Recovery (Tristan)

[The Exodus]

Tristan Vidal

Tristan took a deep breath and pulled the car over to the side of the road. He parallel parked between a motorcycle and a compact car; the parking job was more than catawampus. But it got them out of the road. Driving didn’t seem like the best idea. He looked into Solange’s eyes. They brimmed with concern and he could only imagine what was going through her head.

Solange gave his hand a tiny squeeze. Tristan wanted to bash his own head in. She was just coming out of the hospital, for f*ck’s sake. He should be comforting her. Not the other way around. Some kind of sh*tty boyfriend he was. It could have waited… Somehow…

"What is it, baby?" she asked softly. "What's going on?"

But there was no point in sitting on the truth now that Solange was asking point-blank.

“Don’t freak out or anything, but the cops are searching the funeral home right now,” he told her. “A decedent’s wedding ring went missing and – this has never happened to me before – so I called the police. I’ve looked literally everywhere for the ring. I even opened the poor woman back up to make sure it hadn’t, y’know… But I couldn’t find it and I don’t know if it’s lost or if something happened to it. If it doesn’t turn up, we’re talking lawsuit.”

He hadn’t looked away from her eyes. He hadn’t been able to. He was gauging her reaction carefully, in case she sprung out of the car and ran down the street or in case she swore at him or what. Nothing this bad had ever happened before with work. Daily hiccups, little snafus. Not something that could destroy their reputation. Because his reputation was hers now that they were business partners and Solange hadn’t even been there for this mess. Tristan looked from her to their entwined hands.

“I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what happened. I didn’t mean for everything to go to hell while you were gone. And I’m sorry.”

[blueeyeddevil]

Solange de Grace

The look on Tristan's face was doing nothing to calm her nerves. He pulled over to the side of the road and that only made her more worried. Whatever it was was bad enough that he didn't feel like like he could drive and discuss it at the same time. A hundred different scenarios went through her head about what it could possibly be. Had one of the interns messed the schedule or deleted something important. Had the new flower shop they'd switched to suddenly quit on them? Were they having more cancellations that usual?

“Don’t freak out or anything, but the cops are searching the funeral home right now,” he told her...as though he could seriously expect her to not freak out after telling her something like that.

"Oh, God..." she breathed softly, eyes wide in horror as a hand flew to her mouth.

“A decedent’s wedding ring went missing and – this has never happened to me before – so I called the police. I’ve looked literally everywhere for the ring. I even opened the poor woman back up to make sure it hadn’t, y’know… But I couldn’t find it and I don’t know if it’s lost or if something happened to it. If it doesn’t turn up, we’re talking lawsuit.” he explained.

"Oh, God..." she breathed again, hand now moving to her eyes. When she finally brought her hand away she found him looking down at their still entwined fingers. He had such guilt written on his face and her heart broke for him.

“I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what happened. I didn’t mean for everything to go to hell while you were gone. And I’m sorry.” he said.

She took a deep breath, gazing at him softly. She couldn't be mad at him for this. Not when he'd obviously tried so hard to fix it. She knew he hadn't meant for this happen by any means. Slowly she reached up to place her free hand against his cheek. The other gave his hand a reassuring squeeze.

"It was an accident," she assured him. "I know you didn't mean for this to happen. We'll do everything we can to fix it. That's all we can do." She gently brushed his hair back behind his ear. She started again after another deep breath. "Besides, they would probably have a tough case for a...lawsuit." The word was hard to say. "I mean, it's not like we have a history of stuff like this happening. This is a first for us. That's got to count for something!"

[The Exodus]

Tristan Vidal

Tristan barely felt the warmth of Solange’s hand touch his cheek. He looked up, startled, and his eyes softened when they met hers.

"It was an accident," Solange said in a soothing voice. "I know you didn't mean for this to happen. We'll do everything we can to fix it. That's all we can do."

He squeezed her hand back. Her fingertips fluttered against his ear when Solange brushed a strand of hair from Tristan’s eyes. She was trying to comfort him and he was smart enough to know not to reject that, even though he didn’t feel particularly reassured. They were coming up on a six month inspection. The national conference for funeral workers was in a month. This was the worst time for this kind of sh*t to happen. And Solange had to know it as well as he did.

"Besides, they would probably have a tough case for a...lawsuit." Tristan grimaced and looked up at Solange. She continued, "I mean, it's not like we have a history of stuff like this happening. This is a first for us. That's got to count for something!"

Tristan shook his head. “Not in a lawsuit, it wouldn’t. Doesn’t help that I’ve got a pocketful of vandalism charges. The Lafollettes might be willing to settle it out of court, but I’d really rather find the ring and avoid having to settle anything.”

He sighed. A lawsuit. They had three interns and were supporting two adult households. The last thing Vidal Funeral Home needed was to be sued for anything. The ring itself was probably worth upwards of five-hundred Euros. More, possibly, depending on things like carats and designer and whatever went into ring pricing. And then there was emotional distress…

“The terrible thing,” Tristan said. “Is that I don’t know who lost it. I put it in the embalming room safe myself and I locked it. The only people with access to the safe are you, me, and the interns… And now that the cops are involved, it’s not like any of them are gonna tell me if they lost it. Which means we can't retrace anybody's steps beyond what I know I did.”

[blueeyeddevil]

Solange de Grace

Solange wished she could do more. She knew how upset Tristan had to be about this whole big mix up. She found herself even more angry that she'd been so stubborn and refused to go to the hospital. If she'd gotten her appendicitis taken care of right away she could have been back at work in two or three days tops. She would have been on hand to help him deal with this. Instead, he'd been so worried about her healing that he hadn't even felt like he could tell her what was going on. Now all she could do was offer words of comfort that didn't even sound convincing to her.

