The Funeral Style

Chapter Forty-Three

Chapter Forty-Three

I have always considered myself easy to please. I never wanted anything extravagant in my life. Jewels, a big house, expensive food, name-brand clothing. None of it mattered to me.

But damn it, after spending the last few days with the Scotts, I have become such a spoiled brat.

Elias and I spent the duration of our honeymoon courting around with the Scott family, digging out intel, until I was practically bleeding out gold bars of boredom.  

Finally, we returned to our home at Parity Cemetery, and I have never felt so happy to see a multitude of diamond encrusted coffins, and dirt churned with gold dust.

How weird it was to think that I owned the luxuries here, just as much as Elias did.

It had been almost a week of us being home before Elias returned to his work; funerals.

"Avril, darling." Elias said, with his usual cemetery attire on. I used to curse his stupid outfit, now it was the only thing I ever wanted to see him in. "The guests will be here shortly, have you prepared the rubies for the burial?"

"I placed the velvet box near the bundle of rosemallows." I gestured towards the orange-tinted flowers, as two cemetery maids ran to pick up the box of rubies and flowers.

"Place them in the back room until the casket is dropped." He ordered the two girls, as they nodded and ran off.

Elias glanced around, as if mentally checking that everything is in order. Then he turned to me and frowned, "Why are you not wearing the dress I gave you?"

"It's hideous."

He took a step back as if offended, "I beg your pardon, it's absolutely divine. Go put it on."

"Can't I just wear this?" I beckoned to the black dress I was already wearing. "I at least don't feel like hiding in shame when people see me wearing it."

"Your shame is unbecoming. Pride is nothing but an austere misapprehension in the grand scheme of things."

I blinked at him, "I don't know what that means."

He put both his hands on my shoulders and began to guide me to the dressing room, "It means your embarrassment has to relevancy here." Pushing me into the dressing room, and throwing the dress in my arms, he began to walk out, "You have five minutes to meet me out in the entry room -and fix your hair, you look like you just stepped out of the streets of Detroit." Slamming the door behind him, I was left alone to stare at the hideous material, and gag.

A few seconds later, a maid stepped into the dressing room. Elias must have ordered her to help put the dress on me, which was also humiliating, but I was grateful considering there was no way I was going to be able to tie the back on my own.

I slipped off the black dress I was wearing, completely aware of my body and the woman obviously able to see it. Tugging the hideous brown gown over my head, I struggled to get my arms in the sleeves as I realized just how small it was.

Though tight, I finally managed to put all my limbs where they needed to be and slowly, string by string, the woman began to tie the back.

Each knot she'd make, made the dress tighter, and tighter until I felt myself struggling to breathe.

I hadn't even had the dress on for a full two minutes before I began to sweat and needed to sit down. I took a deep breath, as I couldn't even sit back in the chair without the fabric cutting off any air from getting into my lungs. I stared at myself from the human-sized mirror from across the dressing room, and mentally told Elias to go to hell.