Sobremesa
so-breh-MEH-sah
n.The talk that keeps everyone at the table long after the meal has ended.
SpanishEstablished linguistic term
Nobody Clears the Table
The Englishman kept trying to leave.
It was not rudeness. Ollie had been extremely well brought up, which was precisely the problem: at three o'clock, when the plates were empty, every instinct he possessed stood up and put its coat on.
"Shall I—" he said, half rising, gathering.
"Sit down," said Elena's father, without looking at him.
Ollie sat down.
---
They had eaten at two. It was now twenty past four. There was one bottle of wine left, mostly full, and a plate of something almond-based that nobody was eating and nobody would let anyone take away, and eleven people around a table designed for eight.