Chapter 21 Getting Closer
After leaving the cemetery, the car ran steadily toward the city. Queenie rolled down the car window, rested one elbow on the door, held her cheek with one hand, and looked out silently. As the scenery changed from green mountains and clear rivers in the country to high buildings in the urban area, there were more and more cars on the road. Many electric motorcycles could be seen on the non-motorized vehicle lanes, but there were few bicycles.
Seeing this, Queenie recalled what this small town where she had grown had been like in the past. After comparing it with its current look, she had a sense of unreality. Later, she turned her head to look at Timothy and then continued to look outside.
"What would you like to eat tonight?" He asked while looking ahead, driving the car.
Queenie thought for a while and said, "I want to go to the restaurant near my home, and I like their braised duck leg. The dishes there used to be tasty, and portions of food used to be huge. But I don't know whether it is still there now. Let's go to look for it!"
"I guess it has moved away because the buildings in that area have all been demolished," said Timothy, but he knew that Queenie still wanted to go back to have a look, so he drove the car toward her home.
After more than an hour, he stopped the car on a wide four-lane lane, opened the door, and walked out. When Queenie got out of the car, she looked up and found a new community had been established there. Outside the community were wide roads and neat greenbelts. She stood in situ and spun slowly to look around, but she couldn't find any trace of the original community, so she couldn't help asking, "Is this where my home used to be?"
Timothy shook his head, pointed to the community, and said, "Your home is inside, but it was demolished six years ago." Queenie grabbed the fence of the community and looked inside for a while before saying, "I can't tell it's my home at all." Queenie's home had been a two-story house, which had been built when her grandparents had still been alive. There used to be seven rooms in total, and the yard had been over 400 square meters. There used to be cucumbers, loofah, cabbage, green onions, ginger, and garlic planted inside. When her mother had been cooking in the kitchen, she had sometimes shouted, "Quira, go and pick two green onions."
Every time she had heard this, she had hopped into the vegetable yard and picked some onions. When she had woken up in the morning, she had brushed her teeth in the yard. If she noticed the tomatoes she had planted were ripe, she would pick the reddest tomato with the toothbrush in her mouth, wash it, put it in her school bag, and eat it during lunch break.
There used to be an osmanthus tree in the west of the yard which had been planted by her grandfather when he had been young. It used to be tall and leafy, and she had smelt the scent of osmanthus in her dreams every autumn.
Someone had wanted to buy that tree thirty years ago and offered 10,000 dollars, but her father had refused. He had said the osmanthus tree had been planted by the elder of their family, so it could bless them. He had told her that as long as there were still people in their family, the three must not be moved away.
When she had heard his words back then, she had made up her mind that when she grew old, she would also sit under the osmanthus tree and tell her grandchildren that this osmanthus tree had been planted by the ancestor and would protect the Jackson family, and she would also tell them that they must not sell it. At the thought of this, she looked back at Timothy and asked, "Where's the osmanthus tree? Has it been damaged during the demolition?"
"No! That tree has been moved to the city park, and I have packed your things and put them in the old house of my family," Timothy said softly, "I've bought two apartments for Albert in Buena with the demolition compensation, and they have appreciated a lot over the years."
Queenie knew that Timothy was trying to cheer her up, so she exclaimed with a happy face, "Wow! You're good at investment! Even if Albert's performance at school becomes poor and can't make a lot of money in the future, he can still make a living by renting his apartments out!"
Timothy laughed, "He can always get good grades! Don't worry."
"You're right! He can always get good grades as long as you're by his side! After all, you managed to help me get good grades back then. I was very poor at studying... Albert has been fostered by you since childhood, so he will be successful in the future." Queenie turned around, patted Timothy, and said, "Let's go. There's nothing left, so it is meaningless to stay here. Let's go to fetch something to eat!"
"OK, let's go!" Timothy got into the car without looking back.
When the car was started, Queenie couldn't help glancing back at the new community. This place was different from her memory. The flowers, the trees, and even the air had changed. She was completely unfamiliar with here now, so she had no sense of nostalgia at all but just wanted to sigh.
When she couldn't help letting out a sigh, Timothy, who had always been paying attention to her, quickly asked, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing. I just feel grateful to have you, Timothy. Only you haven't changed." She then lowered her head and said, "If you have also changed, I would not know what to do."
Hearing this, he slightly lowered his eyes and fell silent. He had changed a lot, but he didn't know how to tell her. He had gotten older and lost his sense of humor. His mind had become rigid, and even his health had been ruined.
