My In-Laws Mocked the Tow Driver, Until They Learned I Was Kijin novel · Chapter 19 of 24

Chapter 19: Sunday Roast

Eleven relatives sat at the long table, the same eleven, and this time they all looked at me when I came in.

Preston was out on bail with a splint on his nose and his father's hand on his shoulder.

I walked to my old chair at the far end, by the kitchen door.

"Not there," Clifford said.

He stood at the head of the table in his good suit, with the oxygen tank on a little cart beside him.

"Beside me, Floyd. Meredith, the other side."

Gerald's smile didn't move.

"Father, you shouldn't be on your feet."

"I'll sit when I've eaten," Clifford said. "Pass the salad."

We ate it. I couldn't have said what it tasted like.

Gerald waited until the plates were cleared and the roast beef was on its way.

Then he tapped his water glass with a spoon.

"Since the whole family is here," he said, "let's handle this like adults."

I heard the same words, in the same voice, and I felt Meredith's knee press mine under the tablecloth.

"My father collapsed in his workshop on Wednesday," Gerald said. "A doctor I hired has written a letter. He has advanced heart disease, and in his opinion Father can no longer manage his affairs."

He slid a folder down the table.

It stopped against Clifford's plate.

"Oh, I know what's in it," Clifford said. He didn't open it. "Sit down, Gerald. You're blocking the roast."

"The family needs to vote, Father. For your own protection."

"Yes. Let's vote."

Clifford turned his head.

"Meredith."

She took a flat envelope from her bag, the one that had lived in the back of a clock, and she put it on the table in front of her father.

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