By Mayank Chhaya
I am 85 and precariously close to needing the services of my own funeral home myself. But until such time as I do, I offer it to those who indeed need them.
I am a lifelong bachelor and a celibate to boot. I have no family. From what I was told, I was left as an infant outside an orphanage wrapped in the Sunday edition of The Morning Star. Ironically, the newspaper had a lead feature about how a remarkably humane role the orphanage played in our small town.
I have a name but there is no point telling you that because we are unlikely to meet after you have read this story. This is a one-off encounter.
Like all mornings, I came to my funeral home that Friday morning at 7.08 a.m. There is no particular significance to that specific time. When I opened the funeral home 50 years ago the time was 7.08 a.m. I made it a practice since to open at that time.
I have noticed that in the last couple of months, the business has come to a dead halt. I have barely sold two cascades and one cremation; not enough to get by. I need more deaths but I cannot say that publicly because, you know…
I cleaned the reception counter with a musk-flavored glass cleaner and replaced yesterday’s flowers with a fresh bunch. Just as I was about to turn on the music, the door opened. An immaculately dressed man, apparently in his 60s, walked in. He wore a dark grey tweed coat, light blue shirt, aqua blue tie with a yellow flower in the center and dark blue corduroy. His rust brown shoes were sharply polished. His silver fox hair was slicked back on the sides and somewhat windblown on top.
He wore a fragrance that intrigued me.
“What cologne are you wearing?” I asked.
He smiled and said, “Oh, that’s sandalwood.”
“It is lovely,” I said.
“I smell musk in the air,” he said waving his right hand as if he were painting that fragrance.
“Yes, that’s the cleaner for my glass,” I said.
“Aah,” he responded with a dazzling smile.
“What can I do for you, young man?” I asked.
“How much are your cremation services?” he asked in a manner that was so completely shorn of emotions that for a moment I thought he might as well be asking the price of the expensive shoes he was wearing.
I was thrown off a bit by the question even though funeral services are something I have dealt with for 50 years now. It was something in the way he spoke that unsettled me a bit.
“Oh, let’s see. That depends on a few details such as what kind of casket, whether there will be a memorial service before the cremation and so on,” I said regaining my composure.
“There will be no memorial service. Just an ordinary casket, your cheapest one, and straight into the crematorium. There will be a couple of people in attendance but they will stay until the cremation starts. There is nothing else needed,” he said.
Those details unsettled me even more. I began to think that there was something amiss. However, it was not my place to say anything.
“Our primary package is $3200, all inclusive,” I said.
“Alright,” he said even as he reached for his wallet.
He took out his debit card. The swiftness with which he did that added to my discomfiture. Remember, I have done this for 50 years and there is not much that makes me uncomfortable. He did even though he was perfectly civil and calm.
“I will need the paperwork, including the death certificate for the deceased before I process a payment,” I said.
He thought for a bit and said, “I understand but I am merely paying for a friend. The two people who will accompany the deceased will bring the paperwork. I am going out of town directly from here. I will not be back.”
This was out of the ordinary; something I had never done before but like I said the business had been slow and I needed the money. I decided to go ahead with the payment.
We shook hands and, as he was leaving, he said, “Valentino. That’s me. It was a pleasure meeting you.”
He walked away with next to no effort, almost as if he glided.
I got on with the normal business of the day such as finalizing fliers to be mailed to those households with people in a certain age group. Funeral services can be costly and I always encourage people to prepare for them.
It was around 6 p.m. that I received a call.
“Mr. Garcia, I am calling with reference from Valentino,” the caller said.
“Oh yes, how can I be of assistance?” I asked.
“We will need your cremation services tomorrow morning. Valentino might have told you that there will be no memorial service,” the caller said.
“Yes, he did indeed,” I said.
With no other appointment for the day, I decided to close the home.
Next morning, I was back at 7.08 a.m. The cremation was scheduled for 10.30 a.m. I prepared the casket that was part of the package Valentino had paid for.
Around 10 a.m. a hearse pulled in followed by a car and a police cruiser. A body bag was wheeled in on a gurney by the hearse operator who was followed by a woman police officer and a young couple.
The police officer said, “The paperwork is in order. It was death by a single gunshot to the chest.”
“May I see the body?” I asked the officer who said, “Of course, of course.”
I unzipped the bag and was stunned to see what I saw. It was an immaculately dressed man. He wore a dark grey tweed coat, light blue shirt, aqua blue tie with a yellow flower in the center and dark blue corduroy. His rust brown shoes were sharply polished. His silver fox hair was slicked back on the sides and somewhat windblown on top.
Th only difference was his shirt had been changed to white and tie to olive green with “Valentino” embroidered on it in golden thread. The fragrance was still that of sandalwood.
On an impulse, I decided to close down the funeral home business after that cremation.
Next morning, The Morning Star reported that a 65-year-old man named Valentino had taken his own life, leaving behind a note that said, “I would like to leave my last two bottles of sandalwood cologne for the owner of ‘Rest in Joy Funeral Home’.
Copyright Mayank Chhaya, 2023