Auntie

"Long time no see," my uncle joked as Heidi, Lucy, and I piled into their apartment a little after noon. He was referring to the fact that we had seen him and my aunt just last Sunday at their grandson's Eagle Scout ceremony. 

Although we live in the same sprawling metropolitan area, my aunt and uncle live on the northern outskirts, and the 39-mile trip never takes less than an hour, and often more. It is far enough that we usually plan our visits weeks in advance, and we never see each other as often as we would like.

On the drive over today, we listened to American Top 40, and Casey Kasem was playing the hits from this week in 1977. As always, I tried to recall what was happening back then, and I realized that Aunt Harriett and Larry had just been married a couple weeks before.

And then there we were, ready to learn how to play Mahjong, a game my aunt loves and plays often. Lunch was first, a light, seasonal meal of a tomato stuffed with tuna salad, served with cucumbers in vinegar, and biscuits, but then it was down to business as we took our seats at the card table my aunt had set up and ready to go.

As I settled into my folding chair I reviewed everything I knew about the game, starting with the iconic scene in The Joy Luck Club, where June, the protagonist, takes her recently deceased mother's spot at the table with three of her mother's dearest friends. "We are your aunties," one of the three players reassures June when she looks nervous. "We are very honest people!" It's a line my sister and brother and I have riffed on since we first saw the film in 1993. 

And that was pretty much the extent of my knowledge, but despite our inexperience and the complexity of the game, my aunt was a good and patient teacher. Heidi and I picked up the basics pretty quickly, and it was close to 6 PM when we left. 

"I'm so glad you came!" my aunt hugged us as we headed home, promising to come again soon. Out in the car, I switched on the ignition and punched the directions into the map app. It was 6:12 PM and the route took us right through Rockville, past one of my mom's old places.