There were expensive wines, elaborate desserts, and place cards written in her elegant script.

Mine had been placed near the far end of the table, next to a chair used for coats.

I moved it to the place I’d occupied for twenty years.

Julian arrived with his wife, followed by Margaret.

They greeted me warmly.

Mark emerged from his study in a dark jacket and avoided my eyes.

Ofelia took the head of the table, smiling with the satisfaction of someone about to announce the ending she’d chosen for everyone else.

“Thank you for coming,” she began after the first course.