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In Ivy Cemetery, Mr. Pavaro’s grave ended up beside Annie’s. Ms. Lake had made the arrangements.
After the burial, once the earth had been filled back in, Alfred took up a carving knife and knelt in front of Annie’s tombstone. He carved a single line upon it: “Thank you for letting me witness the gentleness that came from the sea.”
After he was done, Alfred turned and knelt before Mr. Pavaro’s tombstone. Beneath the man’s name, he carved: “Thank you for letting me see true light.”
The funeral had been kept simple, so there was no way to commission custom headstones. They could only carve something themselves.
Ms. Lake stood in silence before the two headstones for a long time. Then, she turned and smiled at Karon, signaling that she was done.
Karon did not offer any further mourning. All that he wanted to say had already been carved by Alfred.
On their way back, Karon drove the hearse and took Ms. Lake back to the funeral home, while Alfred followed behind in Karon’s own car.
Sitting in the passenger seat, Ms. Lake stared out at the night scenery. “Everything seems to have been settled. The moment I saw the soil being filled in, it was like life returned to its proper track.”
“Yes. Back on track. A funeral is, in the first place, a kind of sorting out for the living.”
“You’re very familiar with funerals. I can tell. I mean funeral home procedures.”
“Yes.”
“In the future, will you run this funeral home?”
“I will.”
“That’s good. That’s good. In truth, I know myself, and I’m not very good at managing things. My temper...
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