I only slept in a little bit today, relative to when I went to sleep. When I got up, Dad said everyone was meeting at Humphrey Funeral Service, so I got around and went straight over there to meet them. When I arrived, I didn’t recognize any cars, so I waited in mine until my parents snuck around the side and told me to come in. Lelan, Steven, Randall, Danielle, Doug, Uncle Giao, and my parents were all there. Julie and Kevin showed up a little while later after getting back on the ground. The conversations didn’t really seem to necessitate most of us there, but I guess it was good practice.
We had a few small laughs, and Lelan and her closest picked out a casket. Julie made some coffee for a few of us, and they provided information for the obituary. It was basically just business. When we left, Steve took us all to Ridgewood Brothers for lunch. Grant and Robert were both there, and then Kyler brought us a tray of chicken they had smoked for a catering job. We ate and socialized for a bit, and then split up into a couple groups to visit a flower shop and take care of a few other things. I went home to get a shower, and then we all eventually ended up at Bác Vân’s house where we spent the rest of the day.
The family dug through photo albums for pictures to show at the service while the rest of us just kind of socialized a bit. Julie and Kevin ended up leaving to pick up some food from the oriental food store in Little Rock. Later on, I let Randall drive the Model 3, which got his blood pumping. As the evening progressed, a few others stopped in, including Tom and Steven, and Chris and his wife. Julie brought a duck home, which we had for dinner. It was a pretty long and mostly dull day for me, but it was really nice to catch up with Randall.
Eventually everyone headed home and left Doug to unwind in the house by himself. I felt less angry and more empathy for him rattling around in an empty house full of mostly somebody else’s things. I headed straight up to Summer’s, but both girls were long asleep. I was exhausted, but didn’t get to sleep right away. I just felt restless.
“An egg.” I answered. “Now it’s time for you to move on to your next life.”