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Show F e pp e rrai nt Mon da y true friend of my brother's. Jake was the best friend Russ had ever had. Ma's thinking didn't seem so crazy to me anymore. The ladies choir sang a few songs about God and heaven. The words to the songs were almost like some of Andrea's poetry. I knew Andrea was crying and thinking the same thing. Her poetry was probably better than I had been giving her credit for. Maybe she had real talent. After the funeral, Russ's casket was carried out by the pallbearers. Jake was one of them. It didn't surprise me that ma had asked him. He didn't even look out of place next to Uncle William, pa, and Barton. Jason helped carry the coffin too. He was the one that looked out of place. He was tall for his age, and still a lot shorter than the rest of them. He had a right to help though, more of a right than Barton. Jason's face was extra thin and pale. I couldn't even see his freckles. We had a luncheon when the funeral was over. Mrs. Todd had been in charge of organizing it. It had helped take her mind off Mr. Todd and California real estate. There was ham and roast beef and three kinds of salads. There was creamed potatoes and peas too. Barton was probably thankful for those. For dessert, Mrs. Todd herself had made some raspberry tarts with mounds of freshly whipped cream. It surprised me that Renae was still thin with desserts like that. I ate two of them and I wasn't even hungry. Russ had always loved tarts and he wasn't even here to enjoy them. It didn't seem right that I should be eating them, but I couldn't resist. I noticed Jake ate quickly and then went to talk to ma a minute. I had finished too, so I went to talk to him. I wanted to talk to him about Russ and how wrong I had been. I wasn't sure what I intended on saying, but |