She invited every single, childless, widowed, estranged acquaintance to a pot-luck celebration. Thirty strangers arrived at her studio apartment clutching favorite Thanksgiving dishes from their childhood: tandoori turkey, shakshouka, pumpkin empanadas, green-bean casserole. They dined cross-legged on pillows, a laughing gaggle of utensils reaching across plates, birthing a new family.

Phyllis Rittner writes poetry, flash fiction and creative non-fiction. Her work can be found in Roi Faineant Press, Emerge Literary Journal, Versification, Sparks of Calliope, Gyroscope Review and others. She is a member of The Charles River Writing Collective and can be reached on Facebook at facebook.com/phyllis.rittner.