The mortician from Paul's arrived with his assistant.  They were from Oak Grove; they were in their late 20s;  he in black sweater; she in a black pants suit; two from Charles Adams, with strange accents: she said nothing, he prefaced everything with "your dear most loved one".  "We are going to move your dear most loved one to the van, always with the most respect."  "We are moving your dear most loved one, with the most respect, to the gurney."  "Is it okay if we now cover your dear most loved one under a woolen shroud" — which covers the white, plastic body bag,...  And so my last sight of him was his face, yellow as the late afternoon sun.  From the kidneys I suppose.  Otherwise, his skin was clean and clear, with just a slight blemish under his left eye,  from the black eye he'd suffered in October when he fell out of bed one night and we couldn't get back up in....

And then he was gone.