Shannon's funeral mass was today. I had no idea they were having the funeral this late after her death. I'd still be clueless, except for the fact that when I woke up this morning, Elkie was pounding on my front door.

She had come over to help me pick some clothes for the service.

I woke up with another nosebleed and tried to use that as an excuse not to go to Shannon’s funeral, but Elkie's headlock was a debate tactic I found hard to argue against.

Elkie pushed me into her car, where I discovered Mitchell lying in the back seat. He looked as if Elkie had convinced him to go to the funeral like she had me. I'm glad that Elkie drove. There is a distinct lack of parking in front of my building, and I didn't want to move my car.

Mitchell kept complaining that to go to this “thing, " he needed to be a lot drunker than he already was. Elkie reminded him that it was nine in the morning, and I told Mitchell to cheer up because he was acting as if we were going to a funeral or something.

That got an uncomfortable laugh out of the two of them and relieved the tension in the car for a brief time anyway. After that laugh, we only said something once we got to St. Mary Magdalene's. I felt bad about that. If we were going to ride there in silence, I could have at least kept Mitchell's bad mood intact for him.

Elkie was wearing a very nice black dress. At one point during the trip to the funeral home, she turned and smiled at me. I think she was happy that I had “agreed” to come along.

It was a closed casket, and I can't remember the last time I looked into Shannon's eyes or even what was the last thing I said to her. I never got closer than twenty feet from it the entire time.

After the reception, we went to the cemetery. They had lowered the coffin into the ground, and I walked to the side of the plot and told Shannon goodbye. Her coffin was a tan color and was already quite covered in dirt.

After the burial, we went to the funeral home for a reception. That’s where Elkie told me that Shannon's mass happened so much later because they had to send her body up from Texas. I guess Shannon's parents took a while to decide whether or not to have the service back here or down there. I wish they had decided to have it in Texas.

The funeral home was an odd experience. There were so many people there that I hadn’t seen since high school. It became part funeral reception, part class reunion.

Mitchell and I stood in the back and tried to keep to ourselves while Elkie went around the room and mingled with people. My eyes seemed to play tricks on me the whole time. At one point, I thought I saw Gerald, and at another, I thought I saw the girl who played Lisa on Saved by the Bell. Neither knew Shannon and had no reason to be at her funeral.

After the reception, Elkie dropped Mitchell off at his house and drove me straight home. Elkie told me she would call me later and see how I was doing. I told her I was fine, except my neighbor's dogs bark too much, and I needed to move.

Elkie gave me a long hug. The hug lasted exactly forty-two seconds. Before she left, Elkie told me she was proud of me, and I told her I wasn't.

Tomorrow there's a Clint Eastwood movie marathon on cable.

Tomorrow should be a much better day.

10:35 p.m. - Friday the 21st