There were too many place settings; it was obvious immediately. I wondered if several people had chosen to have dinner in their cabins. I wouldn’t blame them.

“Is everyone here?” someone said.

Gigi, the seasoned attendee replied, “Yes, not everyone comes to the dinners.”

I counted fifteen people, including William and Aldous, but the table was set for twenty-five. Tibby Walbridge made her way slowly toward the head and everyone else found seats around her, leaving a long section of the table empty. I wondered if the servers would have to wash each of the untouched plates, bowls, spoons, forks, and knives. I took William from Lonnie and sat next to her with him on my lap.

Tibby Walbridge looked at me and said, of Lonnie, “No, she can sit down there.” She gestured to the empty end of the table. “With the children.”

Lonnie’s mouth hung open. I flushed, seething, but was unsure how to react. Lonnie put her hand on my shoulder, and scooted her chair out. She leaned over me as she took William, her hot breath in my hair. “This bitch.”

She didn’t look at anyone as she made her way to the other end of the table and selected a seat at the corner. I would’ve liked to meet her eye. In fact, I’d never felt more endeared to her than at that moment, as she accepted the isolation that should’ve been mine. But even as I watched her walk—her head held high, William’s little arms circled around her neck—feeling such pride and utter devotion, I was also aware of a sharp envy. I didn’t want to sit with these people, especially without her. Even when we traded places I still somehow drew the short stick.

There was a long pause in the conversation before polite chatter started up again. A few minutes later Gigi approached Lonnie, dragging Aldous to the seat next to hers. He sat for a moment, his whole face red, tears brimming in his eyes, then ran back to his mother. I couldn’t blame him. Tibby Walbridge didn’t address his continued presence in Gigi’s lap, and, despite his unrelenting pulling of her hair and patting of her cheeks, Gigi kept a bored look on her face, as if he weren’t really there at all.

We were served cubes of some kind of fish in a red sauce as an appetizer. “Sea lamprey,” Tibby announced. “A French delicacy and locally overpopulated. Doing our part to even things out.”

It felt like rubber in my mouth, but I ate it all quickly, along with the bread, intending to follow Lonnie’s directions regardless of my stomach. When I finished my wine the waiter refilled the glass.