Maycomb, evening.
When Mrs. Calpurnia called, Scout Finch was dealing with an extremely difficult corpse.
It was a female body beyond recognition, the facial features no longer organs, all mashed together, the body seemed to have been filled with several liters of water, swollen like a balloon, with wrinkled skin and hair like weeds, she was at a loss on where to start.
Why have there been so many of these clients lately? She threw down the tweezers in her hand in frustration, took off her rubber gloves, and walked out of the morgue with her phone.
"Mom..."
"Your father and I have a ballroom dance event tonight, far out in the west of the city, youll have to solve dinner by yourself," Mrs. Calpurnias sweet voice came from the other end of the phone.
Even after nearly thirty years of listening, Scout Finch still felt a jolt, how did her mother, such a unique woman, end up with her conservative old man?
"Okay, be careful on the road."
"Actually, its okay if you dont want to solve it by yourself... Mom can..."
"No, no, no," Scout Finch quickly interrupted her, "I really, really, really want to solve it by myself, really mom!"
"But... Ive already made an appointment for you, seven in the evening, at that newly opened French restaurant near home, I heard he studied in France, I chose it specially for you!" Her mother spoke in a tone as if a five-year-old cutie helped an old lady across the road and was waiting for praise from the teacher, discussing her 105th blind date with her.
"Alright, send me his photo and name later, Ill take a look first," she could only compromise.
At home, she has always been at the bottom of the food chain, and Scout Finch is very aware of this. She still remembers when she just started working, feeling that she could be independent and wanted to move out to live on her own, her brother frowned, her mother pouted, and her father coughed softly, and she obediently never mentioned it again.
After hanging up the phone, she sighed, turned around and went back to the work area.
When she got to the door, the light suddenly went out, a strong smell of alcohol came, and before she could think, she was pushed against the door, and the man immediately came up, pinning her arms behind her back with one hand, and the other hand deftly roamed around her waist, and after finding her lips, he kissed her, passing the alcohol in his mouth, and the spicy cold liquid slid down her throat into her stomach.
Her alcohol tolerance is a cup and down! The stomach began to burn and churn, and her cheeks turned red.
"Ugh..." Scout Finch bit his tongue fiercely, and the man only groaned in pain, but he did not intend to let her go.
Whats going on, where did this person come from? How much alcohol did he drink?!
The man would not give her time to think about these things, and with one hand, he had unbuttoned her shirt and bent down to kiss her softly, and after finding her lips, he kissed her and teased her.
"Who are you? Let go of me! Or Ill call the police!" She was extremely uneasy, twisting her body, and kicked the mans lower body with her left foot, but the man didnt even groan, and took it hard, blocking her legs with his leg, and his breathing became more rapid as he kissed her and kissed her.
"Here... is the morgue..." The strong smell of alcohol and the strange breath enveloped her, and she didnt know what kind of alcohol he gave her to drink, and the wine was coming up, and her body, which was originally stiff, began to soften and slide down, and her limbs couldnt use force, and the man saw this and lightened his movements, bringing her forward, and the hot and hot kisses fell on her lips, neck, and chest.
"Be good... give me..." He whispered in her ear, holding her earlobe, his voice low and charming, tempting, and bit by bit, he swallowed her last rationality.
Scout Finch turned her head and took the initiative to kiss him.
A night of indulgence, waking up was in the presidential suite of a five-star hotel in Maycomb, Scout Finch moved her body, and her whole body ached, she opened her eyes and saw a cold and handsome face.
Thick eyebrows, a high nose, thin lips, and skin as white as jade, there was a faint inconspicuous mole under the corner of his right eye. He seemed to be sleeping restlessly, his brows furrowed.
She bit her lower lip lightly. Although she was not a girl who had never been involved in the world, she had been clean for five years after being single, and had never been to a bar, but she was taken advantage of by a strange man in the morgue... It seems that she also took the initiative to kiss him in the end... and followed him to the hotel...
