My son’s family suddenly returned from abroad.

I did not understand a single word at the dinner table. They were speaking in a foreign language.

My grandson, Aiden, looked me up and down and said loudly, “Dad, Grandpa’s face is all bumpy and scarred. He’s lame, too. He’s so ugly!”

My son waved his hand nonchalantly and said, “That was caused by a shell blast. Anyone who served in the military looks like that.”

I did not understand their conversation. I simply placed the fish I had deboned onto his plate in silence.

My grandson, however, became agitated. He picked up the hot soup and splashed it on my face.

Then he cursed at me in broken English, saying, “Stay away, ugly monster! If it weren’t for you refusing to die, Grandma Sloane and Grandpa Wallace could’ve come home years ago!”

My mind went blank. My wife had passed away decades ago.

Who was this “Grandpa Wallace”?

“Aiden, what are you doing?”

I frantically grabbed a tissue to wipe my face.

Aiden, however, stood with his hands on his hips, laughing heartily. Then he rattled off a string of foreign words.

I caught the last word clearly. Back in the war, the enemy used to hurl that insult at us.

Senior NCO said it meant “idiot.”

My heart sank. Still, I held back and spoke patiently, “Aiden, I don’t understand what you’re saying. Now that you’re back home, can we speak English?”

Aiden arrogantly rolled his eyes hard.

“You can’t even speak our language? That’s so lame! And you smell bad. There’s no way I’m sitting with you! Dad, I want to switch seats!”

My son, Wayne, and daughter-in-law, Lily, were huddled while together looking at their phones, chatting and laughing. They acted as if nothing had happened.

My expression darkened. Finally, I could not hold back and said, “Aiden, I don’t have any say over how you’ve run wild overseas. But now that you’re back, there are rules to follow. When you talk to an elder, show some respect. You don’t yell at people, and you most certainly don’t splash hot soup on them.”

As soon as I said that, Wayne seemed to regain his hearing. He frowned at me and said, “Dad, what’s your problem? Aiden’s only eight years old. Why are you picking a fight with a little kid?”

Lily chimed in as well.

“Exactly, Dad. You’re being way too harsh! He’s just a kid. He doesn’t know any better. Couldn’t you just talk to him nicely? You’ve such a bad temper. No wonder Aiden doesn’t want to sit with you.”

I gripped the tablecloth in disbelief.

“I have a bad temper? He splashed hot soup on my face. Did you all just ignore that?”

Wayne waved his hand impatiently.

“It was just soup. It didn’t even scald you.

“Besides, Aiden has a point. Look at you. You don’t even know the basics of the language. You can’t even have a proper conversation with him.

“Other grandfathers all over the world are bilingual or even trilingual. They can play football and do crafts with their grandchildren.

“But look at you. Besides cooking, you just sit there smoking. That’s it. You’re useless.”

Aiden became more emboldened. He pointed at me and said, “Exactly! If you weren’t so stubborn about staying alive, Grandma Sloane and Grandpa Wallace could’ve come back years ago and lived in a big house!”

I was dumbfounded.

“Your grandmother died decades ago. What do you mean, come back? And who is Grandpa Wallace?”

“You’re the one who’s dead!”

Aiden jumped up and down in frustration.

“Grandma Sloane is alive and well. She has so many fancy designer bags. And Grandpa Wallace buys me remote-controlled planes.

“He’s not like you. Your face is all scarred up. You’ve got a limp. You smell bad. You can’t even give me a decent gift!”

I still refused to believe it.

I took note of Wayne’s unruffled expression. Only then did it slowly dawn on me.

I stared at him as my fingers trembled.

“Wayne… is what Aiden said true? Your mother never died back then. She ran off with that Wallace fellow, didn’t she?”

“Dad, don’t be so harsh. What do you mean, ‘ran off with someone?’

“Mom and Wallace chose each other. They are truly in love.

“Your marriage with Mom was arranged anyway. She was unhappy with you. What’s wrong with her finding her own happiness?”

They chose each other?

I was instantly enraged. I slammed the table.

“She ran off with another man while she was still married to me. That’s called cheating. Spare me the happiness talk. She got off easy! She could just walk away and leave you for me to raise on my own.

“You’ve known she was alive this whole time, haven’t you?”

Wayne’s expression darkened. He set his phone down heavily on the table.

“Dad, why don’t you get it? After all these years, you’re still picking at every little thing. You’re so narrow-minded. No wonder Mom chose to fake her death rather than stay married to you.”

Those words hit me hard. My vision started to blur as I stood there rigidly.

Wayne stormed out and slammed the door after he said that.

When he came back, he had brought someone with him.

“Mom, is it cold out? Come in and sit down.”

I turned my head stiffly. I tensed up when I saw the woman at the door.

She wore an off-white cashmere coat. Her makeup was delicately done. Her hair was permed in a stylish curl.

She was my wife, Sloane, whom I had missed dearly for over thirty years.

The man beside her wore a dark gray suit with a tie. His hair was meticulously combed.

I recognized him at once. It was Wallace.

Back in the day, he was a loafer in the neighborhood. He often stole things and harassed widows. He even served two years in prison.

When Aiden saw them, he rushed over and sweetly called out, “Grandma! Grandpa!”

Lily also stepped forward to greet them.

They gathered together affectionately. I stood off to the side, like a complete outsider.

Sloane glanced at me and casually instructed, “What are you standing there for? Make more food. Do you think this is enough for everyone?”

I stared at her.

My voice came out hoarse as I asked, “Sloane, don’t you have anything to say to me? Anything to explain?”

“Explain what?”

Sloane rolled her eyes impatiently.

