Stirring the Sheets

by Chad Lutzke

What good are pearly whites if you’ve got no one to smile for?

The unexpected death that cuts deep, taking you by surprise. Or the slow decay of life from illness.

But don’t live the life you’ve got left like you’re the one who's dead.”

Emmett drives to the funeral home, his conscience screaming the whole way.

Oh gosh… what is he going to do with the corpse?

What are you doing, Emmett? Leave the woman be. She didn’t off herself so some dirty old man can gawk at her corpse.

“Just for tonight,” then zips the bag and reaches for the gurney.

You can drag this body all over the house and down the block and it’ll never be alive, old man. It’ll never be Kate.

This is about hating yourself enough to go to extremes. It’s about surviving, when all you want to do is wake up dead.

And you’re still not painting Kate’s nails, you sick old man.