1: 1
At the engagement party, I had barely walked into the hall when I saw my grandmother, who had dementia, crouched on the floor like a dog.
Sybilla Winfield's student, Malcolm Weiss, was laughing as he tossed candy onto the floor and shouted at her.
"Crawl around the table once and bark twice, and I'll give you a treat."
"No hands. Pick it up with your mouth."
Grandma's knees were trembling with pain, but she still did as she was told.
She lay on the floor and picked up the candy with her mouth, like a dog, and Malcolm roared with laughter.
It was only when she saw me that she scrambled to gather the candy off the floor, one piece at a time.
She even forgot to stand. She shuffled over to me on her knees and held out her hands, offering them up like treasure.
"Nicky."
"Have some candy. Candy, sweet!"
I was shaking with rage. I rushed over and drove my fist into Malcolm's face.
But Sybilla stepped in front of him at once, frowning as she blamed me.
"Malcolm studies rehabilitation science. He was only running command training with Grandma."
"Besides, your grandmother can't remember anything. She'll forget in a few minutes."
"Do you really have to lose it at your own engagement party and embarrass everyone?"
Grandma didn't understand.
She only pushed the candy toward my mouth and repeated, eager to please,
"Eat it, Nicky."
"Eat it and don't cry."
She had already forgotten why she was kneeling on the floor, yet she still remembered that when I cried as a boy, one piece of candy was enough to comfort me.
I swallowed that dust-covered candy and didn't argue with Sybilla anymore.
I just helped Grandma up, and as we left, I sent a message to the wedding planner.
【Cancel the wedding in three days. Keep the deposit.】
They wrote back quickly, asking if I'd sent it by mistake.
I looked back once.
Sybilla was still checking the bruise on Malcolm's face. She hadn't even noticed that I'd already left.
I replied calmly: 【No mistake.】
This wedding I had spent an entire year preparing.
There was no reason to go through with it anymore.
1
After we got home, it took a long time of soothing before Grandma finally fell asleep.
At eleven that night, Sybilla came back.
She set a tube of ointment on the nightstand, sat down beside me, and softened her voice.
"Grandma's knees are just surface scrapes. A few days of ointment and they'll heal."
"Malcolm just took the game too far today."
"I've already reprimanded him. And I won't hold it against you for hitting him."
Sybilla poured me a glass of warm water, just like she always had, and explained patiently.
Every time we fought, this was how she coaxed me.
When Malcolm deliberately botched my injections a dozen times, jabbing the needle in crooked, she talked me down the same way, saying he was inexperienced and I should cut him some slack.
On the night of my birthday, Malcolm claimed something had gone wrong with the lab data and pulled Sybilla away for the entire night; when she came back, all she said was that it was his first time running a project on his own, and the pressure was too much.
But after every time, there was always a next time.
Sybilla probably really believed that as long as she softened her voice and coaxed me a little.
No matter how angry I was, I would end up finding her a reason to be forgiven first.
Seeing that I didn't argue, her expression eased.
"All right, that's the end of it."
"I know you won't hold a grudge against a young student."
She was waiting for me to say never mind, the way I always had.
But I only lowered my eyes and answered calmly,
"Fine."
Sybilla visibly relaxed.
Before she could say anything, her phone suddenly rang.
Malcolm's frantic voice came through the speaker.
"Dr. Winfield, my mom just got dizzy all of a sudden. I don't know what to do."
Sybilla stood up at once.
"Don't panic."
"Take her to the hospital first. I'm on my way."
After she hung up, she picked up the coat she had just taken off.
Before leaving, she still remembered to turn back and remind me,
"Get some sleep."
"If you look worn out on the wedding day, the photos won't turn out well."
I didn't remind her.
The wedding in three days had already been canceled.
