Journal 99

Hemy, Lisa and I offered to prepare the bodies for burial, but Marty and Cecelia insisted that they prepare Gretchen and the baby themselves. Marty and Cecelia carefully dressed Gretchen and the baby in nice clothes and wrapped them together like a mummy in a couple of sheets. We wrapped the mummy in Gretchen’s coat. It was a little odd to see a mummy dressed in a coat, but it made Marty and Cecelia feel better.

I remember when my parents died, and I had to prepare their bodies for the ground. I think making sure they looked decent made me feel better. I washed their faces and hands. I couldn’t change their clothes I laid them to rest in the clothes in which they died. I was never actually able to get my parents into the ground. I couldn’t dig deep enough. I had to drape my parents with a couple of blankets, a tarp and place bricks around the edge.

Hemy, Lisa, Cecelia and I cleaned off one of the tables in the greenhouse and draped it with a nice pretty sheet. Cecelia wanted everything to look nice. She swept the floor and washed a couple of windows. We placed a few lit candles around the room. Everyone that wasn’t deathly ill gathered in the greenhouse. It was a lovely ceremony. Sheriff Pete said a prayer and Lisa sang.

When Marty said his goodbyes, it took all the control I could muster not to cry. I broke down when Cecelia said her goodbyes. Cecelia asked Gretchen to take care of her baby boy and then promised to raise and love Gretchen’s baby. Hemy and I looked at each other. Cecelia knew we had made the switch. After the ceremony, we closed the doors of the greenhouse and wrapped a piece of fabric wrapped around the handles.