Beside him a tiny elderly woman was leaning on a cane, studying him with curiosity. Since good manners seemed to require that he speak to her, Jon cast about for some sort of polite conversation pertinent to the occasion. I hate funerals, don't you? He said. I rather like them, she said smugly. At my age, I regard each funeral I attend as a personal triumph, because I was not the guest of honor.

Paradise (ed. Simon and Schuster, 2016) - ISBN: 9781439138793