Max let out a sigh as he stepped outside of Blitzo and Fizzarolli's Funeral Parlor for a breath of fresh air. His feet were throbbing from having been forced to stand all day, pain radiated along his spine and throughout his joints. He had a massive headache and to make matters worse, he wreaked of embalming-fluid. Max glared up at the full-moon as it was already well-past nightfall. Max heavily resented his bosses for forcing him to work so late, Mr. Blitzo especially since he was the hardest on him.
Being a mortician was no longer Max's dream job. Working for the small, rundown funeral parlor was making him miserable and he knew he would end up quitting on the spot sooner rather than later. Forcing him to cancel his big date with Millie may have just been the final nail in the metaphorical coffin he had gradually been building for this job. Max released another sigh as he glanced over his clipboard, using the light of the parlor's inappropriate, neon, blinking signs to view his workload progress. They were able to identify the bartender as Husk Lauer and the little girl as Nifty Marie as well as many other victims of the sinkhole.
The only body they had yet to identify was the last corpse they found and also the last corpse they had left to autopsy for the night: That mysterious, grinning brunette of whom they have since labeled John Doe for the time being. Tears began to sting the brims of Max's brown eyes as he reached into his pocket to retrieve the small, suede, black box that held the engagement-ring he had purchased for his girlfriend. He popped open the box to view the large diamond, his frustrated, tear-filled expression glaring back up at him from the flawless rock's reflection.
"Gotcha!" Just then, Max was startled into nearly dropping the box by a pair of dainty hands upon his shoulders. He dropped his clipboard as he managed to catch the small box after a bit of fumbling, quickly closing it and hiding it behind his back as he spun around to view his supposed attacker. His pounding heart began to calm upon realizing that it was only his girlfriend, Millie.
"Sorry! I couldn't resist." The Southern girl giggled at the beads of sweat that now coated her boyfriend's already, pale face. Millie was a tan-skinned, young woman with black, messy hair and a beauty-mark on her left cheek. She wore heavy makeup and black overalls since she was a farmer girl.
"You almost scared me to dea...tears!" Max panted as he used his free-hand to clutch his pounding chest.
"Aw, I'm sorry, Maxie..." She apologized with another giggle.
"What are you doing here?" Max then asked with a small smile since he was happy to see the one and only light he had left in his life.
"I missed ya so I thought I'd stop by and bring ya some coffee." Millie blushed as she offered a Starbucks cup to her boyfriend of which he eagerly accepted since he desperately needed the caffeine.
"Moxxie?" Max then began to question the name that was written on the styrofoam cup.
"I'm sorry, Sweetie; I told 'em to write "Maxie" on it." Millie explained with a sheepish smile her intentions to initially decorate her boyfriend's coffee-cup with the pet-name she often called him.
"They never get my name right; they didn't even spell "Moxie" right..." Max then began to complain about his irritation with Starbucks' inability to spell his name correctly.
"Moxxie would make a great nickname for you." Millie then pointed out with a giggle.
"Ugh! Don't call me Moxxie! It sounds like a dog's name..." Max insisted before turning to pick his clipboard back up from the ground.
"Awww but you're cute like a little-ol' puppy, my sweet little Mox-Mox!" Millie then teased as she hugged her boyfriend from behind. Max's only response was to playfully roll his eyes with a smirk.
"So, how's work goin'?" Millie casually inquired as Max took a small sip of his coffee.
"Honestly? I'm thinking about quitting..." Max admitted with hesitation as he absent-mindedly swished the coffee around in his cup.
"But workin' with dead bodies is your dream job!" Millie protested.
"Working with dead bodies is not my dream job; comforting people is...Ever since I gave my cousin that blanket at my aunt's funeral, I knew that was what I wanted to do with my life; helping people in their time of need but here, it just feels so cold...My bosses both treat me like their personal punching-bag, this job takes up most of my time, especially away from you and the clientele is the worst! I never knew how frugal old people could be! It's always:
"How much is this? How much is that?" And if the price is too high, "I'm too fat!" It doesn't help that Mr. Blitzo keeps undermining me and slashing prices that he won't let me slash..." Max began to vent to his girlfriend almost a year of emotions he kept bottled up.
"And my back is killing me! My spine...AAAAAIIIIIIIIEEEEEEE!" Max groaned before clutching his back and letting out a ear-piercing shriek that caused Millie to jump.
"Aw, my poor baby...You do whatever you think is right and I'll support it..." Millie reassured before beginning to rub her boyfriend's shoulders. Max smiled as he felt himself relax at his girlfriend's touch. Millie always knew exactly how to make him feel better.
"You know? I wanted to wait for the perfect moment but I don't wanna wait anymore..." Max turned to face his confused girlfriend before pulling the small, suede box out of his pocket and presenting her with the diamond ring it held within.
"Millie? Will you marry me?" Max proposed as Millie covered her mouth in shock.
"Oh, Maxie...Yes!" She practically sobbed as tears began to gush from her eyes, smearing her mascara.
"Whata ya mean ya quit?! You can't quit!" Just as Max slipped the engagement ring onto Millie's finger, the couple's romantic moment was interrupted by Mr. Blitzo shouting at Mr. Fizzarolli of whom was in the process of storming out. Like Mr. Blitzo and Max, Mr. Fizzarolli wore a black suit. He also had long, silky, black hair that fell into a point past his waist and also had skin that was as pale as Max's.
"Sorry, Blitzo but I found me a new sugar-daddy!" Mr. Fizzarolli bragged with a smirk.
"But our business is just about to take off!" Mr. Blitzo argued.