He was like an aging house or an old electrical appliance that was about to be eliminated, so he believed no young people would like him. She had said he had not changed because the time they had gotten along was short, and she had not discovered it yet.
They traveled around the city in the next few days and even went to the city park to see the osmanthus tree.
The old osmanthus tree had looked very big in her memory, but it looked inconspicuous in the park which had a lot of trees. Moreover, the osmanthus had not bloomed, so she had not recognized her osmanthus tree at first.
She kept asking, "Is this my osmanthus tree?"
Timothy replied, "Yes, I transplanted it in person,"
Queenie strode over the low wooden fence, walked close to the osmanthus tree, touched its bark, walked around it, and finally found a concave place on the trunk which was more than one meter above the ground. Then, she exclaimed with excitement, "It is indeed my osmanthus tree. Look, this pit was caused by me with a pencil sharpener when I was a child!"
Queenie used to be mischievous when she had been a child, so her mother had often asked her to stand under the osmanthus tree as a punishment. It had been boring to stand there, so she had cut the tree with the pencil sharpener. After a long time, a pit the size of a fingernail had been left.
Timothy looked at her and smiled, "I know, you've pointed it to me before and said that your dad had flown into a rage when seeing it. He said if the tree died because of you, he would beat you up."
"He was just trying to scare me. He had never hit me. Even when I failed the exams or made trouble, he could not bear to hit me." Queenie looked at the osmanthus tree with red eyes. She felt as if she had returned to her childhood. When she had gone home after school, she had seen her father reading a newspaper with a fan under the osmanthus tree, and her mother was washing vegetables in the yard.
Seeing her back, her father smiled, "Welcome back! Are you hungry? We'll have dinner soon."
"There are apples in the kitchen. Asked your father to wash one for you." Her mother had then urged, "Kelvin, why are you still idling there? You've rested for a long time after coming back from work!"
"Okay, I'm going to wash an apple for my little princess." Kelvin had gone to the kitchen to wash the apple, carefully peeled it, cut it into pieces, and put them onto a plate. When he had brought the apple to Queenie who had been doing her homework in her room, he had said, "Quira, eat an apple."
Queenie had replied without looking up, "I'll eat it later after I finish my homework!"
"I will feed you." Kelvin had picked up a piece of apple from the plate and put it into his baby girl's mouth. After Queenie had crunched it, the sweet taste made her smile happily at her father.
"Is it sweet?" Kelvin had asked.
"Yes."
"It bought the apples in the market early in the morning."
"Thank you, Dad!" Queenie had thanked her father without hesitation when seeing his asking-for-praise expression. Kelvin had happily accompanied his daughter to do her homework and fed her the apple from time to time. When Ruby under the osmanthus tree outside had seen this, she had complained with a smile, "This lazy old man is only willing to serve his daughter. "
Queenie touched the mark on the tree and smiled with tears in her eyes, "Osmanthus tree, do you still remember me? I'm back. When I have money, I'll buy a villa and take you back home. Do you agree? Are you willing to become the osmanthus tree of the Jackson family again?" There was nostalgia in her eyes when she hugged the osmanthus tree with a grin.
The park was quiet, and there were occasional gusts of breeze blowing which made the branches of the osmanthus tree sway slightly. Therefore, a few leaves fall on her body as if the tree were answering her question.
Queenie picked up a leaf, looked at Timothy happily, and said, "Look, the osmanthus tree agreed. It still wants to get back to the Jackson family."
"Yes, it has agreed," Timothy said dotingly.
Queenie smiled, handed the osmanthus leaf to him, raised her head, and asked, "What about you?"
He took the leaf over and asked suspiciously, "What?"
She looked at him and asked, "When will you agree to be the son-in-law of the Jackson family again?" Timothy held the stalk of the osmanthus leaf, turned it in his hand, and said with a smile, "Are you proposing to me with a leaf?"
She said, "But this is not an ordinary leaf."
He smiled, "Yes, this is a leaf of the Jackson family."
"I'm glad that you know it," Queenie said, "This is a leaf of the tree that will return to the Jackson family sooner or later just like you."
"You may not know the current housing price," Timothy said, "It will be difficult to make money to buy a villa."
"I will work hard and try my best to make money," Queenie said firmly. Then, she happily ran a few steps forward as if she had found her purpose in life, turned around, and shouted, "Timothy, I will take both you and the tree back home. You are mine, so you can't escape!"
Timothy looked at her back with a faint smile. But when his heart began racing, his arms also began to tremble uncontrollably. He clenched his fists, put them in his pockets, took a deep breath, and let out a sigh after a long time.
