Chapter 47
October 26
Still No News from Outer Space
Life can never be anything but joyless without the consolations and companionship of friends.
Marcus Tullius Cicero, On Friendship
MY FRIENDS DID SHOW UP, and Albertine’s mother, all of her siblings, all of her aunts and uncles, and most of her cousins, so all the tents were full. I wished that Albertine’s father could have been there, but wishing couldn’t make it so, since he was among the dead, along with my parents, my grandparents, and many others that I would have liked to see again, and many more that I would not.
Dinner that night was a medley of my favorites: clams casino, clam fritters Harold, baked stuffed clams, clam chowder, fried clams the way my grandfather used to make them, linguini with clam sauce (white and red), and sautéed spinach with onions and ginger. For Albertine, who does not care for clams, there was petti di pollo alla Bolognese. The jazz band was actually just a piano player — Albertine, to tell the truth — but it was a treat to have a piano in the lounge again, and she was very good, and she knew my favorite tunes.
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