Almond Cookies & Dragon Well Tea

Erica Howard and Nancy Hong are best friends at school. They play and eat together. Nancy invites Erica over to her home for a playdate. Nancy Hing lives in a old townhouse over a laundry/dry cleaning shop (the author's grandparents had a laundry in the DC area many decades ago). Erica is introduced to Nancy's mother, grandmother (PoPo) and grandfather (Gung Gung). "Ni hao?", grandfather greets them. PoPo serves them almond cookies and sweet dragon well tea. Nancy shows Erica the family altar and then plays a tune on her Gu Zheng (Chinese zither). Then Gung Gung takes them to the park where they can play under his dozing gaze. The playdate ends with a walk home, but there is a reminder of the afternoon in a brown paper bag.