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“Dumplings actually sound amazing right now.” Mei’s stomach growled loudly. “Oh man, that makes me miss the one’s grandmother used to make for Chinese New Year.”

There would be a table of bamboo steamers laid out with an assortment of dumplings and pork buns. She would spend days working on the gelatine filling that was used in the dumplings and wait until the day of to actually make them. Homemade was definitely the best and brought with them fond memories.

Unfortunately, when their grandfather became ill, both grandparents returned to Beijing to be around their other relatives and close friends they had grown up and grown old with.

“I heard a rumor that a Din Tai Fung opened up downtown. The one we use to go to back when we lived in Washington,” before her parents decided to sell their home and fly their family clear across the United States. “They were probably some of the best soup-filled dumplings I’ve had at a restaurant.” Plus their food was more like tapa’s style which meant they could get a few other plates to split between them. “Want to see if we can find it?”

Mei laughed. “Yes, you’re right,” she admitted. “The ones back in China are amazing but the homemade ones are the best.” More so because you could tailor the dumpling to each person’s liking. Add a little bit more seasoning to the broth to change it up a bit or use a different filling other than pork.

“I just have one more place to stop unless you want to go by the Hong Kong Market on Pacific Place Boulevard. We can pick up some ingredients now and try making a batch of our own for Christmas?” That was one thing Mei was definitely grateful for. Even though Jasper was no longer in her life it didn’t mean she was alone either. In his absence, it allowed her time to reconnect with her cousin who had, in turn, helped pull her out of the depression she had fallen into.

“The only place I need to go is Costco to pick up a few sets of the 32-degree heat leggings while they’re on sale.” For as cold as it has been these last several days, Mei needed something that could keep her warm while exercising outside. Just because there was snow on the ground didn’t mean she skipped on training, it’s one of the reasons she bought shoes with cleats on the bottom.

The last thing she needed was to slip and fall on a sidewalk and bruise a tailbone, or worse, break a hip. “The offer still stands on you joining me, I can even get you a pair too so you’ll stay warm.” She tried to sweeten the deal but knew that she was the odd one in the family in that very little stopped her from running at least once a day.

“I know. You were more diligent at it than I was for a time.” There was no hiding the fact that he had made it to super quicker than she had. However, there were circumstances surrounding her earlier years as a senshi that he was not exactly privy to either. Her trust in others of their faction was all but gone by now.

First Kalichore then Persephone. The most recent had been Phact and her court. For all she had done for the Senshi of Doves, to be shunted from a group she had helped establish after encouraging the raven-haired woman that she was suited for leadership was nothing shy of a disrespectful disregard of a friendship that inevitably ended as abruptly as the one with her ‘sister’, the Senshi of Prayer.

“And I’d get those but,” Mei huffed, combing her fingers through her creme-colored hair to sput the stray strands back into place. “The fabric is too thick to go under most of my jogging clothes and too thin to wear by themselves.” Either get too warm or not get warm at all. Kind of a pick your poison kind of moments because neither sounded fun or appealing.