The Cool Room by Clifford Beck - HTML preview

Chapter 13

On the morning of the service, the young woman was carefully laid in a mahogany casket and wheeled into the main viewing room. A crowd was expected, as she had been known for having many friends as well as extended family. At the appointed time of one thirty, the family arrived and were met by Frank and Jonathan, who escorted them to a row of seats opposite the casket. When they were ready, each got up and approached the young girl’s body. Not many steps were taken before the tears of pain and grief poured forth. The mother of the deceased was, of course, the most stricken. In the field of psychology, it is well known that the mother-child bond is the strongest in nature, and it was this bond that now displayed itself. Frank and Jonathan stood back away from the casket, giving the family ample room to express their loss. Soon, they would stand behind the casket as the throngs of mourners filed in to pay their respects. This was done to deal with the occasional irrational actions of those in pain. People sometimes fail to think about their behavior when overcome by grief, and there is sometimes that one rare individual who will attempt to hold the body. It is imperative that the corpse remain still so as to avoid gases pushing fluids out of the mouth or nose. Orifices were safely plugged, but the mouth was rarely filled, so purging was always something to be weary of.

The allotted duration of the service was two hours. The eulogy was given by the family’s minister. Shortly after, friends and acquaintances of the deceased began to wander out, leaving the family to, once again, spend a few last private minutes with their loved one. They were not especially religious, but deeply believed the young girl was in a ‘better place’ and that she would always be with them. Although her body lay motionless, one or two of the family members later said they saw her eyes flutter. While this was physically impossible, it is believed by many clinicians to be the result of the mind’s tendency to fill in the blanks when one's perceptions are threatened by the absence of what is normally seen. Such is the nature of reality, as it seems to exist only in the mind of the individual.

Seeing no reason to remain, the family eventually made their way out, with some assisting the mother of the deceased in staying on her feet. Two days later, the body was placed in a casket-shaped cardboard box and cremated. This was done at the family’s request in order to cut the cost of laying the young girl to rest. Having been a high school student, there was no life insurance, so the family was forced to access its savings. While Frank understood these arrangements, they did little for his income. Caskets are not that expensive, but after a modest price increase, the cost of everything involved in the funeral would have been quite good for business. Later that night, Frank and his wife, Dorothy, ventured out to a restaurant outside of town. Dorothy normally refrained from drinking, as did Frank, but after conducting the funeral for the young girl, Frank found himself in need of something to soothe his nerves. It was when his job became emotionally demanding that his drink of choice was Kentucky whiskey. He found its calming effect worth the burn but tried not to overdo it. The last thing he needed was a crutch. Once she noticed him becoming mentally numb, Dorothy brought an end to the evening. He didn’t require help getting into the car or getting into the house, but being supportive of her funeral director husband, she made sure to walk behind him, just in case. Usually, he conducted funerals for the elderly and those having passed of some terminal illness. Death is inevitable for all, but certain for some, knowing that they are dying. Organizing these services was not ordinarily troubling for him, but burying the young forced him into an especially dark place – one he found difficult to cope with. Sometimes a stiff drink was the only treatment for an ailing soul.