(Rose about Buddy)Dad saw himself only from the outside in. His inner life was opaque like cold bacon fat. After Mom left him, though, it seemed like it heated up and became clear and pure like hot bacon fat. He cried in the car and at breakfast and in front of the TV. His face became soft and melty like vaseline. He loved me and Kalene and Mom and it lit him from the inside. He filled up the room with his teary, radiant love.
After Kalene died, his face became like a mask. It was still the color of vaseline but it was immobile. Pained weighed down all his facial expressions and he stopped being able to cry.
The greasy illumination that eminated from Dad's skin and from the life underneath it, stopped. It was gone with Kalene, another loss.