On-the-Way

Today is the last day of the Dragon Boat Festival, which also means the end of our family’s brief reunion. Early in the morning, Mom and Dad were busy reheating and eating the leftovers. After breakfast, they had to catch their bus, so Huanhuan and I washed the dishes. Then we went to my sister’s place to hang out for a while and help carry some things. Ningning always struggles the most with goodbyes, unable to hold back her emotions. Manman, being a little older now, has gotten better at masking and disguising her feelings, trying to be the well-behaved child in Mom’s eyes. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not. ...

Today, we planned to go to Huanhuan’s maternal grandmother’s house. She had been inviting us to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival in Chengguan for a while. Huanhuan’s father went ahead first, while we took our time at home before heading over. We also carried a bag of rice that Huanhuan had received from her workplace. The second aunt was there too and prepared a big table full of delicious dishes for us. We went out to buy some fruit—lychees were particularly expensive at 10 yuan per pound, but they didn’t taste very good. We’ll have to buy fewer next time. We also bought a pineapple (I’ve always thought it was just another name for the same fruit). The vendor’s “Dubai knife skills” turned a whole large pineapple into just a tiny box of fruit. It might have been better to peel the pineapple ourselves during the family gathering—that way, we could have avoided sitting around with nothing to do but play on our phones. ...