Chapter 12 — My Parents Lived in AA for 45 Years

Three days later. Dad went to grandma's house. He carried a bouquet of white chrysanthemums. Standing in front of my grandparents' graves for a long time. I go with my mother. Seen from afar. He knelt down. Head bowed very low.

“I'm sorry to you two.”

“In the past, you two trusted me with your daughter.”

“I promise to take care of her all my life.”

“I broke my promise.”

No one responded. Only a light wind blew through the pine trees. Dad put the bouquet down. Quietly bow your head three times. That was the first time. I saw him cry in front of others. A few days later. Dad proactively made appointments to meet people who had started a business with him. During the meeting. He stood up before everyone.

“There is one thing.”

“I owe everyone an apology.”

He turned to his mother. Then bow deeply.

“The person who contributed the most capital is not me.”

“It's Lam Van.”

“The person who saved the company was not me.”

“It's still Lam Van.”

“I took all the credit for her.”

"I'm sorry."

The whole room was silent. A moment later. Mr. Liu was the first person to stand up and applaud. Other applause also rang out. Not to congratulate. It's for the woman who has been forgotten for half her life. Mom just smiled. His eyes were as calm as water. It's like what she was waiting for was never an apology. One month later. Dad sold the Porsche he just bought. Cancel the villa purchase contract. The entire amount is transferred to a scholarship fund. He named the fund: Lam Van Scholarship Fund. For female students who have difficult circumstances but still strive to study. During the fund's founding ceremony. He said something that made many people's eyes red.

“I used to think.”

“Making a lot of money is success.”

“Now I understand.”

“Knowing how to appreciate the people who walk with you through difficult days is success.”

As for Liu Yuan. After learning that the company was investigating and his father was no longer president. She immediately disappeared. The phone is unreachable. Rented apartments are also returned. The young man accompanying her was also nowhere to be seen. The two took the money they swindled from a few other people and left for another province. Dad never mentioned that name again. He just smiled bitterly.

“That is my retribution.”

Spring next year. I gave birth to a baby girl. In the delivery room. The first person to hold her baby after my husband. Second. He trembled as he held the baby. Tears fell down his face wrinkled with emotion.

“Grandpa, I'm sorry.”

“I will not let you grow up before learning to love like you did.”

I looked at my father's silver hair. Look again at her mother's wrinkled hands. Suddenly I felt lighter. There are injuries. Cannot be deleted. But it can be healed. That afternoon. The whole family gathered around the dining table. Still tomato egg soup. Still steamed fish. Still my favorite plate of green vegetables. Dad holds chopsticks. Eat a piece.

“More than forty-five years.”

“Now I know.”

“The best dish.”

“It's not the taste of mountains and rivers.”

"But at dinner, there's someone waiting for me to come home."

Mom looked at him. The corners of the lips curled slightly.

“It's cold.”

That's the most normal saying. But it's also the sentence that makes my eyes sting the most. I suddenly remembered the day of my divorce. Dad once stood in front of the Civil Affairs Department and laughed loudly.

“Free!”

And today. People are truly free. She no longer lives for responsibility. No longer live for patience. But start living for yourself. Dad is no longer a man who only knows how to calculate. He learned how bow. Learn to be grateful. And learn how to love. That is the true meaning of forty-five years of marriage. It's not who wins. Not everyone loses. But after all the losses, both of them finally found themselves again. Outside on the porch. The old ginkgo tree begins to sprout new buds. Winter is finally over. It's finally arrived.