七夕快樂

七夕快樂

One day when we were buying groceries in a Chinese supermarket, we bumped into a lady who used to own a Chinese restaurant. I introduced my wife to her. The nice lady in her early fifties said warmly, “You are so beautiful! Your husband used to be my patron. He seemed quite lonely in the past. He’s lucky to have you!” I felt happy, and also slightly embarrassed at such a remark…

I still remember those days when I ate dinners alone. I usually went to her restaurant with a copy of a free local Chinese paper, for eating alone brought me occasionally uncomfortable self-consciousness . I flipped the pages, and skimmed those self-congratulatory awards and parties of the local Chinese celebrities – while chewing the greasy food. Reading those stories, I liked to entertain myself smugly with a theory that loneliness inside the marginalized immigrant community was the driving force behind all the fuss... Well, when I thought I was reading other people's "loneliness", I never suspected the hostess actually looked through the newspaper, and witnessed my solitude.

But those days are history. The restaurant was closed. I don’t dine alone. I don't eat any greasy food. I don’t read the local Chinese newspaper either (the ink stain on fingers are not healthy anyway). It’s all because of my wife... Thank you, dear! 有妳真好！