Carlton stood, his right leg braced from thigh to calf, leaning against a wooden cane.  From his position underneath the bell shaped canopy of a hilltop cemetery oak, he could clearly see the crowd of mourners gathered around Swithin’s grave.  Like those below, he too came to pay his last respects.  But in an effort to avoid awkward questions and even more awkward answers, he decided to wait until the interment was complete, and the last of the mourners had left, before heading down the hill.  

As Carlton suspected would be the case, Swithin’s parents lingered longer than the others.  Partly out of respect and partly on account he couldn’t bear to watch, he dropped his head and gazed off at the dry leaves around his feet while Swithin’s mother grieved.  When he raised his head again, Swithin’s mother and father were gone, so he took a breath and started down the hill. 

A few steps into his walk, Carlton saw a black sedan drive up alongside Swithin’s grave.  He stopped walking and watched on from a distance as a tall barrel-chested man in a dark suit stepped out of the back.  The man walked up to Swithin’s headstone and placed something on top.

“Mr. Bennett?” Carlton called out.

The man glanced toward Carlton, then turned away and jogged back to the sedan.  He climbed in and tapped the driver to drive on as he pulled his door shut.

As the sedan sped out of sight, Carlton continued down the hill.  Once he reached Swithin’s headstone he picked up what the man had left behind.  It was a golden ticket that read: 

FC119   29   11

____________________

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS

- VS. -

LOS ANGELES DOGERS

Tuesday, April 11, 2000 — 1:05 pm

____________________

PACIFIC BELL PARK

SEASON

TICKETHOLDER