The Cool Room by Clifford Beck - HTML preview

Chapter 10

Her interview lasted as long as any would with questions pertaining to embalming and reconstructive techniques. More importantly Frank wanted to assess Emily’s people skills. After all, funerals are not for the dead but the living and having the ability to express compassion was the one quality every funeral director sought in their prospective staff. One cannot work in the funeral industry if one is a complete dick. But those individuals are usually screened out during the educational process deemed unfit to work in such a sensitive field.

Having been satisfied with the interview thus far Frank asked the one question that Emily most wanted to hear.

“So,” he began. “Can I interest you in a tour of the place?”

Emily tried not to express too much excitement so as not to appear ghoulish but if she was to work there she would have to get a look around – making her own assessment.

“Of course,” she replied.

Rising from their seats, Frank motioned for Emily to exit into the hallway. Joining her, he took the lead and began what would be a brief tour of the inner workings of a funeral home. There would, however, be one place that Emily would not be allowed to see. The bodies of those involved in the gruesome airborne tragedy were being under the care of Jonathan, and Frank thought it best that he not be disturbed. He was uncertain how Emily would handle such carnage, being right out of school. It wasn’t that he lacked confidence in her abilities. He simply didn’t want to bombard her with such a horrific scene and possibly scare her away from the industry. There would be plenty of time for her to acclimate to the real world, in spite of her experience at the Albany morgue. As opposed to a funeral home, there are few tears shed in a city morgue, even though there is plenty of opportunity to witness first-hand what death can dole out.

Due to the time-consuming process of piecing together those who had recently died traumatically, Frank was forced to end the tour prematurely. Walking Emily back to the front of the funeral home, he asked what she thought. It was a vague question designed to prompt Emily into an honest response. Emily, however, took it as a sign that an offer was soon forthcoming and answered from a multifaceted approach.

“Well,” she began. “I love the area. Albany’s a bit overwhelming, so I guess I’ve become attracted to small town life. And I love the Victorian look of this place. It seems formal but peaceful.” Finding herself rambling she brought her commentary to a sudden stop and in her embarrassment apologized.

“Don’t even worry about it,” Frank said. “But I do have one more question before you leave.”

Emily felt a surge of excitement as she anticipated an offer for the ideal job set on the ideal location. “So, when can you start?” Frank asked. Her excitement boiled over as her face flushed yet for the sake of maintaining a professional demeanor Emily refrained from hugging Frank fearing it might present a poor first impression. “Oh my God, really?” she asked. “Um, well, quite honestly I wasn’t expecting to get the job.” Frank looked at her with a quizzical expression. She was perfect for the job – graduating near the top of her class with a natural curiosity for the field she was entering. An added plus was her sense of compassion – something that might, in time, demand more of her than she was able to give. Collecting her thoughts, Emily quickly formulated a response to Frank’s offer. She needed to find a place to live – someplace close-by. Then there was buying furniture, paying for the actual move and all the details that go into relocating. Money wasn’t the issue, it was time and organization. But she had a few friends who might help, and she would first contact them. Should that not work out, she would have to pay for movers and rent a truck. Either way, she knew the move would get done. There was no choice in the matter. She arrived at an answer in only a few moments.

“Can you give me two to three weeks?” she asked. “I know that seems like a long time but…” Frank understood how long these things took as he was once a college student also and remembered scrambling for work and relocating as quickly as possible once he had secured it.

“Emily,” he interrupted. “Take as long as you need to. If you need any help give me a call and I can probably get my wife to help. Sound like a plan?” Emily agreed finding herself lucky to have landed work so soon after graduating and finding such an understanding boss at the same time. Of course, this didn’t mean that he was going to go easy on her. Quite the contrary – he planned on pressuring her to see exactly what she could do and how quickly she could learn. Just because she was out of college didn’t mean the learning process was over and there was a lot more to the industry than books and classes.