On a winter night in New York, Colin sat lazily on the living room sofa with a can of light beer cheaper than bottled water, and instead of turning on the TV, he looked at Bessia, who was sitting in front of the roaring fireplace, her face red by the fire, discussing extracurricular reading with Mrs. Morgan, a governess.

Although I couldn't understand what Mrs. Morgan and her daughter were talking about, it just felt warm.

His son, Tommy, was whispering something to Sophia at the far other end of the living room, and if Sophia was replaced by Otilia and Tony and Ashley next to him, Colin would feel that his life was close to being completed, and the rest of his life would be left to wait for God to call him to heaven and reunite with his wife Alida in heaven.

After Tommy finished talking to Sophia, he also walked over, picked up a can of beer on the coffee table, opened it, sat down next to his father, glanced in the direction of Bessia, and then asked curiously at the focused father:

"What are you looking at?"

"People who violate morality." Colin turned his head and looked at Tommy.

Tommy was stunned for a moment, then glanced in Becia's direction again, and then realized that Daddy was not judging himself, but saying that Becia and her governess were having a discussion about the France called "The Immoral Man".

"What do you think of the actions of Michelle, the protagonist of the book, Bessia?" Mrs. Morgan was a rigid old woman who retired from her position as dean of a church girls' high school in Providence and a committee member of the Rhode Island Educational Advocacy Association, and it would have been difficult to hire her as a private tutor if it weren't for the fact that she was not raising money for her own association that launched the Homework Initiative for Elementary and Middle School Students, but simply giving a fee, she pushed her reading glasses on the bridge of her nose and stared at Bessia.

Although Daddy was waiting for God's call, Bessia felt that there must be no God in this world.

Because since he was seven years old, every night before going to bed, he would pray to God devoutly, praying that Tommy would lose money in business and at least not be able to pay for his tutor.

Otherwise, I would pray to God to bless Mrs. Morgan and all the teachers who oppressed Tommy for her in all kinds of unexpected situations, such as unplanned pregnancy and childbirth, sprained ankles, etc., and in short, could not provide her with counseling on time.

But now that she is fourteen years old, those prayers have not been fulfilled once, on the contrary, they have gradually increased, and as she has grown older, she has many extracurricular courses such as dance, fencing, equestrian, tennis, etc., and her classmates can spend their weekends running to the big cities to see live concerts of stars, while she can only run to listen to the symphony recitals that she can't enjoy.

Bessia found it more interesting to stand by the lake with a flock of ducks quacking and swimming around than to sit under the stage in a dress and watch a group of people with various musical instruments blowing in one go.

Finally came to New York to enjoy a vacation and family gathering, and then her dear brother Tommy, thoughtfully used a special car to help her take her own nightmare Mrs. Morgan to the New York vacation house, and before she could take off her cotton clothes to take a breath, Mrs. Morgan had already asked if the homework she had assigned yesterday had been completed.

Why Tony and Tommy can enjoy a carefree childhood, Tony knew Ashley when he was a child, the two were childhood sweethearts, and Tommy also had his own two best friends, Dennis and Pam.

And in his childhood, he was accompanied only by witches like Mrs. Morgan.

"After reading it, all I had in my mind was my brother Tommy." Hearing that Mrs. Morgan had cleared her voice slightly, Bécia immediately came to her senses and gave Mrs. Morgan an answer.

Mrs. Morgan was stunned for a moment, Tommy and Daddy, who were drinking beer comfortably on the sofa not far away, also heard Bessia's words, and subconsciously sat up straight, and Dad said to Tommy happily: "See, you are Becia's idol, she said that you are as good as those celebrities in the book." ”

Tommy licked his lips and whispered to his father, "I'm not optimistic about you. ”

"What do you mean? What is your brother Tommy called? Mrs. Morgan was a little surprised by Bessia's first sentence, but it was not surprising that the student gave any answer, and it was up to the rest of the comprehension to unfold.

Becia turned her face to look at Tommy, and then looked at the cover of the book "The Immoral Man" in her hand: "I think Tommy is very much like Michelle, a traitor, Tommy was not like this before, I mean he would take me to the forest to catch butterflies, or in order to help me get angry, he would chase a dog that scared me and continued to teach me a lesson for two months, until the dog later wailed and ran away every time he saw me, but I don't know when it started, he betrayed himself, and like Michelle, he had layers of clothes on his body, He began to love learning, he opened and closed his mouth to God, there was no life, only work, and he could even give up reuniting with his family in order to earn more money. ”

"I think she just complained about you at the beginning, and she was going to thank you solemnly right away." Hearing this, Colin was a little embarrassed to make some necessary additions to what he had just said.

But Daddy obviously guessed wrong again, and Becia looked at Tommy from time to time, and said more sharply: "Michelle knows in his heart that he doesn't love his wife Marceline at all, but he still marries her, because Marceline is gentle and considerate, beautiful and virtuous, and Tommy is the same, I don't think he loves Otilia so much, or rather, he doesn't love everyone except himself." ”

"Bessia, I'll let you talk about the ...... in the book," Mrs. Morgan said at once, trying to get Bécia to change the subject from her evaluation of his brother Tommy back to the plot of the book.