"This pathetic, little, funeral home ain't goin' nowhere and you know it, especially not with the way you slash prices..." Mr. Fizzarolli pointed out.
"I only slash prices for special cases!" Mr. Blitzo anxiously reasoned.
"Every case is a special case with you, Blitzo! Every, single one! Our last client was just some kid prank-callin' us!" Mr. Fizzarolli finally snapped back at his former partner.
"No he wasn't! We just got disconnected..." Mr. Blitzo became more nervous, knowing that he was about to lose this argument.
"Blitz', he literally started sayin': "Aw, pee-pee! Poo-poo!" When we asked for his address...Face it, this funeral home is a joke and it's a bad one..." Mr. Fizzarolli pointed out, provoking his former partner to sigh in defeat at his inevitable loss of the argument.
"Call me when ya catch on!" Mr. Fizzarolli cheerfully taunted before beginning to skip away.
"No, you call me when ya need us to sew ya back together after your new side-piece cuts ya up into pieces!" Mr. Blitzo retorted as he shook his fist at his former partner. Mr. Blitzo then glared at his employee and his girlfriend upon realizing that they had just witnessed his business partner walking out on him. Fighting back tears, Mr. Blitzo swiftly turned on his heels and made his way back inside of the funeral parlor. Max and Millie exchanged unsure glances before deciding to follow the parlor's now, only owner inside. Max always suspected that there may have been more between his bosses than just a business partnership but the clear breakup he had just witnessed that night, left no doubt in his mind.
The moment the couple set foot inside of the funeral parlor, they were met with Loony barking and snarling at them with aggression.
"Loony! Bad dog! Bad!" Max smacked the Husky's snout with his clipboard which seemed to work as she let out a yelp before slinking away with a quiet snarl.
"Sorry, I swear that mangey thing gets more aggressive with age..." Max apologized with a sigh before the two continued their search for Mr. Blitzo. The couple finally located him in the morgue where he was preparing the John Doe for their final autopsy of the night.
"Hey, c'mon in!" Mr. Blitzo welcomed the couple in with a friendly smile as if nothing even happened earlier. Max cringed as the urge to shield his new fiancé's eyes from the naked corpse in the room began to rise within him. That was until he took notice of the look of pure fascination upon his fiancé's countenance.
"Cool!" Millie beamed since unlike Max, she always had an obsession with the macabre.
"Ah, this is nothin'; you should get a look at some of our other bodies! Now, that is cool!" Mr. Blitzo began to brag since he took pride in his line of work.
"Sir!" Max began to scold his boss for suggesting something that was so disrespectful to the dead.
"Can I?" Millie then requested, her eyes beaming with excitement.
"Sure! Pick a cooler, any cooler!" Mr. Blitzo was quick to grant her permission before Max could even have a chance to protest. He then gestured toward the corpse-filled, metallic coolers that lined the entire, left wall of the embalming room.
"That one!" Millie then eagerly picked a cooler at random. Max looked to his boss with pleading eyes, not wanting to expose his new fiancé to such a gruesome sight.
"You heard the lady!" Mr. Blitzo backed Millie up with a smirk as Max sighed and opened the cooler of Anthony Kovach. Anthony was a young man with blond hair of whom had died from a drug overdose. A blood-vessel had burst within his left-eye, causing it to turn almost completely black.
"That ain't the cooler I picked..." Millie pointed out with a small pout.
"There are some things you can't unsee..." Max warned her with a frown of concern.
"Aw c'mon, Max! The lady can handle it!" Mr. Blitzo insisted as he yanked open the cooler of Cheryl Bomb against Max's wishes. There, lied a young woman with long, messy, hot-pink hair and a small sheet covering her face.
"Why'd ya tie bells around their toes?" Millie then questioned upon finally taking notice of the small bells that had been tied around Cheryl and Anthony's big toes.
"In case they either turn out to still be alive or some sicko tries to steal 'em! If these stiffs move, even a little, we'll know it..." Mr. Blitzo explained.
"Why is her face covered up?" Millie then questioned with pure curiosity.
"This idiot blew a hole straight through her face with a cherry-bomb!" Mr. Blitzo explained with a tone that was far, too perky for the situation.
"Why would someone do that to themselves?" Millie cringed as she turned her attention back to the young woman's corpse.
"Our job ain't to figure our why, sweetie; it's to figure out how..." Mr. Blitzo then informed her as he folded his arms over his chest. Slowly, Millie reached for the blanket with the intention of exposing Cheryl's deformed face when she was startled enough to scream by Max suddenly causing the bell on the corpse's toe to jingle.
"Maxie, you booger!" Millie giggled as Max and Mr.Blitzo both burst into laughter. After all of the bodies had been returned to their rightful coolers, Max led Millie back outside.
"I gotta go, Sweetie; I'll see ya when ya get home, fiancé..." Millie purred before caressing Max's cheeks and passionately kissing his soft lips. Mr. Blitzo watched with a glare of jealousy from the front windows as Max practically melted into the kiss. After having just lost Mr. Fizzarolli, witnessing Max's happiness stung Mr. Blitzo's cold heart quite a bit. As Millie flashed her fiancé one, final, playful smirk before leaving, Max returned to the parlor's lobby with a lovestruck smile plastered across his countenance.
"What?" he then questioned upon noticing that his boss was still glaring at him.
"Just get back to work..." Mr. Blitzo commanded before storming off back towards the embalming room. Max released a sigh of frustration at the fact that his boss was in another bad mood. The mysterious John Doe may have been their last autopsy for that night but Max just knew tonight was going to be a long night to bare.