Inspiration Words: Egg Tart and Post
Xiao Lu (ssee-ow loo) licked the crumbs out of the aluminum wrapper that, moments before, had contained a tasty egg tart. Saturdays were his favorite. He said it was because each Saturday, his mom would buy him the egg snacks that he loved so much. Each egg tart was shaped like a tiny pie, with a flaky crust and a smooth and custardy filling. He did love them, but what he never admitted was the real reason for his love of Saturdays.
After he had finished licking the crumbs out of his wrapper, he looked toward the box in the center of the table. There was still one more egg tart in there.
“Don’t even think about eating my egg tart, Xiao Lu.” Wen Kai (wuhn kie), Xiao Lu’s older brother, didn’t look up from his phone. The battle that was raging under the control of his thumbs occupied most of his sight, but he spared a sliver of attention for the egg tart in the middle of the table.
“Are you ever gonna eat it?”
“Yeah.”
“When?”
“When I’m ready.”
“Ugh.” Xiao Lu scooted off the chair that was just a little bit too tall for him and started to pick up a truck he had been playing with before the egg tarts arrived.
“Xiao Lu, go wash your hands before you play with your toys!” Xiao Lu’s mom called from the kitchen where she was washing some fruit.
After rinsing his hands as fast as possible, Xiao Lu was back to his truck. “Dad, can we go to the park today?”
“Let me check the weather.” His dad exited out of the news app on his phone and pulled up a weather report. “Looks good, let’s do it!”
Xiao Lu jumped up and ran into his room. Seconds later, he returned with a fishing net and a small plastic box with clear sides so he could see the fish he would catch and put inside. “Ok! I’m ready!”
“Are you gonna come, Wen Kai?” Xiao Lu looked at his brother, who was still engaged in fierce combat on his phone.
“Wait. This is a good game. I’ve been recording it too, so after I finish, I want to post it on my TikTok. Let me win; then I guess I’ll come.”
“Hold on a few minutes, Xiao Lu. Your mom and I need to get a few things ready first.”
Thirty minutes later, Xiao Lu jumped out of the car, hopped on his small red scooter, and started pushing himself toward the lake. This Saturday was going to be even better than normal.
For the rest of the morning, Xiao Lu stood in the mud and weeds at the edge of the lake, catching tadpoles and getting wet. His dad took him to another part of the lake that was too deep to get in, but they could see some bigger fish in the water.
Wen Kai spent most of the time on his phone because he had failed to win the game, and was still working to unlock the next level. But when they walked around the lake to the side with the bigger fish, even Wen Kai put away his phone long enough to join. “Wen Kai, your phone time is up for this morning. Put your phone away.” A directive spoken by his dad might have had something to do with the change in focus.
Their mom spent most of the time on the picnic blanket, watching Xiao Lu and making sure he didn’t get into any trouble. Xiao Lu made sure she was watching by going just a little deeper than he was supposed to, so he could hear her call him back. Then he went back to safer ground.
That afternoon, Xiao Lu’s parents put on a movie for him, but he didn’t want to watch it. He kept running into his parent’s bedroom, where they were trying to take a nap. Finally, he convinced his dad to come into the living room with him. They sat on the long couch in front of the TV, but his dad didn’t last very long before he fell asleep. Xiao Lu didn’t mind. He put his little body next to his dad’s and watched the rest of the cartoon.
At dinner, Xiao Lu didn’t want to eat. He pushed his food around, knowing the end of his favorite day was coming. His mom coaxed some food into his mouth, and he ate it, but he still didn’t try to eat by himself.
“Go put on your pajamas and brush your teeth,” his mom said when she gave up on convincing him to eat anything else.
“Ok . . .”
“Goodnight, son. We’ll have some fun again next weekend.” Xiao Lu’s dad smoothed his hair as Xiao Lu headed to the bathroom. He would leave for work the next morning before Xiao Lu woke up, and he worked such long hours that Xiao Lu rarely saw him for more than a few minutes throughout the week.
“Goodnight, Xiao Lu,” his mom said from the other side of the table. “I just heard Grandma come in from her square dancing, so she’ll be in in a few minutes to make sure you don’t need anything before you fall asleep.”
Xiao Lu was glad Grandma would be there tonight. She always knew why he was sad on Saturday night. At least Mom and Wen Kai would be there on Sunday before Wen Kai had to go back to school, and his mom would also go back to work. But Sundays just weren’t as fun as Saturdays.