"It's all right, Mrs. Morgan, please let her finish, I think it's interesting, if that's what that book gives her." Tommy said to Mrs. Morgan with a smile.

Bécia continued: "Michelle married Marceline, and when he was ill, he was well cared for by Marceline during his honeymoon, but what about him when Marceline miscarried for him? He fell in love with the joy of being gay and hoped that Marceline's death would free him from his marriage. ”

"Mrs. Morgan, I interject, I don't know if the school makes children read this kind of book, but it's better not to let my daughter read a book like gay." Colin spoke suddenly.

"This is a Nobel laureate...... Mrs. Morgan wanted to explain that the book was a world masterpiece, but Colin was clearly not interested in hearing her explanation:

"I don't care what award Michelle won, he is Einstein, and it can't be a reason why he doesn't care about his wife and hopes for her death! He's a blameless bastard! God will definitely punish him for this damn gay! And, Bessia! I'm not allowed to speculate on Tommy like that, and you have to apologize to her. ”

"I don't mean anything, Dad, and I didn't say that Tommy and Michelle were as bad, but I just think that Tommy, like Michelle, is a pure individualist, which is what the book says, a traitor." Becia replied to Colin.

Then he looked at Tommy, "Am I not cute at all now?" So, do you now wish that you didn't let me read so many books back then, and gave me a happy but uneducated childhood? In that case, Bessia, who is sitting here at the moment, will only talk to you about how to make yourself more beautiful with makeup, or argue about which TV series is better? Instead of reading a book, deeply dissecting her brother. ”

"Mrs. Morgan, what marks can you give her for this reading comprehension?" Tommy asked, sipping his beer, looking at Mrs. Morgan with a smile.

"The words are sharp, and after reading it, it is concluded that the protagonist is an indulgent individualist, and I think it deserves an A." Mrs. Morgan gathered up and stood up, gave her answer, then smiled politely at the crowd, took her leave, went upstairs, and went back to her room to rest.

She was only responsible for Bessia's homework, not for alleviating conflicts between siblings, and she had already guessed that Bécia would hate Tommy to the point of gritting her teeth when she saw her show up on the first day of her New York vacation.

"I don't hear you, it's just an A, I'm ...... when I'm your age," Tommy stopped halfway through, because he couldn't get an A when he was fourteen years old, so he changed his tune and said, "I mean, you need to get an A+." ”

"If you give me this kind of surprise again, I promise to answer more sharply next time." Bessia said to Tommy in a provocative tone.

"First, I love Otilia very much, but there are many kinds of love, and this question needs to be developed after you fall in love one day, maybe it will be easier for you to understand at that time, and second, I am not a pure individualist, because in this world, individualists are not suitable for survival, and this question needs to be felt after you study philosophy in college or work." Tommy held the beer can, thought for two seconds, and then said:

"Thirdly, and most importantly, I am not and will never be gay, and finally, to correct the mistakes, Michelle doesn't like the layers of clothes that his family puts on him, he likes freedom, and I, I enjoy the freedom that comes with getting dressed."

"Apologies to Tommy, Bessia, you went too far!" Colin straightened his face and said seriously to his little daughter, "You can't speak to your brother in that tone!" ”

Becia walked over and stood in front of Tommy, looked at Tommy for a few seconds, and then gently leaned her head on her brother's chest: "I'm sorry, Tommy, did my words upset you?" ”

"One thing, after all, you're comparing me to a gay guy who likes to pretend to be a poor ghost." Tommy patted Bessia on the back and said with a smile:

"But I know that you can actually get an A+, and that sadness will disappear immediately, after all, you are just trying to make me reflect, not really only get an A."

Bessia raised her head in shock and stared at Tommy like a ghost, changing from the expression of brother and sister affection to incredulity: "Come on! Can you guess that? Mrs. Morgan didn't even notice it! But that's not important, what matters, are you reflecting? ”

"No, until you become the first Harvard or Yale student in the Hawke family, you'll have to listen to your family and get dressed, Miss Michelle." Tommy said with a smile.

When Becia grew up, she actually learned to try to trick herself, to make herself feel guilty for reflecting on her words, and to relax the demands on her.

It's just that the tricks are clumsy and immature, but Tommy is looking forward to it, and it must be wonderful for his sister to use this method to trick the world when she grows up.

Becia, who was exposed to her thoughts, picked up her extracurricular book in a rage, and didn't even say goodnight to everyone, so she went back to her room in anger, and when she went upstairs, there were heavy footsteps on the stairs, representing her anger.

"Can't you just reflect on it? After all, I'm just like Michelle, forced to accept your arrangement......" At the staircase on the second floor, Becia turned her head and glared at Tommy: "You suck!" Tommy! ”

Tommy gestured at her with a beer and smiled, "Thanks for the compliment." ”

"So...... So what Bécia said just now was false, I mean she said you don't love Otiria, selfish and all those things? Colin asked in a somewhat confused tone.

