1979
Greg and Reilly moved into their new apartment two weeks before the fall term started. Greg and some of his friends moved the meager amount of furniture they had. Reilly's parents sent her bed, new bedding with pillows, and two dressers along with a desk and matching chair. Greg's mother sent the sofa bed, a small black and white tv, a round patio table with two chairs and new towels. They went to the local Goodwill and bought dishes, silverware, several lamps, blankets and bean bag chairs. Then they went to the local grocery store and stocked up on food.
Once all the furniture was in place and the beds made, Reilly cooked their first dinner. She made baked chicken, baked potatoes and fresh green beans. Greg insisted they boil the used dishes and silverware before they used it. So, once dinner was cooked and the table set, Reilly called Greg to the table.
He came into the small kitchen sniffing deeply. "Oh, that smells good," he told her as he sat down. "You need to teach me how to cook something besides cereal and peanut butter sandwiches."
"How about this?" she asked. "You'll be in charge of washing the dishes and I'll do the cooking."
"I can do that," he mumbled around a mouthful of chicken.
"We need to come up with a system for the bathroom and a way to let me know when you've got a girl up here, too."
"Well, our first classes aren't until eleven and I go running in the morning-" he began.
"Wait! You go running in the morning? Why didn't you tell me? I go running every morning, too."
"Then after our morning run, you can have the shower first so long as you don't use up all the hot water," he told her. "And I'll just go wherever the girl happens to live and have sex there. Works out better anyway. Then I don't have to give her the boot in the middle of the night. I can just come home."
"Home," Reilly smiled. "This is our home."
"Oh, jeez. This isn't going to be a thing, is it?"
"No, meanie. I've just never had my own bedroom before. There was always a baby or two in it."
"What's Smug think about this?" he asked.
"Well, he isn't exactly thrilled and he wants me to put locks on my bedroom door to keep you from sneaking into my bed. But, we aren't married yet so I still get to decide all by myself what I do."
"What am I supposed to do when you two are in your room doing the nasty?" he asked.
"We're not. We're waiting until we get married."
Greg started to laugh loudly. Reilly reached across the table and pinched him.
"You're not getting married for six years!" he chortled. "You really think he's going to wait that long?"
"If he truly loves me he will," she said defensively. "Sex isn't everything."
He shook his head and took a huge bite of baked potato. "Sex is everything."
Reilly mumbled something and Greg cupped his hand around his ear. "Say again?"
"I don't like sex," she said clearly and focused on her plate. Pushing a clump of green beans around, she frowned.
"You've only slept with two immature idiots who were only concerned with getting off," he told her. "I just hope Smug knows what he's doing when the time comes."
"He's an excellent kisser."
Greg glanced at her and then finished his dinner. Leaning back in his chair, he looked at her speculatively. "Maybe you like girls?"
"Oh, you'd love that, wouldn't you?"
He nodded eagerly. "Especially if you let me watch."
She reached out to pinch him again but he jumped up and away from her. He slid around her and began to put dishes in the sink. "Hurry up and eat so I can get the dishes done. There's a new blues club I want to go to."
Reilly got up and put her plate in the sink. "I'll go change."
He did the dishes quickly, dried them and put them away. He grabbed the keys and they left. It was nearly two in the morning when they came back. Doug was sitting on the floor outside their apartment. A bouquet of roses lay on the floor beside him. He stood up when he saw them. Reilly rushed forward and kissed him.
"I guess I should have called earlier," he said smoothing back her hair. "Where were you?"
"A blues club. I should have called you but we just decided to go on a whim," she told him. "You want to come in for some coffee?"
He shook his head and bent to pick up the flowers. Handing them out to her, he kissed her again. Greg leaned against the wall and watched them.
"How about dinner tomorrow night?" Doug asked. "I leave for Boston on Sunday."
"I'll be ready at seven," she told him.
He nodded, kissed her again and left. Greg watched him go and then unlocked the door. Reilly went to put her roses in water before putting them on the kitchen table. Greg yawned loudly. She looked up at him.
"Okay, okay," she said. "I get the hint. Just try to keep it down once she gets here. And so much for not bringing any girls here for sex."
"She's special," he grinned.
Reilly snorted and went into her bedroom. She made a face at him and closed the door.
They spent the summer between their junior and senior years in Ireland again. This time Doug didn't come for the whole summer but he did come for two weeks. Greg went to Greece while he was there.
Near the beginning of their final semester at Harvard, they both took the Medical College Admission Test. They would get the results along with applications for the medical schools they chose. They trudged through the snow to their classes, studied, and waited. Doug came to visit every Saturday and Greg always spent the day in the library. He told Reilly he did it to keep his grades up and give them privacy but she knew it was because he couldn't stand Doug. They got part time jobs as lab assistants at the county morgue. They knew it would look good on their medical school applications. They recorded the deceased's name and cause of death. They prepared the bodies for autopsy and bagged any clothes and valuables for the families to collect. They washed and disinfected tools and other equipment. They also cleaned up the morgue each day.
One afternoon a young man's body arrived. Reilly took the paperwork from the firefighters who brought him in and Greg rolled his body into the autopsy room.
"His name is Vince Ballard and cause of death is unknown," she read as she followed Greg. "They said he was found in the park."
Greg grabbed the paperwork from her and looked it over. "He's twenty. The police didn't find any indication that he was attacked. What twenty year old just drops dead in the park?"
Reilly knew it was a rhetorical question and proceeded to remove Vince's clothes. Then she bagged his clothes and personal effects. Greg joined her and stared at him.
"Just let Doctor Brown do the autopsy," she told him referring to the medical examiner. "No solving the death puzzle. Besides, we have four bodies being picked up by four different funeral homes. We should get them ready to go. Doc also wants us to log the evidence he collected from that poor girl who was raped and killed. Vince can wait. She can't. The detectives want evidence as….and you aren't listening to a word I'm saying." She looked at him in exasperation. Picking up the bag with Vince's clothes, watch, necklace and wallet, she carried it over to the evidence bay and logged it in. Then she pulled the four bodies from their refrigerated drawers and got them ready for transport. She prepared the paperwork and had the funeral workers sign it before allowing them to take the bodies. Looking over at Greg, she saw he removed the sheet covering Vince's body and hovered over Doc as he worked asking endless questions. She moved on to the girl. Reilly lifted the sheet covering her and looked at the narrow blade marks covering her chest and abdomen. Bruises covered her face, legs and arms. Reilly pulled on a pair of gloves and gathered up several evidence bags that sat on a small metal table beside the slab the girl rested on. Reilly carefully logged each bag on the form for the police department. As she worked, she realized this girl fought the man who attacked her. When she finished, Reilly carefully covered the body, removed her gloves and tossed them in the bin. She went to the end of the table and looked at the toe tag hanging off the girl's foot. Her name was Melanie Zimmerman and she was twenty-one. Glancing over at Greg to make sure he was still occupied, she covered Melanie's feet and moved back to stand by her head. She made the sign of the cross and then gently put her hand on Melanie's forehead. Softly she recited The Prayer For The Dead.
"In your hands, O Lord, we humbly entrust Melanie. In this life, you embraced her with your tender love. Deliver her now from every evil and bid her eternal rest. The old order has passed away. Welcome her into paradise where there will be no sorrow, no weeping or pain, but fullness of peace and joy with you, the Son and the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen."
She did this for all of the people who passed through the morgue when she was there. She no longer attended church but she felt compelled to perform the prayer for as many of them as possible. It was the only secret she kept from Greg. She knew how he felt about religion and religious people. Whether there was actually a God or not, she wasn't sure. However, it made her feel better to recite the prayer.