arents, John and Mary, were fussing over my nephew, Cody, who was preening in his new suit.

zing with talk of Cody's supposed b

and the conve

mother said, her smile no

tting a wrapped gift on th

on Beth's plate, then Kevin's, then Cody's. When he got to me, he scraped the burnt, fatty ends o

meat. It was such a small

r mother tells me you did som

y mood in the r

ble. "Hope you have a place to s

oked up from his phone, his fac

employed, how are you going t

ide with genuine concern for his

g my gaze. At my mother, who was busy arranging the potatoes on he

at had nothing to do with the air conditionin