A Rather Different World

Hot pot was served with Little Brother on Christmas Eve, followed by dinner with Lun on Christmas Day.

 

This year Christmas Day fell on the same day of my weekly visit to Lun. In order to prevent me from being lonesome at home after the death of Lun's mom, I was offered to spend dinner together with Lun and could pick whatever time of arrival. I am very thankful for this. I changed to visit Lun at dinner time in December.

 

In the past we used to visit Lun after dinner because we had to work. Upon arrival, tooth brushing for Lun by me was done before the night snack. Back scratching were requested by Lun from me who performed as the scratching stick, to relieve itchiness from his sensitive skin during seasonal transition. Another enjoyable twenty minutes, the least, would be spent in the huge bathtub filled with warm water. After finishing all the programs, Lun, now in his sleeping gown, went to bed. It was only eight o'clock. In order not to trouble him, we chose not to reschedule the visit. 

 

There are two reasons for the change. Firstly, with retirement, an early visit to Lun allows me amble time afterward. Secondly, a set dinner was always reserved for me to dine with Lun who had his after five o'clock. After seven he should only have a night snack. Yet since young Lun always shared my food which was hard to refuse as a father. He was told not to by the staff but with minimal effect. To prevent me from eating less, another set was given to Lun who kept the snack also. That means Lun has two dinners! I felt uneasy even though he has no weight gain yet. I decided to make an early visit to deal with two issues.

 

The Christmas menu included lettuce salad served with three dressings, cream toast, cheesy potato pasta, carrots with cauliflowers dressed with olive oil, and ham as the main dish. I was always cautioned not to eat too much such tasty food by Lun's mom. A cup of hot green tea went along with the last dish, a dessert, a newly baked banana cake. The cook asked me when to serve the cake, right after dinner or after seven as usual.

 

I remembered seeing Lun change into clean clothing and send the worn one into the laundry room. He meant to skip the bath for tonight and go to bed right after dinner. He decided to finish “today” as he desired. I told the smart cook. Dessert was on the table right away.