By the time that the police had sent Jerry's body to the nearest Medical Examiner's office and collected evidence from it against a murderer Michael knew the law enforcement would never catch, it was Tuesday night, and two days had passed since his death. It took one extra day for the investigators to send the body back to Plentywood where the mortician Jerry's sister Sandra, had hired quickly went to work on preparing his body for the wake that was scheduled for the next day.
When Michael walked downstairs that Thursday morning in a suit that April had rented for him he found April making a quick breakfast of toast and fruit loop cereal.
She was beautiful, even dressed in an all black dress and black eye liner, classic mourning wear and make-up.
Michael and April didn't speak much as they ate but there was no tension between them. They just were preoccupied in their thoughts about Jerry and Victor.
Once they were finished eating both of them slipped their feet into fancy black shoes and Michael drove the truck to the funeral home on the opposite side of town.
After he pulled it into park next to Sandra's green mini van he and April jumped out and greeted her, her husband, and their two young girls quietly before following them inside to the showing room.
The mortician had done a good job making Jerry's body presentable. He lay in his dark oak coffin with his eyes closed and the suit he was dressed in covered the awful cut in his neck.
As they watched Sandra and her family kneel before Jerry and hold his hands April told Michael that Sandra had insisted on having Jerry's body on display because it would bring closure to those who knew him. She explained to him that most humans needed this, needed to see their loved ones like this before accepting their death.
When it was their turn to kneel in front of Jerry's body Michael closed his eyes. He still wasn't happy with his father but he silently prayed for Jerry just like Sandra had anyway.
Jerry was a good man Father, guide him in his journey to Heaven.
As April rose she tugged on Michael's sleeve and he rose. They walked side by side to a couple chairs in the second row and sat down in them.
From there Michael observed everything that happened at the wake. He'd been to a funeral before, in the fifteen hundreds, but there had been changes in this human ritual like everything else. Like for the fact that the wake was indoors, and that everyone seemed to caress the body.
That part, the touching, surprised Michael.
People cared so much, even for their dead.
Angels left the bodies of their dead in their vessels and wherever they fell, people moved them and buried them. People made contact with their dead, while angels didn't because they didn't even do that with each other when they were alive. It was considered too intimate; a sign of too much emotion.
Also, the humans cried. April cried. This the angels could never do, they didn't have such strong emotions.
Michael watched April wipe her tears with a tissue and hoped she'd feel better now that she'd expressed her grief again. He hated seeing her that way; it made him feel helpless.
When the priest that had led the ceremony was finished speaking they exited the building and headed home.
The day after was the funeral so Michael joined April and Jerry's other friends and family to see Jerry's body be lowered into the grave that had been dug out for him. April didn't cry this time but her sadness was written all over her face.
It was a beautiful but cool day, the sun was bright, the sky clear, and the breeze strong. It seemed that the weather brought peace to April. Once, Michael glimpsed her closing her eyes and smiling softly as a gust of wind flowed through her hair, pushing it away from her face.
After Jerry's coffin had been lowered into the ground Michael and April turned from the scene and headed back to the pick-up that he'd parked on the side of the narrow paved road that twisted and turned around acres of tombstones and the deceased town members.
They ate supper at a sub shop and spent some time at the park where April told Michael some stories about Jerry, her fondest memories. Like the time they'd gone swimming together in a nearby lake with their dates the summer before sophomore year of High School.
When the sun began to set they made their way home, where trouble was waiting.
As they entered the house Michael was knocked down by a small, but powerful woman.
"Michael!"April yelped.
Michael fell onto his back and the woman straddled him. Her eyes flickered black.
"I've got you," she smirked evilly.