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first two over.”
    Richard handed him the scissors-like instruments. “What are these for?”
    “We use these to remove any blood clots and to open the veins where the embalming fluid can’t get through.”
    “Oh.” Richard’s tone had become hushed while watching his uncle work.
    “Okay, now switch on the pump, please.” Richard did. “We have to be very careful during this part. Improper embalming will make the cosmetology process impossible. God knows when I started I had a few messes. Let me tell you, son, there were some families not too happy at what I’d done to their kin. But patience is as important with the dead as with the living. If you treat this old gal here on the table as kindly as we treated her husband who came to us, then we usually have success on all accounts.”
    The sound of the pump along with the ebb and flow of fluids being drained and replaced was as rhythmical as rushing waters. Richard stared at the body while the fluids filled her, distorting her emaciated form into odd shapes, almost like a balloon being blown up. He liked the way it looked. He wanted to open her eyes to see if they were bugging out. God, his uncle was great.
    “Never rush the work, because I can’t tell you how it easy it can be to swell the face, and if that happens it’s impossible to fix.” Uncle James applied the steady pressure. “The frequent drainage of the fluids is crucial.”
    Richard watched, sweat forming on his brow. He wished he were the one injecting and draining the fluids!
    After the process was finished, Uncle James took off his gloves and washed his hands in a corner sink, then pulled on a new set of gloves.
    “We’re not done?”
    “Oh, no. We still have to do the cavity embalming.”
    Richard was pleased. He smiled as he stared at Ruth, whose body was now full of chemicals.
    Uncle James went to the shelf again and took down a bag of powder, which he mixed with water. “Some out there swear by kitty litter, but something tells me that most of our departed friends here wouldn’t be too pleased with cat litter inside their thoracic cavity.”
    “No.” Richard shook his head vehemently.
    “This is necessary when the chest is sunken, and Ruth’s is a bit. So we’ll give her some help.” Uncle James stuck a tube down her mouth and filled it with the material, which he then pumped into her. Richard stared as her chest expanded.
    “Next, we re-aspirate the lungs, cork the windpipe, and then the anal vent, which we open if we notice any bloating from the build up of gas.”
    “Like a fart?”
    “Richard!”
    “Sorry.”
    “Yes, like a fart.” They both laughed. “Okay Ruth, we’ll let you rest, while we grab a bite. I’d ask you to come, but…" Uncle James wasn’t the least bit condescending or sarcastic; however, Richard couldn’t help giggling.
    They washed up and headed to the deli across the street. Janie Keaton was there with some friends. Richard glanced over, but tried not to pay any attention. He thought that Janie Keaton was the prettiest girl in school. She smiled at him while he bit into his ham sandwich.
    “I think she likes you,” Uncle James whispered.
    “Nah, no one likes me,” Richard replied, while chewing his sandwich and shaking his head.
    “I don’t believe that. You’re a good-looking boy, son. Remind me of your mother with your big brown eyes and blonde hair, and those dimples, well, those would woo a gal anytime.”
    Richard shook his head and smiled sheepishly. Maybe his uncle was right. He was a really smart man, with a good sense about people. It would make his day, week—no, year —if Janie Keaton liked him. If she liked him, then everyone else would too.
    As Janie and her friends left the deli, she passed by their booth. “Hi, Richard. How’s your summer going?”
    Richard had no idea Janie Keaton even knew his name. He’d never imagined she knew he was alive. God, this was the best day of his life. “Good.”
    “Yeah, what you up