Let's Get Married

Lily is taken aback. "You miss him?"

"Yes, it's been a long time since I saw him," Adair says, slowing down with his food. Lily is sad to see him like this.

"Adair, Daddy is away on a business trip, but you must know that he misses you. He misses you all the time, understand?"

Lily has said things like that to him countless times over these months, for fear that Adair would see his dad in a different way, or that it would affect Adair as he grows up.

Adair usually nods obediently, but today....

He suddenly puts down the chicken leg, and asks, his big dark eyes full of puzzlement, "But Mom, if Dad really misses me, why doesn't he come back?"

Lily frowns slightly. Thinking what the teacher has said, she realizes something bad might be happening. Does Adair feel inferior because he discovers that other children's dads are around but his isn't?

Lily has been taking care of Adair herself. Kids in the kindergarten don't pay attention to such details. Now that he is in a primary school in China, where the parents are overly caring, he might truly feel that way.

Rubbing her son's little head, she reassures him with an aching heart, "Trust me, he will be back soon."

It has been nearly half a year since that man left for his treatment, and he should probably feel better now. Lily tends to avoid such thoughts and bury herself in work. As the deadline approaches, she grows increasingly anxious. What if he doesn't get better?

She knows a turning point is around the corner. But she chooses to blindfold herself, staggering into what is supposed to be a bridge, or a godforsaken abyss.

pick me up from school, but he never showed up.

child should never be a victim of

worry. Mom will let

He has sowed a seed in Lily's heart by saying that. And every time she thinks about it,

is under undue pressure

drinking. One night, bathing in the moonlight, she dials that number drunkenly in front

now. She has dialed it so many times that she can recite it,

fingertips. The

be for half a year, but she worries about Adair too much to keep that

painful to decide. She is strong, but she is still a woman, who longs

on the phone and types quickly, sending a short

...

works and the addictive substance has dropped to a stable value. However, he is still facing some problems and needs medicine. And he has to take

He is weak despite his strong bones.

ring on the table. The phone serves no purpose other

it up. Tapping the screen, he is

no other than

her photos when the emotions are too overwhelming.

text message is enough to

the bed and bends down slightly. His fingers