How to Say Goodbye

Pallbearers: a weight not everyone could carry. I made a mental note to tell Raj that one.

‘Not a problem. The guys we use are extremely professional.’

‘We wondered about the eulogy. We don’t feel strong enough to speak on the day…’ She flicked a look at Callum who was scrolling on his phone. He had barely spoken apart from thanking me for the coffee. ‘But we would like to have an involvement in what’s said, if that’s OK?’

I nodded. ‘The celebrant you have chosen to oversee the service will be able to do that for you. I’ll arrange for him to come to your house so he can go through the style and content with you. He will also ask you about a choice of songs or hymns you may like, so it might be worth having a think beforehand, so you don’t feel put on the spot.’

‘Well, she had a bit of a thing about Enrique Iglesias back in the day, didn’t she? When she first met Cal they constantly had his album playing whenever I went round.’

A flash of something crossed Callum’s eyes.

‘You certainly don’t want to pick from the Now That’s What I Call Funeral playlist,’ Mel scoffed before shuddering. ‘No Robbie, no Elton and certainly no James Blunt. Sorry bro, but you don’t. We just want this to be tasteful and respectful, even if it does feel like we’re planning a party for someone who won’t even be there.’

I nodded and moved on.

‘I need to let you know that because of Abbie’s career and the tragedy of her passing, we’ve had a reporter from the local newspaper call us as they are keen to cover her funeral.’