by K. Osorio-Teamer

I case you missed it, here’s Part One and Part Two!

Olivia and Arturo were quickly escorted out.

“Please send my apologies to the family, sir.” Olivia pleaded with the straight faced security guard who now stood in front of the closed doors of St. Mary’s.

“Please leave the premises.”

“Come on, Olivia. It’s all good. We should just go now.” If Arturo was trying to hide his amusement, he was doing a terrible job at it. 

“That’s easy for you to say,” she sniped at him as they made their way towards the parking lot. “I’ve actually met her family at the clinic! I hope they know I didn’t mean any disrespect.” Olivia’s mind was sifting through ideas to make up for this scene. Flowers, maybe. No, a donation in Ms. Dario’s name to an organization she supported or a sincere, handwritten letter.

“Oye, Olivia! You in there?” Arturo was holding his hand above his eye as if he was searching for Olivia somewhere far away. 

“What?” She looked around and realized they were standing at her car and she hadn’t even gone for her keys yet.  “Oh.” 

“Look, I’m sorry that I got you kicked out of your friend’s funeral.”

“Uh, I got myself kicked out. I’m the one who suggested we do the traditional Terran Warrior honor dance. I knew the minute I stomped my foot that I’d made a terrible mistake.” Arturo started laughing loudly and soon Olivia’s scowl turned into a smile and straight into cackling. She hadn’t laughed that hard in a while. 

“Thanks, Olivia,” Arturo said as he wiped the tears from his eyes. 

“For what?”

“Damn, for a lot. You pried the bear head off me and saved me from getting escorted out earlier in the day. I really didn’t know that was the women’s bathroom.”

“Oh, were you already wearing the bear head when you walked in?” Olivia did her best to give him the benefit of the doubt, but she had a feeling she didn’t need to.

“No, I put the head on in the bathroom.” Olivia stared at him blankly. “What? I needed a mirror!”

 “That’s not what’s wrong with that story.” she chuckled. 

“Well anyway, you did that, so thanks.” 

“No, no, no. You had other things you wanted to thank me for,” Olivia laughed. “Go on, tell me.”

“Fine. You also let me borrow your badass handmade lion mask and got me kicked out of a funeral. That’s a hell of a story.” 

“Technically, it’s a wake.” They laughed again and soon it was quiet. The only sound was the breeze rustling the leaves on the trees surrounding the parking lot. It was like they were both searching for what to say next. Ask him out! A voice yelled at her. Ask for his number. Do something! 

Olivia’s logical side argued back. This has to be inappropriate. What if he says no? What if we only have chemistry because of the setting. 

Oh yeah, a funeral home is real romantic, the voice mocked. Suddenly, Olivia felt that light feeling again. It was like anything was possible. Do it because you want to! Don’t worry if it won’t work or seems wrong.  

“Did you know Neil’s Bahr is having a Terra Spirit trivia night tomorrow?” The words came out of her mouth so fast, Olivia hoped he understood. She slowed her breath a bit and continued.  “It’s not technically in honor of Ms. Dario, though. Her passing just lined up with the original book’s 50th anniversary.” 

“Oh really? Are you going?’ His feet shuffled under him. 

“I was thinking about it. Costumes are encouraged. That’s why I have all my stuff in the car. I’m hoping I get some potential customers.”

“Oh! You sell them?”

“Yeah, I have an etsy store. Maybe you could come and model your new lion mask.” I did it! I asked him out! Kind of. I also gave him a gift. Wait, did I just bribe this guy? 

“Yeah, I’d love to,” Aruturo’s eyes widened, “but if you’re letting me have this mask, then I’m paying for it! Send me the link to your etsy store.” He handed Olivia his phone, and she did her best to play it cool while putting in her number. Her face was hot and probably red as she handed the phone back. Within seconds, her phone was vibrating in her pocket. “Ok I’m calling you so you have my number.”

“I got it. I’ll send the info for the trivia night, too.”

“Cool. Cool. Cool.” Arturo seemed nervous now, to Olivia’s delight. He chuckled and composed himself. “I’ll talk to you later, O, “ he said as he started walking away. “Can I call you O?” He called from a few steps away with a smile on his face.  

“No!” His question woke Olivia from the blank stare she was stuck in. O? Who does he think he is?

On the way home, Olivia kept replaying her time at the wake on loop. She had cried on the way to the funeral home, wanting to force all the tears out, so she wouldn’t cry in front of everyone. She hadn’t eaten to avoid any bubble guts. She set herself up for a smooth and uneventful day, and somehow ended up getting kicked out. The most shocking part was she wasn’t drowning in regret. It wasn’t the desired outcome, but Olivia did something Ms. Dario would have loved! Ms. Dario was probably in heaven laughing her ass off at the pair walking in to an unimpressed audience. And what about Arturo? What would Ms. Dario say about him? 

That I should date him. And if not date, at least fool around with. A voice answered. Olivia was shocked at her own thoughts. She couldn’t keep up with herself. She needed to call Elisa and talk it out. El was her last call, so in seconds the phone was ringing. Olivia would be home soon, but she was willing to wait in the car until her head felt clearer. 

“Aja, how was it?”

“El, I got kicked out and got a guy’s phone number in the process.”

