“What I remember from the funeral was that he seemed to have the face of a distinct character, a mingled confusion and wonder and a sharp attention to others present, his eyes roaming the crowd and frequently settling on Fr. Kevin Mayfair.

“Watching Goblin’s eyes move, watching him take the measure of the crypt, all this had a hypnotic fascination for me. And when he looked back at me, to see that I watched, he smiled in a rather sad and sophisticated fashion.

“That’s what it was—a sophisticated fashion. And when had Goblin ever seemed more than a clown? Out there in the Metairie Cemetery he didn’t look like a clown at all, and he seemed also rather detached from me and my emotions.

“I didn’t think too much more about it.

“But before we leave the funeral, let me dwell on Fr. Kevin Mayfair. Fr. Kevin Mayfair was superb. He was an inspiration. He looked too young to be a priest, as I’ve more or less already noted, and on that day he didn’t look any older.

“And for the first time I noticed how really handsome he was. I felt awakened to his red hair and green eyes and his good build. I’d say he’s six feet tall about. And his manner of speaking was utterly convincing. That he believed Pops had gone to Heaven was beyond doubt.

“And a young priest that strong—well, it’s an inspiration. I felt drawn to him, I felt I could go to Confession to him and tell him some of the things that were wrong with me.

“After the funeral we returned to Blackwood Manor for a huge reception to which dozens of the country folk came. The buffets overflowed with casserole dishes of food which the neighbors had brought, and fabulous dishes which Big Ramona and Jasmine had cooked up, and the two paying guests we had on the premises were honored to be asked to join in with us.

“Big Ramona’s two sons, who had gone out into the world, as we always said—George, a dentist in Shreveport, and Yancy, a lawyer in New Orleans—were there with their wives, lending us all a hand with the food. And there were some half dozen or more of the black cousins there too.

“The security guards were everywhere, unobtrusively eyeing anyone or everyone and conferring with me repeatedly as to the ‘mysterious stranger,’ but I saw no one whom I could connect to that being.

“Repeatedly throughout the long ordeal Aunt Queen broke down and sobbed and said that nobody should have to bury a great-nephew and she didn’t know why she had lived so long. I’d never seen her so broken. She made me think of a lily trod underfoot.