Tommy nodded as a matter of course: "Of course it's fake, she just wanted to cheat on me, then make me feel emotional, then fall into reflection and guilt, and finally give her a free vacation." ”

"When I was almost going to have a pretty family meeting to discuss your siblings' conflicts, you told me that everything was fake?" Colin said to Tommy with his mouth wide open.

Before Tommy could answer, Sophia had already finished the phone call and came over: "Tommy, Martin called and said he ...... Although renting drivers and luxury cars, as well as going to nightclubs, cost you a fortune, he used his developed business acumen to make money from director Spike Lee, who was filming in New York, and he wanted to ask if he could ...... that money"

"Of course, what he earns belongs to him." When Tommy heard Sophia's words, he said affirmatively, but immediately asked suspiciously:

"Martin can still make money, if I hadn't hired him to help me scold Earl, Wolf and other black people, he relied on his crappy haircutting skills in Los Angeles, and he would have died on the streets, Rick told me, he helped Kevin, the host of BT's "Black News Today", get a haircut, and after the cut, Kevin dragged his body of more than 200 pounds and chased him for five floors, from this point of view, you know that he boasted that he was a well-known black hairstylist in Miami, which is definitely a lie, It's because he helped a black gang member design a miserable hairstyle and was ordered to be chased and killed, so he fled to Los Angeles. ”

"But this guy who has no other merits than scolding for you says that he has made 10,000 cash at the moment, and Spike Lee, a young black director who is obviously highly educated, owes him 60,000 dollars." Sophia said affirmatively to Tommy:

"And it doesn't sound like Martin was drunk, after all, if he did, he'd rather call Mr. Page than call me or you."

"Whatever he wants, did you tell him? He will have to live this life every day for the next week, will he be able to eat it physically? Tommy asked.

Before Sophia could speak, Colin next to her heard Tommy's words, and he couldn't care about thinking about the family problems of brother and sister tricking each other, and his mind was full of pictures of black Martin using Hawke's money to rent luxury cars and nightclubs.

The words that came out of Tommy's mouth just now made his blood pressure rise even more than the sibling quarrel.

Colin wanted to wait for Sophia to leave and no one else present to ask Tommy, but the thought of a at this moment spending his son's hard-earned money and enjoying the beauty of the incense car made him unable to bear it anymore:

"If it weren't for the fact that I wasn't sure I hadn't touched other women since I got married, and you crawled out of your mother's belly, I would have thought that I was forced to bed by a nigga woman to give birth to you, Tommy, you run a TV station for the niggas, you made a TV show for the niggas to make the neighbors watch a blood pressure explosion, and you even helped the nigger women find their husbands...... Now, you've got that to rent a luxury car and a chauffeur to take him to New York's nightclubs? I brought Bessia to New York, all by car! What's wrong with the world? rode on the head of a white boss? I'm going to call back to Warwick and call everyone back into the white robe again, it's time for the Ku Klux Klan to stand up for this country! ”

"I think you'd better not send out the Warwick Klux Klan neighbors for Tony~" Tommy said with a smile when he saw his father's crazy appearance.

Hearing that it was for Tony, Colin immediately calmed down, but he couldn't figure out what Martin had to do with Tony, so he asked suspiciously:

"What do you mean by doing it for Tony? You're not gay, but Tony is gay? And the man he cheated on without Ashley or the Martin? Where's my gelding knife? ”

"Do you think Tony's vacation was for him to get off the boat alone and reunite with our family who had come to New York from out of town? In fact, there are some comrades-in-arms or superiors on that ship who have a good relationship with him and also need to get off the ship for vacation, for example, there are four or five black people whose hometowns are in the inland states, and they all have the status of officers or non-commissioned officers on the ship, and the families of these black people, although they are from ordinary families, will also appear in New York tomorrow to surprise Tony's black comrades-in-arms, do you think they have the money to pay for this kind of off-site vacation? No, so I'll be the one to bear the cost. Tommy looked at Colin and said earnestly.

Colin shook the corners of his mouth: "You mean, not only do you spend money on Martin, but also bear the travel expenses for several relatives, so that they can come to New York to have a private meeting with Tony's soldiers, and maybe after returning home, there will be a lot of little black ...... for this."

"Not only the cost of travel, but also the expenses of hotels, tickets to the Yankees, Knicks' home games, car rental fees during the holidays in New York, so you see Sophia is on the phone all the time today, just arranging these trivial matters, in addition, some nightlife pastimes, always have to be accompanied, Tony can't entertain them, so I can only find a black employee to experience it in advance, and then as my right-hand man, to accompany them for entertainment, I think Martin is more than a formulaic tour guide, It makes those Tony's comrades feel closer, after all, Martin works for me, and they work with Tony. Tommy looked at his dad calmly and spoke.

No matter how bad Colin's mind is, he has already understood it at this time, so he can only sit back and accept the reality: "Tony discussed it with you?" ”

"Tony gives me the list, and I'll take care of the vacation of his comrades or superiors on the list." Tommy nodded and said.

Colin felt that the beer suddenly lost its taste: "Everything is for Tony's promotion and fortune?" ”

"It's a little different." Tommy drank his beer dry and threw the can in the direction of the trash can:

"Seriously, it should be for Tony's promotion and Tommy's fortune."

(End of chapter)