Daring to be noticed for the first time in her life, she pushed her chair back and stood up. Jerome, her uncle's brother, took no notice of her. Her hands were cold and shaking. He continued eulogizing. "He was a great man, and there's no denying. We all..."

"No."

That got his attention. All of them, really. She clasped her hands together tightly, willing her voice to be steady. Jerome raised an eyebrow at her. "Did you have something you wanted to say, Candace? Why don't you come on up here and say it?"

She swallowed, hard. The idea of walking past all those staring eyes, all those people... family. She didn't know if she could do it. But then the anger rose in her again. They were getting it all wrong. Her voice actually surprised her this time. It was clear and strong. "Yes, I have something to say. If you'll stand aside, Uncle, I have a few words to share about Uncle Martin."

She was certain her courage would fail her, walking past the rows of folded aluminum chairs, her mother's staring and accusing eyes, her sister's embarrassed pink face. But she had something to say, dammit.

She walked up, past the floral arrangements, careful not to trip or catch them on the hem of her skirt.

"You try to sum up the man, using adjectives like 'great' and 'wonderful'. He was more than that." She could see they didn't get it yet. She tried to slow her whirling thoughts. "A funeral is for the living, right? And we want to remember Uncle Martin as this perfect human, who's gone on to live as a perfect angel. Well, he wasn't. He was human. He was flawed. And that's what we should remember. And never forget." Blank faces. Despair. Oh well, she'd tried. They would never know.