It seemed odd to Christy that there would be a place to pick up ashes in between a Marshalls and a Michaels, but she supposed that’s what you get for a whopping $675 bucks; it was the cheapest option she could find. She had tuition to pay, and burning a body hadn’t been in her budget for the semester."

It’s winter in Yonkers. My mother has taken me to visit a man who isn’t my father. He looks just like a Latino Freddie Mercury with his leather jacket and greased mustache.