cody and sarah did not yet know what a funeral was, and so the mood in the back seat could even be described as joyous in certain parts of the six hour car ride.
they played a game where they would give themselves an arbitrary amount of points for finding certain objects:
“six cows! 36 points!”
“tallest tree in the world! 231 points!”
“cemetery! 6 points!”
“horses! 12 points!”

their mother sat. stiff. she had lost her brother, stanley, forever (as she no longer believed in heaven), but she did not say anything.
instead she sat next to her husband, holding his strong hand, in the passenger seat staring at the passing cemeteries. 6 points.