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The following morning, Russ and Stephen wished him luck before they went off to work, and Evan reviewed the notes he’d made the day before.
He showered and shaved carefully, then neatly styled his hair, not wanting a single strand out of place. As he dressed in his best suit and tied the subtle black and gray check tie, Evan realized he was ready for the interview. Nervous, yes, but prepared. The talk with Stephen did more than make him willing to accept help; it gave him a boost of confidence. Stephen had probably always been braver than Evan, but he’d come from nothing and made a successful, happy life. With all the help Evan was getting, why couldn’t he do the same?
The drive to the funeral home was less than a mile. He’d thought about walking, but he wasn’t exactly athletic, and he didn’t want to show up to his interview drenched in sweat. He’d done his research, and the photos online showed a beautiful old house that had been converted into a funeral home. What he hadn’t expected was the way it was tucked in the middle of Midtown’s skyscrapers and businesses. The lawn was immaculate and there were flowers all around. He tried not to gawk as he walked around the side of the building to the service entrance as he’d been instructed. He followed the directions to the staff office and was greeted by a smiling receptionist. This place was way bigger than what he was used to.
“Can I help you, sir?” she asked.
“Evan Harris. I’m here for an interview with Lori Harmon.” He squashed down the urge to let his voice rise at the end in a question.
“Have a seat in a chair over there, and I’ll let her know you’re here.” She gestured toward a row of three seats near the door. Evan took a seat, clutching the leather portfolio Russ had loaned him. He still didn’t know how he’d gotten lucky enough to stumble across guys like Russ and Stephen, but he promised himself he was going to stop trying to figure out why it had happened and be grateful.
A few moments later, a woman entered from the back hallway, stopped briefly at the reception desk, then walked straight toward Evan. She was average height and a little round, with blonde hair cut above her shoulders. Her smile was warm and welcoming, and it made the little lines around her eyes crinkle, as if she smiled often.
He stood, taking a deep breath as he squared his shoulders. He tried to channel Stephen’s inner strength and confidence, feel it flowing through his veins. Damn it, Evan had been good at his job. Not only because he was quiet and unobtrusive, good at arranging flowers and stocking tissues, but also because he was good at listening. He couldn’t count the number of family members who had poured their heart out to him.
No one here knew him as shy, awkward Evan. He could be whomever he wanted.
The blonde woman smiled at him again and held out a hand. “Evan Harris, I presume?”
“Yes.” He shook her hand, returning her smile.
“I’m Lori. I’ll be interviewing you today.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Lori,” he said politely.
“If you’ll follow me this way to my office, please, we can begin your interview.” She gestured down the hall she’d come from and Evan followed. She walked briskly, and they made small talk about the weather as they walked through the maze of offices. “Do you live here in Atlanta?” she asked as they entered her private office.
It was small, but the furniture was nice, and there were plants by the window and family pictures on top of the file cabinet across the room. Evan liked it. It felt ... friendly. Not as intimidating as he’d expected.
“I just moved here,” he answered. “Right now, I’m staying with friends until I find a job.”
She gestured for him to take a seat as she sat behind her desk. “May I ask what prompted you to move to Atlanta?” Her tone was kind but it made Evan anxious. It was the perfect opportunity for him to tell her he was gay but he froze for a second. He thought of Stephen, waiting until his thirties to be out at work, of Russ, who had always been out, and suddenly, the words were there. His voice was calm and sure.
“My uncle owns the funeral home where I worked. He discovered I was gay and fired me. My parents kicked me out, so I came to Atlanta to start fresh.”
He held his breath for a moment as he watched her face, looking for the hints she’d reject him, but her frown was sympathetic. “I’m so sorry to hear that.”
“Thank you.” He took a deep breath. “Will it be a problem here?”
Lori looked startled. “Your sexual orientation? Certainly not. Here at Harmon and Sons, we pride ourselves on hiring a diverse staff. We want our clients to feel they’re in the best possible hands during their time of need. A diverse staff allows us to better serve our clients and makes for a richer working environment.”
“That’s ... that’s wonderful.”
Her smile was tinged with sympathy. “I’ll be frank. The way your job ended does complicate matters. Normally, I’d follow up this interview with a call to your previous employer but in this case ...”
Evan nodded, smiling thinly. “My uncle won’t exactly have a good reference for me. I swear, though, I am a hard worker, I did well in my classes, and I am good at my job. If you give me a chance, I know I can prove it to you.”
“You brought a copy of your resume and a transcript from the university you attended?”
“Yes.” Evan flipped open the leather portfolio and pulled out both pieces of paper and handed them over.
“Very good.” She put on a pair of reading glasses and skimmed the papers briefly before laying them on the desk, setting her glasses on top. “I like everything I see here, Evan. You don’t have as much experience as some of the other applicants I’ve interviewed, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes, people who have worked for one funeral home for many years can be quite rigid, and every place is a little different.” She smiled at him. “As a new hire, you would be expected to work evenings and weekends and do the bulk of the set-up. I know the hours and tasks are usually the least favorite, but it is important.”
