My parents lived in the same brutalist-Art Nouveau home for fifty-one years. (They never could agree on an aesthetic.) During that time, they accumulated the contents of a much larger house and crammed them into their much smaller one. They are gone now, following a pickleball accident that I am not legally permitted to discuss, except to note that one first responder described the scene as “wild.” The estate sale lasted three days. The following items did not move, so I am listing them here, on Facebook Marketplace.
An invitation to my father’s bris, 1942
Engraved. Reads, in a formal, serif font: “You are cordially invited.” Also: “No admission without card.” My father is gone and I cannot ask him why his parents were worried about party-crashers. This question will haunt me. Price: $15, firm.
A box of toffees commemorating the marriage of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer
Purchased in a passing fit of royal enthusiasm before my parents pledged allegiance to the Basque-separatist cause. Most of the toffees remain in their original wrappers. Price: $8.