No matter how many years had passed, she could still make him fall for her.
On the way back, they went to their high school.
Its name had been changed from Eighteenth Middle School to Global Middle School. The new name sounded a lot more high-end, and even the school uniforms had become suits and suit skirts, which made Queenie envious. She tugged at his sleeve and said, "I wish our school uniforms had been so fashionable. If so, you would have looked very handsome. No! I suddenly realized that our school asked us to wear ugly school uniforms for our good. If all the students had been dressed up every day, many people would have fallen in love and lost their interest in studying."
Timothy glanced at her silently, but she noticed it, so she tugged at his sleeve again and asked, "Why did you give me such a glance? Are you despising me for being superficial?"
"No," Timothy denied it solemnly and said, "I just don't agree with you."
Queenie asked, "Did I say anything wrong?"
Timothy looked at her and smiled, "Some people used to wear ugly school uniforms, but they were thinking about dating boys all day long. It proves that students' interest in studying has nothing to do with school uniforms."
Queenie snorted, "You're referring to me."
"I didn't say I am talking about you. Don't take it personally," Timothy said while avoiding her eyes.
"I don't believe you." Queenie deliberately said, "If I had dated a boy in high school back then, you would have no chance to marry me."
Timothy glanced at her and said coldly, "You can date someone else now, and I will no chance to marry me in the future."
Hearing his sullen voice, Queenie quickly walked closer to him and begged for mercy, saying, "I was just joking! Don't be angry!"
"I'm not angry," Timothy walked forward with a sullen face.
Queenie held his arm and coaxed him with a smile, saying, "Look at you! You keep saying you're old, but you're so prone to get angry. I think you became more childish instead of getting old."
Looking at her cling to his arm, Timothy was still angry, so he shook his arm and said, "Let go."
"Yes!" Queenie stood up straight and looked at him innocently. Seeing him turn his head and walk forward, she caught up to take his hand but was shaken away. When she took his hand again, he shook her hand off one more time. But she kept trying to hold his hand firmly, this time, he failed to shake her hand off, and after a long while, they walked forward hand in hand.
Queenie showed a triumphant smile, thinking he could never run away as long as she wanted to get intimate with him. And she thought she must figure out a way to get into his room tonight no matter what!
They decided to have a casual meal at a restaurant near the hotel. During the meal, Queenie was thinking about what to do at night while putting food into her mouth, staring at Timothy intensely. He was taken aback by her look, so after paying the bill, he said, "I have something else to do tonight. Go back to your room and have a good rest!"
"What do you have to do?" Queenie asked.
"We're leaving tomorrow, so I want to meet a friend," Timothy said.
"Your friend? Who?" Queenie asked.
"You don't know," Timothy said.
"You have a friend I don't know?" Queenie was shocked to hear this because she had known all of his friends very well, but now, he had a friend who she didn't know! That was not a good sign, so she asked, "Can I go with you?"
Timothy thought for a while and nodded, "Of course, you can go with me!"
Seeing him agree so readily, Queenie followed him out without any pressure. When he took her to a flower shop to buy a bouquet, she asked, "Is your friend female?"
"Yes."
"When did you meet her?"
"A long time ago. I met her when I was fourteen."
"Really? Is she your first love?"
"No! She was my neighbor," Timothy said, "When I was young, my parents were too busy at work, and I was always at home alone. She ran a flower shop nearby, so I often went to her shop to play. She used to be a very kind aunt."
"She sounds like a very gentle person," Queenie said.
"No." Timothy smiled when thinking of some funny things about that aunt and then said, "She was a strange aunt who had no family. Her flower business was not good, but she told me that the task of flowers was to bloom beautifully instead of making money."
"Ha-ha! She must be very rich, otherwise, she would not have been so free and easy," Queenie said.
"Maybe!" After a pause, Timothy walked to the riverside and murmured, "Here we are."
"Where's she?" Queenie asked.
Timothy took apart the bouquet, threw the flowers gently into the river, and said softly, "She passed away a few years ago. She sent me a letter and asked me to strew her cremains into the river because she had no descendants."
Queenie raised her eyebrows and looked at the river. Seeing him missing that aunt so much, she guessed their relationship must have been very good, so she asked, "You haven't mentioned her to me before!"
"Well, I rarely think of her when I'm in a good mood. When I'm in a bad mood, I always come to the riverside for a walk, and sometimes I think of her." Timothy bowed his head with a smile as if recalling some happy memories, and then he added, "She was a great person and taught me a lot of things."
