By Yi Xiangdong

Visiting My Father’s Former Lover

By Yi Xiangdong

Arranged by his parents, my father was married as a university student in the early 1960s. Despite the quarrels and fights he had at home, at twenty, he was already the father of a one-year-old boy, my big brother.

While struggling with his unhappy marriage, he fell in love with a girl and wanted to divorce my mother. Yet during this time, my brother died of starvation due to the famine that had struck China. Soon my father’s university closed. He went back home and lost the courage to file for divorce in the end.

I don’t want to blame my father. From a historical perspective, however, his act was understandable.

Years later, during a visit to my family, I decided to go and meet this lady, my father’s former lover. The moment I stepped into her office, she looked up and let out a loud “oh!”

I studied her, seeing her face redden and her eyes widen with surprise, and I knew straight away that I reminded her of my father. I was shocked that after all these years she still loved my father so much that all the years between them didn’t take away her beautiful memories or deep feelings for him.

She made me a cup of tea, avoiding eye contact, and asked,“How’s your father?”

I nodded with a smile. She then asked me another question:“Did he ask you to come?”

“No, he didn’t. It’s just me. I wanted to meet you.”

She blushed and said, “You resemble your father a lot, but are braver than him. Your father was rather timid. Even a falling leaf would scare him.” Perhaps that’s her complaint about my father’s behavior at the time.

I didn’t ask much. In fact, there was no need. The only thing I wanted to do was to meet her—and that was enough. Before I left, she said with a sigh, “I heard your father gets drunk often. Please, ask him to drink less.”

I nodded. We smiled at each other without exchanging any more words. I wondered if my father was still thinking of her when he turned to the bottle.

(FromRun, My Boy! published by Taihai Publishing House. Translation: Liu Lili)