Mary was running late. She lived in a room of her own, but shared a bathroom with six other people, and the bathroom always seemed to be occupied. When she returned from the bathroom, the babysitter sat on her bed. "Mary, I've been waiting for you for five minutes."
"I'm sorry," said Mary, "I wanted to take a shower, but I couldn't get into the bathroom." ”
"It's already eleven o'clock," said the babysitter, "and the money you've given me only keeps me until noon, and I still need to go to another place at twelve o'clock, so you'd better not come back late." ”
Mary thanked the babysitter. She kissed the baby's head.
"Obedient." She said.
Mary ran across campus to the English Department. She ran up the stairs. When she arrived, her teacher was already leaving. "Mary, I was leaving, thinking you wouldn't come. Come in. ”
Mary entered the office. The teacher took out Mary's homework and put it on her desk. "Mary," said the teacher, "you used to get an A, and now you fail every class. ”
"I'm sorry," said Mary, "I'll try to do better in the future." ”
"Has anything changed in your life?" The teacher asked, "You used to be one of our best students." ”
"Nothing." Mary said. She bit her lip.
"You have a scholarship to this college. But you're already in trouble because you've been doing bad grades for a while, and if I had told the Academy, they'd probably cancel your scholarship or at least take you off school for a while. ”
"Please don't say it!" Mary pleaded, "I have nowhere to go. I have no other financial resources than scholarships. ”
"It's for your own good, Mary. You should go home and adjust yourself. Christmas is two weeks away. Your parents will understand. ”
Mary was fifteen minutes late to return to the dormitory. When Mary entered the house, the babysitter frowned. "Mary," said the babysitter, "you're late again!" Once you're late, I'm going to be late for what I'm going to do. Sorry, I love this baby, but I don't think I can help you with the baby anymore. ”
Mary took the child from the babysitter. "All right. She said.
"Also," said Park Chong, a temporary nanny, "I've seen the children three times before."
Godly you haven't paid me yet. Ten dollars an hour, so thirty dollars. ”
Can I pay you next time? Mary asked, "I would have liked to come back
Ye Shunlu went to the automated teller machine (ATM), but I didn't have time. ”
The babysitter made a grimace. "Just put it in an envelope with my name on it and stay in my dorm room." I really want to receive this money before Christmas, and I'm going to buy gifts. ”
Mary agreed.
"Goodbye, little baby," said the babysitter, "Merry Christmas."
The baby grunted softly.
"Do you two have any special plans for the holidays?" Babysitter asked.
"I might take her to see my mom. My mom lives in Greenwich, Connecticut, and she always makes a big Christmas tree, cooks delicious dinners, and has lots of gifts for me and Myra. ”
"It sounds really good." Babysitter said.
Mary put the baby in her back towel and walked to the bank. She checked her account balance with her ATM card, which contained $75.17. She withdrew forty dollars and went into the bank to exchange for change.
She put thirty dollars in an envelope with the name of the babysitter written on it, bought a subway ticket, and sat down at the terminal. That area was not as beautiful as the area around the academy where Mary had gone.
Mary walked down the street to a dilapidated house with a thick wire mesh fence in front of it. There was a dog in the yard, chained to a pillar, and it barked at the baby, and the baby cried.
"Don't be afraid, baby," said Mary, "that dog can't bite you." ”
They went into the house. The house was dirty, full of small children and they were dirty too. The children were noisy and of all ages. Some of them are in wheelchairs and some have disabilities.
"Hi Mary," said a disabled girl, "have you come here for a thousand?" ”
"I'll come to see my mother." Mary said. "She's upstairs. She was uncomfortable. "Thank you."
"Mary, is that your baby?" The disabled girl asked. "No." Mary said. She bit her lip. "I'm just looking after a friend."
"How about Harvard?" The disabled girl asked.
"It was very good." Mary said.
"I dare say you are A in every subject."
Mary shrugged.
"You're always so modest, Mary. Are you still on the swim team? Mary shrugged again. She went upstairs to see "Mom."
"Mom" was a fat, morbidly white woman. Mary was a skinny black girl. "Mom" could not have been Mary's birth mother.
"Hi Mom," mary said, "Merry Christmas." Mary kissed the fat woman's cheek.
"Hi Mary, Miss College Student, I didn't expect you to go back to your foster home."
"Yes."
"That's your baby?" "Mom, "Mom, asked.
Mary sighed. "Yes."
"It's a pity," said Mom, "that a smart girl like you has made a mess of her life." Didn't you tell you not to go to bed? Didn't you tell you to always take protective measures? ”
"Yes, Mom." Mary bit her lip, "Mom, is it okay for me and the baby to stay here for a while?" I've decided to take a break from school for a while to adjust my life. That helped me a lot. ”
"Oh, Mary. Wish I could help, but it's already full of people. I don't have room to stay in for you. To me, you're older, and Massachusetts won't pay me a check for you.
"Mom, I don't have anywhere else to go."
"Feng Li, I think you should do this. You should contact your baby's father. ＂
Mary shook her head. "I don't really know him that well."
"In that case, I think you should give the baby to someone else."
Mary shook her head. "I can't do that either."
Mary returned to her dormitory. She packed a bag for the baby and stuffed an Emma-filled toy into the bag. A girl who lived in the downstairs hallway entered Mary's room.
"Hi Mary, where are you going?"
Mary smiled brightly. "I want to go to the beach," she said, "and the baby loves the beach." ”
"Isn't it a little cold to go to the beach now?" The girl asked.
"It's not very cold," said Mary, "and my baby and I will put on our warmest clothes." Also, the beach in winter is really nice. ”
The girl shrugged. "Maybe."
"When I was a kid, my father would take me to the beach all year round."
Mary put the envelope in the babysitter's quarters. On the train
At the station, she used her credit card to buy train and boat tickets to Alice Island.
"Babies don't need to buy tickets." The ticket inspector told Mary.
"All right," Mary said.
After arriving at Alice Island, the first place Mary saw was a bookstore. She went into the bookstore so she and her baby could warm up. There was a man at the counter, who acted impatiently and wore a pair of Converse sneakers.
Christmas music is playing in bookstores. The song was "Happy Little Christmas to You."
"It's a sad song I hear," one customer said, "it's the saddest song I've ever heard." How could anyone write such a sad Christmas song? ”
"I'm looking for something to read." Mary said.
The man was slightly less impatient. "What kind of books do you like?"
"Oh, all kinds of books, but my favorite is the kind of book in which the characters have difficulties, but they have overcome them. I know that life is not like this, and maybe because of this, it is my favorite thing to watch. ”
The book seller said he had a book that was absolutely suitable for her, but by the time he got it, Mary was gone. "Miss?"
He kept the book on the counter in case Mary decided to return.
Mary was on the beach, but the baby wasn't with her. She was a member of the swimming team and excelled, winning state championships in middle school. On that day, the waves were raging, the water was cold, and Mary had neglected to practice earlier.
She swam out, swam past the lighthouse, and she didn't swim back.
finish
Excerpt from "The Island Bookstore"
