Chapter 37 dream house

I'd better start at the beginning—but when is the beginning? I figured it would start with my agreement to buy the acre south of Malcone's farm.That day, I wanted to find something meaningful to do, so I stayed in the police office for an extra hour after get off work. I am such a funny person, looking for trouble when I have nothing to do.When I'm bored, I always go to movies and TV to pass the time. In the movies, those cunning, potbellied people sometimes spit and insult people, and sometimes beat innocent people for fun.Whenever I watch that kind of plot, it always makes my blood boil.

I have been married for over twenty years and my wife passed away last year.What I don't understand is why after more than twenty years of unhappy marriage, I have a feeling of loss, like a person who loses his way in a fog or a desert.One should be at ease with nothing to worry about, but the older I get—I am forty-eight—the less I understand life. Let's get down to business!On this day, when I was going back to Mrs. George's house, where I rented a house, I met Malcolm on the way.I originally owned a house, but after my wife passed away, I sold it on the advice of my friends and relatives.Let me give you a piece of advice: never listen to other people's advice, be your own.They said the house was too big for me to live in alone.Well, we don't have any apartments for rent in this small town. Later, we rented Mrs. George's house. Although the room is big, I always feel small because I have a feeling of depression in my heart.If you are young, you can enjoy life to the fullest because you have plenty of time and an unknown future.

But at my age, all you have is the present, and you lack a valuable future in your life, and the future is gradually bleak and at a loss. Malcolm is the happiest person in the town, he is a successful farmer; he also owns a farm tool agency in the town, and also owns the only gas station on this section of the 180 highway. Business is very profitable.Although he is rich, he is not arrogant, friendly, and does not contribute much to the town. So when he suggested that we go for a beer and a meal, I went happily. During the conversation, he quickly understood my mood and said that I was a fool and should not listen to other people's advice and sell the house in a hurry.Then he comforted me and said that he could help me solve this problem. Although he could benefit a bit, this was not his original intention to help me.The thing is this: he has an acre of land, with woods on the ground, just south of his farm, between his land and the county land; .I could build a house in that ideal spot and start living again.

I said, what's the use of me being a bachelor and wanting a house? "Find a woman," he said frankly. I felt blushed and asked him, "Who can I find?" "There are a lot of beautiful women in this town." "An example." "Josephine." We went there together before dark to see the field.It was a beautiful place, a little like a hill, with a slight slope to the west from the road, and the ground was covered with oaks and briars, with only a small open space in the middle.I knelt down, grabbed a handful of soil, and let the soil fall slowly from between my fingers. I smelled the fragrance of the soil, the breath of spring, and my endless hope.I know I'd give anything for that land.

"I'll buy it for a reasonable price," I said. Malcolm came up with a reasonable amount, and we shook hands to seal the deal. Josephine and her husband, Bill, owned a small grocery store half a block from the police station.Their store has a full range of daily necessities.Their store isn't a restaurant or a snack bar that sells fast food, but you can get breakfast there, and their store starts to get crowded in the morning before most of the townspeople are up. At about five o'clock on a cold winter morning, you'll see the lights come on upstairs, followed by the lights downstairs, and you'll know that they—or she, I might say—are Pour water into a large coffee pot.That scene will give people a kind of warm feeling in the cold winter, especially after you have been on the night shift all night, or patrolling all night.

When Bill was in town they sold coffee from six in the morning until half-past eight, and besides the coffee they sold something like brioche or biscuits.As I said, there was something kind and warm about seeing the lights in their store, but Bill was not a friendly guy, he was tall and strong, with broad shoulders, and he was good-looking, but he never smiled, his face Always a grumpy expression. When he spoke, the words were not friendly at all.Maybe he hated standing behind the counter serving people who weren't better than him; or maybe he didn't make a good living out of that shop alone.In any case, in my judgment, he is a nuisance, let alone a business, and money is made by kindness.

Some people said he beat his wife—Josephine, it was true that she wasn't in the shop for a while, but did he beat her?Anthony said that when he passed there one night, he heard Josephine screaming, so he got out of the car and knocked on their door. After a while, Bill opened the door. Anthony asked him what happened, and Bill said no.Anthony said he wanted to talk to Josephine, Bill said she was asleep, and then he had a strange look on his face and said, "Okay, let's go upstairs." They went upstairs to the bedroom and saw her sitting on the bed, wrapped Wear a bedspread.

