Two sides of the same coin//Gallavich

31: Respect for the dead

GENERAL
To many, Mickey seemed completely unfazed by his father's death, considering he's the one who shot him. But, deep down, Mickey was devastated. Mickey refused to show his sorrow. He refused to let anyone see the pain that his actions had caused.

IAN
I slowly wheeled myself into the kitchen, watching as Mickey downed his 5th bottle of beer.

"Mick, you alright?" I asked, confused.

"Why the fuck wouldn't I be?" Mickey asked, clearly not noticing that he was talking to me.

"You don't drink this much beer unless you're upset." I pointed out the beers, watching as Mickey scoffed.

"I've got nothing to be upset about." Mickey rolled his eyes.

"Bullshit Mickey. Dad's dead and you're a mess. Funnily enough, you're the reason why dad's dead." Mandy laughed as she took Mickey's half open beer bottle and downed the rest.

"Shut the fuck up, Mandy." Mickey flipped her off.

"What? I'm right, and you know it. In fact, everyone in this house knows it." Mandy smiled.

Mandy walked over to me and helped me get my breakfast made.

"You know what? How about you both go fuck yourselves 'cause I ain't upset!" Mickey threw his beer bottles in the bin.

Mandy and I watched as Mickey headed upstairs.

"We should throw your dad a funeral. He was a dick, and he doesn't deserve one, but we can do it for closure?" I asked, looking at Mandy, who smiled.

"No funeral. He wanted to be cremated." Mandy smirked as I ate my breakfast.

"Let's go to the funeral home to get shit arranged." Mandy smiled as she helped me upstairs to get dressed. After an hour, we were out the door and on our way.

Getting to the funeral home, we started talking to the funeral director.

"What's your most affordable package?" Mandy asked as she wheeled me through the building.

"Terry wanted to be cremated. No funeral, no fancy jar." Mandy smiled.

"Sure, well, our most basic package without a funeral provided by licensed funeral directors and a trained specialist is this..." The man showed us the iPad screen. Our eyes widened at the sight of the price.

"That's the price to light a fuckin' match?" I laughed, watching as the man smiled.

"It's a little more complicated than that. They gotta transport the body, all that. That's all-inclusive, no hidden fees, a plastic urn is included." The man explained, showing us a slideshow of the procedure that would take place.

"Great, man. Whatever. Excellent." Mandy nodded, smiling.

"And do you know where they took your father? What hospital?" The man asked, his attention now on Mandy and I.

"Yeah, Cook County." Mandy responded, clearly shocked that she was having this conversation about her dad.

"Mm-hmm. And when did he pass? The man asked.

"A while ago, not exactly sure." I covered for Mandy, who didn't know either.

"Mm-hmm. Um..." The man's eyebrows furrowed, looking down at the screen he was holding.

"Something wrong?" I asked, Mandy trying to look at the screen, with no luck.

"Well, it says the body's already been transferred." The man exhaled, Mandy looking between me and him, confused.

"What does that mean?" Mandy asked, trying to remain calm.

"Unfortunately, if you don't claim the body within hours, they give it to the county." The man explained, Mandy's eyes widening.

"And then what? Where is it?" I asked, worried.

"Uh, hmm. Johnson Creek Cemetery. It's a communal ground." The man sighed, turning off his screen.

"Can we get it back?" Mandy asked, nervous.

"I don't think so." The man shrugged his shoulders.

Mandy wheeled me back home, trying not to panic.

"We need to find where he's buried and give him a proper goodbye. Milkovich style." Mandy smirked.

"Sounds...concerning." I smiled, watching as Mandy smirked, heading upstairs to rally everyone up.

———

After a few hours, everyone was standing at the communal burial ground, surrounded by boxes with bodies inside. Mickey wheeled me around, looking out for Terry's box, Mandy holding a Jerry-can full of gasoline.

"There he is." Debbie called out, pointing to the box with Terry's full name written on it.

"Yep." Mandy sighed.

"Sure you want to do this?" Fiona looked at Mickey, who stopped pushing me.

"It's what he wanted. He wanted to be cremated." Mickey groaned as Mandy handed him the Jerry-can.

"Are we supposed to say something?" Mickey looked at us unsure.

"Yeah. Go for it." Lip smiled as he held Liam.

"Shitload of stuff I wanted to tell him. Never gonna get the chance to now." Mickey rolled his eyes, clearly trying not to cry.

"Like what?" Mandy asked, curious.

"Fuck you, Terry." Mickey exhaled as he started pouring a shit ton of gasoline onto Terry's box. Mandy got Terry's old lighter and used whatever was left inside to light Terry's box ablaze. Within seconds, everyone was watching as Terry burned inside a cardboard box.

"Think I know what Terry would've liked." I smirked as Mickey rolled his eyes, knowing what I was about to do.

"At first I was afraid. I was petrified. Kept thinking I could never live without you by my side." I sang, Carl unable to keep his laughter silent.

"But then I spent so many nights thinking 'bout how you did me wrong." Fiona chuckled.

"And I grew strong. And I learned how to get along." Mickey finally gave in and started singing.

"Hey! The fuck you doing?" A man in an orange vest asked as we all looked at him, confused.

"We should be going." Lip panicked.

"Yeah." I nodded as Mickey wheeled me away, everyone else following as to avoid getting caught.