The house was quiet Sunday morning. The mourners were either asleep or in church. Garnet and Bill were at the funeral home making arrangements for Daniel's service.

After her shower, Maggie walked into the dining room where Skeeter was eating scrambled eggs. He looked up at her and said, "I don't want to go."

Maggie knew he was referring to the funeral home. She didn’t want to go there either. In a low voice she said, “Me neither."

Skeeter jabbed his cold eggs with his fork before he spoke. "Why's Mama making us?"

Honestly, Maggie wasn’t sure. She sat down at the table and shoveled some eggs onto her own plate. The bacon was all shriveled up and grease soaked. She stabbed a strip of it with her fork.

“Well?” Skeeter asked.

The first thing Maggie thought was, why don’t you ask Mama yourself? She knew he wouldn’t though. So she said, "I guess it has something to do with respecting the dead."

He wrinkled his nose and asked, "What's respecting the dead mean?"

"It means to show that you thought well of the person while he was alive. If you don’t go to the funeral home, I guess Mama thinks that would be disrespectful."

Skeeter rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Gees Maggie I don’t get it. Mama says Daniel's in heaven and he can see me like Santa Claus can. If he can see me why can't I just tell him I respect him with out going to the funeral home?"

Maggie shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know."

*

The hot afternoon sun blazed down upon the Peters’ car. The air conditioner didn't work too well. Maggie had on one of her mother's sundresses and it didn't quite fit her. Skeeter sat beside her humming. Maggie leaned her head against the hot glass and looked out the window. Peanut fields rushed by. The sky was deep blue with misty smears of clouds. Maggie watched the pale red dust blow across the highway. Everything was coated in dust, the grass, the cows, the trees. Ashes to ashes and dust to dust.

"I wonder how Daniel's going to look," Mama said to Daddy.

Daddy grunted.

Maggie had never seen a young dead body before. Daniel would never have a wife, or children, or grandchildren. He would never grow old and wrinkled. Just twenty, six more years than Maggie had lived so far. The thought chilled her. She had never thought of death in connection with herself. It was something far away, something that seemed like it would never happen. But it could, it would. Maybe tomorrow, maybe in six years. Maybe she would never marry or have children or grand children.

"We're here," Mama said as they pulled into the parking lot of Baker’s Funeral Home. "Now, Skeeter, you act like you're supposed to act in church. No running or loud talking."

"Yes, Ma’am." Skeeter grabbed Maggie's hand and followed her inside.

The funeral home was dimly lit. People spoke in whispers as if in a library. When Maggie stepped into the foyer, she saw spots. Then her eyes adjusted. She saw red carpet, red curtains, red crushed velvet cushions, and red roses. Why red? Red reminded her of blood.

She followed her parents to a little white book. Daddy lifted Skeeter so he could carefully print his name in it. Michael Peters. Maggie signed her name below his.

Her family went into Daniel's cubicle. She hesitated and looked through the door behind her. An old man lay silent, dead in there. Slowly she turned away and walked into Daniel's room. She didn't want to see this. Her parents stood before the open casket. Daddy was still holding Skeeter. Skeeter glanced at Daniel then asked to be put down. He went over and sat on one of the red velvet benches. His feet didn't touch the floor. He swung his legs back and forth.

Maggie looked down at Daniel. Seeing him dead made this real. A lump formed in her throat, she closed her eyes then turned away. She went to Skeeter. He whispered, "He looks kind of funny, don't he?"

Maggie nodded her head.

"He looks like them wax people in that movie we saw. Remember?"

She remembered and it was true. Daniel did look like a wax figure of himself. She whispered back, "His hair don't look right either. Did you see the way they had it all brushed back."

"Yeah, they pulled out all the curls. How do you think they did that?"

"Hair spray I guess."

The two gossipy neighbor women Maggie had seen yesterday entered the cubicle. They were dressed in floral dresses. They stood for a long while staring down at Daniel's body. "Look Bobbie, his hands aren't showing. I heard they're hidden because they couldn't get them straightened out. His hands are all twisted from struggling. He was missing so long they got stuck that way."

Maggie didn't want to know that.

The lady named Bobbie added, "See how his arm is kind of twisted."

The women ceased their whispering when Garnet entered the room with Corey Jean. Garnet took her over to Daniel's shiny brown casket.

Corey Jean peered into Daniel's face. She asked, "Is he sleeping?"

Garnet shook her head.

"I thought you said he went to heaven."

"He did," Garnet said.

"How can he be here sleeping and be in heaven?"

"Remember, honey? I told you about his spirit and his body."

"Oh yeah, I forgot." Corey Jean stared at Daniel, her face a model of intense concentration. "Daniel, I come to say Goodbye. Mama says if I listen to Jesus and eat my vegetables I can go to heaven too."

"Corey Jean."

