He had thought about it a thousand times, but it had never come true. When he finally gave up, it suddenly happened. Wearing his soaking wet slippers, he sat down slowly, listening to the voice on the other end of the phone.

"…Alright, then please come to pick up Ms. Grant as soon as possible. We’ll send you an electronic copy of the necessary paperwork first..."

After hanging up, he sat in a daze for a while before he noticed the cold, wet feeling on his feet. He got up to change his clothes, and as he passed the mirror, he couldn’t help but stop and look at himself. Staring at the old man in the mirror, Brian Carter thought to himself, how could she possibly accept an old man with white hair like this?

He felt the bittersweet ache of the phrase “nervous to return home,” but he still hurried to pick her up.

Before pushing open the door of the service center, he was still wondering, what if Alice Grant couldn’t accept it? Then he thought, if she couldn’t, there was nothing he could do. He was already old—what else could he do? In that instant, he was ready for anything, prepared to accept any choice or reaction from Alice Grant.

But when he opened the door and saw Alice Grant sitting there, he forgot all about it. He brought her home, watched her lying on the sofa, and the chaos in his heart since receiving the call finally calmed down.

No matter what, Alice Grant was alive and well, and hadn’t suffered any of the hardships he had imagined. That was enough.

He finally let go of a heavy burden he’d carried for forty years.

His “heavy burden” was now playing games outside, the swishing sound effects drifting into the kitchen, rhythmic and lively.

The four characters of “heavy burden”—with the heaviness gone, only the burden remained, still tugging at his heart, refusing to let go.

Brian Carter washed his hands and took out an onion to chop.

In the living room, Alice Grant keenly smelled the onion. She jumped up, tiptoed to the kitchen door, and peeked inside, making a couple of pici-pici sounds. She saw Old Carter turn his head at the sound, revealing the goggles he was wearing.

Impressive—he was wearing goggles to chop onions now. Alice Grant quietly balled up a tissue in her hand, casually returned to the living room, and with a toss, threw the little tissue ball into the trash can—bullseye.

“Am I still sleeping upstairs?” Alice Grant asked during dinner.

“Yes,” said Mr. Carter, as if he hadn’t caught the meaning behind her words.

“…Do people just turn into stubborn old men when they get old?” Under the table, Alice Grant kicked her slipper over to Brian Carter.

Mr. Carter glanced at the slipper that landed by his feet—the new, plush, grass-green slipper had flipped over. He swallowed his food and answered good-naturedly, “Yes.”

Alice Grant scooped a big spoonful of onions for the stubborn old man across from her.

Chapter 8

Jenny Parker stayed with Alice Grant for a few days before getting ready to leave. She and her husband were helping their younger son take care of his child. While they were away these past few days, the child was left with the nanny and ended up getting sick. Both Jenny Parker and her husband were worried. On top of that, Jenny Parker herself had gotten a bit too worked up these days and wasn’t feeling well. Her usual doctor wasn’t around, so Alice Grant told them to go back.

Jenny Parker held Alice Grant’s hand apologetically. “When the child gets better, we’ll come see you again and spend more time with you.”

Alice Grant smiled and said, “No need. You should focus on taking care of yourself and not wear yourself out. If you miss me, we can just video chat. The technology these days is so real, it’s like being there in person. I think that’s pretty great.”

Grandma Jenny Parker pouted, “Are you saying I’m too old for you?”

Unbelievable—she was already a grandma, but when she pouted, she still looked just like that little friend Alice Grant met in kindergarten. Some say that no matter how old a woman gets, she’s always a child in front of her loved ones. But Alice Grant thought this was true for best friends too. Look at Jenny Parker now—she was still a playful girl at heart.

Alice Grant made no effort to hide her look of mock disgust, but said, “How could I? I don’t even mind old Jiang, how could I possibly mind my dear Little Jenny!”

Before boarding, Jenny Parker looked back at Alice Grant reluctantly. “If only you could come visit me at my house.”

That wasn’t possible, because Alice Grant had a six-month observation period and couldn’t leave the country during that time.

“Alright, when I can go abroad, I’ll come visit you,” Alice Grant said. Only then did Jenny Parker cheer up a bit. As her husband called her away, she kept looking back at Alice Grant with every step, as if she’d never see her again. Watching her friend walk away, Alice Grant thought that maybe Jenny Parker was remembering the day she disappeared all those years ago.

Not long before she went out to buy groceries, she’d gotten a call from Jenny Parker. They’d planned to see a new movie and go shopping, just like many times before, but that time, she disappeared. In the forty years she was missing, besides Brian Carter, Jenny Parker also suffered a lot. Even if she didn’t think about her every moment, whenever she did, it must have hurt.

Like a thorn, stuck in the heart.

“I’ll come visit you!” Alice Grant suddenly shouted. She saw Grandma Jenny Parker jump up on the other side and wave at her energetically, looking very happy.