So Laurie and I headed north, toward Eugene and Chase's spot. Laurie could probably have driven this with her eyes shut (though she didn't!) and we found our way there in the dark. Unlike many cemeterie, including Thomas's, this one did not have a fence as far as I could tell in the dark, nor did it have a gate so we were able to drive in even after sunset. Chase is three spaces in from the roadway so Laurie parked her car with the headlights pointing at the headstone and we got out. She had brought a pot of tulips. The headstone is the same style as that in the national cemeteries (Thomas has a brass marker, flat to the ground). We paused in the cold for perhaps ten minutes, talking about Chase, about this location, about the animals that visit. (Deer are constant visitors here in Maryland, and bouquets left on graves tend to take on an Edward Gorey look--just stems stripped of flowers and leaves, standing in vases after a few hours.) We said goodby, and then turned toward Eugene and my cousin Nan and her husband Ron.

I do not recommend going somewhere for the first time in the dark. We drove right past the house and finally paused in total confusion at the top of a hill. I called Nan on the cell phone, she came out to the curb and waved and we finally landed at their house, perhaps an hour after we had meant to.