father - home

I didn't leave for a long time, but when I returned to the restaurant, I found that the family banquet welcoming Joseph had become a candlelight dinner for Joseph and me.Although I fully understand my mother's good intentions, I can't appreciate her, and I can't hate her, I just feel helpless.

"Marty," Joseph quickly stood up and explained when he saw me enter the door. "Madam said they are all used up...let me...wait for you."

I waved my hand, relaxed my frown, and sat down in my seat opposite Joseph.The plates had been changed and the cutlery rearranged.I'm sure the current seating arrangement wasn't Joseph's idea, and he'd prefer to sit next to me rather than face to face with me.But does it make a difference?

What matters is the mood.At this moment, all the careful arrangements: candlelight, flowers, and fine wine seemed so clumsy and out of place.Joseph must have felt the same way, but for a different reason.

This was the first time he sat in this restaurant to eat, and he was completely unprepared to enjoy the world of two with sympathizers.Joseph is an honest man who strictly abides by the code of conduct that no reward for no merit. This sudden good fortune made him restless.

"Have you finished it?" I smiled and took a sip of my wine.

"Huh?" Joseph kept looking at me.

In front of Joseph was the untouched dessert.I lifted my chin. "If you eat well, let's go out for a walk."

"But you...you haven't eaten anything yet."

I picked up the wine bottle on the dining table, "This is enough."

I stood up and walked out. Joseph hurriedly stuffed the dessert into his mouth in two bites, and followed closely without even taking the wine glass.

I also didn't take the wine glass, because I didn't need it.

The outside is not as dark as I imagined, but in fact it is very bright. Although there is no moonlight, it is full of stars, as if countless mirrors reflect the moonlight to every corner of the night sky, and the row of gas street lamps are actually on.Mother actually lit it up, which marks today is a holiday, but whose holiday is it?How many people feel happy?I smiled wryly and took a sip from the bottle.

"Look at that! Marty! Ma'am turned on all the lights!" Joseph saw it too, looked back at me excitedly, walked around the fountain, and walked quickly to the streetlight.When he turned his head, his eyes flickered, cheerful and surprised, like a teenager, and my bitter expression was just blocked by the wine bottle raised in front of me, so he probably didn't notice it.

Joseph stood under a street lamp, hooked the cast iron lamp post with one hand, stared up, and slowly circled around the lamp post.From the age of 18 until joining the army, it is Joseph's responsibility to light these gas street lamps every Christmas or other events.The light illuminated his face, which was gentle, solemn, affectionate, and a little sad. "After I joined the army, I never saw these street lights turned on again."

"That's because you came back at the wrong time. Every Christmas, Mr. Reininger will light these street lights himself." I walked up to Joseph and handed him the bottle, remembering the last time I went home on Christmas Eve, from the mountain road When I went up and down, I saw this row of gas street lamps from a distance, and tears welled up at that moment, blurring my vision. "Now there are fewer activities in the manor, and they are only lit at Christmas."

"Then today..."

"Today is a day of reunion, and its meaning is the same as Christmas." When I said this, I moved my arms instinctively, wanting to embrace the person in front of me. If he was Zhao, I would hold him in my arms kissed his eyes, told him what these gas lamps meant—waiting, expecting, guiding, reuniting.

Joseph raised his head and took a sip of the wine, then handed the bottle back to me. "Christmas, you know only officials can get holidays on Christmas."

We talked and walked, you took a sip and I took a sip, taking turns drinking from the bottle.

"Are you all right? Are you suffering?"

"No... I didn't suffer much. I'm a groom, and I don't take part in the battle directly. And because of the lightning and the cloud, I'm under General Rudolph now."

"Really? The general wants them."

"You know there are no cavalry now. In the beginning, all the horses were assigned to pull the cannon. The work was so hard and tiring that the horses were exhausted. Fortunately, our horses are all purebred and beautiful, officer. They all liked it when they saw it, and finally nine horses were asked by the officers to make their own mounts. Lightning was the most beautiful, and General Rudolph took it away after seeing it."

