September 30, 2018:

They each have a hand on the knife that cuts the cake.

Anniversary cake. 55 years, says the number. Wedding figurines beneath plastic arch with vines. There are white swans at the corners of the lowest tier. It looks very much like a castle guarded by aquatic fowl.

They each have a hand on the knife.

Did she have a voice? Did she? Or was the veto of her son's marriage entirely her husband's decision?