Ming

They agreed to meet in the Jade District restaurant. He found her already at table, sipping a tiny cup of tea.

He leaned over to kiss her cheeks, one at a time.

“I missed you,” he said, pushing away his tea cup and signaling the waiter for a Tsingtao instead. “How was China? Did you see the Great Wall?”

“Of course,” she said. “Doesn’t everybody? What I liked best …well, this won’t interest you.” She toyed with her chopsticks.

“Try me.”

“What I liked best was the Beijing Ceramic Art Museum. They have a fabulous collection of Ming dynasty china. And a superb gift shop.”

“Did you bring any home?”

She thrust her wrist out towards him. He saw flashes of silver, milk glass, and Ming. “Just a little bit,” she said. “This is what I could afford.”

Itching for your own bit of faux Ming ($50)? Message Louisa on the contact page.