Chapter 20 Section VII

"Dear Lord, let me cherish this young and kind woman whom I want to marry. Let me share with her the gift of love that God has given us. Let us get to know you, get to know you, and in Grow together under your teaching...Pray in the name of Jesus. To show our love for us, God sent His Son to wash away our sins. Amen.” 72-year-old Michael O’Toole let go of his hands and opened his arms. Eye.He sat at the desk in his bedroom and looked at his watch, "I'm going to marry Simone in two hours." He looked at the statue of Jesus in front of him, "God, it's just tonight, just After our wedding reception and Nicole's birthday reception, I'm going to hold that angel in my arms. Dear Lord, please give me the strength not to let her down."

Michael took out a little Bible from a drawer, the one book he really owned.Because all his other materials are stored in the electronic notebook in the form of data blocks.This Bible has a very special meaning to him.It was a precious gift from his father, a living memento he had brought from another distant planet. Since he was a child, this Bible has accompanied him all over the world. "I also took it with me on my honeymoon, and Catherine was very considerate." Michael's memory appeared the bright sun and white sand outside the villa on Garman Island.Suddenly a strong sense of loss passed through his mind. "How are you, Catherine?" Michael called out, as if seeing her. "Where has life taken you? Is our grandson, Matthew, about to be a teenager by now? Are there any more grandchildren?" How many are there?"

As he imagined his family—Katherine, daughter Colleen, son Stephen, and all the grandchildren sitting around that long table having Christmas dinner without him—Michael felt the pain in his heart and thought: "Stephen must have been praying before cooking on behalf of the whole family. He was the most devout boy of all." Michael shook his head, forcing himself back to the present.He turned to the first page of the Bible, and there were a few words elegantly written on it—"Milestones", and the major events of his life were recorded below: married Catherine Murphy in Boston, Massachusetts, on July 13, 1967;

Thomas Murphy O'Toole was born in Boston on January 30, 1969; Daughter Colleen Gavin O'Toole was born in Boston on April 13, 1970; On December 27, 1971, sons Steven, Morley and O'Toole were born in Boston; February 14, 1992 Thomas Murphy O'Toole died in Pasadena, California; where Michael's eyes rested, the eldest son died.With tears in his eyes, he recalled vividly that horrible Valentine's Day all those years ago: He took Catherine to an elegant seafood restaurant by the Boston harbor for dinner.Towards the end of dinner, a young waiter came over and apologized: "Sorry for the late desserts, I was at the bar watching the news. There was a catastrophic earthquake in Southern California."

It was the first time they had heard the terrible news. They are scared.Their proud and joyful son Tommy (as Thomas is nicknamed) is giving a lecture at Caltech on a physics scholarship.The O'Tooles immediately put down their knives and forks and rushed into the bar.The earthquake occurred on the east coast of the Pacific Ocean at 5:45 pm.People, vehicles, and buildings within 100 miles of the epicenter were tossed and displaced like boats in the ocean swept by a hurricane. All night Michael and Catherine listened to the news, tormented by hopes and fears.The earthquake that day reached a terrifying magnitude of 8.2.Twenty million people were cut off from water, electricity, transportation and communications, cracks in the ground were 50 feet deep, entire commercial centers fell in, and all roads were cut off.The damage was far greater than that of several atomic bombs hitting the main city of Los Angeles.

Before dawn, FEMA posted a phone number for inquiries.Catherine entered all the information they knew on the information machine—the address and phone number of Tommy's apartment, the phone number of the Mexican restaurant where he worked, and the address and phone number of his girlfriend. Michael distinctly remembers Tommy's girlfriend Cher hanging up on them after waiting all day. "That restaurant collapsed, Mr. O'Toole..." Chell cried, "it was on fire. I spoke to one of the surviving waiters, and he said Tommy was working at the counter closest to the kitchen when the quake hit. .”

