Page 17 of Any More Questions for the Corpse?

“Pretty good,” Des said, smiling at Mal. “Do you have any honey?” Mal rooted around a cupboard and produced a small bottle, then watched as she squeezed honey onto the rest of it.

“So how long have you two been dating?” Mal’s mum said, shattering a silence that up until then hadn’t been awkward. Des nearly choked on her pancake.

“Mum?! No, we’re not …” Mal said, nearly dropping the frying pan.

“We’re not dating,” Des said, trying to breathe through the pancake. Mal got her some water to help it down.

“So how do you two know each other?” Mal’s mum said, undeterred.

“He’s helping me with my work,” Des said. “My boss brought him on.”

“Ohh, and what do you do?” Mal’s dad said, entering the dining room and swiping a pancake Mal had intended for himself.

“I’m with the police.”

“That’s got to be exciting,” Mal’s dad said.

“Not really. My first year on the beat was a bit more lively. It was mostly dealing with drunks and old people, both of which are a lot harder to help when they can shoot fireballs at you.”

“I bet. What do you need Mal’s help for? It’s not chasing down criminals, I’m guessing.” Mal tried not to groan at his dad’s comment and continued cooking.

“He’s helping us out with a murder investigation,” Des said. Mal knew immediately that this small nugget of information wasn’t going to go down well. He’d hoped that because they had a guest his parents might be better behaved, but that hope was short-lived. He watched as his mum’s eyes grew wide and his dad turned to him with a stern look.

“You’re using your powers?”

“Dad, don’t start, we have company.”

“We told you not to use them under any circumstance. What if you run out? What are we meant to do?”

“That’s not how it works. You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Mal could feel his frustration boiling up. Des sat silently, chewing on her pancake.

“You don’t know that, son. You have to think about how it will affect the family.”

“I know more about it than you do. They’re my powers. I can use them how I want.” Mal watched as his mum prepared herself. Whenever his powers came up it was always the same fight. She hated him using his powers, but more than that, she wanted him to do something that he just couldn’t stomach.

“So you’ll defile corpses for them, but you won’t save your own family?” Mal’s mum said, snapping.

“Mum, I’m not having this conversation again. I keep you two going, that’s enough.” Mal put down the pan and went to leave.

“So you want us all to die then?” Mal’s mum said, standing up from the table and blocking his exit.

“You’re already dead,” Mal said. He knew that was a mistake.

“Don’t speak that way to your mother,” Mal’s dad said, standing up to comfort her.

“Oh, for crying out loud, why am I the only one who will acknowledge the fact you’re both dead? Am I living in ‘crazy world’?”

Mal’s mum walked out of the room crying. There were no tears, of course, because there were no tear ducts. Mal wished, just for once, that he could have a meal with his family in which no one walked out crying or yelling.

“We put clothes on your back, and food in your mouth, the least you can do is be a bit more grateful.” Mal wanted to yell “I LITERALLY BROUGHT YOU BACK TO LIFE,” but that was only going to make the situation worse. He went back to the stove and put the now slightly burnt pancake onto a plate. He mouthed the word “sorry” to Des as he sat down at the table and started eating it. His dad sat down next to him to try to play good cop to his mum’s mental cop.

“She just wants us all to keep being a family once everyone’s passed on. What’s wrong with that?” his dad said, taking a bite of pancake.

“Everything. Everything’s wrong with that. People are supposed to die. Death is natural. This, this is something else.” Mal gestured with his fork at the house.

“If we’re unnatural, what does that make you?” Disgust filled his expression as he spoke.

“You’re getting pancake on the chair because you don’t have any organs.” Mal looked at the small puddle of syrup that had emerged where his Dad was sitting.