Holding up the polish and duster his way, I fake coughed again.
Leo took them from me. “Go on then. Grab your pencils.”
I stretched up and kissed his cheek, before retrieving what I needed off the sideboard ready to lose myself in drawing for a while.
“It’s only us,” Sal called out. A breeze blew down the hall as my sister, Ryan and India let themselves into the house.
I frowned. “Are we running late?” I asked Leo. “Or are they running early?”
He checked his watch. “A bit of both.”
I put my drawing pad and pencils back where they’d been.
“Dinner won’t be long, will it?” Ryan asked, as they all took their jackets off and hung them on the coat stand. “I’ve been saving myself all day. I’m starving.”
As they filed down the hall to the kitchen, my disappointment was fast replaced. My jaw dropped at the sight of my niece as they passed. Seeing that the white scientist coat was no more, I looked to Leo, who shrugged, as much in the dark as me.
“Don’t ask,” Sal said, as I opened my mouth to speak.
I couldn’t take my eyes off India as Leo and I followed in their footsteps. She wore black shoes, thick black tights, and a long black velvet dress. Her ensemble was topped off with a sheer black veil that covered her whole head and shoulders. She looked like she’d just stepped out of a Stephen King horror novel. Even the way she walked had an unsettling sombreness to it.
“Very gothic,” Leo said.
“Very something,” I replied, keeping my voice low.
“She’s trying out a new job,” Ryan said, as he, Sal and India settled themselves at the table. “After the garden experiment we thought it best.”
Sal smiled through gritted teeth.
“What kind of job?” I asked, as Leo got back to the cooking. Her outfit wasn’t like any uniform I’d seen before.
“Isn’t it obvious?” India said.
Thanks to her shroud I might not have seen the girl’s scorn, but I heard it.
“I’m a professional mourner.”
“Of course you are,” I replied, unaware that that was even a thing. “Silly me.”
“A role that originates from a variety of cultures: Egyptian, Chinese, Mediterranean and Near Eastern…” India said.
“And very proficient you look too,” Leo said.
I stared at the man, wondering what was wrong with him. In his shoes, I’d be calling off the wedding and running back to Cumbria. We Cavendishes might be a mad bunch, but as career choices went, no one could deny that lamenting for money was frankly bizarre.
“I knew you’d get it.” India smiled at Leo. “Would you like to hear my wail?”
“No!” Sal and Ryan called out. They had clearly heard enough of their daughter’s bogus grieving.
I headed to the fridge for a bottle of wine. “Drink, anyone?”
My sister’s hand shot up. “Yes, please.”
“Not for me,” Ryan said. He frowned at Sal. “It’s my turn to drive.”
“So, how are the wedding plans coming along?” Sal asked.
“Very well,” Leo said. “We’ve pinned down a date.”