Lightning is the father of Yinjian. It is white all over without a single hair. During the race, every time it crosses the finish line, it looks like a bolt of lightning across the sky.

"What about the cloud?" I asked.Yun is the mother of Yinjian, and it got its name because of its gray and white fur, which resembles the clouds in the sky.

"The general only wanted a horse at first, and I didn't dare to mention it to him. Three days later, the general's adjutant came to me and said that Lightning was irritable and didn't eat at all. The general said that if he couldn't tame it, he would kill it. The adjutant was reluctant and came to ask me what was going on. I told him it was because of the lightning miss cloud."

"So the general wants to leave Yun and ask you to take care of them?"

"Yes." Joseph lowered his head and smiled, as if thinking of his own child.

We had a few sips of wine together and smiled at each other.I am relieved that Joseph's life in the army is stable.

"What about the other horses? The ones that weren't led by the officers?"

Joseph hesitated, his eyes flickering under the streetlight. "Also...well...of course..."

"Joseph?" I looked sideways at him, he couldn't fool me.

"Everything else is fine, but... Root and Zoe are dead. I heard that they were pulling a cannon into the position together, and a stray bullet flew..."

"They didn't suffer, did they?"

"The person who told me said that he was not punished and died on the spot."

"It's a good thing you're not here." I breathed a sigh of relief.Root was the stallion, the youngest, just grown when he left, and Joseph took care of him most.If Joseph had not gone to the general, he would have been with Root.

"I looked for them afterwards, but couldn't find them."

Joseph's voice dropped.I put my arm around his shoulders. "I finally saw you, and finally saw you well." I choked up a little.

Joseph, too, bowed his head and leaned towards me. "sorry."

"I'm the one who's sorry. If I had taken responsibility earlier, they wouldn't have been able to force father, these horses wouldn't have been taken away, and you wouldn't have left..." I gradually lost my voice, how could I take responsibility?Join the SS earlier?Be part of the ruling group?Do more outrageous things?

"No! Marty, it's not your fault."

Joseph was next to me and felt me ​​trembling, so he wrapped his arms around my waist.

I wanted to get rid of him, but I couldn't push him away. I lifted the bottle and drank it dry, shaking it, and by the dim light, it seemed that the bottle was empty.I was about to throw it away, but Joseph grabbed it, "There are more."

I obediently turned the bottle upside down, and put the mouth of the bottle against the tip of my tongue. Sure enough, there was still a little bit of mellow cognac. I rolled the cognac on the tip of my tongue into my mouth, and caught the last drop with my lower lip.

Joseph took the bottle away and licked the juice from my lips with the tip of his tongue.His momentum was great, and his breathing was heavy. I was pushed back into the lamp post by him, and my head was fixed between the lamp post and his lips.I tried to push him away but he couldn't move at all, I wanted to tell him to stop, his mouth was completely covered without a gap.The strong smell of smoke and alcohol entered my nostrils, making it hard for me to breathe.I looked up at the high gas street lamp, where there was a loyal moth fluttering its wings firmly. When I was suffocated to the point of falling down, Joseph's lips finally left and kissed my neck downward.I looked at the moth and murmured: "You said, we are like moths to a flame."

"No," Joseph muttered, "it should be the Phoenix Nirvana now."

My mouth was covered again.My spine and the back of my head are against the lamppost, which supports me to stand.I looked up and stared at the only moth flying towards the light without complaint or regret, and then heard "嗤啦啦", the sound of scorching wings, and a faint fragrance floated in the air.

"It's dead." I squeezed two words between my teeth.

Joseph froze for a moment, held my head in both hands, put his face ten centimeters in front of me, and stared at me blankly...

"It was burned to death and never resurrected."

After a while, I looked away and smiled at Joseph. "what time is it?"