“The hours don’t matter, and I don’t mind the set-up duties. I’m good at fixing problems without anyone noticing there was one in the first place. I like being nearly invisible to the families. Not noticeable until they need me, then in the right place to fix any problem they have.”
Lori smiled. “I’m not sure I’ve ever heard anyone word it that way, Evan, but I think it’s a wonderful trait for a funeral director.”
“Thank you.” Evan began to relax. The interview was going well.
“Let me tell you about the company and our philosophy. My great, great grandfather opened a small funeral home in Atlanta in 1889. Over the years, we’ve expanded to include three locations within Atlanta. Two of my brothers are funeral directors, and we have a number of cousins employed here as well. In an age of large chain corporations buying up smaller, family-owned business, we pride ourselves on remaining independent and continuing the same tradition of personalized, caring service and customer satisfaction.”
Evan nodded and listened attentively as she went through the history of the company and how it was run. It all sounded good to him, but frankly, anything was a step up from working for his uncle. One statement stuck out for him though.
“Harmon and Sons strives for a low turnover rate for employees. We like to help your career grow here, and we encourage our employees to take advantage of training courses and tuition reimbursement. We’ve had funeral assistants go on to become funeral directors and funeral directors often go to school for additional grief counseling training.”
“That sounds fantastic,” Evan replied. Maybe, if it turned out he didn’t actually hate working at a funeral home, he could have a career he liked. Long after he’d finished his training and internship with his uncle working as an assistant funeral director, he’d only been allowed to do the jobs his uncle didn’t want. After his licensing exam, he was supposed to be a full-fledged funeral director, but his uncle had made Evan his errand boy whenever he could, sending him to pick up bodies. His uncle took all the showy jobs: schmoozing with families, upselling them on products and services they didn’t need, even the embalming (his uncle prided himself on his embalming skills). It wasn’t that Evan minded—frankly, he hated doing the embalming, his uncle was welcome to it—but it bothered him that he was only allowed to do the jobs his uncle deemed beneath him.
He only had a chance to do what he was good at—dealing with the families—when his uncle didn’t want to.
“I’d like to ask you some questions to get a feel for your strengths and weaknesses.”
Evan sat up straighter as he answered her questions. He had Googled every possible interview question, written down the answers, and asked Russ to look it over. He didn’t enjoy this part of the interview process, but he felt prepared for it. The answers flowed off his tongue without too much stuttering.
“Do you have any questions about the job?” she asked when she was done quizzing him.
Evan nodded. “A few.” After Lori answered his questions about the job duties and benefits, he sat back, satisfied. “Thank you. I think you answered everything I had questions about,” he said.
She smiled. “I think I have everything I need from you, as well; although, I’d like to take you on a brief tour of our facility, if you’re interested.”
“Yes, thank you,” Evan said.
He tried not to gape as they walked through the huge old mansion with marble floors, antique furniture, and more chandeliers than Evan had seen outside of a movie. Lambert Funeral Home seemed shabby and old in comparison. Evan would have felt intimidated, except Lori was the nicest woman he’d ever met, chattering on about the history of the building and her family, giving Evan a chance to throw in a few comments but not making him feel pressured to talk.
As they wrapped up the tour, she led him to the service entrance and thanked him for coming in. “Truly, I’m impressed with what I’ve seen, and I think you’d be a good fit here, Evan. I have one more candidate to interview later today but expect to hear from me by the beginning of next week about the position either way.”
“Thank you. I appreciate it.” Evan offered his hand. She followed suit, giving him a warm, firm handshake.
“Our goal is treat our employees like a family.” Her expression grew serious. “Better than a family, in your case. This isn’t proper interview protocol, but I hope you’ll excuse me when I say how sorry I am to hear about what happened. I’m a mom and I—I can’t imagine disowning my children or my nieces or nephews for anything, much less being gay. I’m sorry you were treated so terribly.”
Touched, Evan had to swallow before he spoke. “Thank you.”
“You mentioned you had friends you were staying with. Is there anything you need? There are resources for homeless LGBT youth here in Atlanta.”
Funny, once Evan got settled at Russ and Stephen’s place he hadn’t thought of himself as homeless, but he supposed, technically, he was. Without them ... well, he didn’t want to think about it. He shook his head in response to her question. “I appreciate the offer, but I’m set. My friends are a fantastic couple who live here in Midtown. I’m sure they’ll be happy to have me get my own place, but for now, I have a comfy air mattress in the living room and all the help I could possibly need. I may not have family but I was lucky enough to have people to turn to.”
“Oh, good! I am so glad to hear that,” she said, pressing a hand to her chest. “My son is only thirteen, and while you’re obviously a bright, college-educated young man with a great future ahead of you, I can’t help seeing a little of him in you. The thought of him out on his own breaks my heart.”
Evan had to blink a few times. “Thank you,” he whispered. Now he wanted the job here even more. What would it be like to work for a company where he didn’t have to hide or lie about who he was? What would it be like to be open and honest for the first time in his life? In less than an hour, Lori seemed to care more about him than anyone in his family.
She shook his hand again and promised she’d be in touch. Evan left with a smile on his face, cautiously hopeful he might have a chance at the position. If he was hired, he knew it would turn his life around.