On the fifth day, he posted a photo of himself having dinner alone. The afterglow of the setting sun lazily sprinkled on the old wooden table, stretching his shadow very long. 

There was steaming porridge on the table, but the taste seemed to be mixed with an indescribable loneliness.

Jackie's face was also deeply scarred. When he was young, he was very handsome, standing out among the crowd like a crane among chickens. 

Clara fell in love with him at first sight and she knew that she would be stuck with him for the rest of her life. 

Was the revenge on him a little ruthless? He was just an octogenarian.

On the sixth day, the phone was unusually quiet.

Clara just found it funny. Was his persistence only for five days?

That was good too, quiet and comfortable.

Still having not received any message from Jackie at night, Clara laid on the big bed and casually turned on the camera at home, which was installed by the children so that they could see their parents anytime and anywhere.

The lights in the yard were on. Clara looked carefully and saw Mara sitting in her usual rocking chair and Jackie was also sitting beside her drinking hot tea. 

The two of them were accompanied by the moonlight and it seemed that they were an old couple living a peaceful life.

It would be a lie to say that she did not feel uncomfortable at this moment. Although she did not want to care, she had lived with him a lifetime after all.

Since marrying Jackie at a young age, he had been her unwavering faith. For her family, her husband and her children, she convinced herself it was love at first sight.

But after enduring the trials of time, that faith crumbled. In the end, it felt like life had played a cruel, merciless joke on her.

Tears could not help but fall, Clara turned off the phone, snuggled into the warm cup and soon felt sleepy.

The lights were turned off and the room was pitch dark.

The next day, she was on a boat trip with her tour group when she received a call from her daughter, who was choking with sobs.

“Mom, why are you not home? Is something wrong?”

Girls were always thoughtful. Maybe she saw something in the video. In order to comfort her daughter, Clara pretended to be relaxed.

“Nothing, I was just traveling and met a lot of new friends.”

Her daughter wanted to say something, but instead, Clara said, “By the way, come home again in a few days. I have something to give you.”

“Okay.”

The two made an appointment and hung up the phone.

On the boat, Clara turned on the video at home. No wonder her daughter called her, it seemed Mara had already entered the house.

In the quaint courtyard, Jackie sat in a rocking chair while Mara sang Opera in front of the flower bed, posing and dancing. 

Her every frown and smile was delicate and artificial. Jackie listened with joy and clapped his hands to keep the rhythm.

After turning off the video, Clara curled the corners of her mouth in self-mockery.

The one-month trip ended quickly. It was already evening when she pulled her suitcase back home. 

Mara and Jackie were eating dinner at the dining table in the living room, she had one bowl and he had one. Clara's sudden intrusion seemed like a third party who broke the atmosphere.

Jackie stood up quickly and explained, “Mara has been feeling unwell and her daughter has not come back yet, so I had to take her over. Please sit down first and I'll serve you some food.”

Ignoring him, Clara went straight into the bedroom. She was stunned when she entered the room. 

The bed was neatly stacked with women's pajamas that did not belong to her and the bottles and jars in front of the dressing table were obviously not her cosmetics. 

The things that belonged to her were scattered in a cardboard box and thrown at her feet.

She frowned, turned and left the bedroom, looking at Jackie.

Jackie paused, as if remembering something, “After Mara came here, I let her sleep in the master bedroom. You're not here anyway. Also, don’t worry, I've been staying in the second bedroom these days.”

‘So, he let another old lady sleep in my bed?’ Clara sneered in her heart.

Seeing that she did not say anything, Jackie paused for a moment and then said, “I'll pack up her things and put them in the second bedroom.”

As he spoke, he opened the door of the master bedroom and started tidying up.

Mara came over at this time, her eyes full of disdain. Jackie was busy packing her things and not paying attention to the outside. 

She leaned over to Clara's ear and said, “If you have the guts to leave, don't come back! Jack has been so happy with me these days.

“I am Jack's first love. Men always remember their first love. You may not know that he found me a few years ago.

“Without love, they can be husband and wife, but without love, they can never be lovers. Who do you think he loves more?”

There was a hint of sarcasm in Mara's eyes.

Then she shouted into the house, “Jack, I'd better leave first. You don't have to worry about my illness. I can take care of myself.”

Hearing the shouting, Jackie came out quickly and looked at me with dissatisfaction as he said, “You are old now, so you cannot live without someone else by your side.”

“No, Jack, I'm afraid Clara won’t welcome me either. After all, this is not my home.”

Mara covered his chest and left slowly.

Jackie was left behind, sighing as he cleaned the table.

‘Never mind, I do not want to argue with him,’ I just sneered in my heart and left him too.

A few days later, her daughter came back. As soon as she entered the house, she took Clara's hand and asked, “Mom, where is my dad?”

“Your dad went to South Park.”

Her daughter's eyes were wet and she was about to speak when she was stopped by Clara.

Children could not control their parents’ affairs and at that time, Clara really did not want them to worry about it.

She took out the jewelry she had worn over the years, including a pair of gold bracelets with diamonds on it, which her mother had given her when she got married. 

