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"Don’t you worry; we’ll do fine," he said "We used to employ a half dozen people in your position alone, but the fact is, even though people keep dying, our business has fallen off so cheaper corporate-run funeral homes; you kno it is But that doesn’t mean we don’t have work Some days it’ll be hectic, but I’m sure you can handle it I outsource body pickups That’s half of the work right there"

He walked her to the door, opened it gallantly, and the maitre d’ showed them to a table It was all very fancy, to Bryn’s eyes: real tablecloths, crystal, fine silverware, and china plates The waitress wore nicer shoes than she had on

Once served, Bryn stared doubtfully down at a plate full of what looked like weeds drenched in sauce, and picked around with her fork She decided the green stuff looked safe enough, and tried it Like lettuce, but with spice Not too bad Moht, and alrand now?

"How’s your appetizer, Bryn?" Mr Fairview asked He stirred a cup of coffee,in the world, with carefully ordered swirls of his spoon in the s any uncouth noise about it

She sed and ood, sir Thank you" She’d let him order for her, and if the salad was this weird, she had no idea what she was in for with the main course--but she’d eaten worse overseas; that much was certain It was part of why her tastes remained so damn simple

"I have to admit, you’re the first woman I’ve ever hired who served in the , perfectly dressed waiter aited to refill their water glasses The whole restaurant had that hushed, whispering elegance to it that ner clothes and Payless shoes There were ladies in here wearing jewelry that cost more than her annual salary "I’m very interested to hear about your experience You served in Iraq, I understand?"

Baghdad seemed like it wasn’t in the sa sense of unreality in even tackling the topic "I’ he’d take the hint She quickly took another bite of the salad Not so bad She could get used to it You could get used to anything, in ti that so a time of war," Mr Fairview said "That tells me quite a bit about your character, you know"

Not so ined, but she didn’t see any need to tell hi up poor in a fae and six brothers and sisters, and doing it in a see was looked on as suspiciously elitist Joining the irl, these days--and if it paid off those expensive college bills, well, that was all right Her brother Tate had followed in her footsteps, right into the uniform He was a smart kid, the only smart one in the fa to answer, she realized, and covered it with a smile that felt shy "You flatter me, Mr Fairview," she said "The army seemed like the best option to help me pay off ave ht out of the recruiting brochures, and it said nothing at all about the sheer hell she’d gone through--the , the blatant discrimination, the harsh conditions and constant fear of her surroundings and even of her coht

Mostly, she’d learned she never wanted to go to war again, and to avoid those who did want to

And to keep her mouth shut about all of it

"You’re a very private person, aren’t you, Bryn?" her boss asked, and she got the laser exaain "Not that I s professional at the office, of course But onewith the dead and the bereaved doesn’t bother you? Because I find that a number of recent entrants to the funeral home profession aren’t emotionally suited to the require the question; after all, he’d already hired her But she reoing through funeral directors quickly She had the feeling that every conversation, every seely innocentShe tried to breathe and eat her salad without letting him see her discomfort

"I don’t mind the dead," she said, after she’d sed her bite of who knehat kind of weeds "Bodies are just shells built of muscle and bone They s frightening about a corpse once you get over the idea that they’re …" She couldn’t think how to put it, and then it clarified in her et over the fact that you’re just like them And will be them, in the end"

"Ah," he said She’d surprised him, apparently, or at least that was how she interpreted the quick up-and-down roomed eyebrows

She looked down at her salad and continued, et that, out of respect"

"No," he agreed, in the same tone "No, we shouldn’t"

The waiter arrived and whisked away her uneaten salad, and delivered the main course To her relief, it was some kind of chicken in sauce Delicious She didn’t lass of wine, she let herself drink it and enjoy the rest of theback to work, in fact

I could get used to this, she thought

Especially if she didn’t have to pay the crazy expensive bill