Death for Dinner
Traci Brimhall INGREDIENTS: 12 black balloons, if you remember 8 sugar skeleton teacups, or inherited glasses 1 pan of cornbread 1 double batch of chili 1 batch of lentil soup RECIPE: 1. Lower the lights, stir the soup again, listen for the doorbell to announce the arrival of the first guest of your death dinner. Most guests don’t know each other. They’re invited because each of them had talked comfortably about death before. You knew it would be a strange invitation to send—Come have dinner with me and chat about dying!—but you went to a website for hosting death dinners, watched their videos, clicked through their questions, and received their sample invitation to send to friends, who said “Hell yes, count me in!” and saved the date on their calendars. 2. The doorbell continues to ring. The counter fills up with bottle after bottle of wine. The cutting boards fill up with new cheeses. Everyone introduces themselves as you pour drinks and count who is here. You pull out your planner, doublecheck the invitation list and look at the table again. Eight seats,