So Sweet a Changeling: A Novel of the Terribly Acronymed Detective Club (Book 6)

Chapter Eleven: Harpreet, Sunday

Logan: Ugh, I got the talk from Rachel today.

Harpreet smirked at the text, the first he'd sent today. She realized she'd been anxiously waiting all day for him to text, and it irritated her. When she should have been paying attention to the reading of the Guru Granth Sahib and the singing of the hymns at Gurdwara, she was thinking about his hair and his shoulders. When she was nibbling on her roti during langar, she was thinking about nibbling his earlobe. Wasn't she supposed to be a liberated woman? When had her entire life begun centering around the whims of a boy?

She wrote: Poor baby. Now you know how I felt last night.

I knew it was coming, but, awkward. Embarrassed face emoji.

What did she say? Harpreet knew Rachel to be a chill and fun woman, more laid back than her own mother was, and although she might not have been as close to her as Naomi was, she still called her Auntie out of respect, because Mom and Dad liked her a lot, and she gave a lot of weight to her parents' esteem, even if their antics made her eyes roll occasionally.

Logan replied: Pretty much everything we talked about last night. She thought I should concentrate on girls my own age and not hurt either of you.

That's sweet of her. So, our dealings must remain chaste, then.

Yup. Are you going to the funeral?

I don't know. Are you?

I'll go if you go. We probably won't see each other until then.

Okay. Wednesday, right?

Yeah. 

Of course, Naomi will be there too. Awkward.

I don't think Naomi will make a scene at her own grandfather's funeral.

No, you're probably right.

Logan took a minute to respond, those three dots blinking so suspensefully.

The reception will be at Joe and Lauren's house.

Oh, yeah?

Maybe they'll let us use the downstairs sitting room to watch TV, otherwise it'll be boring and sad.

I don't even know if I've even been to a funeral before.

Emma and I attended the ones for my mom and dad. That is, my biological mom and dad. Jenna and Bill Davenport.

I'm so sorry. They must have been awful.

Well, it was really just going to the crematorium once the Coroner finished determining the cause of death, and the police concluded their investigations. Al and Rachel came with us. Emma was crying a lot, I won't lie, but we found a nice place to dispose of the cremains, a park Mom liked to visit.  

Then he wrote: Do you know cremains aren't actually ashes? They're more pebbly, and there are bits of bone in them.

Harpreet's stomach turned. She typed: Ew.

I know. We had to be quick and make sure no one saw us, because it's actually illegal to dispose of cremains in parks.

That was nice of Al and Rachel to help you say goodbye.

Yeah. I know. They're good people. They're embarrassing sometimes, but they're wonderful to Emma, and they just want what's best for us.

Suddenly she thought of something. She typed: Is it true you helped Joe renovate that basement?