She stared at that exquisite face for a long time, making sure the man showed no signs of waking up, then she got up, took a shower, dressed, and was ready to leave.
Just as a romantic encounter, after drunkenness.
Her mobile phone had been out of power and blackened, and she had a quick breakfast and hurried to the Maycomb Funeral Home to tidy up the body that was received yesterday and send it for cremation and burial.
Her grandfather was the only undertaker in the city last century, and now young people are not willing to deal with the dead all day, and no matter how high the salary is, they still cant recruit a few people. After being cheated by her boyfriend who had been running for five years, she accepted her grandfathers legacy and became an undertaker.
She felt that some people who are alive are dirtier than these bodies full of dirt and wounds.
But this job determined that she could not fall in love, get married, and live like ordinary girls. After all, many men are afraid to meet her just by hearing about her job, and over time, she has also looked down on these things and feels that it is good to live alone. So now she is 28 years old and still single, and Mrs. Calpurnia arranges blind dates for her every day.
Blind date... Speaking of this, she seems to have completely forgotten about the blind date last night!
Sure enough, as soon as her mobile phone was charged and turned on, Mrs. Calpurnias call came.
"Mom - Im sorry I -"
"Qingqing, its okay, if he doesnt like us, we dont like him either, isnt he just a secretary of the municipal office? Whats the big deal? How late did you wait in the restaurant last night? Why didnt you go home?"
Scout Finch immediately became energetic, and it turned out that her blind date didnt go to the appointment yesterday either? "Well, I waited for more than an hour, and then I met Shishi, and I went to her house to sleep for the night."
Her mother didnt seem to be interested in these, "Okay, then come back early to eat today, Ill find something for you another day. I heard that the old Zhang in our courtyard, his old comrade in arms had a grandson to..."
"Okay, okay, okay, Im going to work first, mom, I received a relatively difficult one yesterday, and I havent started yet." She hung up the phone to avoid her mothers nagging.
She adjusted her mood, took out the tools, and carefully wiped the body clean, and then took out the oil color and pigment to apply blush to her, combed her hair, and put on the white gauze skirt that the family prepared.
After getting everything ready, she couldnt help but think of the man last night, should he be awake by now...
"Ready?" A mans warm, deep, and familiar voice came from behind.
Scout Finch couldnt believe it and turned her head. The person she just thought about was standing in front of her.
The man was wearing a decent black suit, with the coat casually draped over his right wrist, and the rimless glasses on the bridge of his nose added a touch of elegance to him, covering the mole at the corner of his eye, and also covering the deep stars in his eyes.
Wasnt it the place where he was taken away last night? She had forgotten about it, and she didnt leave without saying goodbye...
Thinking of last night, a touch of red appeared on her cheeks.
"Uh... its ready, please mourn." Although she doesnt know what the relationship between him and the corpse is, she cant find any other topic to break this subtle awkward atmosphere, she can only say the polite words she usually says when the family comes to pick up the body.
The man nodded at her slightly, greeted the staff who came to carry the body, and then walked out of the morgue slowly.
Seeing that he seemed to not recognize himself at all, Scout Finch couldnt help but ask, "Whats your name?"
The man didnt stop, nor did he answer.
Scout Finchs heart sank, she quickly changed her work clothes, picked up her bag, and caught up with the mans pace.
"About last night, are you blacked out or dont you remember? Dont you have anything to say to me?"
The man stopped and looked back at her, "If you want to call the police, its normal for men and women to be happy, and you were sober when you walked into the hotel with me. If you want me to be responsible..." The man paused, as if he thought of something, he hooked the corner of his mouth, his eyes narrowed, and a perfect smile bloomed on his handsome face, "Tomorrow morning at ten, bring your household registration book, and see you at the entrance of the Civil Affairs Bureau."
After saying that, he turned around and followed the staff who had walked far away.
Only Scout Finch stood there like a wooden chicken, and after a long time, she digested the meaning of the mans words.
He said, he wanted to marry her?