Jack said to me. “Please, pass the potatoes,” Mom said. “Pleeeeaasse, pass the potatoes,” he said. I gave him the bowl. “Thank you so much,” he said. “You are very welcome. It was my pleasure.” “That’s most kind of you,” Jack replied. “You are such a gentle—” “Knock it off or you’ll both be back in your room,” my father said, interrupting Jack. “Even pretend manners are better than no manners,” my mother said. “Let’s change the subject,” my father suggested. “So how was schoo—” He stopped himself mid-sentence as he realized this probably wasn’t the best choice of subject. “School was great,” I replied. “I have a very nice teacher.” Deaf, and not very good—but she was nice. “I like my class, too,” Jack added. “How was your day, Mom?” “Just the usual routine. You’ve seen one letter, you’ve seen them all.” “Some of them must be interesting,” my father said. “We really don’t have time to read them,” she said.
