186 WIVESBEHAVINGBADLY

 across the aisle , seated on either side  of me , felix and lucas shifted uneasily at sight of their big brother 's grief . for the hundredth time . i questioned if they should be at the service . both had gone missing as we were due to leave lakey street . and  after an increasingly tense search , eve discovered them in nathan 's cupboard , i bribed them out with a bag of ( normally forbidden) tangfastics . as felix got into the car , he asked , " if we put daddy in the ground does that mean he will grow again ?"
in the pew directly behind , elegant and somber and somber in black , gisela's voice was a pleasant alto , " god only wise ." beside her , roger sang bass rather badly , gisela had been as good as her word and had kept in constant touch ."  ask me anything . " she said , i'm a professional widow , i know what to do ."
i held felix's and lucas 's hands in my gloves ones and sang the hymn chosen by rose , sam , and poppy . i rarely wore gloves , and the weather was warmer , but they seemed necessary at a funeral , as necessary as this rite of passage , and i had loned for the funeral to arrive . the dead are always with us rums the truism , and truims have a knack of being true . eberyone is accompanied by a crocodile of ghosts , trailing fore and aft . i sensed that nathan was hoving over us , seeking permission to leave .
the church at a;tringham wass as pretty and ancient as poppy had vowed , and every pew was taken , which , considering  altringham was more than an hour's journey from london , was a tribute to  nathan . the nave was filled with the acent of narcissi and lities that had been placed in the window niches in huge bowls . more were massed on the altar and beside the coffin , which was made of bamboo - nathan was going to his grave with impeccable green credentials . there were two flower arrangements on top of the coffin .