Dad’s now with another family! The New Year passed with tears in our eyes…
I seldom saw Dad, and when I did, it was by chance…
Once, my parents deeply loved each other. Their feelings were genuine and strong, and they spent nearly 15 years together. I was born into this family as their only son.
When I was eight, Mom sat across from me one day, silent for a long time, and then took a deep breath and said, “Son, your dad loves another woman now. It’s going to be just the two of us…”
I couldn’t grasp what that meant. How could someone just leave? To me, it seemed impossible for parents to stop loving each other since family should last forever. I waited for Dad to change his mind, to come back… But he never did.
Mom worked tirelessly to ensure we had everything we needed. She took on two jobs at once because her pride wouldn’t allow her to accept Dad’s money. She claimed she could handle it, but I saw her sitting by the window late at night, lost in thought. Probably reflecting on the past. Or wondering how we would move forward.
And Dad… He had a new life. There was another woman there and her daughter, who was about my age. He probably loved them. Perhaps they laughed together, took walks, went on holidays, and celebrated occasions at beautifully set tables. All I had were rare chance encounters, which felt like a shadow of my former life.
The same thing happened at the end of last year.
After a dull and gloomy Christmas, Mom and I took a walk around the city. She pretended to be cheerful, saying the air felt special, like a holiday. But I could see the sadness in her eyes. We entered shops, looked at displays, but bought nothing. We had little money, and Mom pretended we didn’t need anything.
We paused outside a jeweler’s. I stared at the glimmering shop windows until I suddenly recognized a familiar figure.
Dad.
He stood by the counter, smiling and choosing, carefully inspecting boxes of gold rings and bracelets. I wanted to call out to him but froze when I saw the woman next to him. Her daughter was excitedly admiring a new ring as Dad paid for it.
He gave them gifts… At that moment, I realized: he truly had another family. He was happy with them, and it seemed he no longer thought about us.
I tugged at Mom’s hand, silently gesturing toward the shop with my eyes.
Mom saw them. I felt her fingers tense. She quickly turned away and kept walking as if nothing had happened.
We went back home. Our fridge held few items; Mom took some mince and a few potatoes and made a cottage pie. I sat at the table in silence.
We saw in the New Year together. Outside, the city echoed with fireworks, people cheered each other, but we just sat there. Each in our own corner, lost in our own thoughts.
Holidays used to be so different. We used to be a family.
But why did we both have tears in our eyes?
