dinner

My father had made a nice dinner. We had a guest over. Dad served enchiladas.

The guest took a few bites, and then said, "Oh, I just got something hard."

Dad ruined the meal by asking, "Toenail clipping hard?"

Another time, my father made clam chowder. He didn't care about my seafood allergy -he just wasn't a fan. He lit two candles on the kitchen table, and we all sat down to eat.

I asked, with my mouth full, "What's in this?"

One of my brothers had to translate for us.

Dad started with, "Well, clams. And there's ..."

I spat out the soup. Actually I spewed it out. And in doing so, I extinguished both candles.