“I’m sorry, what? Who is this?” Olivia could hear the smile on her friend’s face through the phone. 

“It’s Olivia! Come on, I’m serious.”

“Damn, what happened?” She lowered her voice to ask, “Did you throw up on her?”

“No! That would’ve painted me in a better light, actually.” 

“Who’s the guy?”

“The guy’s not the focus here. And I need to figure out how to apologize for the scene we made. I’m thinking of flowers or maybe an edible arrangement. Although, that seems a little too much like a celebration gift. On the other hand, some people do eat when they’re grieving.”

“Oli,” Elisa interrupted Olivia’s rant. Her voice went from a whisper to what seemed like shrieks. “Did you… did you have sex with this guy in the funeral home?!” 

“Santa Cachucha! No!” Olivia rolled her eyes and gave in to her friend’s pleas for chisme. “Ok so, his name is Arturo and he’s kinda funny. We’re supposed to meet at the Terra Spirit trivia night. There.” Olivia nearly forgot the most important detail. “Oh and I met him in the women’s restroom with a bear head stuck on his head.”

“Ok, there’s a lot we need to unpack here.” Elisa didn’t say anything after that. Olivia was sure she was trying to decide where to start. 

“Oh yeah, girl. I had to pull the bear head off him. And it was really on there so we had to use coconut oil.” 

“What?” Elisa was laughing now and Olivia could tell she was trying to muffle the sound.   

“I’m telling you. Then we went back to my car and I gave him a lion mask, I put on my bird mask, and we walked back in and tried to do a dance from Terra Spirit.”

“I think this is how I die. You telling me this story is how I die.”

“Then some security guards kicked us out and I gave Arturo my number.”

“No, this isn’t my friend.” Elisa was full on cackling now. In between hilarious shrieks, she managed to say, “My friend wouldn’t casually tell me this!”

Olivia parked her car in front of her house. Her mom was home. She wished the house was empty. That way she could walk in without having to either explain what happened at St. Mary’s or lie about it. And then at some point, Mamá would ask how she met Arturo. She’ll definitely think it was inappropriate to meet a guy at a funeral. Olivia’s face was getting hot. 

“Ok ok, I’m done laughing.”

“Good, I’m home now. I’ll talk to you later.”

“You ok?”

“Ugh, I just know my mom is gonna mess with me until I tell her what happened. And she definitely won’t approve of any of it.” A bead of sweat rolled down from her forehead. She needed to get out of the car. “But I’ll talk to you later.”

“Ok, try not to take it too personally. You know how mamás are. Bye!” 

Rain drops landed on Olivia’s head and arm as she stepped out of the car. She didn’t run for the front door like she normally did. No, she took her time and allowed as many droplets as possible to fall on her. Each step felt slower than the one before, and that light feeling from the funeral home returned to Olivia’s body. She walked through the door and as expected, her Mamá was standing in the kitchen with bowls scattered around the counter and a towel over her shoulder

“Hi, mi amor. How’d it go?” Olivia’s mom was furrowing her brow at the bowls, looking for one to use for the cut onions that lay on the cutting board. 

“Surprising.” Why did you say that?! 

“Oh si? What happened?” The dreaded question. Well you walked right into it. You could’ve said fine. 

“Well I saw her and then went to the bathroom and there was a guy with a bear head stuck on his head so I helped him get it off.” You’ve said so much. Oh my god. 

“Que? Ay no dios mio,” Olivia’s mom was now giving herself the blessing as if Arturo’s bear head could have laid a curse on their family. Olivia knew she had said too much and now there was no way to avoid telling her the rest. That Olivia had asked the curse to go out on a date. 

You can go out with WHOEVER you want. You’re 21 now. People have to get over it.

“Yeah, but he was pretty nice. We’re supposed to hang out tomorrow.” 

“Hang out? Que es eso de ‘hang out?’ I don’t understand you kids.”

“It’s a date, Ma.”

“Que? With that bear?”

“He’s not a real bear!”

By Tony Williams

Light filtered through darkened half-closed curtains, considered stylish before the pandemic, illuminating the dust in the silent room. Her attention momentarily caught on a long string of something floating by. Her mind drifting back to her childhood when she saw dust in light as something magical, and not a sign of filth and decay. She adjusted the scarf around her nose and mouth, a protection against stagnant air, and other more unsavory things before moving further in the room. As her eyes adjusted, they landed on a wall of colorful photographs. A young couple showing off their love to themselves and their visitors. A low midcentury modern table in front of a sofa with three evenly spaced stacks of coffee table books, Madonna, Rihanna, and Midcentury Modern Living sat atop the three stacks. A plush chair with a vibrant print in front of a fireplace and large tv. Two square ottomans on the opposite side of the table. And there in front of the window just out of the light a body. No, two bodies both male by their attire, the loving couple from the wall. Their papier-mâché’d bodies intwined, both with gunshots to the head. The quiet clump, clump of her thick rubber soles on the wood floor with the weight on her back as she walked over to the bodies. One of them had probably become one of the infected. She knew the difficulty of putting down someone you use to know. The lover who had more than likely also been bitten did the right thing by killing themselves. Or, perhaps they simply didn’t want to live without the one they loved. With a bow of her head and a short prayer for their spirits she reached out for the gun, time to sweep the house for what the living could use in the world they left behind.