THE FUNERALS
Ella has always wanted, for sure, one thing since she was a little girl. She wanted to buy a printing press. The problem was that she didn't have enough money to do this. Ella set out to find a way to do this. Ella had thought she was going to get away for her maternal period for returning to work. Her mother had promised to help her with some money and she wanted to take care of the baby, in order to give her daughter the opportunity to work. She had already published her book. She had been working on it for several years, acquiring a high-powered agent, having some brushes with two major publishers.
She could have tried to go to a small publisher, but she was told that her book was a bigger one, with more aspirations. She also learned that the small publishers could be wiped out by the self-publishing revolution of recent years, which had a major impact on mainstream media. The basic premise was that anyone could become a small publisher. She decided to associate with Laura and Sam.Ella couldn't really know what it meant to be a real publisher until she became a partner.She realized that she had to work hard for this purpose.
"I know that I must work hard for a very long time, in order to get to the point of making a lot of money from publishing books,"said Sam. He needed to learn about his job duty and other life skills, necessary for functioning within the press community.
"Laura, you are an experienced director and you can handle with a lot of money. You have a lot of experience in the publishing industry. It's a great goal because the benefits can be unlimited,"said Ella.
Owning a publishing company can be the ultimate hands-on experience. Each project requires personal attention. Generally, people who own publishing companies are prepared to work long hours and to face significant start-up costs. If they can deal successfully with the pressures of payroll, regulations and problem solving, the rewards can be great.
"I will share up to thirty five percent with a serious project manager, who can handle the whole publishing development. There is much to be discussed and I expect only very professional persons to be involved," said Laura.
"Do you need another manager?" Sam was making a ceaseless effort to understand the problems. The main reason Sam found himself in this situation was that he was not, in fact, prepared to deal with the business as he was going to find it.
"The affair is bigger now than before and the manager I have is not a very good one. In fact, I have thought of Michael.This is why I have invited him here," said Laura.
Michael thought of what she said for a few seconds and, after that, he said,"Make it forty percent and I'm your man,"said Michael.
"I cannot give you forty percent on this project and I know you wouldn't mind having just thirty percent, once this is up and running, but I give you thirty five percent and I am willing to discuss about a higher rate later when the level of sales will reach the target level of profit," said Laura.
"I expect a very good knowledge from your co-workers and the ability to create a system. It is a hard work, but only big rewards are expected. I understand that I'm hired. If thirty five percent is all the manager gets and the manager does one hundred percent of the publishing development, the question I have is what do the other partners do to warrant getting sixty five percent? The ratio of work to gain money seems to be unbalanced, "said Michael.
"I am looking for an exceptional book designer to work for me and this will cost me a lot. I need a high quality for the books and this is very expensive. I'm asking you to accept this proposal for a while. Ella and Sam will take twenty percent together. What I need to say is that I want you all to be true partners. We will start a very profitable non-risky affair. As I said in the beginning, we have to work very hard because, without this, we can lose everything,"said Laura.
"I don't know if a great book designer is the key to success," said Michael.
"The clients want to place their manuscripts in the hands of someone they can trust. A good book designer knows how to make the book to be the best one. It's a very creative process, associated with the production details, for making this book to be complete," said Laura.
"We must develop the business plan," concluded Sam, who was paying attention to everything.
Sam wanted to make money to become rich enough for being co-partner in an affair. For this purpose, he had to impose many restrictions on himself. He had been worth every penny of his salary. It was an unimaginable stress to work for ten years, having two jobs at the same time.There were plenty of ways to get money, including speculation, marriage, inheritance, theft, extortion, fraud, counterfeiting and prospecting, but Sam chose to invest his money in the stock market because it had already gained so much popularity. Because the stocks prices had been on the rise, he thought that he had found a safe way to invest. He believed that his stocks were his tickets to richness. He was right because those stock values didn't stop rising. Sooner than he expected, the stock prices were very high, as a result of the mass investments. The stock prices continued to rise until they reached their highest points. This way, Sam became a rich man.
"It isn't very complicated, but it has to be thorough," said Ella.
"It is very important to know how the business must be developed,'' said Laura.
"Without a few lines of credit and an alternative of start-up funding, no business can survive for long time. You have money, but not enough for your purpose.This is why you must get a loan, until the company gets established," said Daniel.
"How can we get the loan?" Sam became curious.
"You must open a bank account, in the company's name, for paying the bills.You must keep it separate from your investment, checking and savings accounts," said Daniel.
