'Til Death - Chris Motionless Love Story

Chapter One - New Beginnings

I took a deep breath as I fixed my blazer over my shoulders in the mirror, my blonde hair cascading in curls down my shoulders. Today was my new beginning, a step forward in my life after leaving my long term relationship. Nothing was wrong, truly, but somewhere along the way I lost myself. So, I packed up, left my boyfriend, and moved to Scranton. I ended up landing quite the embalming position at a local funeral home here, and I was quite excited, though I was sad to leave my crew at the funeral home in Texas.
I straightened my black pencil skirt, and double checked that my top was buttoned all the way before knocking on the office door of the owner of the funeral home. He had told me to check in with him when I got there to see what all needed to be done for the day, and he wanted to join me in the embalming room to show me how his equipment worked. We had only been discussing my employment via email, so this was our first time meeting face to face. The moment I knocked on the door, it swung open. I was greeted by a rather tall man, with slicked back dark hair, and tattoos going up his throat. It was odd for me to see someone so covered in tattoos as a funeral home owner. Where I came from, none of the owners had tattoos. They were blank canvases, and boring. It was a slight relief, because I had tattoos wrapping up both my arms, and a few on my stomach and waist. His smile was soft as he moved to the side to let me in.

"Please, have a seat, Ms. Alastair." He spoke softly as he sat down at his desk.

"Oh, please, just Salem is okay." I told him. He smiled at me and looked over at his computer screen.

"Okay, Just Salem, I'm Christopher Cerulli. I'm the owner of Cerulli Funeral Home, obviously, and I'm dual licensed in directing and embalming. That's about all you need to know about me. Now, what about you?" He seemed very closed off, like he built a wall between him and everyone he knew.

"Well, I've been in the funeral industry since I was 18 years old, and eventually I decided to get my dual licensing in Texas. However, I just needed a change of pace, so I took the state tests for here and well, here I am." He was leaned back in his chair, his hand cupping his chin as he lended his full attention to me.

"Why did you leave Texas? I was talking to your employers down there, and they seemed rather surprised that you were leaving Texas. They said that's where your whole family is." Oh, he had done his research. Though, he had every right to. He probably just wanted to be sure I was a good fit.

"Not a specific reason, really, just wanted a change." That was a lie, but he didn't need to know that. He nodded his head, and then leaned back to his computer.

"Alright, fair enough. So, today we just have two embalmings. I want to try to keep you in the prep room as much as possible, you're the only other embalmer, and I'm swamped with loads of work, plus picking up families. I don't have much staff, not many people have been... up to par, I guess, to work here. My number one concern is the families we serve, and making sure everything runs as smooth as possible." Chris got up and walked from out behind his desk, and stood in front of me, leaning up against the desk. I looked up at him. "But you... you're different. I like you so far. Just make sure to keep it that way." He seemed challenging, like he was the type to instantly fire me for one mishap. Note to self; do not piss off Chris Cerulli.
I watched in the very well lit prep room as Chris struggled to find the artery to start the embalming process. He fiddled around with the tools, digging and prodding around as he got more and more frustrated.

"Um, Mr. Cerulli?"

"Yes, Ms. Alastair?" His tone was filled with frustration.

"Do you want me to maybe find it?" He looked up, and handed the hooks to me. As I poked around, he examined my every feature it seemed. My bright green eyes, my hair that was thrown up into a half assed bun, down to my body that was swallowed up by the PPE. I finally found the artery, and tied it off with a string, then handed the reigns back over to Chris so he could finish it up. He looked amazed that I was able to find it when he couldn't, and also relieved that he hadn't hired an imbecile.