the king sweeps platters to the floor—then lifts his queen from her golden throne and seats her on the table before him. A sigh rises from many of those who sup, for this has happened before: the king will roar for them all to begone, because he has a royal feast to eat. But this time, no roar comes. The king is silent, staring up at his wife’s face in awe and adoration, his great palm flattened over her belly…which is very slightly rounder than it was the year before.
