Ten
I ASK GUS TO TAKE ME to Sonya, so I can at least give her last rites. He tells me that they’ve already transported the body to Tallahassee for the autopsy, but he had called the priest from Saint Philip’s, our family parish. He had come and prayed over Sonya’s lifeless body.
I nod, comforted by the fact that at least she’d had that.
Even if I hadn’t gotten here in time to do it.
After Gus leaves, Helen puts Mom to bed. While she’s attending to her, I’m sitting on the couch. I find the Breviary app on my phone and open it to the Prayers for the Dead. I begin praying the Litany of the Saints.
“Lord, Have Mercy,” I read
Behind me, Helen responds quietly, “Lord, Have Mercy.”
I pause and turn to look at her. She smiles. “Your Mom’s asleep,” she whispers. “I think she was exhausted f
