[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-detail-114157-en":3,"doc-seo-114157-105":29,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":90},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",{"doc_id":7,"user_id":8,"nickname":9,"user_avatar":10,"doc_module":4,"category_id":11,"category_name":12,"doc_title":13,"doc_description":14,"doc_content":15,"file_id":16,"file_url":17,"file_type":18,"file_size":19,"view_count":4,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":11,"is_downloadable":11,"audit_status":11,"page_count":20,"language":21,"language_code":22,"site_id":23,"html_lang":22,"table_of_contents":24,"faqs":25,"seo_title":26,"seo_description":14,"update_tm":27,"read_time":28},114157,1649267921044,"Ava Thompson","https://us-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/1800007509477c92dfb?_k=1782875107921204101",1,"Story & Novel","Destination Funeral - Paige Harbison","Destination Funeral by Paige Harbison centers on the summer solstice weekend celebration of life for Babe Bennett in an island community shaped by tourism and local gossip. The narrative opens at a funeral that feels disturbingly unlike a funeral—bright weather, social rituals, and vivid sensory details. As mourners discuss rumors about the four returned children and how Babe died, Didion’s arrival and private preparation reveal tensions, grief, and unanswered questions driving the weekend’s emotional unraveling.","[OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com)  \nAlso by Paige Harbison  \nThe Other Side of Now Anything to Have You New Girl Here Lies Bridget  \n[OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com)  \n[OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com)  \nTo Mommy, Grandmommy, and all the many mothers I’ve had along  \nthe way  \n[OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com)  \n“Do you always watch for the longest day of the year and then miss it? I always watch for the longest day in the year and then miss it.”  \n“We ought to plan something.”  \n—F. SCOTT FITZGERALD , THE GREAT GATSBY  \n[OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com)  \nTo Whom It May Concern,  \nBabe Bennett cordially invites you to Birdsong on the weekend of the Summer Solstice, June the 22nd to June the 24th, for a celebration of life.  \nBabe passed away peacefully in Switzerland earlier this week.  \nIf you are holding this invitation, you are among those named in her will. The reading will take place on Friday night, with the celebration on Sunday afternoon.  \nYour attendance is insisted upon. Lodging will be provided.  \nIf you have any questions, please reach out to Miranda Collie atthe enclosed address. .  \n[OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com)  \nPrologue  \nsunday, the day of the funeral  \nIf it had been her wedding, she wouldn’t have come.  \nBut it was her funeral.  \nIt didn’t seem like a funeral. With the smell of burning charcoal and freshly applied sunscreen, you would never know that someone was dead. Or that just moments ago, a sunburned crowd had looked on in horror as a casket was dropped, doors swinging open to reveal its contents.  \nIt’s as if the weather had been specially arranged ahead of time—storm fog burned off by noon, baby blue skies now decorated with puffs of wispy white clouds, a particularly cool breeze breathing through the gathering, lifting skirts and table linens. Melting ice shifted under the weight of wine bottles and beer cans. Even the ocean is obliging, moving like it’s tired from all its thrashing the night before.  \nOr, nights before. Plural.  \nTears were tickling the corners of eyes, voices were soft with only-justremembered anecdotes. And of course, on an island like Mercy, where life was fueled by tourism and local gossip, people were wondering what might have happened with the kids this weekend. Because that’s who they’ll always be to most of them. The kids.  \nThe four of them, Didion, Sammie, Austin, and Matt, had been one of those era-defining forces back in the day. No one knew quite why they cared so much what happened to them—hundreds of other teenagers had been on the island back then—and before and since—bicycling around town, drinking too young, falling too hard in love. But who can really say what gives anyone or anything star quality?  \nMaybe it was Babe. Babe at Birdsong and the kids that orbited around it all.  \nA group of women, who had minutes earlier decided it was fine to open a bottle of wine before the service, whispered to each other now. No one  \ncould believe all four of the kids came back. Did Sammie look like she was doing better these days? God, they hoped so. And Austin—so sad about him, all that potential—they’d all been rooting for him. Sweet Matt, always the levelheaded one, and now with that beautiful daughter. Was he happy?  \n“I don’t think so,” said one of the women.“I’m good at reading people, just look at his body language.”  \n“Oh, Sal, it’s a funeral, of course he’s not happy!”  \n“No, I know these things,” said the first woman, shutting one eye and sipping her wine.  \nAnd of course, Didion. Such a smart girl, so funny and beautiful when she was younger. A shame she’d gotten so serious these days—but wait, hadn’t they all heard that she, at least, was thriving up there in New York? She was a famous chef now, like the Barefoot Contessa or—well, none of them could name another chef off the top of their heads, but they all knew what they meant.  \n“You know they weren’t talking at the end. Didion and Babe.”  \n“No! Still?”  \n“Mm-hmm,” confirmed the woman who knows these things.“It","cbCaii77D7O3xSpe","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaii77D7O3xSpe","pdf",1666304,341,"English","en",105,"# Prologue\n## Sunday, the day of the funeral\n## Invitations and the celebration of life\n## Rumors and the four returned children","[{\"question\":\"What kind of event is held in Destination Funeral?\",\"answer\":\"It is Babe Bennett’s funeral framed as a “celebration of life,” beginning with a reading on Friday night and continuing with a celebration on Sunday afternoon.\"},{\"question\":\"Why does the funeral not feel like a typical funeral?\",\"answer\":\"The atmosphere is unusually bright and social—burning charcoal and sunscreen replace the expected mood, while weather, food, and gatherings make the scene feel staged rather than solemn.\"},{\"question\":\"Who are the four kids and what do people wonder about them?\",\"answer\":\"Didion, Sammie, Austin, and Matt are referenced as era-defining figures whose return after Babe’s death draws intense curiosity and speculation, especially about how Babe died.\"}]","Destination Funeral - 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