Chapter 13 11 Grandpa's Christmas

Without looking at the calendar, I also know that Christmas is coming.Christmas trees can be seen by the windows of every household, and there are children playing under them, which is a symbol of "family" in my opinion. The altitude in Utah is about 2,000 meters. During the day, as long as the sun does not show its face, the temperature will be below minus ten degrees.Under the cold sky, watching the family reunion in the window, I couldn't help but feel colder. One evening, I parked my bicycle in the small park of the village, looking for a place to pitch a tent in the light snow falling, and met an old man walking with two large dogs.I greeted him when our eyes met, and he asked without a smile:

"What are you doing here?" "I'm going to camp here??????" That's the end of the conversation.I continued to circle around in the park. The old man observed me for a while, and said with the same expressionless face: "Come and spend the night at my house." As soon as I stepped into the small brick house, the soft heat gently brushed my frozen cheeks.The fireplace in the living room was burning brightly, and the room was neatly cleaned. It seemed that no one else lived here except the old man and the two dogs. Open the large refrigerator, there are many plastic crisper boxes, each with a label, carefully write the contents: curry, borscht, and onion soup.

"Choose one you like to eat." The old man said so. I pointed to the container that said beef stew.The old man opened it and poured it into the pot, crushed the frozen stew with a wooden ladle and heated it slowly. In the silence, there was only the sound of cooking.I stared at his back, why does the way the old man cooks give people a warm feeling? He put a serving of goulash on a plate, added a piece of bread and put it in front of me, and it looked like Grandpa had already had dinner.This dark red beef stew, like a formal dish in a restaurant, is unbelievably delicious.I asked him if he had been a chef before, and he just said coolly: "Cooking is my hobby."

I enjoyed my dinner quietly, chatting with him casually. He told me that the sons lived in faraway big cities. "Has your child left home for the city?" "No! I moved to this country." The old man was still expressionless. "So, do they come here often?" The old man shook his head. Only then did I realize that there was no Christmas tree in the house. Grandpa turned on the TV, and the movie "Lawrence of Arabia" was playing.Peter as Lawrence.Otto was walking exhaustedly in the desert with his entourage. "It's a good movie, have you seen it?"

"have not seen." The old man began to explain each scene in the movie in detail. As I responded, I couldn’t help but think: If one day his son comes back, the old man will definitely open the refrigerator and say, "Choose one you like to eat"?????? The next day, the old man watched me leave with two dogs. He still had a straight face, but every time I turned around, he would raise his hand to say hello. It will be Christmas in four days, and that day I came to a small town, decorated with Christmas lights and Christmas trees everywhere, much brighter and more beautiful than Grandpa's village.

I went to the motel recommended by others to find out if there was any room. When I asked about the rent, the boss looked at me and said, "No need." Isn't it Christmas today?"