It was a new tradition
we must have started only
a year or two before
the first tumor was detected
on my cousin Dawne’s liver.
We’d get together right after
Thanksgiving to play
Cranium or Trivial Pursuit,
spend time with the family
without the stress of holidays
or having to leave for midnight mass.
Three days before she died
I went with my brothers
to her house, where we
had never been before. We walked
up to the hospital bed in the
living room. Ralph, the oldest,
took her hand. She barely
opened her eyes. “Hi, Dawne,”
he said. “It’s Ralph, I’ve got
Marcus and Dan here with me.”
She looked at us, like she was
sorting through all the memories
of her life. “Game night,” she said,
her voice unrecognizable.
“Is it game night?”