She asked: "What is it?" and Anthony said: "I thought I heard you screaming." She replied: "You heard it, I had a nightmare." "Then Anthony had to walk away, what else could he do? For a long time after Anthony told me this, I pictured Josephine sitting on the bed, wrapped in the coverlet.She was a beautiful woman, how could a man abuse a woman the way Bill did?And she is a good person, optimistic, kind, and enthusiastic, just like her external beauty.Sometimes I go to her to buy cigarettes or something, and even when my wife was alive I used to see her and think (God forgive me) if only I had a wife like her.

However, one night, Bill ran away from home without saying goodbye and never came back. Everyone else thought she would be happy and happy for her.But it seemed that it took her a while to get used to her husband abandoning her.I remember Anthony saying that she might not believe what happened! I didn't understand it back then, but now, I'm a living witness that when an unhappy marriage ends, things don't get better right away, it takes a process. But after a while, Josephine cheered up again. She tidied up the shop and added bacon and eggs to her breakfast besides bread. Therefore, many townspeople and I used to eat at her place. earlier.

I knew she was beautiful without Malcolm telling me, but I never wondered if she would be my wife until he mentioned her to me.The thought that I could build a house on that lot seemed to change everything.I pictured her in that new house, being my wife, making my bacon and eggs with care, completely forgetting about the shop. Funny how my initial reaction to Malcolm's words was to not go to Josephine's store for a while.I didn't think about the reason carefully, but it may be that I subconsciously don't want to see her serving a group of strangers. I was walking past the store one day and there was no one in there but Josephine, so I went in and said to her, "Now you and I are alone here, I mean, we're both I'm single, and I'd like to treat you to dinner." She happily agreed to take her to the Moulin Rouge Hotel in nearby Yorktown for dinner. If we meet any acquaintances, we can relax and chat to improve understanding.After the first time, most of our appointments went there, and sometimes we ate at the Prou ​​restaurant, which was not as high as the Moulin Rouge, but it was unpretentious, elegant, quiet, and there were not many customers there.I don't know how Pro's stays in business, but that's not my concern.As a cop, you always think everything is about you.

