Belated Love

By Lao Long

When we had a meal with that woman, my brother and I intended to express our disagreement at the table, but to be polite, we did not say it out loud and waited to talk to our father alone after the meal.

Everyone at the table chatted as we ate. My chatty aunt told us about the past of Father and that lady. It turned out that she had been Father’s first love.

When they were young, both of them worked for a well-digging team. During work break, they always talked a lot with each other. When they finished work

in the evening, they walked home together. Talking about this, Aunt said to Brother and me that our mother would have been that lady if our grandfather had not died early, which left Father in poverty. We both frowned at Aunt’s words.

The old lady, Father’s first love, afterwards married a soldier, who, after leaving the army, became a worker and died two years ago.

After the meal, Father came to ask for our opinions. Both of my brother and I were in a dilemma.Originally, we wanted to express our disapproval, but she was our father’s first love, how could we disapprove seeing them so deeply attached to each other?

There seemed to be no way out, so we only confessed to Father our worry that the lady might be too old to take care of him. Hearing this, Father assured us that she would be able to take good care of him. Hence the marriage between them was settled.

The old lady had a house in the neighboring county, and Father has his own pension, so he relocated to live with her.

A few months later, my brother and I made a special trip to visit Father in the neighboring county. We were surprised to see our old father who used to be dressed slovenly wearing new clothes that were clean and tidy and a top hat typical of elderly urban gentlemen. His face was rosy, and his eyes shining.

由于從小學到中學，學生從學習自然數到整數、分數再到有理數，接觸的數越來越具有抽象性．作為學生剛步入中學便接觸到的內容，大多數學生對有理數的掌握情況并不理想，而有理數是數與代數部分的基礎內容，是日后學習無理數和實數的根基．所以，如何更好地配備有理數部分的例題，使學生真正理解并掌握有理數顯得尤為重要．

My father turned eloquent and excited when talking about his life after the relocation. He told us that his new wife made three nutritionally balanced meals for him every day and bathed his feet before going to bed every night. As he talked, his face was beaming. ◆

(From New Horizon,September 2017. Translation:Chen Jiani)

當初母親辭世時，我和弟弟贊同父親找后老伴，是想讓父親找一個年齡小些、能夠伺候他的老太太，可是誰能想到，父親看中的后老伴和他同齡，而且看上去比他還要老。

在飯桌上，我和弟弟想當場表明觀點，不同意父親找這個老太太，但礙于禮貌和情面，我們沒有說，想等飯后單獨和父親說。

開始吃飯了，大家一邊吃飯一邊聊天，表姑是個愛說愛笑、口無遮攔的人，說著說著，表姑說起父親和這個老太太年輕時的事情。原來，老太太是父親年輕時的初戀情人。那時，兩人都在機井隊干活，休息時，總是擠在

一起有說不完的話；晚上收工時，也是結伴走回家。說到這里，表姑指著我和弟弟說，要不是當年你爺爺去世早，你家窮，你們的媽就是這個老太太。表姑的話讓我和弟弟都皺起了眉，心里非常不爽。

那位老太太后來嫁了個軍人，軍人退伍后當了工人，兩年前也辭世了。

飯后，父親過來征求我和弟弟的意見，我們為難了。本來我們想說不同意，但老太太是父親的初戀情人，兩個人情深意切，怎么能不同意啊。

沒辦法，我們只好對父親說，老太太也老了，怕照顧不了你。父親馬上拍胸脯保證說，老太太能照顧好他。就這樣，父親和老太太的事定下來了。

老太太在鄰縣縣城有套小樓房，父親就搬過去住。父親有工資，兩個老人生活在一起。

幾個月后，我和弟弟專程去鄰縣縣城看父親。初見之時，我和弟弟大吃一驚，我們的父親與以前相比判若兩人，穿著干凈整潔的新衣服，戴著城里有身份的老頭戴的禮帽，全然沒有以前邋里邋遢的樣子，臉色紅潤不少，眼睛也亮閃閃的。

談及日常生活，父親興奮地說個不停，說老太太按營養給他搭配做一日三餐，晚上睡覺前給他洗腳泡腳，幸福之情溢于言表。◆