Figure 12

Last week, pulling base molding, I found a three-by-three picture from the previous generation. Not dog-eared or faded, a mother holding a small boy over a cake with two candles. Both in red. Somebody’s grandpa strolling in from the back room, in a Bermuda shirt and horn-rimmed glasses. The child with thick curly brown hair, blowing toward the “Happy” between the candles, the mother’s hair straight and perfectly parted. Her arms lean and strong.