Gemotions

The knife clattered against the chopping board, a sharp, unwelcome sound in the otherwise quiet kitchen. Eleanor stared at the meticulously arranged vegetables, suddenly finding the task repulsive. She had asked Daniel to come to a family dinner this weekend, hoping to bridge the gap between him and her parents. Now, she’d overheard him conversing with her grandmother on the phone, perfectly fluent in Cantonese.

She whipped around, her face a mask of contained rage. Daniel, standing in the doorway, looked startled. He’d been listening. He must have.

“Since when?” The words exploded from her.

He held up his hands in a gesture of surrender, his face a picture of innocence. But the careful, calculated nature of it made her blood boil.