As night fell, Crystal Hughes squatted on the balcony, resting her chin on one hand, holding a palm fan in the other, fanning the charcoal in the barbecue grill.
The new smokeless charcoal wasn't of great quality. It had just been lit and was still smoking. As the summer breeze blew directly towards her, Crystal Hughes ended up in a fit of coughing, looking quite ashen.
"Mom!"
Andrew Hughes ran over with a wet towel, handing it to Crystal Hughes.
Casting the palm fan aside, Crystal Hughes took the wet towel, wiped her face, and raised her hand to ruffle Andrew Hughes's little head.
"Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz."
The phone on the coffee table in the living room started vibrating.
Crystal Hughes wanted to get up, but she felt dizzy from squatting too long and wobbled. Andrew Hughes noticed and said, "I'll get it," then toddled inside, found the phone, and handed it to Crystal Hughes.
It was a call from a colleague.
"Hello."
