Before the unspoken conversation about my cousin dating a black man and after the claim by a grotesque step-uncle I was overqualified to teach at a urban community college ergo wasting my time, in the middle of whisky or red wine I took this picture of a perfect family table set up for an imperfect family, a family I claim as my own and wholly reject in the same breath. Here’s to being better and learning from your past—an empty dining room perfectly flawed for one impossible moment.