Michael O'Toole took a deep breath and said to himself, "No, no, now should be my happy time." "I can't be sad. For Simone's sake, don't think about Tommy." He forced himself to recover from the loss of his son. Michael closed his Bible and wiped away his tears, stood up and went to the bathroom to shave slowly and take a hot shower.Fifteen minutes later, Michael, who walked out of the shadow of his son's death, returned to the bedroom.Holding a pen in his hand, he reopened the Bible and added some content under "Milestones" energetically.

On October 31, 1997, grandson Matthew Arnold Rilati was born in Toledo, Wyo; On August 27, 2006, his son Benjamin Jean O'Toole was born in Rama; Son Patrick Erin O'Toole was born in Rama on March 7, 2008; Married Simone Tiasso Walkerfield on January 6, 2016. After writing the last four lines, he closed the Bible and went to the bathroom to comb his hair again. "You're an old man, O'Toole," he said to himself, looking at his thinning gray hair in the mirror. "Too old to marry again." He recalled his first wedding 46 years ago. "At that time, I had thick, golden hair and Catherine was gorgeous. Our wedding was quite spectacular. When I couldn't help crying when Catherine came out from the other end of the church."

The photo shows Catherine walking slowly from the other side of the church, holding her father's arm.Thinking of Catherine, Michael couldn't help crying.He was going to join the other members of the "Newton" by plane, and flight LEO-3 was about to take off. "Take care!" said Catherine, and bid him an affectionate farewell.They hug each other tightly. "I'm proud of you, honey," she whispered in his ear, "I love you so much." "Because I love you very much." When Michael asked Simone why she married him if she really wanted to marry him, she answered the same way.The face of Simone jumped into his mind gently, and the memory of Catherine gradually faded from his mind. "You're so pure you can be trusted, Simone. You wouldn't even have a date back on Earth. You'd be a little girl there."

The thirteen years at La Marie flashed through his mind, and he recalled the difficulty of Nicole giving birth to Simone, the glory of Simone's first cries, and the tenderness of his placing her in her mother's arms. Stomach scene.Then Michael seemed to see the six-year-old Simone studying the Bible seriously under his teaching, and the healthy Simone who was humming happy songs and jumping rope with Katie.Michael seemed to see the family having a picnic by the seaside of the columns in Rama again, and Simone stood proudly beside Ben, like Ben's protecting angel. "She was a young woman when we got to Nord," thought General O'Toole, his thoughts racing to some recent events. "Simone was so devout that children younger than her always So patient, so selfless, no one could have made Ben more happy than her."

Michael was immersed in his infinite admiration for Simone. This feeling was different from that of a man about to marry a woman. It felt more admiration and love.However, there is no doubt that this is love!It is this kind of love that creates a deep bond between two mismatched people. "I'm a very lucky man," thought Michael after changing his clothes. "God has shown many miracles in my life." In the main room of the apartment, Nicole is dressing Simone.Simone didn't wear a traditional wedding dress, but it was white and elegant, with elastic on the shoulders.This is completely different from the normal casual clothes that people wear every day. Nicole combed her daughter's shiny black hair carefully.She looked at Simone in the mirror and said, "You look stunning." Nicole looked at his watch. There were still ten minutes left. "Honey, it's time for us to get out," Nicole choked out. Simone sat happily on the bed while her mother carefully helped her into her beautiful black shoes. When Nicole mentioned that she wanted to talk to her daughter about the relationship between men and women, Simone stared at her mother for a long time and said calmly: "I guessed it from your nervous expression and the worry that Michael didn't say but showed. What are you going to tell me. Don't worry, mom, I won't ask for anything unreasonable. We didn't get married for sex. It's just this last week that we shook hands occasionally. I don't have much experience other than that. No matter what Everything is new and wonderful to me." Looking at her fully grown 13-year-old daughter, Nicole smiled. "You are a rare asset," she said, with tears in her eyes. "Thank you," Simone replied, hugging her mother. "Remember that my marriage with Michael is God's arrangement. No matter what difficulties we face, we will pray and God will help us. We will be fine." "There's a week left, and I'll never see this lovely daughter again," thought Nicole, feeling a sudden pang of pain in her heart.She hugged Simone excitedly until Richard knocked on the door and told her everyone was getting ready for the wedding.