33. Twenty-Three Years
Caroline Parker’s wishes were to be buried next to her husband, so the six of them, Cassie, Eli, the babies, Michael and Delia, flew back on Eli’s jet to Arizona for the funeral. Of course the mood was somber, and the plane was quiet as Adam and Charlotte napped while the four adults sat silent in the seats. Eli read a newspaper while Cassie closed her eyes and thought. Michael stroked the back of Delia’s knuckles as she looked out the window at the tops of puffy cumulus clouds and bits of dry earth thousands of miles below. She seemed to be deep in thought, though her tears had evaporated a few hours after her gran had passed two days ago. It took very little finagling to let the hospital release the body after they’d given a time of death and performed an autopsy, most likely due to Eli
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