Chapter 13 I Forgive You
Nathanael looked up from his memory and looked at the three people at the table. Albert gulped down his meal. It seemed that he had studied for a whole day and was really hungry. Timothy put food on his plate from time to time. Seeing that Albert was in a hurry to eat, Timothy got soup for him and handed it to him lovingly, "Have some soup." Without putting down his knife and plate, Albert took a sip and gritted his teeth. "Hot." Timothy brought the soup back and stirred it with a spoon. When it wasn't that hot anymore, he handed it to Albert and Albert drank it in one breath. Lowering her head, Queenie ate silently and glanced at Albert from time to time. She wondered what would happen if she and Timothy had a child back then.
Would he be like this boy, well-mannered and outgoing? Queenie smiled bitterly. She didn't think she should think about it anymore. Nathanael opened the wine and poured a glass of wine for Queenie. Timothy looked at the wine and stopped Nathanael from pouring too much into the glass. "That's enough." Nathanael put away the wine bottle at once and said nothing. He raised his glass and said to Queenie, "Cheers." Queenie raised her glass and clinked it with his and drank it up. Timothy frowned and wanted to say something, but he didn't. He just glanced at Nathanael with a disapproving look in his eyes. Nathanael stopped drinking with Queenie and had two glasses of wine by himself. They didn't drink much or talked much, and there was also a kid who was in a hurry to go to his class, so the dinner was quickly over. Perhaps half an hour later, the four people stood at the door of the restaurant. Timothy turned to Queenie and said, "Get in the car. I'll drive Albert to his class first, and then take you home." Queenie looked at him with gloomy eyes and said in a low voice, "Don't bother. I can go back by myself." Timothy said, "You don't know the way." Queenie said, "That's why I have to go back by myself. I must figure it out myself!" Seeing that Timothy stopped speaking and Queenie stood still stubbornly, Albert, who had already got into the car, looked at them strangely. They looked so awkward. Nathanael stepped forward and said, "Let me give her a ride home!" Timothy glanced at him. Nathanael smiled and said, "Don't worry. I will send her home safely." Timothy looked at Queenie, who had been lowering her head, and said, "I'll see you later."
"No, thanks." Queenie finally raised her head, looked at him, and refused, "You'd better go home early!" Clenching his fists, Timothy wanted to say something to Queenie, but she heard Albert shouting in the car, "Dad, hurry up. We are going to be late for class!" Timothy stopped walking toward Queenie and looked back at Albert. After hesitating for a few seconds, he turned around and got in the car. He started the car. When the car passed by the two people, he lowered the window and looked at Queenie. "Call me when you get home."
"Okay," Queenie replied in a low voice, lowering her head.
"Thank you," Timothy said to Nathanael.
"You're welcome," said Nathanael. Timothy took another look at Queenie before leaving. Only then did Queenie raise her head and look at the car driving away, with tears in her eyes.
"Don't cry. I won't comfort women," said Nathanael.
"I don't need your comfort." With tears all over her face, Queenie raised her hand and wiped them off with her sleeve angrily.
"But you should cry. You give up such a good man to others." Playing with the car key and locking the door, Nathanael said with sarcasm casually, "If I were you, I would cry too."
"Shut up! What do you know?" Queenie said angrily.
"I know more than you." After saying that, Nathanael walked to his car, opened the door, and got in. Then he closed the door and waited for Queenie to get in. Queenie frowned, ran to open the door, sat in the passenger seat, and asked, "What do you know?"
"About Mr. Carter!" Nathanael started the car and said softly, "I haven't seen anymore love someone as he loves you.
"Although he has a son now, I was moved by his love for you." While driving, Nathanael said, "When I was young, I was wondering if I would love someone as much as he did when I grew up.
"I didn't know it until I grow up. It's too difficult for me to do that." Nathanael smiled with self-mockery. "If a woman leaves me, I won't wait for her for even one day, let alone ten or twenty years."
"He didn't wait for me for long!" Queenie said sadly.
"At least he has waited." Nathanael slowly told her about Timothy in his memory.
