About 20 people were at the internment for Pearl. Close family, mostly. A few people from the Parish, though Pearl didn’t attend church in her later years. She had attended church in her earlier years to help her kids get through Catholic school. She staged events, talent shows, fundraisers, etc and she had enjoyed that. What she didn’t enjoy was the faith itself. Her adopted mother had told her when she married a Catholic boy that it would bring grief to her life and it had. “Catholicism is a religion of fear” her Presbyterian mother told her. “Not a religion of love.” She had found it to be true, but she didn’t listen to her mother at the time and all of her kids ended up going to Catholic School.
Now all of her five kids gathered around while the Priest droned on about the next life. Lucia hated every word of it and knew that her mother would have also, but her older sister Mary had arranged the whole thing, and Mary lived for the church. As the prayers were being said, Mary looked around and saw an elderly man standing behind them, about 50 feet back. She turned to Lucia and piss whispered “Tell me that isn’t the motherfucker I think it is.”
“Mother loved him” Lucia piss whispered back “which is more than I can say for your dad.”
Mary raged sotto voce, “He never did a single thing for you or anyone in this family.”
“He got me here” Lucia said “And he gave our mom some much-needed relief from the citadel of Catholic gloom and doom. “God bless him, I say, and leave him the fuck alone. If he didn’t care about her, he wouldn’t be here. He’s not going to interrupt the ‘Holy Orders'.”
Lucia turned and gave the man, her biological father, a wave, but his head was lowered and he didn’t see it. “Just don’t embarrass the whole family by going over there and talking to him. Don’t turn mom’s passing into your crusade against the church. I’m warning you.”
“Don’t worry Mary, I wouldn’t think of bringing the full human flesh and blood reality and truth to this charade,” Lucia said. At that moment the Priest bid the family members to come forward and place dirt and flowers on the lowered casket. Mary moved forward and Lucia followed. In the distance, the motherfucker blew an imperceptible kiss toward his love, turned, and walked away as the procession moved on.
— DanielSouthGate
Now all of her five kids gathered around while the Priest droned on about the next life. Lucia hated every word of it and knew that her mother would have also, but her older sister Mary had arranged the whole thing, and Mary lived for the church. As the prayers were being said, Mary looked around and saw an elderly man standing behind them, about 50 feet back. She turned to Lucia and piss whispered “Tell me that isn’t the motherfucker I think it is.”
“Mother loved him” Lucia piss whispered back “which is more than I can say for your dad.”
Mary raged sotto voce, “He never did a single thing for you or anyone in this family.”
“He got me here” Lucia said “And he gave our mom some much-needed relief from the citadel of Catholic gloom and doom. “God bless him, I say, and leave him the fuck alone. If he didn’t care about her, he wouldn’t be here. He’s not going to interrupt the ‘Holy Orders'.”
Lucia turned and gave the man, her biological father, a wave, but his head was lowered and he didn’t see it. “Just don’t embarrass the whole family by going over there and talking to him. Don’t turn mom’s passing into your crusade against the church. I’m warning you.”
“Don’t worry Mary, I wouldn’t think of bringing the full human flesh and blood reality and truth to this charade,” Lucia said. At that moment the Priest bid the family members to come forward and place dirt and flowers on the lowered casket. Mary moved forward and Lucia followed. In the distance, the motherfucker blew an imperceptible kiss toward his love, turned, and walked away as the procession moved on.
— DanielSouthGate
Definitely seems like a scenario one would see at a funeral! In fact, I may have been witness to something like it a time or two. Realistic characters and I love the phrase” piss whisper!” Never heard it before. Great job, Daniel.
ReplyDeleteA excellently-depicted scene. Of course I'm gonna relate to the Catholic stuff... --Macoff
ReplyDelete