Hands All Over

Ch. 62 Sidekick

Angela sat at the desk in the mortuary office balancing the books while Skeeter and Bones prepared for Piney's memorial. She'd brought Rigor along with her, taking him for a run before she started her desk work. The pup was currently curled in the corner in the little bed she'd bought him taking a nap. The beautiful dark wood box filled with the Piney's ashes sat on her desk, a constant reminder of how dangerous the life of a Son could be. It would be buried underneath the headstone Opie had requested in a plot by Donna rather than out with the veterans. Angela had tried to convince him to choose a spot by John Teller, but Opie had adamantly refused. She couldn't blame him. The club had killed his wife and his father, it was no surprise he didn't want Piney's final resting place to be anywhere near its founder no matter how good of friends they were.

"Hey Ang?" Bones voice called from the front hall.

"Yeah?" she replied, leaning back in her chair to wait for her nerdy apprentice to appear.

Bones poked his newly buzzed head in, his thick glasses slipping down his nose. "There's a kid out in the graveyard over by the Winston plots. I already dug the hole for today, but I haven't tarped the dirt so it looks...messy. I was going to do that now, but I didn't want to bug the poor kid. He looked upset as it was and considering its a Son's plot..."

"I got it," Angela said, pushing away from the desk. The sound of her movement woke Rigor and the puppy walked his way over to her, sitting at her ankle and looking up at her expectantly."You finish Mrs. Collins?"

He nodded enthusiastically, squatting down to pet Rigor too. "All prepped and ready for makeup. Skeeter's picking up someone at the hospital, but then he's gonna take the rest of the day off. I got a body ready for the oven which is heating up and I'm going to steal your puppy."

She laughed at his rambling, reaching down a hand to scratch Rigor behind the ears. "Everything sounds good except you stealing my puppy. That's not going to happen. Huh, Rigs?" she cooed to the dog. "C'mon, let's go see who's making Boner nervous in the cemetery."

"He doesn't make me nervous!" Bones shouted after her. "I just don't want to bother him."

Angela rolled her eyes as she stepped out of the mortuary and headed towards the cemetery letting Rigor lead the way. The young pup was full of energy which made him an excellent running partner. They'd already gone on a long run though, so Rigor was moving a little slower now, enjoying sniffing the graves as he went. "You pee on one, and I'm gonna have to stop letting you come with me," she warned him.

She saw the lone figure standing at the Winston plot and smiled sadly. Kenny Winston had grown like a weed during the short span of time she'd known him for. Now at almost thirteen, he was almost taller than she was, obviously taking after his father's size. He was wearing a nice dress shirt and slacks with some dress shoes that looked like they'd seen better days. "Hey Ken," she greeted, surprising the young boy.

He looked up at her with wide hazel eyes, the same color as his father's. "Oh. Hey Angie," he replied on an awkward nod. He looked down at Rigor and smiled, kneeling down to pet him. "He yours?"

"Rigor," she replied on a nod, letting go of the leash so that the puppy could jump all over Kenny.

"Cool," he said, chuckling as Rigor licked his face.

"Did you come for Piney's service?"

Kenny nodded. "Grandma dropped me off early," he explained, still playing with Rigor and letting the dog nip playfully at his fingers. "Ellie didn't want to come. Said she had better things to do."

Angela frowned, a little disappointed in the eldest Winston. She'd have to call her later. "Everyone grieves in their own way," she said on a sigh. "Good to see you though. Been awhile."