Timothy was kind-hearted, affectionate, and melancholy. He had been looking for her every day and waiting for her... Queenie got out of the car crying with an ugly look. She was the woman who cried the ugliest in Nathanael's eyes. Her tears and snot were all over her face, but that made Nathanael feel she was real. He had hated her for so many years. The way she cried made his heart soften.
In fact, they were indeed very pitiful. Maybe in the past twenty years, the people who were left behind were painful, but in the next ten or twenty years, those who left were remorseful and painful for losing their loved ones. They cried so ugly like Queenie at midnight. Somehow, Nathanael felt a little sad. He raised his head, blinked his eyes, and took a deep breath. After parking the car, he entered the elevator and pressed the button of his own floor. When the elevator door opened, he saw a thermos lunch box at the door. Looking at the lunch box, Nathanael kicked it over, opened the door, and entered the house. It was dark. He turned on the light and kept silent. He didn't know how long it had passed. He turned around, opened the door, and walked out. Looking at the lunch box lying in the corridor, he was silent for a long time before he bent down to pick it up. He put it on the table with one hand, opened the bag covering it, turned the lid of the box, and saw the food in it. He blinked his eyes, grabbed a piece, and put it into his mouth. After chewing two bites, he grabbed another piece and put it into his mouth. Biting the food, he suddenly covered his eyes and cried out.
After crying for a while, he sniffed hard, cleaned up the lunch box on the table, turned his head, and threw it into the trash can. He didn't need it. It was late.
Nathanael said that he would never forgive him, never. Tired of crying, Queenie sat at the window of the bedroom, staring blankly at the night outside until dawn. When the sun rose slightly, she heard the door open. It was very low, but she still heard it. The man walked over quietly, opened the door of her room, and peeped inside. When he saw Queenie sitting there blankly and looking straight at him, he was shocked. "Why did you get up so early today?"
"You got up early too," Queenie said in a hoarse voice.
"I have to send Albert to school for morning class." Timothy looked at her and said, "I bought breakfast for you. Do you want some?"
"Okay." Queenie couldn't refuse Timothy. She stood up from the window obediently and followed him to the dining room for breakfast. The breakfast was very simple, just ordinary bread and porridge. He asked Queenie to eat first and went to the kitchen to make fried eggs for her. Looking at him cooking so well, Queenie said softly, "You can do all the housework now." Timothy smiled, "I'm old enough. I should be able to do these things." Queenie didn't say anything more. She lowered her head and took a sip of the porridge, thinking that if she had been with him all the time, he wouldn't have been allowed to cook. She would take good care of him. If he wanted, she would not let him do housework. In her mind, he was so perfect that she even wanted to hold his fingers in her hands to cherish them. When he reached this age, she wanted him to become an old man who couldn't even get hot food after leaving her, so she could accompany her to grow old together.
But now, he could do everything. When she didn't know, he had been transformed into such a diligent guy. Timothy put the fried eggs in front of Queenie and said, "Have some. After that, I'll drive you to work."
"Thank you!" Queenie thanked him in a low voice and ate the egg silently. It tasted good, tender, but not raw or fried. "It's delicious." Hearing Queenie's praise, Timothy smiled and said, "I'll cook for you often if you like it." Queenie hesitated for a while and nodded. Since she heard what Nathanael said, she felt sorry and sad when she thought of the days when Timothy had been looking for her.
She really forgave him all of a sudden. Even though he had a new family, a new wife, and a new child, he was Timothy, her beloved man, her first love, and her most beloved husband. She knew that he had truly loved her, he had felt pain for her and he had suffered a lot for her. She forgave him when she thought of these. Even if she was really sad now, she thought it was lucky. Fortunately, he had only been sad for a few years. If he waited for a person who disappeared inexplicably all the time, how miserable his life would be!
She shouldn't ask him to wait for her all the time.
In fact, Timothy still loved her very much.
He still loved her. Queenie's heart ached at the thought of losing a man who loved her so much. She was sad and grateful. Her complicated emotions confused her for a long time and could only make her cry silently.