Silent, easy

The ground was hard from the cold, so the two men digging took a break. The moon was halfway up and waxing full, the night air silent, easy.

“Stop biting your nails.” The one man said.

“What’s it matter if I bite my nails? I like to bite my nails.” Said the other.

“It’s just disgusting. For one, we’re digging in the ground, who knows what animals came along and took a piss right there.” He pointed with his shovel at the other man’s foot. “Plus, you wipe your ass with your hand don’t ya? You don’t imagine any gets stuck under your nails?”

“Well, I’ll just bite the nails on my other hand then. That make you happy?”

“I don’t care what you do, just don’t do it in front of me.” He leaned on his shovel and stared up at the moon. “Did you bring the sandwiches?”

“I brought’em. Turkey for me and peanut butter and banana for you, since you eat like a kid.”

“Who doesn’t like peanut butter and banana? You know that was Elvis’s favorite sandwich? He would go in a restaurant and get a peanut butter and banana sandwich. Guy like that, have anything he wanted and he ate that.”

They ate in silence and watched the black and grey clouds move in and cover up the moon.

“Rain is coming in. Probably be here in 45 minutes or so. Maybe if we each dig in the same hole it’ll go faster.”

“No, you dig yours and I’ll dig mine. If we dig the same one our digging might overlap, waste time you know?”

Light drops started to fall but they had finished. Unceremoniously they each kicked the body that had been lying beside the now dug graves, then piled the dirt back on.