“Really? You guys still have ones you can’t stand the sight of?” Piper chuckled. 

“Oh for sure.” Lorna answered. “There’s just some things you see in this job that stick with you. I mean, my first day, I unzipped a body bag to help Nicky get a guy on a table. He’d blown his brain out with a shotgun. He only had one eye left and the other side of his head looked like a flattened basketball. Fucked up my sleep schedule for weeks.” 

“Jesus.” Piper shook her head. 

“My first burn victim was a woman who’d committed suicide via car crash. Burned so bad she was nothing but hips and legs. Her top half was burned so horribly she twisted into herself. They had to identify her by a tattoo on her foot.” Nichols said, sipping her beer. 

“What about you, Alex?” Piper asked. Alex thought for a moment.  

“Okay, I’ve got one. Back in the early 2000’s, this guy told his kids he wanted to build a fort with them. So he got this big cardboard box and had both of them jump inside of it, all excited and everything. And then he took a claw hammer and just beat them to death through the cardboard box. Mom showed up on the scene and at this point I was helping her pick up the bodies in the summer while school was out. There was blood everywhere. The guy who did it was gonna kill himself but he pussied out and called the police on himself instead. Wasn’t the coolest thing ever to see as a fifteen year old.” 

“Wait. She took you to a scene like that when you were just fifteen?” Piper asked. 

“I was born into the funeral business. I used to nap in the caskets when my mom worked late. Trust me, it wasn’t the worst thing that I could’ve seen.” Alex laughed. 

“I think the grossest thing I’ve seen so far is that guy we picked up today, honestly.” Piper shrugged. 

“Yeah, wait on it kid.” Nichols finished off her beer. 

On the walk back to the funeral home, Alex and Piper walked behind Lorna and Nichols. Piper struggled to keep up next to Alex who took big strides. Her pinstripe pants flowing in the breeze. She wore black sunglasses, hiding her lioness like eyes from the world. Piper kept catching herself having to tear her gaze away from her boss to avoid walking into a street sign or passerby. 

“Piper, listen.” Alex said, facing her as they walked. “Don’t let your fiance ruin this opportunity for you.” 

“What do you mean?” Piper asked. 

“Just, don’t let him convince you it’s too weird or too grim for you. I’ve had plenty of girlfriends who lost interest simply because of what I do and because they find it too mortifying or sad. It’s just another job and the traumatizing ones honestly are slightly rare nowadays. If you’re actually passionate about this, stick with it. I’ve seen way too many removal technicians leave here after only a month on the job because they let the job get to them.” Alex said sincerely. 

Piper nodded, smiling. 

“Don’t worry, boss. I plan on sticking around.”