“What, no turkey?”
“No turkey,” Eleanor confirmed.
How can their celebration go so off the rails, he thought. Then he remembered. Darn son-in-law!
Farley could accept subtle changes. Like having their cat, Mr. Whiskers, removed from the house when the newlyweds visited. Better that than Gregory succumbing to a sneezing fit from its hairs, hence souring the evening for everyone.
Changing eating traditions to solely vegan this and vegan that? Gone too far. The cat ate meat or fish every day and Farley insisted on the same for him.
But how? He was powerless. The women in his immediate relations controlled what went into his stomach. Thank goodness he could have the pleasure of an occasional burger from a drive-through close to work.
“Hon’, did you set the table properly?” Eleanor inquired. “Do you know where the forks, knives and soup spoons go?”
Farley was about to return a nasty remark when he thought it best to comply, thereby sustaining peace.
One hour went by before the doorbell sounded. One hour enough time to simmer down and be respectable for their dinner guests, Farley rationalized.
Hugs and kisses planted, the visitors carried themselves and their goods into the foyer.
“For Mom,” Carla said, presenting a bouncy bouquet. “I give her daisies and she gives me carnations. It’s a tradition.”
“Here’s something for you, Pops,” grinned Gregory. “Vegan whiskey from Scotland!”
Mealtime went splendidly. Farley became overwhelmed with an acute appreciation of his wife’s culinary skills. He was surprised how everything he tasted turned out delicious.
Furthermore, he realized that she was placed in a difficult predicament, as was he, with their daughter having converted to her husband’s moral belief of going vegetarian.
“How did I do with the table-setting?” he asked, following their guests’ departure.
“Soup spoons on the wrong side of the bowls. Other than that, you observed tradition protocol.”
“Dinner was tasty. I guess I don’t mind vegetarian some of the time.”
“That’s great,” Eleanor smiled. “…because Carla and Gregory invited us for the next festive gathering.”