Ireland/China 2025, continuing (33)

[aadler]

Twenty-third day in China – July 13 Sunday

I got up shortly after 9:00AM, Susan already up. Standard breakfast.

Susan traded some WeChat texts with Kevin, and arranged that he would bring Amber to meet us for lunch. Originally intended for noon, it wound up being closer to 12:20. We went over to Baker & Spice (we like their selection), and got some fairly nice stuff for our mid-day meal.

We walked with Kevin back to the gated compound that held his apartment building (and that of his in-laws), and he took Amber back up to their place, then came back down to join us. Taxi ride to St. Thérèse of Lisieux; he got in an abbreviated choir practice, then we had Mass there.

Back home, and I lay down for a quick nap. Susan texted Mei‑li, and arranged for us to come over shortly after 5:00PM to visit with her and baby Ruby.

We did this. Mei‑li’s mother Laura was already there, and — even aside from the nanny — a couple of their friends that Susan remembered, and the wife of the couple turned out to be pregnant herself, at 21 weeks. Good news all around. Susan got to hold Ruby for a few minutes … but when the baby got momentarily cranky, Laura came and quickly took her away, which did not suit Susan at all. Shortly thereafter, when Laura had left for their apartment to help get supper ready, the nanny brought Ruby out again, and Susan got to hold her for rather longer, which helped her feelings.

On to the Yins’ for dinner; Kevin joined us, but Amber didn’t. I’d become dissatisfied with the standard routine — show up, eat, read for a while, then go back home — so I’d brought a small bottle of vodka with me this time; Logan and I split that, and he brought out some baijiu as well, and with that bit of personal lubrication I spent some time letting him know how lucky I thought my son was in the family he’d found, and how pleased I was with his growth and what I could see in our granddaughter. Susan wasn’t especially pleased by this; she has an absolutely Puritanical attitude about me drinking (though she does herself love an occasional gin & tonic or Long Island Iced Tea, but never more than one at a time), but I have some past experience at this and kept things to a level where I was still in deliberate control. Not the kind of thing I want to do every day, or even every week, but suitable for this particular occasion.

After dinner was over, Kevin walked us home, and hung around for more conversation, leaving around 8:30PM. Susan and I did our Rosary immediately after, then settled in for the end of the evening.

At my request, Kevin had ordered a small flash drive for me (the one in my computer bag just didn’t have enough capacity), and for Susan’s benefit I copied a couple of movies from my laptop to hers, so she could have something to watch for diversion aside from the two DVDs she brought with her (one with ten Clint Eastwood pictures, so that had carried her for a bit).

While Susan was watching one of the movies I had transferred her over to her laptop, I wrote a few hundred words of the fanfic I’ll be giving Amber for her birthday. Then I sat down and read till my bedtime.