Shanghai

My studio mate was pretty insistent on getting me to research Chinese musical instruments, find one I like, and have him pick it up for me on one of his business trips to Shanghai. I finally got around to doing a little investigating and settled on the Pipa. I'd forgotten I'd made the choice until I started getting a flurry of emails from Abe. Turns out the pipa is larger than Abe (or I) had expected; and, as Abe put it, it sounded bad ass.

Abe was a little concerned about getting it back to the States and I'm sure he went through a few hoops to get it done. At that point I'm pretty sure he was more excited about the purchase than I was. I met him at the studio to pick it up. We spent a few hours playing with it and the zheng Abe picked up for himself then we headed our separate ways and I decided to take the pipa home to mess with it a bit more.

I'm not sure when I noticed Lien-Hua, the girl that came with the pipa. It might not have been until we got out to the car and I heard the passenger door shut. Or maybe I'd always noticed her but hadn't thought about what to do with her. She would need to be fed, sheltered and all that after all. And the wife might have something to say about keeping the pipa. It was late though and I didn't see much alternative but to get her home and figure it out in the morning.

Lien-Hua was hungry. She didn't say anything of course but when we got home she went straight to the kitchen and looked around until she found a bag of rice (we only had Basmati), some soy sauce and beef flavored ramen. She cooked all this stuff up while I was taking a shower and then she offered it all to me. She didn't touch a nibble until I'd had my fill. It was the best rice I'd ever had and when I was done I noticed she'd spent her time cleaning up the kitchen until it was cleaner than when she started cooking.

I took her upstairs where the guest room is and gave her a white towel. I opened the upstairs bathroom door to show her around a bit. I don't know if she took that as a hint or whatever but she was naked and ready for the shower in the blink of an eye. I turned on the shower, explaining that the hot water took some time to get all the way up to the upstairs shower. I cupped her breasts in my hand and we started to kiss. The bathroom was full of steam when we made our way into the shower where I made love to her for the first of four times that night.

On the fourth go, I could tell she was pretty tired. I left her sleeping in the guest room and slipped down into the master bed with the wife and child --too tired myself to worry about the morning encounters. I woke up late to the easy mundane sounds of activity in the front room. The child was talking to her toy ducks and there was the sound of clinking china, certain kitchen activity.

The wife did give me a look but it was contained and brief. She was relaxed, sitting up at the counter with a hot cup of tea. Something delicious was simmering on the stove. Lien-Hua was kneeling by the sofa, attentively listening to my daughter who was showing off her dolls and ducks.

Lien-Hua gave us both warm oil rubs that night and it was as quick as that that her presence in the master bedroom was unquestioned. Although usually the wife and I would venture to Lien-Hua's room for sex --the distance from child being the thing.

Lien-Hua rips it on the pipa but I'm coming along nicely with her support. I'm not sure how we got along at all, pipa or no pipa, before her.