Did you guys see the beautiful broadside that Ander made?
It's so beautiful, and I'm so thankful to him.
And so, this is "Cup of Coffee."
This is the one I think about when I think about the fact
that my brother hasn't written me back
since I sent him the book.
[LAUGHTER]
But anyway, "Cup of Coffee."
"He drank.
He took a sip from the Styrofoam and hesitated.
What did he think of it, we all wondered.
Did it mean something?
My brother, Bartleby, who never drank coffee.
My brother who had to resist us all,
resist my mother's encroachment, resist my father's cheer,
resist my sanctimony.
He spent years honing his thank you,
no, to this family of coffee drinkers.
He didn't shout and storm around like the rest of us.
He seemed, in his equanimity, to be happy.
Of course, I can't publish this secret.
Didn't Dad write about a mute boy?
Didn't Mom tell him he ought to make money?
The family dynamic needs to be honored.
So I will change his name, or his sex.
Perhaps, I will make his parents Russian peasantry."