2: 2
2
I was about to explode when Bryan stepped forward.
"Mrs. Gilbert, I know you don't want to accept it, so don't take it too hard. Honestly, Mr. Gilbert passing away… it's a good thing for you too."
Bryan leaned hard on every word.
When I didn't react, he kept going. "A long illness wears out even the most devoted spouse. As his wife, you've done more than your share. He's free now, and that means you're free too."
"That's right, Bridget, it's about time you got some peace."
Evelyn joined in, and that was the opening I'd been waiting for.
I raised my hand and slapped her hard across the face.
I'd been wanting to slap her for a long time. Waiting this long had let her off too easy, so I put everything I had into it.
Her face went red and swollen where I'd hit her.
"Who do you think you are, that you get to talk?"
Evelyn glared at me, mouth opening, then closing when she couldn't find anything to say.
The whole room went dead silent, everyone staring at the two of us, stunned.
"I'm Giles's wife. Since when is it your place to call in the funeral home?"
Evelyn wiped her tears and pulled a will out of her bag.
"You recognize Giles's handwriting, don't you?"
"He wanted me to handle everything after his death."
I raised my hand and slapped her again.
"Who the hell are you? You forge Giles's handwriting on a will and come strutting up to me thinking you can take my place?"
Two slaps had Evelyn seeing stars.
Bryan darted in front of me, using his body to block me, because otherwise I couldn't have stopped myself from hitting her again.
Evelyn took a long moment to recover before she spoke. "Drop the act!"
"Giles and I have been together a long time. Are you telling me you're only finding out now? You've cursed me out, you've hit me. You've let it all out, so stop getting in the way!"
I smiled and asked, "What exactly is he to you?"
"Fling? Kept woman? Affair?"
Called out, Evelyn's face went red and she said nothing.
Bryan jumped in to smooth things over. "Bridget, someone who dies after a long illness starts to smell fast, and it's the hottest part of summer right now…"
"That's right, he's already turning. Don't believe me, come have a whiff."
They all started talking over each other.
I glanced at Giles, stripped of the medical equipment and barely breathing, and was just about to give in.
"Bryan, our paperwork's all in order, so what if she's the dead man's wife? We'll send him to whatever crematorium we want. Why waste time on her?"
"Get out of the way! Keep getting underfoot and we'll haul you off to the crematorium along with him!"
I looked up and glared at the two of them cursing at me, then stepped aside to clear the way.
"Isn't this just Giles wanting to fake his own death so he can run off with his mistress?"
"Take him and get out, now!"
Evelyn froze, and big tears started rolling down her face.
"Giles is dead, and you still won't let him rest!"
I couldn't be bothered arguing with her. "Enough with the act. Get out fast, or I'll change my mind."
Seeing I wasn't joking, Bryan grabbed Evelyn, tears still swimming in her eyes, and dragged her out of the room.
"Evelyn, let's go!"
"It's hot out, any more delay and we'll have a real mess on our hands."
As Giles was carried past me, I saw that his lips had gone white.