“Not in a lawsuit, it wouldn’t. Doesn’t help that I’ve got a pocketful of vandalism charges. The Lafollettes might be willing to settle it out of court, but I’d really rather find the ring and avoid having to settle anything.” he told her with a heavy sigh and she nodded in agreement. Finding the ring would bring about the best possible outcome, she was certain.

“The terrible thing,” he went on and she could only sit there, stroking his hand soothingly. “Is that I don’t know who lost it. I put it in the embalming room safe myself and I locked it. The only people with access to the safe are you, me, and the interns… And now that the cops are involved, it’s not like any of them are gonna tell me if they lost it. Which means we can't retrace anybody's steps beyond what I know I did.”

As she listened, she couldn't help but note that part of the story didn't quite add up. How could a ring that had been locked away in the safe suddenly go missing? Surely if one of the interns had taken it out and accidentally misplaced it they would have come forward and let Tristan know...unless...

"Tristan...this is sounding more and more like someone stole the ring instead of losing it," she said. "Think about it. If you put it in the safe and locked it, what reason would any of the interns have to get it out again? It doesn't make sense. And even if they did I'm sure they would have come forward by now if was an honest accident! I don't want to jump to conclusions, but is it possible one of them took it?"

[The Exodus]

Tristan Vidal

Tristan looked at Solange with sharp surprise. It wasn’t as though the thought hadn’t crossed his mind: that someone had stolen the ring. But it sounded so conspiracy theory. What kind of sick f*ck stole a dead woman’s wedding ring? He thought of the interns they had. Chelsea and Mathis came from funerary families. They should have known better. And Gaston… well. He was like an eager-to-please puppy. Tristan couldn’t imagine any one of them stealing.

But Solange was right. It sure sounded like an inside job.

“Well, that would explain why no one’s stepped forward,” he said, shaking his head. “I hope that’s not the case. “

Because if it was, Tristan didn’t know what to do. He clenched the steering wheel tightly.

“You hear about this kinda sh*t happening in other funeral homes,” said Tristan. “But I never thought in a million years…”

He felt violated. More violated than if someone had broken into his home. Because if this was an inside job, if somebody had stolen from a client, it was somebody he knew and trusted. At least it wasn’t the one person he trusted most of all. He released the steering wheel and took Solange’s hand in his.

What would I do without you? he thought, looking at her. As in the hospital, he was overcome with a wave of unfamiliar emotion powerful enough to knock the wind from his chest. He took a slow, shuddering breath.

“The cops promised to call when the police report was done,” he said. “If somebody stole it, they’ll catch ‘em.”

[blueeyeddevil]

Solange de Grace

Solange would be the first to admit that that she really didn't have all of the facts that surrounded the missing ring. But listening to Tristan describe it, she couldn't help but think that it was highly unlikely the ring went innocently missing from the locked safe. If it was in the safe, Solange couldn't think of any legitimate reason that any of the interns would need it until the family came to retrieve it. She didn't want to accuse anyone of anything, but she told Tristan her thoughts on the matter.

“Well, that would explain why no one’s stepped forward,”he said and shook his head. “I hope that’s not the case.“

She sighed and nodded. She hoped so too, but when there were literally only five people (including herself) that knew the combination to the safe and there were two people (including herself) that she knew did not take the ring, they had to be realistic.

“You hear about this kinda sh*t happening in other funeral homes,” Tristan said, putting the steering wheel in a strangle hold. “But I never thought in a million years…”

She listened, watching him sadly. Her heart ached for him. He'd worked so hard and come so far in this line of work. He loved this job and his business and he was watching it all crumble around him because they couldn't find one little ring. More than anything, she wanted the ring to turn up for his sake. She sighed again, running a finger over his white knuckles, hoping to loosen their grip. He took her hand and she laced their fingers together, squeezing reassuringly.

“The cops promised to call when the police report was done,” he told her. “If somebody stole it, they’ll catch ‘em.”

She smiled slightly, pressing a kiss to his shoulder and rubbing his arm in comfort. "You're right...and its no use worrying about it until then," she told him. "There are other people to attend to and the best thing we can do right now is to care for them and make sure we don't let this affect our work. Sound like a game plan?"

[The Exodus]

Tristan Vidal

Solange brought a smile to Tristan’s lips. He felt steadier with her at his side.

"You're right...and it’s no use worrying about it until then," she told him. "There are other people to attend to and the best thing we can do right now is to care for them and make sure we don't let this affect our work. Sound like a game plan?"

“God, I’ve missed you,” he said, cupping her face in his hands. He pressed a kiss to her lips and breathed her in. Solange had always been the one to come up with “game plans” while Tristan spent his time “winging it”. She made everything sound like it would turn out for the best. And not because she was some dippy, misplaced optimist. She was realistic. She didn’t get ahead of herself, the way Tristan often did, and sometimes it occurred to Tristan that he admired that about her.

That he loved that about her.

But he’d bombarded her with so much in the last ten minutes alone, that word “love” had no place in the conversation. It would only complicate things and make him sound like a melodramatic teenager. But it was true. He loved a lot of things about Solange, but he had a particular fondness for Solange’s way of making any obstacle seem surmountable. Even before they were together – hell, before they even liked each other – she’d always had a talent for making problems sound less like problems and more like challenges you just had to grit your teeth and get past.

He pulled out of the kiss and stroked her cheek.

‘I’ve missed you’ would have to suffice for now.