Some of the decorations she had brought along after she married Dad were two little log cabins, the kind the Pilgrims might have built, that were also candleholders. We put them at each end of the table, with a low bouquet of carnations in fall colors in between. I’d baked two pies the night before—pumpkin and pecan—and Dad was doing the turkey. Sylvia took over the mashed potatoes and veggies; Les and Paul, his roommate, were bringing wine; and Kay, whom Dad had invited at the last minute because her parents were out of the country, was bringing a salad. We hadn’t expected anything of Daniel and his brother, of course. I figured it would be culture shock enough just eating at a table with Lester. Daniel and Geri arrived first. “We are on time!” Daniel announced proudly. “We Sudanese are notoriously late for appointments in our own country, but in the United States of America we do as Americans do,” said his brother. “I am Geri.” “Welcome!” Sylvia said. “Some of us are notoriously late for appointments too.
