Free In Sickness and in Death by Jaye P. Marshall

between the two women.
    “Well, alright, I’ll try him there in a little while.” With a worried frown, Brian’s mom replaced the phone in its cradle. “It’s almost as if he disappeared from the face of the earth,” she murmured.
    Brian smiled sadly. “Well, Mom, I guess you’re right about that.”
    For the next several minutes, he continued to try to present the image of Dr. Harris to his mother, but she appeared to be concentrating more on tracking him down. She picked up the phone and punched in his direct number at the office. She listened for a couple of minutes, and then punched off the connection. “Voice mail,” she said with disgust. “You can’t ever get a real person anymore.”
    Brian glanced at the clock on the microwave. It would be awhile before Cindy came in. He’d better see what Adrienne was up to.

    He found her hurrying down the street near the hospital. He frowned. She was dressed in her best suit and carrying a large bag. Where was her uniform? Wasn’t she on her way to work?
    As she came abreast the hospital, she turned and strode across the street. Pushing through the office door of the crematorium, she approached the man at the desk. “I need to find out when my brother’s ashes will be ready,” she told him. “His name’s Brian Forrester.”
    The man reached into his desk and pulled out a file folder. He ran his finger down the page, paused and looked up at her. “It’ll be a few days yet,” he said.
    “Oh, no, that can’t be,” she wailed, tears rising in her eyes. “You don’t understand. I have to have his ashes by this evening.”
    The man shook his head. “I’m sorry, miss, the oven isn’t scheduled to be fired up until day after tomorrow.”
    “But, but,” she protested, her tears now flowing freely. “Our brother has been called up. He’s leaving for Iraq tomorrow afternoon. We have to have his ashes for the memorial service in the morning. We just have to!” The man shrugged and shook his head. “If you can’t help me, may I please speak to your manager?”
    “Ma’am, I am the manager and I’m telling you we just can’t do it.”
    “Oh, please, help me. We just can’t let our brother be shipped out without saying good-bye to the one person he was closest with.”
    “I really am sorry, miss, but we just can’t fire up like that. I don’t mean to be harsh, but do you have any idea how expensive that would be?” He shook his head. “Takes a lot of fuel.”
    “But I’ll pay. Whatever extra it costs, I’ll pay for it.”
    “Two days early? It’d cost a good thousand dollars.”
    “That’s okay.” She fished through her bag and pulled out a checkbook. “I’ll write you a check right now.” The man shrugged and Adrienne hurriedly wrote the check. She handed it to him with a smile. “Thank you,” she said. “I’ll come by at five this evening to get his ashes.”
    Brian accompanied her back across the street. She entered the hospital lobby and made straight for the restroom. Brian paused. He felt weird about going into a ladies room. Then he shrugged.
    She had entered a stall. Pulling her uniform and a large shopping bag out of the tote she carried, she removed the suit, carefully folded it and placed it in the Dillard’s bag. Then she slipped into her uniform and, taking both the shopping bag and the tote, left the restroom and headed for the elevators.
    Brian sighed. She would have his ashes long before the crematorium manager found out that her check had bounced. If something weren’t done quickly, it would be too late. He thought of his mother and found her on the phone.
    “Yes, Cindy, I’m trying to reach Brian. Every time I try his line all I get is his voice mail.”
    “I’m sorry, Mrs. Forrester. Your son has been working from home for some time now. He only comes into the office whenever he has a meeting with a customer.”
    “Working from home? Why, he’s never mentioned anything about it.”
    “What with the