Xue looked at her husband, and he could see the worry in her eyes.
"What are you so worried about, Xue?"
"Why are you taking this lightly? I said she spoke like an adult and you waive it aside like-"
"Xue...", Ren said, exasperated.
She got up from the table and stormed into the kitchen.
[If he had been here, he would understand what I am talking about], Xue thought.
Meanwhile, Ren was at the table trying to understand what he had just heard from his wife. Xue had told him that Du pronounced a name so clearly. A name that she hadn't heard before. [What if that was one of her friend's names?], he thought.
"Children say all sorts these days", Ren muttered.
Xue Jing walked back into the dining area, picked up his empty plates, and walked into the kitchen again.
Ren followed her into the kitchen listening to Xue prattle.
"What is the problem? Okay, listen Xue. Children mix up with different other children and hear many things. At their young ages, they grab a lot of things quickly. So, if Due mentioned a name that y-"
"Oh, you know they pick things up, and you still set a reminder on a murder channel in a house where there is a little kid", Xue said, interrupting Ren.
Ren was lost for a second there, his mind working overtime. Then, he understood what she was referring to. "Oh, Xue. I will not do that again. In fact, I will be watching that program on my phone from now on. What happened with that?"
Xue ignored him. She felt he wasn't feeling her pain...
"Xue?"
(Silence)
"You know I do not like it when we are like this..."
She left the plates she had been washing and faced her husband. "You weren't here. You didn't hear how she said it, Ren. They even complained about something in the daycare...", Xue trailed off.
"Come here, baby", Ren said as he grabbed Xue and held her in a tight embrace for some time. "Listen... how about we go somewhere idyllic tomorrow? Just you, me, and our daughter. Let us get away from the week's stress and tension. What do you say, honey?"
A small smile came to Xue's lips. She felt better. This was exactly what she needed. [If Ren was here when Du said what she said, it wouldn't have had that effect on me], she thought.
"That would be lovely, but Su is back in town and she said she would visit tomorrow"
"Oh?"
"Yes. Even though I would choose you over and over again, I haven't seen Su in a very long time, baby"
"I understand. It has been what?... Like over a year?", Ren asked as he grabbed a stool and sat in the kitchen.
"Two years, Ren"
"I thought she found someone and settled down somehow"
"Settled down? I would have gone to her wedding. No, she didn't. But I am hopeful, she will find someone soon enough", Xue said.
They heard a whimper, and Xue nodded to Ren as she continued drying out the dishes she washed.
Ren went to the living room area where they had heard Du make a sound. He met her sitting down, playing with something that was in front of her. From where he was, Ren couldn't see what his daughter was fiddling with.
"Hey, baby. What do you have with you there?"
He got to her and saw that Du was with a cup of sand.
"Wh- Where did you get that from?", Ren said as he took the cup away from her.
Du shrieked... and it was so loud.
Ren froze.
"Give that back!", Du said.
Ren brows creased. [What is the meaning of this?], he thought.
Xue had heard the shout from the kitchen and was in the living room in seconds. "I heard her scream. Is Du okay?"
With the cup still in his hands and Ren standing a few feet away from his daughter, he said, "Where did Du get this from?"
"What- What is that?", Xue asked, collecting the cup from Ren's hands. "Sand?". Her face scrunched up with confusion. "I do not know. I have been looking for this cup for some weeks now".
Xue bent down beside her daughter that was looking at her father through narrowed eyes. "Hey, baby".
Du didn't look in her direction, not to talk of answering her.
"Du!", Xue called.
This time, Du looked at her mother and her face softened... her eyes widened and got teary, "Mommyyyyy. Daddyyyy took me toy", she cried.
"Where did you get this toy from, Du?"
Loud clattering sounds came from the kitchen.
Xue looked at Ren who walked briskly to check what must have fallen.
"What was that Ren?", Xue yelled.
"The plates and pots", Ren yelled back from the kitchen as he began arranging them back. [How did they fall? They were hung properly], he thought.
Xue set Du on the little bed with the cartoon on the television still running, and went to meet Ren in the kitchen.
"Pots?", she asked, with confusion all over her face. "So many of them fell! How?"
"Maybe you didn't put them back properly after you used them?"
"No, Ren. I didn't even touch that particular cupboard they fell from", she said as she noticed the open cupboard.
"Hmmm... At least, I am happy you weren't in the kitchen when this happened. I can not handle your precious head being hurt", Ren said, putting the last pot inside its cupboard and dragging his wife in for a deep kiss.
Momentarily, Xue and Ren Jing forgot about the cup of sand they had found with their daughter and comforted themselves in each other's arms.