Summary

Even as the temperature outside soars near 100 degrees, inside the memorial chapel the reunion attendees prepare to remember Harmon Osterberg and Karen Burns. A problem with the PA system gives the attendees a chance to chat. Dorothy cannot believe Billy McMann spent the night with Spook Spinelli. Marv prepares to make his move on Spook, bracing his resolve with a Devil Dog and a thermos of martinis. Paulette, who is to lead the service, waits for Ellie who is composing herself in the ladies’ room, understandably upset. Spook is on her phone trying to reach a session musician she knew back in LA who had written a song for her, back when she was “sexy, stoned, impossibly young, lime-eyed and tanned, rich with joys just around the corner” (205). Finally, the PA system is working, and Paulette, taking a deep draw from her flask...