Before the wedding, Sara asked her father to keep his speech short. She was not afraid of its length but of his jokes, which always seemed to make someone smaller so that he could appear larger. He promised not to overdo it. He left a folded paper on the table but did not open it when he took the microphone. Instead, he began speaking from memory about family standing and high expectations.

Then he said his daughter would at least always have a good lunch, since her mother-in-law had spent her entire life in a kitchen. Several people laughed before seeing Sara's face. Her mother-in-law, Amra, worked as a cook in a student residence. Sara had met her there while studying, long before she met Amra's son.

Amra did not lower her head. She placed her napkin beside her plate and waited for the speech to finish. Sara's husband Vedran began to stand, but Sara touched his hand. She approached her father herself and asked for the microphone. He tried to turn it into another joke. She did not let him.

She said that during her studies, Amra had often saved her dinner when work made her late. She had not treated her as a charity case, but as a person whose day could be difficult. Sara did not turn the speech into a list of her father's faults. She thanked Amra for welcoming her into the family and passed the microphone to the band. The music did not begin immediately. The singer first had to find a suitable song on the list.

Her father went out onto the terrace. Later he sent her mother to say that Sara had embarrassed him in front of their relatives. Sara did not go outside to repair his mood. They had their first dance without him in the room. Amra applauded the loudest, and Vedran whispered that he hoped their marriage would require fewer public speeches. Sara laughed, tired of holding her expression steady.

A week later her father invited them to lunch. Sara said he first needed to speak with Amra. She did not compose his apology. Nor did she stand beside the telephone to check that he delivered it correctly.

At the next family gathering, Amra brought a book she had just read because she thought Sara would enjoy it. Her father offered to make coffee. The conversation was awkward and slow. When he asked how much sugar they wanted, Amra answered without a joke. For a beginning, that was enough for her to remain at the table.