We had spent this holiday with them for years,
always bringing a bottle of wine and a dessert
to put among the antique table settings, and
each time they would serve generous helpings
of irritation and outrage, and we would try
to put as little as possible on our plates.
They would insist we take home leftovers,
they would promise to send recipes,
they would say how wonderful it had been.
Finally, one year, we decided not to go.
Instead we ordered take out and then
went for a walk through the neighborhood.
We marveled to each other, "Wow, these
birds are loud. Have they always been here?"
