Chapter 1

“Aiden, what are you doing?”

I frantically grabbed a tissue to wipe my face.

Aiden, however, stood with his hands on his hips, laughing heartily. Then he rattled off a string of foreign words.

I caught the last word clearly. Back in the war, the enemy used to hurl that insult at us.

Senior NCO said it meant “idiot.”

My heart sank. Still, I held back and spoke patiently, “Aiden, I don’t understand what you’re saying. Now that you’re back home, can we speak English?”

Aiden arrogantly rolled his eyes hard.

“You can’t even speak our language? That’s so lame! And you smell bad. There’s no way I’m sitting with you! Dad, I want to switch seats!”

My son, Wayne, and daughter-in-law, Lily, were huddled while together looking at their phones, chatting and laughing. They acted as if nothing had happened.

My expression darkened. Finally, I could not hold back and said, “Aiden, I don’t have any say over how you’ve run wild overseas. But now that you’re back, there are rules to follow. When you talk to an elder, show some respect. You don’t yell at people, and you most certainly don’t splash hot soup on them.”

As soon as I said that, Wayne seemed to regain his hearing. He frowned at me and said, “Dad, what’s your problem? Aiden’s only eight years old. Why are you picking a fight with a little kid?”

Lily chimed in as well.

“Exactly, Dad. You’re being way too harsh! He’s just a kid. He doesn’t know any better. Couldn’t you just talk to him nicely? You’ve such a bad temper. No wonder Aiden doesn’t want to sit with you.”

I gripped the tablecloth in disbelief.

“I have a bad temper? He splashed hot soup on my face. Did you all just ignore that?”

Wayne waved his hand impatiently.

“It was just soup. It didn’t even scald you.

“Besides, Aiden has a point. Look at you. You don’t even know the basics of the language. You can’t even have a proper conversation with him.

“Other grandfathers all over the world are bilingual or even trilingual. They can play football and do crafts with their grandchildren.

“But look at you. Besides cooking, you just sit there smoking. That’s it. You’re useless.”

Aiden became more emboldened. He pointed at me and said, “Exactly! If you weren’t so stubborn about staying alive, Grandma Sloane and Grandpa Wallace could’ve come back years ago and lived in a big house!”

I was dumbfounded.

“Your grandmother died decades ago. What do you mean, come back? And who is Grandpa Wallace?”

“You’re the one who’s dead!”

Aiden jumped up and down in frustration.

“Grandma Sloane is alive and well. She has so many fancy designer bags. And Grandpa Wallace buys me remote-controlled planes.

“He’s not like you. Your face is all scarred up. You’ve got a limp. You smell bad. You can’t even give me a decent gift!”

I still refused to believe it.

I took note of Wayne’s unruffled expression. Only then did it slowly dawn on me.

I stared at him as my fingers trembled.

“Wayne… is what Aiden said true? Your mother never died back then. She ran off with that Wallace fellow, didn’t she?”

“Dad, don’t be so harsh. What do you mean, ‘ran off with someone?’

“Mom and Wallace chose each other. They are truly in love.

“Your marriage with Mom was arranged anyway. She was unhappy with you. What’s wrong with her finding her own happiness?”

They chose each other?

I was instantly enraged. I slammed the table.

“She ran off with another man while she was still married to me. That’s called cheating. Spare me the happiness talk. She got off easy! She could just walk away and leave you for me to raise on my own.

“You’ve known she was alive this whole time, haven’t you?”

Wayne’s expression darkened. He set his phone down heavily on the table.

“Dad, why don’t you get it? After all these years, you’re still picking at every little thing. You’re so narrow-minded. No wonder Mom chose to fake her death rather than stay married to you.”

Those words hit me hard. My vision started to blur as I stood there rigidly.

Wayne stormed out and slammed the door after he said that.

When he came back, he had brought someone with him.

“Mom, is it cold out? Come in and sit down.”