"Mama, I want to get down now." The second she hit the floor she ran over to Maggie. "I saw some swings across the road at that church. I told Mama about them when my babysitter dropped me off. She said, 'After you say goodbye to Daniel you can go swing.' I did so let's go."

Maggie looked at Garnet. She nodded.

Corey Jean tugged her hand, "Come on." She pulled Maggie to her feet and propelled her outside. Skeeter, shuffled behind them and scuffed his new dress shoes as he walked.

"Stop that," Maggie said.

Skeeter stuck out his tongue. He kicked up a cloud of dust.

The August sun pounded down upon them. Sweat trickled in Maggie's eyes as she swung the children.

"Higher," squealed Corey Jean. "High as heaven. I want to see Daniel's spirit."

"You can't see heaven from here," Skeeter told her. "And you can't see Daniel's spirit. It's invisible. Only dead people can see each other cause they got special eyes. Besides that, the sky and the clouds are in the way."

"I can see heaven at night," Corey Jean told him. "It's between the stars."

"Nuhun, isn't either. It's passed the stars."

"Maggie, Skeeter says heaven is passed the stars. Is it?"

Across the street Maggie saw Billy drive up and get out of his old white car. He waved to her and went inside.

"What Corey Jean?" she asked.

"I said, Skeeter said heaven is passed the stars. Is it?"

"I think so."

"Then I guess I can't swing that high, huh?"

"No I'm afraid not." She pushed Corey Jean even higher.

The four-year old swung silently for a moment, then said, "Daniel sure did look funny. He just didn't look like hisself. I never seen him in a suit before. I guess you got to get dressed up to go to heaven like you got to get dressed up to go to church. Except I thought everybody wore wedding dresses in heaven like the angels."

"Wedding dresses?" Maggie asked.

"Yeah, you know like the pictures in the Bible of angels. They're wearing wedding dresses just like the one Aunt Betty wore the last time she got married."

Skeeter rolled his eyes. "You are so stupid. Daniel's soul isn't wearing a wedding dress, neither are the angels. Those are choir robes, aren't they Maggie?"

She shook her head. "Actually Skeeter, those aren't choir robes. They are called tunics in the Bible."

"Whatever."

Back and forth the children swung while Maggie pushed. Her back began to ache. She remembered how Daniel used to push her in their backyard swing when she was Corey Jean's age.

Billy came out of the funeral home and walked across the street. "Mama wants me to take Corey Jean home.”

Corey Jean protested, "But I'm not done swinging yet."

"Yes, you are. Maggie, you and Skeeter want to come along?"

"For sure," Skeeter said as he jumped out of the swing.

Not sure it would be okay, Maggie said, "I better go ask Mama, first." She headed across the street. Claustrophobia paralyzed Maggie the instant she stepped from the bright sun into the dim light of the funeral home. She wanted to turn and run back outside. The only way she could leave now, though, was if she asked Mama first. Reluctantly, she went into Daniel's room.

Mama was standing beside the casket clinging to Daddy. Her eyes seemed to be tracing Daniel's every feature. She said, “That could be Skeeter or Maggie laying there."

"What?" Maggie asked.

"Oh," her mother said. “Maggie, I didn't mean, I'm sorry."

Maggie looked at her mother. How could she think something like that and say it out loud? Her mother grabbed her arm. Her fingers bit into Maggie's flesh. Maggie’s sense of claustrophobia increased. She had to get out of there fast. In a rushed voice she didn’t ask, but told her mother, "Mama, we are going back to the house with Billy." She yanked her arm out of her mother’s grasp.

Her mother’s voice shook when she said, "Don't you let Skeeter go near that tank."

"I won't, Mama," Maggie said. Her mother’s arms reached for her and pulled her into strangling hug. Maggie didn’t hug her back. As soon as she let go, Maggie ran out of the room.

When she got outside Billy had the kids loaded in the car. Skeeter's bare feet dangled out the back window. He was laying down in the back seat staring at the tiny holes in the rusted roof. Corey Jean was in the front seat. She moved to the middle of the seat when Maggie slid inside.

As they traveled down the highway the interior of the car became like an oven. Maggie's back stuck to the blue vinyl seat covers. Corey Jean’s hot little body leaned against her. The child had fallen asleep.

Billy didn’t speak until they pulled in to the Will’s drive way. He cleared his throat and said, "Daniel looked real good. Don't you think?"

"Ah, yeah," Maggie lied.

"He didn't even have a suit to wear when he graduated. He does now, for all the good it will do him." Billy parked the car. Without looking at her he asked, "Did you see John Carl there?"

"At the funeral home. No.” Maggie shook her head.

"I didn't think he'd show up."

Maggie detected a bitterness in Billy's voice that she didn't understand. She asked, "Why did you think that?"

"Just did."