Summary

In Chapter 1, Judd Foxman's sister, Wendy, calls to inform him that their father, Mort, has died after his long battle with stomach cancer. During the conversation, she tells him that the funeral will be the next morning and that their father's last wish was for them to sit Shiva, a Jewish mourning ritual that lasts seven days. Apparently, this was his last wish even though he was an atheist. Judd cannot believe that the family is going to go through with it, but Wendy stresses the fact that it was their father's dying wish. Their brother, Paul, told her about it. She has left a message for their younger brother, Phillip. Since they have no idea where he is, or what physical state he is in, they are not sure that he is going to attend. The conversation ends abruptly when Wendy...