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Across the aisle, my grandson, Toby, stood stiff in his polished shoes, trying hard to look older than he was.
“You okay, Grandma?” he asked. “Do you need anything?”
“Been through worse, honey,” I said, trying to smile for his sake. “Your grandfather hated all this stuff.”
He grinned a little, glancing down at his shoes. “He’d tell me they’re too shiny.”
“Mm, he would,” I said, my voice warming.
I looked toward the altar, thinking of how he’d make two cups of coffee every morning, even if I was still in bed. He never learned to make just one.
“Your grandfather hated all this stuff.”
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I thought of the creak of his chair and the way he’d pat my hand when the news got too grim. I almost reached for his fingers now, just out of habit.
As people began to leave, Ruth touched my arm. “Mama, do you want to go outside for air?”
“Not yet.”
That’s when I noticed a stranger lingering near Walter’s photo. He stood still, hands knotted around something I couldn’t see.
Ruth frowned. “Who’s that?”
I noticed a stranger lingering near Walter’s photo.
