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Before we make the welcome mat.
Some sort of chaos, after all?
But no. It’s just a jacked-up Aunt Cora.
Come in! Everyone’s here. She snatches
Grandfather’s elbow, tugs. All right,
he snarls, tugging it back. I’m working on it.
Maybe his suave exterior is nothing more
than a barely disguised case of nerves.
I follow, cradling my cranberry surprise
as if it might jump from my arms. Aunt Cora
leads us into the kitchen, where most
of the celebrators have gathered.
She sidles up to Liam, pulls him over
to meet Grandfather, who has yet to
have actually made his acquaintance.
This is my dad, Leroy. Dad, this is Liam.
Grandfather shakes his hand but looks
uncomfortable. Glad to finally meet you.
This is only the beginning of a long round
of introductions. We meet Liam’s mom and
dad; his brother, Tom; sister, Laurel; two aunts;
three uncles; a cousin or four. And that’s just
the ones in the kitchen. I can hear voices
in some other unidentified room. I don’t think
I made nearly enough cranberry sauce.
Throughout the entire process, Aunt Cora
hangs on to Liam as if letting go might make
some imaginary tower tumble. Finally, all of
us not quite knowing one another’s names,
Aunt Cora’s eyes stop traveling the room
