MATTHEW’S ATTENTION is drawn again to Grandma and the group of ten. They’re getting a little rowdy. He wonders how long they spent in the lounge. Grandma’s clutching a drink of some kind, with a napkin wrapped around the bottom of the glass. The others seem to be urging her to order a lobster regardless of the expense. Five are facing Matthew: a man, Grandma’s son, wearing Grandma’s hair like a wreath around a bald spot on the very top of his head; a young man, certainly the first man’s son, sullen, interested in the food but not in the event; a boy, bright, showing off, talking a lot, always informing the others about something, often correcting what he takes to be their misimpressions about things; Grandma herself, wearing a corsage, slightly bewildered, pleased, but worried about the cost of all this; her daughter, a worrier, a manipulator, wearing an expression of aloofness, almost disdain, though she smiles continually, seated at an angle to the table, her chair out a bit from it, sitting straight up on the edge of her chair. Across from those five are, Matthew feels certain, though he can see only their backs, the in-laws, matched to their mates, the balding guy’s wife seated across from him, and so on. These five are a mixed bag. One of them glances around the room now and then, probably because she’s embarrassed by the others; she is clearly the daughter of the woman who wants to be in charge, a girl, or young woman, in her twenties, the best-looking person at the table. She has some of Grandma’s features, but on her they look good. She’s playing at being “different,” complaining that some rock club she went to with friends was too loud and crowded. When the waitress arrives at their table, everyone but Grandma orders right away — lobster. Grandma still fusses. “Bring her a goddamned lobster,” says the pretty girl.
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🎧 446: Matthew’s attention ...