Page 124 of The Last One to Let You Down

“Cypress?”

“Back here!”

Tom followed his voice over to the work table in the back hallway. There were flowers scattered all over it, and Cypress was hard at work arranging them in a little basket full of green foam. There was soft music playing from a small radio, something jazzy that made Tom think of the music Bosco had played earlier on the removal.

“Thought you’d be in bed,” Tom said, coming up behind Cypress and hugging his shoulders.

“Last minute order. Another charming husband who forgot their spouse’s birthday,” Cypress said, reaching up to touch Tom’s hand. “Same old shit.”

“Ah.”

“How did your removal go?”

“I will never understand why families don’t wait to call us until they’re actually ready,” Tom said with an annoyed sigh. “That’s what the holdup was. They didn’t want us to take the deceased until all the family was there, and one guy was over an hour away.”

“Maybe they don’t think about it. I mean… someone did just die.”

“Sorry. I sound like an asshole, huh?” Tom leaned over Cypress, resting his chin on his shoulder. “It gets frustrating, especially if we have another call and have to make the other family wait. Then they get mad we took so long, and just… ugh.”

“Well, did you have another call?” Cypress asked, cutting the stem of a pink flower and sticking it into the foam.

“No.”

“Good.” Cypress turned to kiss Tom’s cheek. “So, it could have been worse.”

“Ha! Trust me. It can always be worse with this job. So much worse.” Tom hugged Cypress again. “I’m glad it’s over.”

“No sign of Junior?” Cypress began to trim more flowers, his dexterous fingers making quick work of the stems and leaves in his way.

“No,” Tom replied firmly. “Maybe I should have asked Bosco if he knew anything. I don’t know.”

“Probably was better to keep what’s going on to yourself. If you asked him anything, he’d want to know why you were asking.” Cypress turned, so he was straddling the bench, patting the space in front of him. “Come here.”

Tom sat down, swinging his legs under the table. He picked up one of the flowers. “What’s this one?”

“A peony.”

“These?”

“Lilac stems.”

“And the little pink ones?”

“Sweet pea,” Cypress replied, taking one of the big peonies and sticking it down into the basket. He picked up another bloom, but he paused. “You wanna try?”

“Me?”

“Why not?” Cypress offered the flower to him. “You said it was like getting someone ready for a viewing, right?”

“Kinda.” Tom looked over the arrangement, looking for an empty spot to put the flower in. “Like that?”

“Pretty good,” Cypress said, handing him some of the lilac stems. “Use some of these tall ones for some height. Makes the arrangement more interesting.”

Tom stuck the stems in random places, hoping he wasn’t totally ruining it. He glanced down at some green fuzz left behind on his fingers from the foam. “Why is it wet?”

“You soak the floral foam in water to help keep the flowers fresh longer,” Cypress explained. “I put a little bit of plant food in the water before I soak it, too.”

“These next?” Tom picked up another lilac stem.