爸爸的祕密 father ecret (第1/5頁)

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貝蒂斯坦尼

BettyStanley

Myfatherwasraisedinafatherlesshomeatatimewhengovernmentassistancewasunheardof。Thefamilyoffivestruggledmightilytosurvive。ThatSartanubringingcausedmyfathertobeextremelytightfisted。

Whenwechildren-twoolderbrothersandmyself-becameawarethatotherchildrengotsendingmoneyfromtheirarents，wemadethemistakeofaskingfatherforsome。Hisfaceturnedstonecold。“Ifyoureoldenoughtoask，youreoldenoughtoearn，”herumbled。Andso，whentheneedarose，wescurriedabouttheneighborhoodseekingoddjobsoreddlingroducefromthegarden。

Hisattitudedidntsoftenaswegrewintoadulthoodanddriftedawaytojobsorcollege。Therewasaeriodoftimewhennoneofushadacar，sowehadtoridethebuswheneverwecamehome。Thoughthebusstoedabouttwomilesfromhome，Dadnevermetus，evenininclementweather。Ifsomeonegrumbled（andmybrothersgrumbledalot），hedsayinhisloudestfather-voice，“Thatswhatyourlegsarefor!”

SowhenIwentawaytocollege，IknewIwasinforalongwalkwheneverIcamehome。Thewalkdidntbothermeasmuchasthefearofwalkingalonealongthehighwayandcountryroads。Ialsofeltlessthanvaluedthatmyfatherdidntseemconcernedaboutmysafety。Thatfeelingwascanceledonesringevening。

Ithadbeenaarticularlydifficultweekatcollege。Testsandlonghoursinlabshadleftmeexhausted。Ilongedforhomeandasoftbed。Asotherstudentsweremetattheirstos，Igazedwistfullyoutthewindow。Finally，thebusshudderedtoastoatmydestinationoint，andIsteedoff，luggingmysuitcasetobeginthelongtrekhome。

Arowofrivethedgeedgedthedrivewaythatclimbedthehilltoourhouse。OnceIhadturnedoffthehighwaytostartthelastlaofmyjourney，IwasalwaysrelievedtoseethehedgebecauseitmeantthatIwasalmosthome。Onthatarticularevening，thehedgehadjustcomeintoviewwhenagentlerainbegantofall。IstoedtoutabookinmysuitcaseandwhenIstoodu，Isawsomethinggrayskimmingalongthetoofthehedge，movingtowardthehouse。Uoncloserobservation，Irealizeditwasthetoofmyfathershead。ThenIknew-eachtimeIdcomehome，hehadstoodbehindthehedge，watching，untilheknewIhadarrivedsafely。Iswallowedhardagainstthethreateningtears。Hedidcare，afterall。

Onsubsequentvisits，thatsotofgraybecamemybeacon。IcouldhardlywaituntilIwascloseenoughtowatchforitscovertmovementabovethegreenery。Uonreachinghome，Iwouldfindmyfathersittinginnocentlyinhischair。“So!Itsyou!”hedsay，hisfacelengtheningintomocksurrise。

Irelied，“Yes，Dad，itsme。Imhome。”