Quotation

Mourners shuffled forward like a scene in some zombie movie where you slay one but more just keep coming at you. ... hard-and-fast rules of the receiving line at a funeral: Don’t talk too much. Short platitudes work well because innocuous is far better than offensive. === “All love stories,” Maya’s father had told her many years ago, “end in tragedy.” Maya had shaken her head and said, “God, Dad, that’s grim.” “Yes, but think about it: You either fall out of love, or, if you’re really one of the lucky ones, you live long enough to watch your soul mate die.” === The parenting cliché states that children do not come with instruction manuals. That never seemed more true than today. === \Maya hadn’t understood the term “rakish” until she saw that smile.