“Look, Yuri,” I say as I turn to him, “I get that you have boss’s orders, but I don’t need you to follow me. I don’t want you to follow me. I don’t want you to keep an eye on me. There are better uses of your time.”
“Not according to the boss,” Yuri says dryly. I roll my eyes.
“I am running errands today, and I don’t need you tagging along. I’ll probably be gone until lunch, so you can go do something else.”
“No can do, Ms. Murphy.”
“Seriously, Yuri! I’m going, and you’re not following!” I huff at him and then turn and walk towards the bus stop at the corner. The bus I need is pulling up to the stop when I get there, so I step directly onto the bus and take an empty seat next to a window. I wave at Yuri and flash him a snarky smile as the bus pulls away from the curb.
It’s a quiet ride on the bus, and then a short walk to the funeral home where Gran’s been for the past five days. I feel a little more stressed than I thought I would be. This morning’s appointment with the funeral director is to finalize everything according to Gran’s last wishes, and work out a payment plan.
“Good morning, Ms. Murphy,” the funeral director greets me when I walk in the door. I think it’s interesting that the funeral director is a woman. In my experience, funeral directors have always been men. “Please accept our condolences for your loss.”
“Good morning, ma’am,” I reply as I shake her hand. “Thank you.”
“Let’s step into the office and go over a few things,” she says as she directs me down a short hallway and to her office. She offers me a cup of coffee before sitting down.
“Mrs. Murphy requested a cremation,” the director begins as she opens Gran’s file on her desk. “She also selected her urn and a few other things that were needed.”
“What about her services?” I ask.
“It looks like your gran did not request a funeral or memorial service to be conducted,” she says, looking at a second sheet of paper in Gran’s file.
“That makes sense. Gran didn’t have any other family but me, and Grandad was cremated when he passed away years ago.”
“Is there anything else you wish to add to her arrangements?”
“I don’t think so. If Gran made these choices, then I want to respect that.”
“Very good, Ms. Murphy.” The funeral director closes the file and folds her hands together on top.
“What are the next steps?” I ask her.
“Your gran is being prepared for cremation. The cremation is expected to be completed today, and her ashes will be ready for you to pick up either tomorrow or the day after. We will give you a call when they are ready,” she explains.
“Okay. What about payment? You haven’t told me how much this is all going to cost.”
“All costs have been covered for your grandmother’s arrangements.”
“They have? That’s doesn’t make any sense. You told me that nothing had been paid for yet.” I’m confused at this bit of information. I thought I would be paying for everything out of her estate.
“You’re correct. When we previously spoke, there were funds owed towards your Gran’s arrangements.” The director returns to Gran’s file to look for the invoice. “A Mr. Ivan Kiselyov provided full and complete payment yesterday, so nothing more is owed to us at this time.”
I sit back in my chair, stunned.Why would Ivan pay for Gran’s arrangements?I’ll be having words with him about it the next time I see him.
“I see. Well, thank you very much,” I stand and shake the director’s hand. “I’m very appreciative.”
“It’s my honor to be of service to you during this time,” she says. “I’ll walk you out.”
I check the bus schedule when I leave the funeral home, and map out a route that will get me to the Boston Public Library branch on Boylston Street. I just want to go somewhere that is quiet for a little while and isn’t my apartment.
The wait for the bus isn’t long. I think Yuri may have listened to me when I told him earlier that I didn’t need anyone to keep an eye on me, because I don’t see him anywhere nearby. Maybe he hasn’t figured out where I went…or maybe he’s hiding so I can’t see him. I settle into my seat on the bus and put my headphones in while I stare out the window.
I get off the bus ten minutes later and walk the half a block to the library. When I was little, I used to visit the local library two or three times a month with my mom. There was always something interesting going on, and I loved being surrounded by all the books. I read a lot when I was little, and that hasn’t changed now that I’ve grown up. If I’m not streaming a favorite show on my laptop, then I’ve got my nose stuck in a book.
This month, there’s a special event happening at this particular library branch, which is why I’m here today. After, I’ll probably check out a few books and take them home to enjoy.
I spend the next two hours walking through the library’s special exhibit, looking at the artifacts and reading every single information card available. I spend another half an hour looking for books to check out, and I end up with five books across several recommended reading lists. I try to read a little bit of everything, but I definitely have my favorite genres that I enjoy.
