“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.

Decades passed in a flash and the once lovely girl had traces of time on her face. He thought that the two of them would be together until the end of their lives, supporting each other.

But that day in South Park he met Mara, his first love. His heart, which had calmed down for a long time, was like a tranquil lake that was stirred up again. 

He thought he had hidden it well, but he was still discovered.

From Clara 's alienation during this period, he knew that he had been discovered.

He wondered if Clara was Mara's replacement. Her appearance just happened to fill the missing feelings after breaking up with Mara. 

But when she gradually became distant and behaved strangely, he realized that after years of companionship, he had long been unable to leave Clara. 

Some people lightly tease his calm heart, while some people were engraved in his bones and could ot be separated.

When he came to his senses, Clara had already returned to her room. Jackie knocked on the door gently as he called her, “Clara "

There was no response, so he had to go back to the living room. That night, Jackie sat on the sofa all night.

Only to wake up by a rapid knock on the door in the early morning, “Jack, Jack "

Mara sobbed and her wrinkled face looked inappropriately weird because of her coquettishness. 

The moment Jackie opened the gate and she threw herself into his arms. “Jack, why have you not answered my calls recently? I've been waiting for you to find me. You said you would take care of me.”

Clara stood at the door and watched all this coldly. Jackie awkwardly pushed Mara away from his arms and explained, “Mara, if you feel uncomfortable, you should call the child. It's not good to be alone.”

Mara looked surprised. She asked in sobs, “Jack, what did you say? You... don't want to care about me anymore.”

Mara glared at Clara with resentment and then cried pitifully, “Okay, I don't need you to care about me. Tracey does not care about me and you do not care about me either. Just let me die of illness.”

She ran away crying. Jackie wanted to chase her but he was in a dilemma because he had to consider the person in front of him.

“Clara, I'll be back soon. I'm really worried that something might happen to her.”

In the end he chased after him.

Tears fell without Clara noticing. The inner defense that she once thought was indestructible was actually fragile. 

‘Jackie, this is the last time I will cry for you,’ Clara muttered to herself.

The frequency of chest pain became more and more frequent. She knew it was a sign of an impending illness. 

Her breathing became difficult and heavy and the feeling of suffocation made her realize that she was dying.

After calming down, Clara made herself a hearty breakfast with lots of delicious food to share.

A sudden ringing of a bell broke the tranquility of the early morning.

“Hello, are you Ms. Gallegos? This is the local Red Cross. We have received your application for body donation on the official website. 

“Now we are informing you that you can bring the paper version of the materials in three days to go through the donation registration procedures and receive the donation certificate and donation card.”

“Okay, I will pick it up on time.”

“What are you going to get?”

Just as she was about to hang up the phone, Jackie's voice suddenly sounded behind her and Clara hung up the phone in a hurry.

“Nothing,” she said casually, not wanting to waste time talking to him.

Jackie felt uneasy for some reason.

The third day passed quickly and Jackie happened to be out, so Clara took the materials to the local Red Cross to go through the formalities.

When Clara came out, she saw Jackie accompanying Mara shopping. She was walking in front and he was following behind, looking very much in love.

Looking at them coldly, Clara no longer felt any waves in her heart.

It took another month to deal with these things and she had less and less time.

There was only one month left on the calendar and she did not have time to argue with them.

The three old ladies met up with old friends whom they had not seen for a long time. They were dressed fashionably and drove a car, taking a ride from the countryside to the bustling city, attracting the attention of passers-by.

"Look, a cool grandma! I want to be like her when I grow old."

"Coolness knows no age—long live happiness!"

While waiting at a red light, a young driver rolled down his window and asked, "Grandma, are you okay driving alone?"

She smiled and replied, "No problem, I've been driving for decades."

"Grandma’s pension must be pretty good, right?" 

"Enough to eat, drink and have fun."

A few old friends went on a road trip without telling their families and visited the primary school campus to reminisce about their childhood. The swings they swung on together were long gone. 

Happiness back then was simple and a popsicle could make them satisfied.

They went to the high school to see the place where they had struggled together, how they had worked silently for their dreams day and night and they still remembered the brightly lit study room and the sound of pens scratching across paper.

They experienced success and failure together, although time had passed, they would still think of it at a certain inadvertent moment.

Decades passed in a flash and everyone became old ladies.

They were so carefree on the road that the next day, the internet was flooded with searches about them. 

[Enviable old age life.]

[Happy life of old girlfriends.]

Clara never thought that she would be the object of everyone's pursuit on the Internet during her lifetime. She was so happy.

Clara accompanied them all the way. She did not tell them that she was going to die. The purpose of the old friends meeting was to have fun. 

Why bother discussing life and death? She would accompany them to this point in this life.

A few days later, when Clara returned home, Jackie was pacing anxiously in the living room. 

“Why did you come back just now? You are so willful at such an old age. It would be dangerous for you to drive out.”

Clara looked at him coldly as she answered, “There's nothing to worry about. I know what's going on.”

Time passed quickly and there were only a few days left before she fell ill. Clara sent messages to her son and daughter respectively in the evening, saying that she missed them. 

In fact, Clara just wanted to see them for the last time, as she was afraid that she would never see them again.

A few days later, the son and daughter returned home together.

Clara endured the discomfort and cooked a table full of their favorite meals.

Her son's mouth was full of oil as he ate and her daughter kept saying, "It's delicious, delicious,” and kept saying comforting words.

After dinner, the family sat in the living room, brewing tea around the stove and talking about their childhood. 

The occasional laughter coming from the living room made Clara feel as if the family was as happy as before.

Clara wore a pair of reading glasses and held a yellowed photo album in her hand, flipping through the pages one by one. 

From time to time, she tapped her daughter's nose with her hand, her eyes full of gentle smiles. “You were beautiful when you were a child. Every time I took you out, you would attract everyone to come to you.”

Her daughter smiled slightly, with two dimples on her cheeks. “It's all because of mom and dad's good genes,” she said.

Clara was amused and smiled, pointing to another photo and said, “Look at your brother, he has been very naughty since he was a child.”

The smile on her lips lingered for a long time. A breeze blew in and Clara looked into the distance, her eyes full of kindness.

At that time, her son and daughter were both in their 50s and had lost their immaturity and become more mature and steady. They all had their own families and careers. 

Holding their hands, Clara felt indescribably satisfied. No matter what, every little bit of the past was a happy experience when she recalled it.

But Jackie kept fiddling with his cell phone, frowning for a while and looking outside the door from time to time.

Clara pretended not to see it and did not bother to pay attention, but her daughter could not help it.