During our meal at a family restaurant in eastern Portugal, a cheerful little girl flutters around our table. At the checkout I ask the owner, I estimate him in his late forties: “Your granddaughter?”
Slightly irritated, he replies: “No, my daughter”. To make amends, I ask, with a nod to the young woman with whom the girl is now sitting on her lap: “Your wife?”
“No, my other daughter,” comes out icily.
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A version of this article also appeared in the newspaper on March 31, 2023