Lunch Delivery

During middle school,
three of the children
played tennis matches
on Saturdays.

After the matches,
they were responsible
for buying takeout lunch
for the entire family.

Their father worked on Saturdays.

Their mother preferred not to cook on weekends.

This arrangement seemed
to have been accepted
by all relevant parties.

The children therefore
became extremely familiar
with two nearby takeout shops.

They could order instantly without looking at the menus.

However,
the children were also instructed
not to tell anybody
about the lunch arrangement.

The exact reasons
remained somewhat unclear.

Possibly:
privacy,
appearances,
or complicated adult concerns
related to proper family presentation.

Unfortunately,
the children were honest,
socially awkward,
and poorly suited
for confidential operations.

This created difficulties
when teammates asked:

“Where are you going after the match?”

or:

“Can we share the taxi?”

At this point,
the children would become
noticeably incoherent.

Both parties would leave
in different directions.

The teammates went home.

The children proceeded quietly
toward the takeout shops,
where six lunch boxes
would be prepared for collection.

On days without tennis matches,
the eldest brother
was responsible
for the lunch arrangement.

However,
by approximately 1:00 p.m.,
he often had not yet left the apartment.

Meanwhile,
the rest of the family
waited at home
in a condition of increasing starvation.

The children generally preferred
western-style lunches,
especially pork chops..

The parents preferred
more traditional arrangements,
such as chicken with scallions.

Occasionally,
the parents complained
about the lunch selections.

This did not appear
to accelerate the departure time
of the eldest brother.

Finally,
the lunches arrived home safely.

Nobody discussed the arrangement afterward.

Many years later,
the child still remembered clearly
the peculiar experience
of treating completely ordinary takeout food
as classified information.

The lunches themselves
have disappeared from memory.
The awkwardness survived intact.