As a policeman, I like to be straightforward and say what's on my mind, so soon I asked Josephine if she divorced Bill?She told me that it is in the process of applying. After two weeks, I was sure that no matter what happened, I was going to marry her.I proposed to her and she didn't look shy or pushy, just surprised and said yes. It was a beautiful, memorable moment. I didn't say a word to her about the new house I was going to build her, and the oaks and briars, I wanted to surprise her, and make sure she married me and not my property.I want her to have an earthiness. I think you should know what she looks like.Her stature is not short for women, just reaching my swollen shoulders, with a slender and curvy figure; long, shiny, brownish reddish hair; creamy skin; clear, large and bright eyes. I proposed to her, and when she said yes, tears rolled down her cheeks. "Why are you crying?" "I'm happy." I reached out and grabbed her hand, "I want you to be happy forever." With the arrival of spring, the days gradually grow longer.When I was bored without Josephine around, I used to visit the field around dusk.The buds of the briars began to grow slowly, and the oaks looked as if winter would never pass. On the 1st of May, I sent a trail machine to Malkenzou, and when I got to the field, I found that he had already delivered it, and drove it to the side of the clearing as I wanted, without hurting anyone. A tree, just a few branches are broken.But we have to drive a driveway to the road outside, so it doesn't matter if some branches are broken.The next day was Josephine's birthday.I plan to surprise her. I picked her up at the usual time and asked her if she would like to go to the Moulin Rouge or somewhere else. She said whatever I wanted.I said no, I was asking for her opinion.She said, Moulin Rouge is ready.Then asked me, where do I drive, because the Moulin Rouge is in the opposite direction.I told her I was going to show her something that I had given her.Her eyes brightened a lot, and she began to smile.I joked, "I think you're looking for a little bracelet in a" red box or something, don't you? " She shook her head. "I don't know what I'm looking for, I don't want anything, I'm very satisfied now." "You'll be happier," I said, "and I'll give you a piece of land and a house." "You... what!" She opened her mouth in shock, her eyes flickering, "What did you do?" "I bought the most beautiful piece of land within a twenty-mile radius, and you and I want to build a home on that piece of land." She put her arms around me and kissed my ears without asking me why. "Hey!" I said, "Hey, I'm driving!" She opened her arms and sat upright, but I noticed that she still had one hand resting lightly on my shoulder, as if she was afraid that I would run away.After a while, she asked, "Where is it?" "You'll see." "What does it look like?" "Beautiful, all oaks and briars. At least a hundred briars in bud. The only real woodland within a radius of 20 miles, the scenery is beautiful. " She didn't ask me where I was, I think she could tell from the direction of traffic.A minute later, she put down her hand on my shoulder, and sat by her side looking out the window, for fear that I would see her face. After a while, I stopped and turned off the motor.She said, "Look there's a road opener over there." Her voice was strange, and she spoke in the same way she spoke when she was Mrs. Beale, suppressed. I got out, went around the car, and opened the door for her. "What are you going to do?" she asked me. "Come on!" I said, and I got a little fidgety. "Let's go over to the opener, and that's where we're going to build the house, right in the middle of that little clearing. If you don't want to cut down any trees, we don't want to move a single one." .It will be like a little private castle." I held out my hand, first one side and then the other. "One side is Malcon's farm, and the other side is official land. We are the masters of this land. " Then she got out of the car and stood beside me.In the shade her face looked pale, and her eyes - I'll never forget her eyes - were so big and incomprehensible.I took her hand, "Your hand is shaking." "It's all so sudden. She said." It's beautiful here, isn't it? " She took a deep breath, "I appreciate you." "Let's go! We started to step up the bushes where the road breaker had rolled over. As we were almost approaching the clearing, she collapsed beside me. My first thought was that she had tripped over a tree root, but she Not falling down suddenly, but falling down slowly. She knelt on the ground with her head hooked down. I bent down beside her and touched her forehead, which was wet and cold. She muttered something I hurriedly asked her what she was talking about." I'm sorry, I'm sorry. " "Nothing." "I spoiled your fun." "Never mind." "No, no." "Are you sick?" I asked with concern. "You'd better take me home." I was worried about her, but she insisted on not letting me go upstairs.She said, go straight to bed, tomorrow morning will be fine.She also said that she felt weird all day, but there was no reason, maybe it was because of her birthday! I said goodnight to her, but my heart was still uneasy.I even wondered if she might be pregnant, what a feeling!Over fifty years old to be a father!Hey, why not?She said that she had already obtained the divorce certificate, so as long as we got married quickly, there would be no laughing stock.what do i careI thought to myself, I'm just worried about her. The worst part of the next day was that I didn't have time to call her because the only middle school in town, there was violence and it was serious, and the principal threw a tantrum, and I can't blame him. It wasn't until nine o'clock in the evening that I was free to go to her place.Once there, the lights were all dark, so I thought it best not to bother her.But I'm still worried, if she goes to bed so early, doesn't it just mean that her body hasn't recovered yet.It will be fine tomorrow morning. In the morning, the store door was closed and no lights were turned on.I knocked on the door for a while, and then I was afraid that I would be too ostentatious, so I left angrily. Time passed so slowly that day, an old woman was beaten to death, her money was robbed, and her body was lying on the road in the town, on the way Josephine and I used to go to the Moulin Rouge.Driving on that road that day, I felt very painful in my heart. I knew that I would never drive on this road again except for official business. When I returned to my place after get off work, Josephine's letter was waiting for me. "My heart is broken," she wrote. "I just hope you don't feel too bad. I'm gone and I don't want to come back. It's none of your business. I've been treated better than anyone in my life, but it won't be. It turned out. I can't say anything more. Please give the food in the refrigerator - milk, eggs and half a large sausage - to the poor before it spoils. You can send it to the nunnery in the town. They will know what to do with it .My request, I hope you don't mind, I will always love you." The last sentence touched my heart, it was like poetry, but I believe she was telling the truth.I was choked up, unable to speak, just said her name over and over again. I didn't sleep a wink until dawn, and then I drove out to the damned land.I climbed onto the road cutter and started bumping around in the clearing as if digging a basement.I drove it back and forth twenty-six times--I didn't mind I kept counting--and then I saw something, so I pushed that thing back into the hole, climbed off the opener, and went to take a closer look. A thigh stuck out of the earth, and it wasn't a horse bone, or a dog bone, or some wild animal in the woods.That's Bill's! I climbed back to the opener and scraped all the dirt back from the sides of the pit to fill it up, which seemed to take me a long time.Then put the dwarf trees and leaves on top.During the time I did these things, I felt calm, filled with hatred and pity.However, Josephine hated him more strongly, otherwise she would not have made such a move. Then I put the Trailblazer on the road and back to my car. I thought the briars were in bloom, but I didn't go back to see them, nor did I go back when the oaks were falling.What am I going to do with that piece of land?I can't sell it because other people will dig that place too and god knows what they'll dig up.I assume it's a skull with bullet holes. As for myself, I did not visit the place again. I told Malcolm I had changed my mind about building the house. "What a shame," he sighed, shaking his head. "It's a beautiful place." But not a happy place.