starter for @clcires
The restaurant was quiet, which was a relief to Lily. She’d somehow convinced herself that if their surroundings were quiet then her mother could really hear her. Though that wasn’t the problem at all between them, noise levels that is. They were simply terrible at communicating with one another, which was surprising considering Lily’s career. She made financial deals for a living. She charmed the un-charm-able, but when it came to her mother she just shrank. Turning into that four year old girl dying for her parents’ attention always made Lily go home and finish a bottle of wine and half a cheesecake.
She’d gotten there thirty minutes early, so she could make sure they were sitting at the table her mother liked, the one by the window. She checked the silverware and glasses for water spots, and gave the staff advice on how to approach their table. She hated how crazy this made her. Lily looked up from fussing over her suit to find her mother heading toward her. “Nǐ hǎo mǔqīn. You look beautiful, as usual.”
