Turn up the Heat

kitchen, and I wouldn’t get a chance to talk to him for the rest of the day. Maybe I could catch Josh tomorrow after I had lunch with Naomi, Eliot, and his assistant, Penelope. Another day wouldn’t hurt, right?
    Gavin stood at the bar while his employees and I sat like expectant diners waiting to give our drink orders. A framed eight-by-ten photograph of Gavin and Leandra in a tight hug rested on the bar, and a garish heart-shaped floral wreath sat on a wooden easel. The heart was made of red roses, and the overall effect was Valentine’s Day gone bad. A sash draped across the front of the heart read In Loving Memory. Isabelle approached Gavin and appeared to whisper gentle condolences.
    “Thank you, everyone, for coming. As some of you might know, Leandra had no family. At least none that we know of, so in many regards, we were her family. I thought we could all take a few moments today to speak some final words about Leandra.” He paused, placing one hand on the bar as if to steady himself. “I guess I’ll start.”
    Gavin coughed a few times and then broke into heavy sobs. It was an uncomfortable moment as we all sat there, unmoving and unsure of how to handle his grief. I hoped that this was a time when the best thing to do was nothing. When the worst of his crying had subsided, Gavin held his head up high. “As you can see, I am having a terrible time dealing with Leandra’s death. I cared for her very deeply, and in the short time we were together, we became closer than most of you probably know. She made me happier than I could have imagined, and for once it seemed like my life was perfect. That incredible woman was a force of nature.” He chuckled lightly. “She was opinionated, tough, sassy, and driven. But, oh, what a woman she was! After years of waiting, I finally had my dream restaurant, my restaurant that was meant to be, and I had the perfect relationship. Leandra had a special light around her that touched me profoundly.”
    I swear to God, if he lifted his hands and started signing You complete me, I was going to puke. People were shifting in their chairs at Gavin’s expression of profound devotion to a person who’d otherwise been universally disliked. There was only one possible explanation for Gavin’s infatuation with Leandra: the two had shared an incredible sex life. Needless to say, I did not stand up and voice that conclusion.
    “I am shocked and heartbroken at this sudden and totally unexpected loss.” Gavin’s voice began to rise. “Whoever murdered my beautiful Leandra deserves to suffer for the crime, and I know that the police will find her killer! It is intolerable that someone would strangle this innocent, loving soul! That someone would do this to us!” Gavin broke down again. He was barely comprehensible as he asked others to come up and speak.
    No one volunteered. Four or five employees began eating their spring rolls, a response that was obviously a tribute to Josh rather than to Leandra. Desperate to generate the kind of response that Gavin needed, I pulled out a copy of the Twenty-third Psalm that I’d printed from a Web site, and I shoved it into Josh’s hands. “Go read this,” I ordered quietly. “With feeling!” However deluded Gavin was about his beloved Leandra, he was undeniably in real pain. We were obliged to make an effort to support him.
    “Oh, man,” Josh muttered under his breath as he took the paper and moved through the tables. He whispered something to Wade, who was seated near the bar, and then stood next to his tearful boss. Wade rose and helped Gavin to a seat.
    “ ‘The Lord is my shepherd: I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.’ ” Josh managed to deliver what at least sounded like a heartfelt reading. Josh looked at me, and I urged him on with repeated nods, indicating that, yes, he was supposed to read the entire psalm. For Pete’s sake, he was halfway through already!’ “ …and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.’ ” Josh shook Gavin’s hand and then returned to his seat next to me.
    I sent Kevin up to the front with “The Road Not Taken,” followed by Wade with a poem called “The Final Flight.”
    I leaned past Blythe and passed the rest of the readings to Snacker. “Pick one of these.” One more speaker should be enough to round out the memorial