Queenie nodded, put her palms together devoutly, closed her eyes, and said in her heart, "Aunt florist, thank you for taking care of Timothy. I'm his wife Queenie. He did not tell me about you to me until just now. That's his bad. I didn't expect him to have such a secret. I will often come to visit you in the future. Please bless Timothy and me!"
Seeing her close her eyes tightly with a frown as if performing some ritual, Timothy asked, "What are you doing?"
"I'm saying hello to your aunt!" Queenie laughed, "She said she likes me very much and asked me to take good care of you."
Timothy smiled, "You're talking nonsense!"
"No, it's true." Queenie smiled, "If you don't believe me, listen carefully by yourself."
"Come on! Let's go back," Timothy said and began to walk back.
Queenie followed him to the hotel, got into the elevator, and reached his room. After he opened the door with the access card, Queenie tried to squeeze in, but he stopped her and said, "Why don't you go back to your room?"
"I will go back later, but I still don't know how to use my new mobile phone. Can you teach me again?" Queenie said and slipped through under his armpit.
"Queenie!" Timothy shouted behind her. But in the end, he could only leave the door open and reluctantly walk in, saying, "Give me your phone. Let me show you how to use it."
Queenie hid her phone behind her, jerked her chin toward the door, and asked, "Why don't you close the door?"
Timothy glanced at her, turned back to look at the door, and said, "It's stuffy, so I want to ventilate the room."
Queenie sneered, "I know it is because you're afraid of me. Close the door! I won't do anything to you."
Timothy pursed his lips in embarrassment, took two steps back awkwardly, and closed the door.
The room was only about ten square meters, and there was a double bed inside, so the passage was so narrow that at most two people could stand there side by side. There was a desk and a sofa by the window. Queenie jumped over, took off her shoes, nestled on the sofa, took out her phone, and swiped the screen while secretly observing Timothy. After staying at the door for a long time, he took a few steps forward, stopped, took two steps back, stood at her left front, and asked, "What's your problem with the new cell phone?"
"When I watch movies, it always asks me to become a member. It is troublesome!" Queenie shook her phone.
"I am a member, and you can log onto my account!" Timothy took the phone from her hand, entered his account number and password, and quickly logged in.
"Can you still use it after you gave it to me?" Queenie asked.
"Yes, I can. We can share the membership," Timothy replied and handed the phone back to her.
The distance between them was too long. However, after Queenie stretched out her hand, she did not move forward anymore but waited for Timothy to put it in her palm. He had no choice but to take two steps forward, intending to give the phone back to her. Unexpectedly, she suddenly grabbed his hand and pulled him down hard. When he staggered forward, he was afraid of squashing against her, so he quickly propped his hands on the armrests of the sofa to stabilize himself. When he was about to ask her what she wanted to do, she pressed the back of his head with the other hand, raised her head, and kissed him.
Timothy widened his eyes in disbelief when his nostrils were filled with an unfamiliar fragrance. It had a touch of sweetness like ripe peaches in summer. She kissed him passionately and eagerly bit his lips like a puppy, longing for his response. But Timothy froze. He hadn't been so intimate with anyone for twenty-three years, so he didn't know what to do or where to put his hands. He was not sure whether to push her away or hold her tightly. But he knew his heart was suddenly revived and beating violently, and the "pounding" sound even made his ears hurt. When she leaned over and squeezed into his arms, he felt even the pores on his body trembling with excitement.
After Queenie kissed Timothy indiscriminately for a while, she found he was stiff all over and didn't give her any reaction, so she secretly opened her eyes to take a look. Seeing he was not repelling her, she tried harder. She let go of his hand and began to touch his chest restlessly. These things were not difficult for her at all. To her, they were newly married, so passions were running high. They used to have sex every night, so she was skilled.
She still remembered that Timothy had also been very serious in the past. When they had traveled together, he had booked a room with two beds. He had said that it was safer for them to sleep in the same room and had indeed slept in his bed very gentlemanly t without doing anything improper. On the last night of the trip, he had gotten on his bed an arm away from hers after taking a shower and said good night to her with a sweet and affectionate look in his pretty eyes. Seeing this, she couldn't control herself anymore, so she turned off the light and got into his bed.
She had originally felt a little guilty as if she had seduced a pure young priest. Unexpectedly, he had counterattacked halfway and even turned on the light shamelessly. And then, he had kept asking her to make love with an exploring spirit.
He used to be a prude when he had been young.
