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Chapter 6
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Always the Guest Chapter 9
A year later, I bought a house again.Fifty-four square meters, with two bedrooms and a living room.It was not as cheap as the first place I had fallen in love with, but sunlight reached the balcony.On the day I signed the contract, I sent Mom the address.She arrived half an hour early.From beginning to end, she did not negotiate with the real estate agent on my behalf or make a single decision for me without asking.I asked her, "Is the kitchen a little small?"Only then did she step inside to take a look. "It is big enough for one person.""What about the natural light?""As long as you like it, that is what matters."After I paid the down payment, she stood outside the bank for a long time.Finally, she said only, "It's nice."Over the past year, they really had changed.When Robert asked again whether Ronald could stay at their house, Dad told him, "It doesn't matter if you ask Caleb."That is his room."We won't agree on his behalf."When another relative asked
Always the Guest Chapter 8
A little over a month later, my parents visited my rented apartment for the first time.Before coming over, Dad asked me three times."Is three o'clock convenient?"Would you like us to come a little earlier?"If you are tired today, we can come another day."At 3:05, the doorbell rang. I opened the door, Mom stood outside. Instead of reaching for the doorknob as she always used to, she asked first."May we come in?"I stepped aside to let them enter.Dad was carrying two cardboard boxes filled with the photo albums, certificates, and old books I had left at home. Resting on top was a small wooden sign.[Caleb's Little Room.]I picked it up and could not help smiling."You still had this?"When I was ten, I had made it out of a scrap of wood. The letters were crooked, and beside them was a drawing of something that barely looked like a flower.Dad's eyes reddened."We found it at the very back of the balcony."Mom sat down on my folding chair.My thirty-six-square-meter
Always the Guest Chapter 7
Dad dug out the old ledger again.At first, he had only wanted to account for the two hundred thousand.On the first page were my earnings from the year I graduated. He had recorded every amount with great care.[April: $3,000.][May: $3,200.][June bonus: $2,000.]As the pages went on, the numbers grew larger, but his handwriting became messier. Every now and then, a few small notes appeared in the margins.[Lent Aunt Julia $15,000.][Paid Ronald's $6,000 training fee in advance.][Aunt Lily's car payment: $20,000.]At first, Dad kept tapping numbers into his calculator. Eventually, he stopped.When he turned to one particular page, his hand suddenly froze.It was from the New Year in my second year at work. My year-end bonus had been $12,000. He remembered it clearly because it was the first time I had received a bonus of more than ten thousand.I had been over the moon that day.After I transferred the money to him, he had even taken a screenshot of my bank balance and
Always the Guest Chapter 6
Mom did not truly realize something was wrong until half a month later.At eight that evening, the doorbell rang.My mother's second-oldest brother, Uncle Robert, stood outside with his son, Ronald Zeller, and two large suitcases at their feet."The training program starts early now."We will be staying here for half a month."Mom stared at them in surprise."Staying at our place?"Robert looked even more confused than she did."Wasn't that what you said?"When Ronald comes over here, we don't need to book a hotel. We can just stay with you."Mom had indeed said that.At the last family gathering, Robert had complained about how expensive hotels downtown were. Without hesitation, she had assured him that everything would be taken care of."We've room at home."Why waste money on something like that?"In the past, she had never needed to think twice before saying things like that.No matter how many relatives showed up, there was always a way to make room for them in the
Always the Guest Chapter 5
In the family photo, I stood at the very edge.Mom's face was flushed from drinking, and had one arm resting on Michael's shoulder.After the picture was taken, she tugged at me."Smile."You are a grown man. Stop looking so miserable."So, I smiled.We got home at ten thirty that night.Mom had drunk too much, so Dad and I helped her into the bedroom. Before she lay down, she grabbed my hand."Caleb. I will buy you an even better house someday." Her words were slurred. "Don't hold a grudge against me over this little bit of money."I gently tucked her hand back under the blanket."Go to sleep."At eleven twenty, the moving company arrived downstairs.I did not take the bed, the desk, or the cabinets because my parents had bought those. I packed only my clothes, books, certificates, and a few things I had paid for myself.Michael heard the commotion and came out. He looked startled."Caleb, what are you doing?""Moving out."His face changed instantly. "Is this because
Always the Guest Chapter 4
Before the engagement banquet began, Mom pulled me aside into the hallway again."When Michael comes over later, I will bring up the money." She unscrewed a bottle of water for me. "There will be a lot of people here today."Don't make an ugly scene."I nodded.Only then did she smile."I knew you would understand the bigger picture."Twenty minutes into the engagement banquet, Aunt picked up her wineglass and stood."For my first toast tonight, I absolutely have to thank my husband's older sister!"Her face was already flushed from drinking."Two hundred thousand! She handed it over just like that, without even blinking!""Even I, her own mother, could never be as generous as she is!"The table immediately burst into chatter."A sister-in-law who'd go this far for her family? You cannot ask for more than that!"They are siblings, after all. When it really matters, family is who you can count on!"Yvonne, you had better remember to thank your aunt properly for this!"At
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