Chapter 3

The funeral home chapel was stark and empty, only my mother-in-law's body lay there.

A staff member handed me a price list. Daniel's call came in just then.

"Just pick the cheapest cremation," his voice held its usual impatience. "It's just ashes, what difference does it make? Don't waste money."

I didn't argue. I checked the last box.

The urn was also the simplest wooden box.

As I walked towards our apartment complex, familiar laughter drifted over.

At the corner, in front of an expensive pet store, Daniel and Felicity stood side-by-side.

Felicity was holding a brightly colored ski suit up to Snowball.

Daniel's arm was casually wrapped around Felicity's waist.

Snowball seemed to sense something, suddenly wriggling free from Felicity's arms and dashing towards me, barking furiously.

I was startled. The wooden box slipped from my grasp, smashing onto the ground.

The lid flew open, and a scattering of gray-white ashes spilled out.

"Snowball! Come back!" Felicity shrieked.

Daniel finally saw me. The smile on his face instantly froze. The arm around Felicity's waist snatched back as if burned.

His gaze swept over the mess on the ground, his brows furrowed.

Snowball ran to the ashes, sniffed curiously, then let out several loud sneezes, shaking his head repeatedly.

"Oh no! My Snowball!" Felicity, in high heels, rushed over, cradling the dog protectively.

Her eyes immediately filled with disgust and anger as she looked at me. "Clara, what are you doing?! You scared Snowball! He just got over a cold! And what... what is this on the ground? It's so dirty! How unlucky!"

Daniel walked over, first looking at Felicity and the dog in her arms, then shifting his gaze to me and the scattered ashes.

His face was grim, part embarrassment at being caught, part pure exasperation.

"Are you not watching where you're going?" He preemptively accused me, then stiffly added, as if to explain the previous scene, "Felicity's back isn't feeling well, I was just... rubbing it for her."

He suddenly raised his foot and kicked hard at the pile of ashes several times!

The ashes swirled up, scattering into the cold, dry air, becoming even more formless.

"Clean it up now!" He shouted at a street sweeper nearby, his tone brooking no argument. "This is utterly disgusting! Throw it in the trash!"

"Why are you standing there?" Daniel snapped. He yanked a bill from his wallet and shoved it at the worker. "Just take it away! It's disgusting!"

He turned to me, his tone chillingly casual. "Stop gawking. So the urn broke? Go scoop some dirt from the backyard, put it in a box, and be done with it. No one's going to autopsy the ashes."

Just then, my phone vibrated in my pocket.

It was the funeral director, calling to finalize the simple interment for tomorrow.

Before I could answer, Daniel snatched it from my hand.

"Keep it simple. Don't waste money on a plot. Just find some public land outside the city. Bury the box. Don't order any flowers or anything."

He paused, glanced back at me with a look of pure, performative malice, then added.

"Actually, add one more thing. Hire a mariachi band. A small one. Three people. Have them play at the graveside. Something upbeat. What's with the long faces? She had a long life. Let's give her a proper send-off. Make it festive."

I stood there, holding the empty wooden box, listening to him plan his mother's "festive" funeral as casually as ordering a pizza, her ashes to be mixed with backyard soil.

Felicity was cooing at Snowball, rolling her eyes. "Daniel, hurry up, this place smells weird, Snowball isn't comfortable."

Daniel hung up, shoved the phone back into my hand, and brushed imaginary dust from his hands, as if he'd completed a bothersome chore.

"That's how it's going to be," he concluded, no longer looking at me.

He turned and walked towards Felicity, his voice regaining its lightheartedness. "Come on, after we finish getting Snowball his gear, let's grab some food."

I gently closed the lid.

Fine.

Have it your way, Daniel.

After all, it wasn't my mother in there.