"Laura, it's wonderful to see you both together again," said Ella.
"I love him very much,"said Laura.
Laura had not realized what Daniel wanted from her, until they divorced. Even she was separated from Daniel, she didn't feel completely detached from him. She realized that it was much easier to think of their relationship, while they were living separately. She thought for a moment that living as a single would be better, but she concluded that, on the other side, the life can lose its sense. After this experience, Laura realized that Daniel was all she needed. She realized that she loves him and she cannot love another man. The divorce wasn't very easy. It was a traumatic experience, but their problems seemed almost impossible to be solved without this separation. When Daniel decided to return, Laura tried to be honest with him because she wanted to start a new life. Daniel told her to be mature enough to realize that the main problems in their marriage were caused by her attitude and he asked her to be honest enough to admit that she generated the main conflicts. He told her that he had learned to forgive and forget because he understood that it was easier to forgive and forget the past and look towards a better future, than to live with unsolved problems. Her reconciliation with Daniel was a long and difficult process.
"Covering the equipment is the first priority.We need to invest in equipment liability and workman's compensation," said Laura.
"We need to be shielded against some claims, arising from miscalculation, made during our activity," said Ella.
"We must carefully balance our estimations. We have to bend a little on pricing for a steady work flow," said Laura.
"You must know everything about all the risks.You must know how to plan on addressing damage claims and client disputes. All these will go along with strengthening your position as a contractor,"said Daniel.
"Daniel, you're so sweet when you want to help us. I suppose that no other person really knows that you are here talking with us,"said Ella laughing.
"We must employ new workers,"said Laura.
"How can we recruit them?" Sam was boring asking so many questions.
"We can publish announcements in our newspaper. We can choose online postings and fliers," said Ella.
"The book design can turn the manuscript into a professional quality book,"said Laura.
"Ella, tell me about your money,"said Michael, tenderly looking into her eyes and smiling. "You're more beautiful now than ever."
"My mother gave me some money. She decided to help me to realize the dream of my life."
"Generally, people judge a book by its cover. We will work to create the best book design for the audience. The authors are dependent upon our careful attention to detail in this customized book design.This kind of design needs some book printing skills. I will introduce you to the book design preparations, technical information and design decisions, required for a successful book printing. Even you are not designers, you must know everything about this,"concluded Laura.
Lisa's heart was beating very fast and her head was spinning. Being so powerless, she suddenly felt sick to her stomach.
"What has happened to you?" Samantha asked her.
"Give me five minutes,"she told Samantha, suddenly feeling very weak. "I don't know what's wrong with me."
Being worried, Samantha nodded and went to get Lisa a glass of water. Lisa sat back in a chair, having her eyes closed and shaking her hands. She realized she was having an anxiety attack, probably because she attended the funeral. Moreover, going to those things, she felt brought on waves of panic and nausea.
"I still cannot realize that Jeff is dead," she said.
After a few minutes, six lanky boys appeared at the funeral and three of them clambered down from the hearse. One of them had one of those thermometer style tire gauges with him and he was scrabbling around the hearse on his haunches, testing the tire pressures. After a few minutes, he said,"We have come to take the charge of the body. Tell two of you to lend a hand."
"Of course," said Samantha, "Klaus, be kind and ask David to come here."
The coffin was got out of the room for being placed in the hearse. The people drew back enough to make space for it. No one said anything. The engine panted heavily. The lanky boys looked helpless at the driver. The driver turned to David because he was the only one, who could be addressed to ask him for help.
"The body will be directly taken to the church," said David. He stooped and took hold of one of the handles of the coffin.
The liveryman opened the door of the hearse and prepared to mount the coffin's seat. The hearse began slowly to move for some miles with Jeff's daughter and his family's cars following behind. It was pouring with rain, thundering and lightning. Then, a flash of lightning lit the hearse and a crack of thunder sounded like ten thousand drums, which were beaten by invisible hands. The liveryman took one look at Jeff and his coffin, which was gleaming in the bright light. His face's color was turning into a white shade of pale. The lamps of the town began to shine and their artificial light reached the emptiness of the cloudy sky, wrapping everything in a very strange silence. The hearse backed up to the sidewalk of the church. The gate, which was hanging on two hinges, was opened. Something black had been tied to the front door, before their coming.
"There are old chairs made in the chapel by his family," said Samantha.
"Lisa and Jane are going to serve everyone tea, coffee and food, after the funeral," said Marie.
