lunch

We came out of the back exit of of the Forbidden City. Jack, Natlie, and I hop over the shadows the branches of the trees lining the street and sidewalk. People stare at us. We keep playing. People stare because I'm white and I'm walking with a blue-collar Chinese guy and a little Chinese girl. They're so confused.

We skip and jump over lines so we don't break each other's backs. Finally we come to our car. Our Beijing driver is standing next to it. He has a blue suit on and looks nice. He is smoking. I think that's the third cigarette I've seen him smoke today. And I haven't seen him all morning. He opens the door for me and it's hot in the car. But Natlie jumps in on the other side and is ready to play yet another game. Think, Adrienne. Make up another game. I've tapped all my creative juices. I'm out. We end up playing a clapping and snapping game as we ride.

The driver stops and we get out to eat at a sit-down restaurant. The walls are red and it feels Chinese. The waitress pours hot water to drink in our small teacups. Two drivers are sitting with a Chinese girl and a young white woman. This is very strange to others. These are lines no one crosses.

We eat sautéed eggs and tomatoes, lamb, beef, mushrooms, shrimp, cucumbers and carrots. Chopsticks fly across the table. Everyone's is getting satisfied.

Our Beijing driver smiles nicely. His smile sticks out from the rest of his face. He also doesn't have long fingernails which makes me like him much better. His accent is almost gurgly. He tells me, "No English." I try my Chinese on him. It doesn't work.

Natlie starts to cry. Her mouth hurts. She cries louder. We leave the restaurant. The waitress hands me some Barbie stickers to cheer up Natlie. Natlie stops crying and we pile into the little black car again.