“The visitation was just as weird and uncomfortable as I’d feared it would be. H, C, and Nancy all interacted with the visitors more than I did, mostly, I suspect, because sitting in a corner and glaring balefully at anyone I didn’t personally know (which was basically everyone but a couple of Cevyn’s friends) wasn’t the most inviting of postures for me to have on display. The pounding migraine I developed seconds after entering the funeral home did not have me feeling particularly sociable, which is a convenient excuse, but I can’t honestly say I’d have been much better if head and back were in tiptop condition.
In fairness to me, I did take the initiative to talk to several people unprompted. Mostly these were people standing quietly in a line behind an invisible “Please wait here till the previous mourner has finished talking to Lisa’s husband” sign. It was awkward enough not talking to anyone when everyone was talking to someone else; sitting sullenly not talking to anyone when someone else in the room was also conspicuously not talking to someone else reminded me of countless parties I’d rather forget. So I dragged my sorry self to my feet, walked across the floor, introduced myself, chatted a bit.”
Excerpted from http://andrewfoleywritesthings.blogspot.com
Image: Giotto, The Visitation, 1302-1305.
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