I ran down to the kitchen and was immediately greeted by the smell of authentic Chinese food . My stomach was growling and all i wanted to do was to dive in. The table was filled with a variety of meat dishes, stir-fried vegetables, noodles, rice and desserts. I was about to devour them all but mom stopped me.“No..no…no. You have to wait.Today is very special day. Aunt Lily from China and Aunt Carrie from US will come visit us. Go back up and make yourself look nice.”
I sighed and went back up. I picked out a white cocktail dress and put my hair into a braid. I put on a smokey eye, concealer, false lashes with some mascara, light pink blush and some lipstick. When i’m done, i grabbed my phone and headed back downstairs.
“You look good. Aunt Lily and Aunt Carrie here already. Go greet her,” mom said.
The dining room was filled. The right side of the table was occupied by Aunt Lily’s family. She had 3 kids and 2 of them were twins. The other side of the room was occupied by Aunt Carrie and her husband. I walked and sat next to her.
“You’ve grown up so much! It’s so nice to finally see you again!,” Aunt Carrie said cheerfully.
“Nice to see you too,” i said. I hugged her and then turned my face to Aunt Lily. She was trying to put her youngest son to sleep.
“Hi Aunt Lily!”
“Ah! Mary! Very pretty, very pretty.你现在怎么样了?” (how have you been?)
“I’m doing good. What about you?”
“我很好” (i’m good)
It had been 4 years since i last saw the both of them. Aunt Carrie hardly changed at all. She still had that big smile plastered on her face everywhere she goes. Aunt Lily on the other hand, changed a lot. Her hair which used to be long is now short and in between them laid strands of white and grey hair. Is that what happens when you become a mom? Another thing i noticed was that she now speaks a little bit of english. She was probably influenced by her husband since he’s half-american.
Mom finally came out of the kitchen. She was still wearing her apron and she was carrying a huge plate of steamed ginger fish.“欢迎! 好久不见! (welcome! long time no see!) Lets eat!”
I filled each of the bowls with rice and passed it along the table. It’s finally time to eat. I took a little bit of everything and began eating. It has been quite a long time since i’ve eaten real chinese food. Mom was usually very busy with her office work so i always depended on instant noodles and takeouts. The table was quiet for awhile until Aunt Lily decided to speak up.
“So Mary, 你有 boyfriend 吗?”(do you have a boyfriend?), she asked. I saw mom giggling secretly and i gave her the look. This was one of the reasons why i hated family dinners. They pick on you ask you awkward personal questions and expect you to answer it infront of everyone.
“No i don't have one. I want to focus on my studies first,” i answered.
Aunt Carrie must have sensed that i was starting to feel uncomfortable because she quickly changed the topic. “Lily, how was your vacation to Germany?”
“Germany? It’s good. Nice place to visit but very 冷 (cold). Snow everyday,” Aunt Lily said. It looked like she was going to say more but couldn’t quite find the right words. “We tried skiing for the first time and the kids had a lot of fun. Definitely would go there again next time.” her husband added.
