Fiction/Humor

Please Pass the Chicken…Er, Crow?

The Apology Dinner Etiquette Emily Post Forgot to Mention

Deb Palmer
5 min readSep 25, 2024

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I rarely write fiction, real life is more fascinating. Even when writing fiction, I nearly always base it on a true story, lived or heard.

Such is the case with the story below. I’ve changed the characters and setting, otherwise not much else wanders from the truth.

Peering into the glass-front hutch, Cindy selects her grandmother’s bone china. Pulling a hand-crocheted tablecloth from the drawer, she spots a crystal vase. The wedding gift from 30 years ago is the ideal vessel for the bouquet of bluebonnets she’d picked fresh this morning.

With the table setting approved, she straightens her crinoline apron, contemplating the menu. The evening with John and Eva must be perfect. Since the episode, neighborly conversations have been sparse, with polite chit-chat, behind stretched smiles. Tonight, she will come clean, explain the unexplainable, fully prepared for the inevitable backlash.

She has rehearsed it many times —

John, Eva, I would like to make amends for my bizarre behavior last spring. It was so kind of you to hire my husband to help with chores. We really needed the cash, I had just celebrated 30 days of

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Deb Palmer

Author & Freelance Storyteller — Sweeping humor and gut-wrenching truth from under the rug —