From there he could see that Uncle Buzz’s tattoos consisted of a crucifix on his wasted left pectoral the lower part of which was obscured by the hospital gown; a skull and crossbones on the pale, hairless flesh of his left inner forearm; and the name Tanya, in what was once ornate, flowing script, spanning his right bicep and forming a legend for the very blurry image of what appeared to be a mermaid. To his astonishment, tears filled Victor’s eyes at the sight of this, and he had to stare with all his strength at the raucous scene on the television until there was no danger of the tears falling. In the chair on the other side of the bed his grandmother drifted in and out of sleep, so Victor muted the television and watched a silent parade
