ADVERTISEMENTS OVER DINNER
December 20, 2009
They eat an uncommon dinner at the long mahogany table. Mother and father sit on opposite ends, with their two adult children between them. Did you know Lasik is one of the most popular eye surgery choices for treating nearsightedness? A bowl of yams is exchanged for sliced ham, hand over hand, steam bottling in the chandelier. That sounds expensive. It’s reasonable. Their knives attack the overcooked lamb, splitting it, mixing in blood and flakes of skin with green beans and candied nuts. Their forks scrape against platters. They tongue the spaces in their teeth. The Phoenix Zoo has been voted one of the top five zoos for kids in the nation. Candlelight flickers off a plastic poinsettia in a squat ceramic pot. We haven’t been there in years. The children take long sips of their black red cabernet. Well, now would be a good time to go. Everyone nods and pats their mouths with holiday napkins. The entrees are cleared. Father makes beeping sounds in the kitchen. He returns humming Let It Snow. He sets out a tub of whip cream and makes promises of pie. Zales is having a big after-Christmas sale. Mother butters the last of the rolls. On what? Whatever they have left. A car honks outside. Uncle has arrived with ceremonious cheese baskets. Have you tried the new tapas place on Chandler Boulevard? He admires the china cabinet. What’s it called? The tree twinkles. I forget. Haven’t been out there since we finished shopping.