“It’s a happy family reunion. Why bring up the past? Do you want to ruin the mood? You’re seventy years old. Why do you keep looking for things to be miserable about? Who do you think is going to put up with you?”

Aiden kicked my stool over.

“Get in the kitchen and cook, you freak! Uncle Wallace has a weak stomach. He can’t be left hungry!”

Lily patted Aiden’s hair proudly.

“Look at you, such a good kid. Don’t ever grow up like that lame old man. He’s old, ugly, and he can’t even speak our language. No one wants anything to do with him. Now look at Grandpa Wallace. He’s dignified, successful, and well-off. That’s who you should look up to.”

Aiden grew even more smug. He hugged Wallace’s leg.

“I don’t want that ugly grandpa! Grandpa Wallace is my real grandpa. He’s handsome and buys me toys. He’s a hundred times better!”

Wallace was on cloud nine. He smiled and took out an exquisite pocket watch.

“Good boy. This is a Swiss pocket watch. Grandpa brought it just for you.”

Aiden excitedly examined it.

Wayne quickly said, “Say thank you. You have to know your manners when someone gives you something expensive.”

Aiden swiftly thanked Wallace sweetly.

“Ah, my sweet grandchild.”

When I saw this, I became so furious that I lost my composure. I violently flipped the table over.

“Nobody eats!”

Plates shattered on the floor. Gravy and soup splashed onto Sloane’s cashmere coat.

She screamed, “Alvin, are you out of your mind?! This coat costs a fortune. Can you even afford to replace it?”

Wallace also dropped his smile. His expression darkened.

“Alvin, don’t push your luck. We only came to this dinner for Aiden’s sake. Rather than show gratitude, you would flip the table?”

Wayne rushed over and shoved me.

“Dad! What’s wrong with you? We’re trying to have a nice meal, and you flip the table?”

I was already unsteady with a lame leg. The push made me stumble, nearly causing me to fall.

Instead of feeling guilty, Wayne simply looked annoyed.

“This is what I hate about you. You act like it’s my fault you have a limp!”

My heart turned ice-cold.

I had gone through so much hardship while raising him.

I grabbed a broom handle and swung it at them.

“Get out! All of you, get out of my house! This is my house. I won’t have you all being so disrespectful here!”

Sloane was so frightened she hid in Wallace’s arms.

Wayne tried to take the broom away.

“Dad! Put the broom down! Stop embarrassing us!”

I held the broom up. The fire from all those years of fighting for the country reignited in my gaze.

I had never been afraid, even when facing the enemy’s gun barrels back then. I would not back down to this pampered group.

“All of you, get out!

“Let me tell you something. I might have a limp, but I’m a veteran who crawled through gunfire to survive. I’m not some pushover.”

Wayne was intimidated by my gaze. He froze in place, not daring to step forward.

Aiden was so frightened that he hid behind Wallace and sobbed.

The commotion alerted the neighbors. Several households opened their doors and poked their heads out. They started pointing and murmuring among each other.

“Isn’t that Alvin’s house? What’s all the noise about?”

“Who are those people? That woman looks kind of familiar.”

“She looks like Alvin’s wife. I heard that she passed away young.”

The murmuring made Sloane and Wallace uncomfortable.

Nothing mattered to them more than their reputation. Being watched and gossiped about by the neighbors made them feel embarrassed.

Sloane shot me a vicious glare. She pulled Wallace along and left.

“Let’s go. Being around someone like this is bad luck.”

Wayne glared at me with a hostile gaze and said, “Dad, you’re a lost cause!”

With that, he slammed the door and left with Lily and Aiden.

The house finally fell silent. Only the mess remained.

I leaned on the broom and slowly straightened up.

My leg still hurt. My chest felt tight as I tried to catch my breath.

“Alvin, are you okay?”

My neighbor, Zack, poked his head in and quickly came to support me.

“Come over to my place for a bit. I’ll get you some medicine for your knee. I’ll call a cleaning service to take care of the house later.”

I sat down on Zack’s couch and drank some warm water. Only then did I slowly calm down.

Zack sighed. “What exactly happened?”

I smiled bitterly as my eyes became teary.

“Sloane isn’t dead. She faked her death back then and ran off with Wallace.”

Zack looked stunned. “She’s back from the dead? That’s absurd.”

I began telling him about the past.

Although Sloane and I had married through our parents’ arrangement, our marriage was relatively harmonious.

That changed after she fell into the water and was rescued by Wallace.

At that time, Wallace had just been released from prison. Because of this incident, the neighbors’ opinions of him improved considerably.

After that, he often came to our house when I was out working in the fields.

At first, Sloane would tell me about it. Later, she kept it from me. The two of them grew increasingly close.

I reminded Sloane several times to stay away from him. She agreed verbally, but her behavior only worsened.

She said she would, yet she became even more involved with Wallace.

On one occasion, Sloane’s mother walked in on the two of them being intimate in the house. She was so enraged that she fainted on the spot. She never made it back from the hospital.

After the funeral, Sloane finally broke things off with Wallace.

Later, Sloane became pregnant. It happened right when the military draft was going on.

I thought of earning some allowance to make life better for the two of them, so I enlisted.

During my time in the military, I received only one letter from Sloane. She said everything was fine with her and told me not to worry.

But when I came home on a medical discharge, limping from my wounds, I found out Sloane had passed away. She had left behind our four-year-old son.

I felt as though my life had fallen apart. But for Wayne’s sake, I had to tough it out and carry on.

I dragged myself around on a busted leg, playing both the father and mother. I somehow managed to raise him. I saved up and helped him buy a house when he got married.

Then, not long after he got married, he sold the house without a word and left the country. I finally knew why. He went to reunite with his mother.

Zack sighed.

Ultimately, he simply patted me on the shoulder and said, “That’s life...”