Summary

“Dancing to Nat King Cole” by James Wall starts with Katherine and Charles Simpson, an elderly couple who are depicted eating their breakfast together. When the phone rings, Katherine answers and then lets her husband know that their daughter Rebecca is coming to have lunch with them. When Rebecca arrives, her father seems to forget that she has called to let her parents know she is coming. As they prepare to leave for the restaurant, Charles wants to open the garage door, forgetting that he does not own a car anymore.

At the restaurant, while Charles is in the bathroom, Rebecca asks her mother about her life. Katherine lies and simply states that everything is fine, as she does not want Rebecca to know that Charles follows her around the house, calls for her obsessively, and does chores the wrong way. When her daughter tries to comfort her...