[ WP ] `` She was ironically beautiful , like a gasoline rainbow . ''

Kelly is alone in a hotel room talking on an iPhone. The two suitcases in the room are packed, and the beds are still made. She is sitting on the bed further from the window in a way that suggests she has n't yet made herself comfortable. Whispering as if eager to get some juicy gossip, Kelly begins: 
 
 `` I saw the news on Facebook. Everyone is calling you a mastermind. I'm thoroughly impressed. How did you do it?'' 
 
 `` Come on, Kell, I really just do n't want to talk about it right now.'' 
 
 `` You promised. That was the deal. You promised to tell me everything.'' 
 
 `` It's just... I know you told me to, but it felt wrong to do it without you.'' 
 
 `` That was the whole point. Dad and I would be out of town, and you'd tell me about it after. You did n't forget to take pictures, did you? There were n't any up on Facebook yet.'' 
 
 `` I took pictures. I'm on a payphone now, but I promise I'll get them to you as soon as I can.'' 
 
 `` You do n't need to frame them or anything. I have an album already. My mom gave it to me when I started high school, but I did n't feel like using it after she died. Tell me anything. What was it like?'' 
 
 `` I do n't know where to start.'' 
 
 `` Okay, let's start at the end. What she did she look like after the makeover?'' 
 
 `` I could n't see her. The boat was too far away by then.'' 
 
 `` But tell me what she would look like if you could have seen her.'' 
 
 `` She was ironically beautiful, like a gasoline rainbow.'' 
 
 `` Did you use gasoline?'' 
 
 `` No, I used ethyl alcohol, and all the right salts, just like we talked about when we went over the plans last time.'' 
 
 `` What about the urn?'' 
 
 `` I threw it out. Should I have kept it?'' 
 
 `` Oh my gosh, no.'' Kelly holds the phone away while she starts sniffling. `` That urn was hideous. My dad picked it out. Mom said'viking funeral,' not'cremation and placement in an urn on the dusty mantle.''' 
 
 `` I know, Kelly. That's why I'm in this business.'' 
 
 Kelly begins crying openly without bothering to hold the phone away. 
 
 `` Kelly, did I say something wrong? I promise this is more than a business to me. Yes, you are my client, but you'd be paying a lot more if I did n't think of you as --'' 
 
 `` No, it's not that.'' Kelly grabs a throw pillow from the bed and pulls it close to her stomach. `` I have n't been able to cry since she died. I know she's gone. It should n't really matter what happens to any leftover bits, but it did.'' 
 
 `` It mattered to me too.'' 
 
 `` How did you know my mom?'' 
 
 `` I do n't have nearly enough quarters in my pocket for the time I'd need to tell you those stories. I promise I'll find a way to contact you later, and we can talk about all that. I'm going to ask you a few questions, and then we're going to say good night. Your dad will probably be back from the bar soon.'' 
 
 `` Okay.'' Kelly has stopped trying to wipe tears from her face, but she keeps fidgeting with her hands. 
 
 `` You're in the hotel room, right?'' 
 
 `` Yes.'' 
 
 `` Is there a chocolate on your bed?'' 
 
 `` What?'' 
 
 `` Near the top of the sheets. Is there a chocolate on your bed?'' 
 
 `` Yeah.'' 
 
 `` Okay, I'm not going to tell you what to do, but I bet that chocolate might taste pretty good about now.'' 
 
 Kelly tears the wrapper open, eager for something to do with her hands. 
 
 `` It's good. It's really good. Did you put it there?'' 
 
 `` I had a hunch, but I ca n't take credit for that. No, that was someone in a different service industry.'' 
 
 `` Can I ask you one more question before you go?'' There's a pause before Kelly hears the sound of another quarter hit metal. 
 
 `` Sure, but some sleep will probably do you better than any answers I've got.'' 
 
 `` When you said she was ironically beautiful, like a gasoline rainbow, what did you mean?'' Kelly waits a while for a response before she continues. `` I get the second part, but what was ironic about her being beautiful? 
 
 `` I meant that it was ironic anything could still look beautiful to me in a world without your mother in it. Good night, Kelly.'' 
 
 `` Good night, Sharon.''