So, she believed although he looked calm now, his true colors would be exposed if she continued to seduce him.
Thinking of this, Queenie couldn't help chuckling. When Timothy heard this, his earlobes reddened slightly. And when he was about to say something, Queenie domineeringly kissed him again and indiscriminately touched his body. When her hand touched his private parts, he suddenly pushed her away as if he had gotten a shock. He had put forth a lot of strength this time, so when she hit on the sofa, there was a loud noise. She raised her head in shock, widened her eyes, and asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"
Timothy turned his back to her while shaking, panted heavily, and said through gritted teeth, "Go back to your room!"
"No! We're having a good time just now, right?" Queenie stood up from the sofa and asked, "Don't you want it?"
"I told you to go back!" Timothy suddenly yelled.
Queenie was startled to hear it, so she clenched her fists, bit her low lip, and said aggrievedly, "Why are you yelling at me? Don't you like it? Didn't you like me to take the initiative the best?"
"Things have changed. I'm old now, so I don't need you to do such things anymore." Timothy slightly bent over and tightly held the stainless steel railing of the windowsill. It was cold, but he was so numb that he couldn't feel it at all.
"What do you mean?" Queenie was a little annoyed.
"I mean the literal meaning." Timothy closed his eyes forcefully, turned his head back to look at her, and said, "You always think I haven't changed, but Queenie, I've changed a lot. But I don't want to tell you about such things because I hope you think I'm still the same as in your memory. I want you to mistakenly think I am still the man you like. But in fact, I am not him anymore."
"I can't understand it! I think you're very good as you are now! Why do you think I will dislike you?" Queenie stomped her feet in anxiety and said, "I love you, Timothy!"
Hearing this, he was not happy at all. He closed his eyes tiredly and said, "Stop it! I don't want to hear you say such words anymore. Go back to your room right now!"
Queenie didn't want to give up easily, so she persistently asked, "Why?"
Timothy kept his back toward her and gritted his teeth while shivering. He was suffering from an intense internal conflict and a severe headache. He tightened his grip on the railing and was torn between whether to tell her about his bad health. The doctor had said that the sequelae of his operation were serious. If it continued deteriorating, he would probably suffer from a stroke and become paralyzed.
He knew if he told Queenie about it, she would never leave him but take care of him and spend the rest of her life with him.
But she was so young and beautiful like a bright and gorgeous fire. How could he tie her to a middle-aged man who was about to be paralyzed at any time?
He couldn't bear to see her suffer like that.
At the thought of this, he became more agitated and could no longer control his body, so he trembled more violently. Then, he went into convulsions and fell to the ground. Seeing this, Queenie screamed. Timothy pointed at his coat with a pale face. Queenie immediately rushed over and fumbled in all his pockets. Finally, she found a bottle of medicine, opened it with shaking hands, poured all the pills out, and asked, "How many? How many?"
But Timothy couldn't answer because he was convulsing so badly that he was suffering from suffocation. But he was still conscious, so he knew how miserable he looked now! He was so angry that he wanted to kill himself! The last thing he wanted her to see was this, but he had an attack in front of her!
He was so miserable, disgusting, weak, and twisted!
It hurt so much that he wanted to scream, but he couldn't make a sound. The convulsions made him bite his tongue, so blood gushed out of his mouth. Queenie quickly read the instructions on the bottle and decided to give him three pills. When she picked up three pills and put them in front of his mouth, she found she couldn't get them in after his jaw had tensed up because of the convulsions. She was sweating profusely and finally found a key in his suitcase. She put the key in his mouth, pried it open a little, and put the pills in.
Timothy was still convulsing, so Queenie tilted his head and pressed his body with her hands to prevent him from hurting himself. After a long while, the convulsions finally stopped, and Timothy slowly recovered.
He sat up silently with difficulty. When Queenie reached out to help him, he pushed her away and said in a hoarse voice, "Go back to your room!"
Hearing this, Queenie looked at him sadly on the ground. Timothy snapped, "Hurry and go back."
Queenie knew him well, so she was clear that he didn't want her to see him so miserable. Therefore, she quickly stood up and said, "Okay! I'll go back right away! Calm down! but after I leave, you must have a good rest." Queenie then showed a smile, but her eyes were full of tears, and her voice was full of worry.
Timothy didn't look back or say anything, for fear that he would return to the miserable look if he moved casually.
Queenie silently got out of the room with her head down. Timothy had always been healthy and had never had such a disease before. She felt sad and wondered how and when he had gotten such a disease.
What the hell had happened to him when she had been away?