The guests started arriving early, depending on their buses. The regulars were there - uncle Staja, auntie Janja and two of other uncles from that side, aunt Milica and probably a couple more; of course Lena, Arpi and Višnja, and then the long list of neighbors - Paja and his wife, etc, and friends - Veca and Sneca, folks from my class (Dragana, Staša, Ivanka, Bajlo and even, unrelated, Pali). Perhaps a few more that I don't remember now (6 years later). Nothing to remember from, didn't take any photos.
Ah, yes, Rile saw the obituary that Paja put on dad's favorite local shop, so he came with Nena.
The funeral went as scheduled, and luckily the priest stuck to script (i.e. advertised his shop and his imaginary boss, not a single word about the deceased, whom he didn't even know - I don't remember mom ever going to church, perhaps that one time around 1985 or 86 when they took girls for vrbica (willow day)). Had it lasted ten minutes longer, I was afraid someone would faint.
The lunch was at Elmont. I drove with my fifth door open - forgot to close it but then it hurt nothing, it was really hot and this is less than 2km away.
The world felt like the same dramatic piece, new scene. Exit mom, others as before. And the plot somehow changes from that point, but you feel it's just carried on, distributed differently, to current personae dramatis. We go on.
We agreed she will cook for dad twice a week, and I'll bring it.