One Step to Go

Yali woke in the night with some kind of discomfort or pain in his neck. You could see it in his exhausted little face. It’s one of the things on his list of medical issues to be addressed when we return: “malformation to the neck and face”. Fortunately, there was Children’s Tylenol, even if technically two weeks expired. He slept so soundly after he downed a low lavender-shaded dose, that he didn’t even wake up again during the weird high-pitched alarms that went off in the street probably somewhere around 3AM. No one in the B&B scrambled for cover though, so I assumed it was okay.

In the morning, albeit looking a little more stiff than usual (he can’t turn his head completely to either side in the first place), he giggled and grinned through the morning, joining friends in the garden after breakfast.

David blew through the B&B just before ten with news for us.

“I just received the call from my mom. Your appointment is tomorrow at eleven o’clock. So today – you are free!” He spread both arms wide in symbolism.

I would have preferred not to be free.

So I used some of my spare time to read re-caps from the All Star Game which made me feel hugely productive. Oxbear was more social and chatted with a French couple for an hour or more.

With Yali rested from his daily afternoon nap, we ended up at the mall, about a twenty-minute walk from the B&B, to purchase a last gift. As soon as we entered, I felt like I was at Chesterfield or Mid Rivers. Hardly a difference. Clearly the world has been colonized by convenience.

A final dash by Crepes & Waffles on the way back. Yali was in a great mood making as many devious grins as possible, slurping down fresh peach juice, and stuffing himself with his very own ham and cheese crepe. I think it made him feel important.

The B&B was full of families again, all the French families we had met before. Yali was mesmerized by the three boys – all older and taller – who participated with him in the garden toys, their own stash of Legos, and the occasional origami at the hands of none other than Oxbear himself. Already good buddies.

We closed out the evening – after another Skype home where Puck was busy making wood castle towers – hoping we’d be able to purchase tickets back to good old St. Lou for Friday morning or Friday night.