Without lifting his face, he feels around on the coffee table to grab a piece of paper, then holds it aloft. I walk over and take the delicate square of off-white parchment from his hand. Instantly, he lets his arm flop down to his side. I start reading the elegant script slanting across it. Jerome & Melly Collins along with Nicholas & Antonia Comer joyfully invite you to celebrate the marriage of their children, Peter & P— “NO.” I fling the invitation away from me like it’s a live snake.
