I scowled. Did she mean I was a shameless mistress and Dennis was a rich philanderer?
It was kind of an interesting plot.
I looked at her and said, “If a person never reflects on himself, but only blames his faults on others, he will not only suffer, but also fail more thoroughly.”
I didn’t want to meddle too much in other people’s affairs. When you got to a certain age, you just wanted to live your life the way you liked.
I went back to the yard and saw That Clariana had been picked up by Dennis. She had picked a lot of fruit and was spooning watermelon in the yard.
When she saw me, she said excitedly, “Mom, you’re back!” Then she put down the watermelon and ran towards me.
She threw herself into my arms and said softly, “Uncle George promised to make us some spaghetti tonight when you get back.”
Seeing that Dennis wasn’t in the yard, I said, “Where is he?”
Clariana pointed to the back yard. “He said some of your clothes don’t go in the washer, so he washes them by hand in the back yard.”
I was stunned and went to the backyard. What clothes couldn’t be washed in the washing machine?
Then I saw the man in the back yard squatting by the washbasin, scrubbing clothes. He had changed out of his usual dark suit.
He was wearing warm pajamas that I had bought for him downtown the other day.
But he was so used to high quality and bespoke clothes that I didn’t think he would wear them.
I couldn’t believe he was wearing it. When I saw him washing the underwear I had taken off last night, my face burned.
Hearing the noise, he looked back at me with gentle eyes. “Hey, I’ll be all right in a minute. Clariana picked watermelon. Go and eat some. But don’t eat too much, it’s bad for your stomach.”
I didn’t know what the daily necessities should be like, but I always felt that it should be like this.
I didn’t say anything, but walked toward him and took the clothes in his hands, blushing a little, “Let me do it.”
He frowned, “My hands are already wet anyway, you can go inside first!”
Then he nudged me with his arm. When Clariana came, he said, “Take Mommy to eat watermelon.”
Somewhere along the way, he was not the Dennis George I used to know. Came to think of it, he was in his mid-thirties. Perhaps old age had made him more stable.
Knowing I couldn’t beat him, I got up and went out to the front yard, feeling a little dazed.
I’d seen a little bit of what Antonia Gilbert said. The Internet developed quickly, and they were famous people in City P.
I was living with Clariana in HL Area. I would not refuse him when he came, and I would not detain him when he left. There
were too many things in life that you couldn’t get, even if you strove for them. And if we didn’t go for it, we wouldn’t be afraid
of not getting it.
When he entered the yard and saw Dennis there, Nathan froze, but only for a moment. He handed me the lobster and smiled,
“When I picked Joey up this afternoon, there was an old man selling it, so I brought it in. Joey’s allergic to lobster, but Clariana
likes it. You can make it for her tomorrow.”
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Please Love Me, Mr. George