strode into our kitchen, took both my mother’s hands in his, and, in full view of his wife and my stepfather, kissed her right on the mouth. “Malabar,” he said, his face close enough to hers that he could see her pupils expand, “that might have been the best damn dinner of my entire life!” “Ben,” Lily said, playfully scolding her husband, “leave that poor woman alone.”
“That poor woman” the irony