"His photograph in remembrance, embedded in the gravestone, is a good one," said Mary.
"People like something to spark their memory and the photograph is exactly what they need," said Samantha.
"I think that there has always been a need to say a special last goodbye," said Roxanne.
"Lisa chose a very impressive casket," said Dusty.
The rain stopped falling. The coffin was taken out from the hearse for being placed in the church. The casket was making a grating sound. It was answered by the scream of Jeff's daughter, Jane. She was a woman with flat and angular features. She had a long blond hair, very blue eyes and she was entirely dressed in black. Whilst grieving for her father, Jane found herself not wanting any contact with the people around her, except for those to whom she was closest. The bearers carried the coffin along the narrow boards, while the undertaker ran ahead with the coffin rests. There was a logo, having some black and orange flowers. Some white funeral flowers were placed on the casket. They bore the coffin into the church and set it down there. It was a Catholic church, with cream-colored walls and a dark brown carpet. The building had the sober style of the medieval art. The podium sat at the front of the hall. In front of it, there was a table. The people approached the coffin.
"Condolences, Jane," said Roxanne, embracing her.
"Thank you," said Jane, having tears in her eyes.
John and Victor seemed to be engaged in a conversation without end.
"Lately, the funerals have changed because of the secularization of society," said John.
"In many cases, people find the personalization to be valuable. The personalization changes the way in which the people view the funerals," said Victor.
"Klaus, be kind and take the lid off and let me see his face," wailed Jane between her sobs.
Klaus looked almost beseeching into her face with red and swollen eyes. Her beautiful nose was distended and there were tears on either side of it. Her mouth and eyes drawn down solemnly, awaiting the opening of the coffin. Silently, she began to weep. Feeble steps were heard on the front of the stairs and a tall old man, having a very gray hair and a long gray beard, slowly entered the church. He went up to the coffin and stood, keeping a cross between his hands and being seemingly so embarrassed by Jane's grief. His name was John and he was priest. At this point, she began weeping again and the priest prayed silently for wisdom to help her.
"Sorry to hear about your loss, Jane. Death is the most horrible thing to live through, but we can learn so many things from someone's death and we learn to pass through this," said the priest.
"This life of ours is so short and we have an eternity to spend together. Love is the strongest link in that invisible chain that connects us," said Jane.
Jeff's head, artificially reconstructed, seemed to be even more indifferent in its rigid stillness than in life. No one could see that chaste repose on his face, which we expect to find on the face of any dead person. Death could not wholly relax the tension and smooth the countenance for expressing a perfect peace.
"He was a very good person, but we did nothing to understand him and to help him," said Klaus.
"Poor girl, I think that she suffers very much," remarked David, referring to Jane.
Lisa touched her. Soon, the people started to come to the church from all sides of the town. It looked like it was going to be a long funeral, with more than a dozen of speakers. A little before the start of the funeral, Michael came up to the group. From the moment that Alexander saw him approaching, he felt his reaction inside, which increased as Michael came near him.
"How are you, Michael?" Alexander asked him.
"I am elected as the director of the theater. It is a real honor to serve on this prestigious art as a director," said Michael.
"Congratulation," said Alexander.
"I want to do the best to honor Jeff's memory as a director. I outlined an overview of the further development of the theater in a bid to attract the audiences. I want to promote some playwrights as well as some classical and modern scripts," said Michael.
"I really don't know what happened to him. It is very strange that he didn't seem to commit suicide," said Alexander, seemingly not paying attention to what he said.
The family started to talk about Jeff's life because they wanted the time to pass in waiting the religious service. When the services started, everyone quit talking. Then, a little while later in the service, after a short litany of Psalm twenty three, Jeff's friends wanted to do something special at the service and they sang a liturgical song. They finished the service with one of Jeff's favorite religious songs. Many people commented on how uplifting the service was. It didn't dwell on the sadness, but on the joy of Jeff's life and on the hope and promises of our Lord. After the funeral, Michael came to Lisa and found her sitting on the small bench in front of Jeff' grave.
"How do you feel now, Lisa?" Michael asked her, while he was staying in front of Jeff's grave.
"I loved him," said Lisa.
"The loss of a loved one is, generally, never easy and nobody will ever expect it to be. For you, this funeral passed as a hazy memory. So, don't feel guilty of not remembering the details of this last farewell from now on," said Michael ironically.
"I loved you both at the same time," continued Lisa. "Don't blame me."
"Some day, I will leave you," said Michael.
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