your name,” I said. “So it’s more polite to ignore you.”

Micah rolled her eyes. “That’s not true.” She looked at Andrew. “You’re like a celebrity around here so people are embarrassed to treat you with familiarity.”