“He said he enjoyed meeting and working with you.”

I appreciated this type of feedback and said thank you. It didn’t seem like she had seen me at the afterlife convention and I didn’t bring it up. I didn’t want to risk embarrassing her.

“By the way, we’re having a potluck next Sunday, and I’d like you to come.”

“Where we have our sessions?”

“No, Nathan’s hosting,” she said.

This was an opportunity to go into Nathan’s house, rifle through his things. Maybe meet his daughter.

“Does he know you’re asking me?”

“He said anyone from the training was welcome.”

I had spent all this time avoiding him, and here was Bethanny bringing us back together.

“You sound like you’re in a funk,” Bethanny said. Her directness felt too personal, as if it was obvious that I was feeling vulnerable and it was radiating off of me, even through the phone.

“I’ll go,” I said. “I can make fruit salad.”

32.

I got to Lawrence’s apartment before Bethanny did. He called me punctual as he opened the door.

“How’s the shame today?” he asked me.

“Mine?”

“Yours. Mine. All of ours.”

He walked away and emitted a kind of thick giggle.

“I wanted to thank you for cleaning up. I always kept things together before—”

“I don’t mind.”

“I used to, but then I got over it.”

He stared at me and mouthed the word “shame.”

“Since you like cleaning up so much, I wondered if you could do me a favor,” he said.

I told him sure.

“Would you cut my hair? I don’t want to die looking like I spent the night on the street.”

“I don’t know how to cut hair.”

“I can guide you through it. I have an electric razor to clean up my neck. We can use a mirror.”

I followed him into the bathroom and could tell he had prepped everything for me. He knew I wouldn’t say no.

“Will you bring a chair in here for me?”

I did as I was asked and he sat down on it. I looked at the electric razor and a pair of scissors he had laid out. He also had face scrub that looked like he had purchased it five years ago and never used it. I picked it up and stared at it.

“Connie used to cut my hair for me. She was a hairdresser, so she knew what she was doing.”

“That’s a lot to live up to.”

“I’m not going anywhere fancy.”

He pulled at the hair that had grown over his ears.

“Just don’t break the skin.”

As I stood over him, he held up a mirror and pointed out where he wanted me to cut. He dropped his head toward his lap so I could shave his neck.

“No one has touched me in years.”

“What about Bethanny?”