Funeral from a Dead Man's Eyes

Kevin Palmer, it’s my name, and it’s the name on the program. I was the CEO for one of the biggest resort companies in the country. I was even planning on opening some resorts in the Pacific islands before the incident. I had risen from the bottom so fast that I was highlighted in every magazine since I had earned the company. Everyone wanted to do business with me, and I have so many employees working under me. It is the most coveted job.

Well, it was. I did have many employees and it was a coveted job. I’m dead now. We’re at the funeral home for my services. This is the longest I’ve laid down ever, but it wasn’t like I had a choice in the matter. I always did say that I would only get rest when I was dead. I have to say that I have never been more bored in my entire life and I have been to a lot of long meetings about business.

My bad heart killed me. Actually scratch that, my dad’s bad heart killed me. At age 43, my heart shut down and died in the middle of a video meeting with the investors in the Pacific islands. They were in the middle of talking about figures and I was about to close the deal when it happened. The intern found me in the conference room and called an ambulance. They rushed me to the hospital, but I was already gone by the time we got there. Curse dad and his horrible heart genes.

There are a lot of people that had shown up to see me laid to rest. You may think that that is what I would have wished for, but I don’t like a single one of them. Most of the people here are employees, they were probably given the day off to come. If I could, I would roll my eyes, I would have never done that. I paid them for the work they did, and I expected them to work.

Some of my colleagues have showed up as well, the rest of them were probably busy with continuing on with their lives. I don’t blame them one bit. I would do the same if the roles were reversed.

I didn’t like anyone here. Or anyone really. I prefer to be on my own for most of my life. My mom died when I was young, and dad was always traveling for work. I didn’t have any siblings either, so I was alone a lot growing up. That’s probably why I became such a successful businessman, since I didn’t have to waste time on other people I had more time to build my empire.

Now the worst part of any funeral; the viewing. At first it was just a blur of faces, not very many of them stopped to look for long. The next person to step up didn’t even look at me, instead her eyes were on the table of food. Margie. She is a manager of one of his resorts. She is a decent worker, but she was always eating. She blamed it on low blood sugar. If he had a gag reflex right now it would be going crazy now, as she pulled a candy bar from the pocket of her shoulder padded pantsuit jacket and shoved it into her mouth.

It didn’t get much better after her, the next person peered into the coffin through narrowed eyes. I was glad I was dead now. Harrison was one of the workers at the corporate office, and he was the absolute worst. He stepped closer to the coffin and slyly stuck his hand and pressed his fingers to the base of his throat. Why in the world? Was he actually checking my pulse?

I wish I could say that was the worst. I wish I was still alive for the next one, so that I could jump out of the coffin and run from the funeral home. The intern stepped up to her covered in black from head to toe. She had a handkerchief pressed to her nose and her eyes were as red and puffy as her lips. It was clear that it was all for show, that she was trying to play the role of mourning girlfriend. What was her name? I think it started with a ‘J’, Jessica? Jennifer? Janice? That was it, Janice. She had had an obsessive crush on me since she got the internship. I wanted to come back to life just to die again when she leaned over the coffin and pressed those red lips to his cheek.

Great. Now I probably had two red lip prints on his cheek. I could only hope that someone would be so kind as to wipe it off.

After several other people came and went, I was convinced that nobody worthwhile had come to my funeral. I wasn’t all that surprised. I didn’t have much love for other people, and people had even less love for me. I was a hard boss and an even harder partner. I knew what I wanted, and I wouldn’t be cheated into anything less. Can you really blame me for that? But at that moment, I wished that I had been a bit more pleasant to at least one person.

For the first time, I regretted for the way that I had treated the people around me.

I was just about to give up all hope when someone that I never expected the see stepped up to the edge of the coffin. Terrance. The best friend that I had ever had but we had gone our separate ways. We had met while working for my dad before he died giving me the business. We had worked together as partners, until it was all ruined. It was my fault really, I screwed him over on a business deal. Understandably, he had quit, and I hadn’t seen him since.

Terrance looked down at me longer than any of the previous viewers. I felt a pang of guilt and gratitude when he pulled out his handkerchief and wiped the cherry lip prints off my face. How could he still be so kind to me when I’ve only treated him like he was the dirt beneath my feet? The last time I had seen him, his eyes were filled to the brim with sadness and disappointment. Now there was still sadness, but something else. What was it?

“I’m so sorry Kev,” he said. “I should have been there for you.” What was he apologizing for? I am the one that should be apologizing. If only I could.

“I’ve lost count how many times that I had wanted to call you to tell you that I regretted how we ended our friendship.”

That was it. His eyes were filled with regret. “I know it’s too late now, but I forgive you for everything and I wish you were still here.”

I felt a pull at my chest and suddenly I was stuck inside the narrow casket walls. I was in the air over the room and was now face to face with Terrance. At first his eyes were on focused with a brim of tears, but his eyebrows furrowed, and his eyes focused directly on me.

“Kev?”

“Hey Terry.”

Terrance’s lips split into a small smile and the tears poured over his cheeks. They were the only true tears spilt at my funeral, but they were also the only tears that mattered. I didn’t stay long after that because I felt free and light for the first time since before I took the business over.

I smiled to myself. Terrance was in my will for the business and I was convinced now that he would be able to make that great company excellent.

For the first time, I felt at peace.

The end