A blast! We have to do this more often.
          The family, big, and kind of loosely defined, gets together every few years. It’s aunt Shirley’s deal mostly, she rents a gazebo in a park and sends around the emails. We show up, and sometimes it’s a little awkward: Is that…? Who I haven’t seen since…? Well, we can’t really remember. But you know, we’ve done this for a few years now, and Lauren, I don’t really remember how we’re related, but you’re fun, and you get us into the group games of tug-of-war and your husband runs the grill, and you chase the kids through the sprinklers and they laugh and you grab one and lift them up and they squeal. Your energy! We feel grateful that you’re there, there’s a little warm thing in our chest that tells us family is important, we should do this more often. We can’t expect everyone to meet every year of course, what with people getting older and stuff with families and all. Then someone makes a suggestion, but we have to do this more often, and voila!: Cousins’ Night!
          We arrange it. It’s not exclusive, all the family is invited, but we know it’s mostly our generation who will show up. On Cousins’ Night we spike the punch. Here’s cousin Carla from Florida: she flies in now for our summer gathering. We make a special effort to be warm to her, because most of us live closer and see each other more often. Such a tan she has, such self-assurance and we all feel a bit provincial. Her husband doesn’t come with, I don’t think any of us have met him in person. But cousin Carla is so fun, and she and Lauren are thick as thieves. They grew up together, and Cousin’s Night is like a sleepover to them, like when they were girls. They laugh! The jokes they share! They take such an interest in Debbie’s baby, so cute, so exotic. They want to know everything about him, and it has to be said that Debbie is being kind of a bitch about it all, and won’t answer questions about the dad (no, I’ve never met him either). They cajole, but Debbie and her baby leave early, the party poopers.
          A year later, the next Cousins’ Night. The weather is amazing. There are more of us than ever. Cousin Carla asks about Debbie and the baby. Debbie has a second baby! We’re all astonished. The same father? Carla inquires in gossipy tones. Well…, we say. Giggles and looks.
          The next year, aunt Shirley doesn’t attend. What a shame, we all agree, but you know she gets this way. What’s cousin Debbie up to these days, and her little babies?—baybehs, cousin Carla pronounces it, it’s her running joke, from a TV show. No one can really answer her. Debbie kind of dropped out of sight, we agree. Cousin Lauren seems a little disapproving, but she changes the subject, and asks about Carla’s husband, whom none of us have ever met, who works doing something for the government.
💀