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Kelly was staring into nothingness. Her mind was wandering. She thought about different ways she might die, how her funeral would go, who would be at the funeral...?  She gasped.  How will I be dressed?  She realized, suddenly, that she wouldn't be able to dress herself. Someone else would. The outfit that she would wear for all eternity... would be in someone else's hands!  She started hyperventilating.

Ryan couldn't help but turn around.  "Kelly, are you all right?"  No answer.  He got up and stood next to her chair.  "Kelly?  Kelly?"  She looked up at him with tears in her eyes.  He bent over to put his arm around her.  "What's wrong?"

Between sobs, she replied, "When I die, who is in charge of dressing me?" 

Ryan felt confused, then appalled. He couldn't believe that that was what Kelly was thinking of. It was rather vain of her. To think about how she would look like when she died --?  He stood crouched, next to her, watching her gasp for breath as she sobbed loudly.  She was making such a big deal of it.  Why am I still dating her? 

He sighed, rubbing her arm. Some questions were never really meant to be answered.  Might as well amuse her. "Kelly, before you die, most of the time you and your family do set funeral arrangements. You know, if you'll be buried or cremated, where will you be buried or scattered, and, of course, what you'll be wearing if you had a funeral."  He couldn't help the small smile that crept up as he said the last part.

"That's so depressing," Kelly sniffed.

"Kelly!" Ryan raised his arms up in defeat. "You brought it up! Listen, if you're so concerned about what you're going to wearing, maybe you should just be cremated."

"But I want a funeral. I want a casket in which strong, cute guys would carry it. Like Princess Diana's."

Ryan closed his eyes. He was imagining himself anywhere but there. He shook his head and opened his eyes. He didn't really know what to say. She was driving him crazy. He stammered, "Kelly, I... just... would you... I can't..." Ryan felt exasperated Sighing loudly, he stood up and walked toward the kitchen.

Toby had been at his desk the entire time. Unfortunately for him, he had heard the entire conversation and its aftermath. Usually, Toby didn't even hear Kelly anymore, but since Ryan had moved back there, he found himself paying a little bit more attention. Especially when their conversations were of the good kind. The romantic kind. Of course, this wasn't one of those. This was purely a case of Kelly being Kelly. In general, he felt weird asking for relationship advice from people; therefore, by eavesdropping, he could pick up some pointers without bothering anyone. Was it wrong? Maybe.  But Toby had listened to complaints from everyone, especially regarding various inter-office relationships, so why would this be any different? It wasn't like he was telling anyone about what he had heard. It was completely confidential.  Completely in his own head ...

"Toby?"

Kelly's voice made his hair on the back of his neck stand straight. He swiveled his chair around. "Yes, Kelly?"

Kelly came out from behind the cubicle wall. Her eyes had already dried up, and her cheeks were lined with dark streaks from her mascara running. She played with her hands as she approached him. "Um... will we be getting a new employee?"

Toby thought it was a strange question, especially given her previous conversation.  Then again, this was Kelly he was talking to. "Yes. Most likely."

"And you're in charge of hiring, correct?"

For some reason, Kelly was playing coy. Toby didn't like it. He felt himself getting into a trap. Regardless, he continued, nodding. Kelly glanced at the kitchen door, watching Ryan get some coffee. She looked back at Toby. "Would you make sure to hire men instead of women? And if you have to hire a woman, would you hire someone, like, in their fifties or sixties?"

Wow, Toby thought to himself.  He heard himself say "sure" before Kelly smiled and went back to her desk.  Never had he met someone so completely shallow and high-maintenance.

Strangely enough, she hadn't always been like that. Around two years and a half ago, she almost changed entirely from when he had first met her. She had once been quiet and shy. Now? Not so much. Toby pondered the complete turn-around.  What had happened?

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