The Coroner's Report

The coroner’s report stated that she had no alcohol in her system at least

that’s what he said

I never did see a written one

even though I was the only one to show any report to

Just a call on the phone

It’s funny he never mentioned

what else was not in her system

like heroin or cocaine or gluten because you know

I never asked what was there or not

I suppose he was trying to be kind

I guess he didn’t know

there were ten empty vodka bottles on the kitchen counter

Ten empty 26ers on the counter

She made it halfway through eleven

I mean that’s just gotta be a fucking record. Right?

You gotta be committed

No joke

Should’ve taken a picture and called Guinness

*

I assured the brother

Oh yes, cancer-related

a long time coming inevitable no alcohol in her system whatsoever

I used my best voice calm administrator practiced certain and knowing

I could hear him nod on the other end grateful

I waited for him to hang up first

I re-opened the folder still on my desk and marvelled once again

One point seven seven

They were like magic mystical powerful runes glyphs

and I understood them their depth and meaning

You must understand that woman had been dead for six days

*

I hung up I mean what do you say?

I know I didn’t say much

I didn’t say anything about the empties on the counter

Or the flies

And here’s the thing

it was winter

Winter

Freezing fresh and clean

Pure

Cold

But not in that one bedroom basement

It was a jungle swarm

a black hole that had somehow sucked every fly

from every corner known and unknown to a Fiesta

And they were still there

even though the party had long since departed

*

When I showed my wife the numbers and their implications

my name on the world stage consequential

she patted the sofa beside her

I sat as I always do courtly

She keeps me

not always humble but human

reminds me that dignity separates us from the lesser beasts

Besides

how could her family ever wash their hands of it?

*

I was allowed entrance at a specific time and date

hallway monitored for any removal of items from said residence

The door bulged as I cracked it open

unprepared I shouldered my way inside and

made my mouth a perceptible slit

made my eyes a squinty shield

pinched my nose tight

Automatically

Instinctively

The air writhed like a crazy porridge

I didn’t think to bring gloves

to search the usual places for the final rubber bits to stamp out her life

I admit I did not search hard or long

I really only wanted out of there

But the flies were contentedly busy

Die-hards

As I locked the door behind me

I noticed no flies followed

Not one

*

I’ll spare you the boring vitreous details

the necroptic rates of putrefaction

endogenous fermentation et cetera

the numbers triple-checked and my obvious

and retrospectively embarrassing glee

as I could only guess at the staggering

percentage at time of death

I will tell you that

we all could not measure the smell

There are no references even through thirty-one years

Even so

*

Part of me wanted to take that last bottle and finish it

No one knows that

And maybe I would have if I had brought gloves