This year for Thanksgiving Husband suggested making reservations instead of a turkey since it would just be the two of us with Son and Daughter who are in their twenties and no longer live at home. I’m not a gifted cook, albeit an enthusiastic eater, and all four of us have different favorite holiday foods with Son avoiding turkey altogether. Since I love lamb I’m always looking for historical facts connecting our forefathers with sheep, but in the end they’re probably not stories that bear repeating so it’s better just to order quietly.
In the middle of our meal Daughter brought up a topic she was eager to introduce.
DTR: What does everyone think about taking a family vacation? We’ve never done that in the whole seven years you guys have been married and it would be so much fun.
HUSBAND: Where were you thinking?
DTR: Alaska. (turning to her brother) You’d like to spend a week in Alaska as a family, wouldn’t you?
SON: No. No, I wouldn’t.
DTR: Well, which idea don’t you like, going as a family or going to Alaska?
SON: (favoring us all with a warm smile) I couldn’t get a week off.
OSV: How about Costa Rica?
HUSBAND: Oh, I would love that.
DTR: Perfect!
SON: Maybe I could take four days. Five nights. Four nights, five days. And I’d have to go plus one.
Husband and I looked at each other like what’s plus one? Some new travel club? Daughter noticed our puzzlement.
DTR: Plus one means him and somebody else. He wants to bring someone. (turning back to Son) You don’t think you could have a good time with just the family? With me?
SON: You could go plus one, too. They pay their own way.
DTR: Who would you bring?
SON: A friend.
DTR: Which one?
SON: Any one.
DTR: What if no one’s available?
SON: I’ll go on Craigslist.
DTR: You’re not taking this seriously! We won’t always have this opportunity as a family. We’re running out of time!
SON: You’re like the Hitler of vacation planning. I can do four nights in Costa Rica and I’ll go plus one.
DTR: Fine.
They turned to face us.
HUSBAND: Dessert?
Unexpected Combinations is the theme for Daughter’s Featured Fotos taken at Hunter College Open Studios
computer graveyard
fusion of concepts
bunny-men
beauty pageant gone bad