|
His eyes twinkled with laughter again and I knew that the answer was going to be all right even before he began to speak. "It was my internet phone. I got it during my Chinese phase because I could get free calls to China for practising my speech." He paused to breathe in. "What a strange thing to ask while I'm lying here dying." He coughed again and I could see the pain in his face. "Don't say that," I said, and stroked his hand. "I found it one day," I continued. "There was a message on it from a woman. It had kisses at the end." I watched his reaction while I said it. He looked puzzled for a few moments, and then there was a flash of understanding. He looked at me. In his eyes I could see a mixture of sorrow and regret, but no guilt. Definitely no guilt. "I know," he said. "I remember that message because it had already been read. I figured it was you." He looked at me for a long while. "So you thought I was having an affair," he stated. "Why didn't you say something?" I didn't know how to respond. I just shook my head, feeling a tear trickle down my cheek as I saw its mirror image on Pa's cheek. "Don't cry," he said, raising his hand to wipe my tear away. He couldn't complete the motion; |
his hand fell feebly back onto the bed. "I was embarrassed to admit that I owned it," he continued after a short while. "You know I had always been contemptuous of mobile phones. When I realised it was you who had found it, I thought it might be fun to keep it secret a while, make it part of the floozie game." He looked so sad, his old face creased with regret, as he said, "I should never have put you through that, but I thought it would be obvious to you."|
|
|
