Surrounded By Those He Loved Most

…And lastly, we would like you all to know

That our dear father

Died

Surrounded

By the people

He loved the most

In this world

…Except for my sister, Grace…

…Which is fine

I mean, it’s amicable

It was an amicable thing

That she wasn’t, uh, there

You know?
It’s cool

Oh my god, listen to me

I’m saying how cool it was

That my sister

Missed the death of her only father

Not that some people have more than one father

I mean, people with gay parents do

But that’s not what I’m—

I’m just saying that Grace

Wasn’t there

But that it really wasn’t a big deal

Because she just couldn’t make it

So, you know, my father understood

…I mean, okay, well, since we’re in a church

I guess I have to be a little more, uh, honest

Than that, because, uh, well, she could have—

Okay, let me just explain

My husband is rolling his eyes

Because he thinks I’m going to make a big thing out of this

Rog—I am not going to make a big thing

So just relax, all right?
It’s fine

I just wanted to say

Because we’re being honest

That my sister could have made it

If she had just gotten a plane ticket

When I told her to

Instead of waiting until the last minute

Like she always does

But the important thing

Is that she’s here now

And in the front row

Looking very irritated at me

But that’s fine

We’re family

Families get irritated at each other

I know Dad was certainly irritated

When one of his daughters

Wasn’t there at his deathbed

But that’s fine

It’s all fine

Really

Stop giving me that look, Grace

I said it was fine

I mean, you were there in spirit, I’m sure

I kept saying that to Dad

He was calling out for you

Wondering where his little girl was

And I kept saying—

She’s here in spirit, Dad

She’s here in spirit
And he kept shaking his head

As if that wasn’t enough for him

But we don’t know that it wasn’t enough

I mean, he didn’t say that

Because he was too polite

But that might be what it meant

And that it broke his heart

That you couldn’t be bothered to book a plane ticket

A few weeks in advance

When I called you to tell you

That he was starting to look like a box of raisins

And you needed to get your ass back here

Or there’s no way I was going to let him

Leave you anything in the will

Not that I want you to feel guilty

Or anything

I’m just telling my tale

My story

My truth

And the truth of the matter is

Everyone who could be there

Was there

And if you couldn’t be there

It’s not a big deal

And you shouldn’t feel bad about it

Because life is too short

To fixate on

On how you let your father down

And how he probably spent

His last few hours on this earth

Feeling abandoned

By one of the children

He loved dearly

And who he—

Okay, the priest is giving me the signal

To wrap it up

Well, this was really great, wasn’t it?

Don’t we all feel a bit more, I don’t know

Healed?

I think ‘healed’ is the right word

I’m very glad I insisted on speaking

Even though the church has strict rules against it

You certainly take the checks though

Don’t you, Father?

He’s looking away

But he knows

What I’m talking about

So yes, my father died peacefully

Sort of happy

And mostly content

Surrounded by many people who loved him

And the spirits of those who didn’t love him enough

To plan ahead

It was a beautiful moment

I wish all of you could have seen it, but—

Oh well

It’s fine

It’s really, really fine