Kim, the administrative assistant, sat at her desk and Joe lounged, smirking by the coffee machine on the credenza in the corner. Tonight—Christmas Eve—marked the halfway point of my apprenticeship at Kincaid’s, Round Lake Wisconsin’s oldest mortuary. Even though, technically, I got high scores as a mortician in training, I still felt like a failure. I’d definitely failed at fitting in, anyway. It didn’t help that I’d had a crush on Kim since we went to grade school together over a decade ago. Tonight I wanted to prove that I was a valuable part of the Kincaid team. “Hey, Mark, tonight is your six month anniversary with Kincaid, eh?” Kim said with a smile. I couldn’t help noticing how her shoulder length brown hair framed her heart-shaped face. She still had the cute, athletic build she had back in school, only now she stood five foot two inches. “Yes.” I plunked into a chair next to the receptionist desk.