She also showed her several gold necklaces and gold earrings, which were all given to her by Jackie on birthdays and anniversaries over the years. 

Although they were all old styles, they were still very valuable items.

All these things together were worth at least hundreds of thousands of dollars. She gave them all to her daughter because she knew how hard her daughter had worked.

She also kept some cash for herself to spend for the next two months and gave it all to her daughter.

“By the way, this old house was left to me by your grandfather, so I'll leave it to your brother. It's up to him to keep it or sell it. He's the pillar of the family and the pressure is always greater, so don't think too much about it.”

In an instant, her daughter understood the meaning of her words, if they were her last words, so she could not stop crying. Her mother's forced smile and pretended relaxed look made her feel even more distressed.

When Jackie returned, his daughter had already left. Only the nutritional supplements and fruits neatly arranged in the living room proved that his daughter had been back.

“Has our daughter ever come back?”

“Um.”

“Why didn't you tell me that our daughter was coming back?”

But she just left him in silence. 

Usually, Clara cared most about the reunion day. So, she had been acting out of character lately, traveling alone and eating alone at the dining table.

She used to be the most timid person and never dared to go out alone. Jackie felt a little flustered for some reason.

He moved his lips, wanting to chat with Clara about something, but seeing that she was not interested, he closed his mouth again.

A moment later, Clara transferred the house to her son. This house used to be the old house of the Gallegos family after all. 

Since she was the only daughter of the family, she had lived there since her parents passed away, so it had always been in the name of Clara.

Jackie was not aware of it until he received a call from his son, “Dad, why do you and mom want to transfer the house?”

After completing the formalities, Clara sat in the living room, leisurely eating an apple.

“Clara, what happened? Why did you transfer the house to your son?”

He was breathing heavily and it was obvious that he had run back in a hurry.

“Nothing, we are getting older, so we have to plan early. Sooner or later, it will be theirs, so why not prepare early, just in case something happens to us?”

He nodded. “Okay.”

Clara's words made his heart tighten. He had never thought about what if. When he thought about it carefully, they were already this old, had lived half of their lives, had both sons and daughters and were living an enviable life after retirement.

Since when did something seem different? Clara's abnormal behavior always came to his mind, as if she was hiding something. 

Jackie was inexplicably a little panicked. Could she be sick?

He spoke subconsciously, “Clara, are you feeling unwell? Why don't I go with you to get checked tomorrow?”

Clara looked calm when she answered, “No, I'm fine.”

Lately he seemed to be finding it increasingly difficult to understand her.

She did not ask about his daily behavior, did not care whether he had breakfast and tended her garden as usual. He always felt that she was strange.

After a while, the two sat in the living room in silence.

Jackie was silent for a while and could not help but say, “Clara, we are not only lovers, but also relatives. If there is anything, you must tell me, don't force yourself.”

He wanted to say that he still cared about her, but he still married another woman with great fanfare after she left. 

Even though her body was still warm and even though his children objected, he still threw his oath to Clara to the winds.

So no one knew how sincere he was.

After that day, he no longer went to South Park for a walk early in the morning and returned late at night, but always hung around in front of Clara.

While she was cooking in the kitchen, he would light the fire, boil water, cut vegetables and fetch bowls; while she was shoveling the soil in the yard, he would water the flowers. 

In the morning, when he got up, he would just walk to the gate, turn around and come back.

The two of them were busy and harmonious, as if the days of their love for each other had returned again.

During this time, his cell phone kept ringing. He pressed the button again and again and finally it was turned off.

He picked up the morning paper and read it while discussing with Clara, “Our country won again in table tennis. It is worthy of being the national sport. These kids are as good as the veterans. 

“Especially that one, he has a righteous face. I see many little girls are very enthusiastic about him.”

Clara did not say anything. He thought she was still angry because he went to look after Mara so many times. 

“Clara, Mara is alone here. I am just looking after her. If you don't like it, I will not care about her anymore.”

Clara sneered, “I don't dislike her. I know you just want to take care of her, that's all.”

He understood the meaning of the words, but Jackie's face still darkened. The corners of his mouth twitched but he did not say a word.

Clara smiled and said again, “You can also bring her home, I don't mind, I can even give up the master bedroom.”

His breath was choked and the hand holding the newspaper trembled slightly.

No matter how well he covered up his dirty thoughts, he could not deceive his eyes.

Looking far away, Clara said slowly, “Jackie, do you remember how we met?”

Jackie also put down the newspaper with a deep look in his eyes. 

He had just broken up that year and was walking on the street bored. At the corner, a girl in a white dress and pigtails caught his sight. 

The girl had fair skin and a bright smile and he seemed to be missing Mara, with whom he had just broken up. No, she was more beautiful than Mara.

When she was about to leave, he hurriedly chased after her and thus an unforgettable relationship began.

In the early years, the woman stood strong while the man remained fragile and Clara's family had always been kind. 

He was a fledgling boy from the countryside, yet Clara wholeheartedly supported his ambitions, choosing instead to stay home, care for their family and embrace motherhood.