Then Chloe stood up on her chair.

It happened in a blur of seconds, faster than any of us could react.

She put a knee onto the padded edge of the casket, and before I fully understood what she was doing, she climbed right inside, and curled herself against her father’s chest, and pressed her ear flat against his suit jacket.

“Chloe!” several relatives shrieked.

I rushed forward.

Marcus reached past me, grabbing aggressively for her.