Love England

3.

Mr Thornton has been in 21st-century America for four months, and the 19th-century suit he always wore was put in a suitcase he bought after his first paycheck here.Mr. Thornton's first job here was found by Lester. Lester was a truck driver for a logistics company, and Mr. Thornton was a porter, sometimes an escort with Lester. Fortunately, Mr. Thornton Mr. Dunn's experience as an apprentice in a factory when he was a child made him feel that such a job was not too difficult.Although it is a bit strange to transform from a factory owner into a worker who relies solely on physical strength, this is something Mr. Thornton has to accept, because everything in the time and space he is now in is strange to him, He felt so ignorant that he had to learn everything from scratch like a baby toddler in order to support himself.Fortunately, he learned quickly. He learned how to make a phone call, how to use a computer easily, and he no longer fussed about the images on the TV.In this new time and space, few people call him Mr. Thornton. Everyone calls him John, which is a kind and common name. Although Margaret always called him Mr. Thornton at first, But after two months, she called him John like everyone else.

When John recalled how he came to this time and space in the first place, he still felt incredible, because after Margaret met him, she wanted to send him back through the door of Cali's storage room, but she found that the door was closed for some reason. was closed.Not long after this happened, when he talked with Margaret about why he came to this time and space and why he couldn't go back, he didn't come to a conclusion in the end. "Maybe you wanted to see Cali so much, so God gave you such a chance to come to the time and space where she lived!" This was Margaret's final conclusion, and the two never discussed this issue again.

At this moment, John no longer worries about whether he can go back, he just wants to find Cali now, but even Ginger doesn't know where Cali went, so how can he find it? "I said dude, you just came to the United States right now, why don't you find a place to stay first, everything can be considered in the long run, I can help you find a job, you can travel long distances with me as a partner - yes, it's guaranteed Maybe you will meet her again in which bar during the trip! Besides, Cali has promised to come to our wedding and be Ginger's bridesmaid, I don't think she will keep her word." This is John repeatedly asking Ginger With no results, her fiancé Lester finally came up with an idea, and John accepted his proposal, which is why he was able to get the current job. Not long after, Lester found John a small apartment with very cheap rent nearby. Although Margaret said that he could live with her in Cali's house, he insisted on getting it as soon as possible for the convenience of life and his scruples about Margaret. move out.

Ginger and Lester are John's greatest saviors in this time and space, and they are also his best friends in this time and space except Margaret. He likes this happy couple very much.When Margaret first introduces him to Ginger and Lester, the two are shocked as if they have seen a ghost.

"Nice to meet you, Miss Ginger."

"Your real name is John Thornton?" Ginger didn't hide her curiosity. She used to listen to Cali talking about a character named John Thornton in the novel, and she even read it under Cali's various recommendations. novel.The man in front of her was dressed in a well-tailored 19th-century suit. He was tall and handsome, but his face was rigid, his gestures were overly polite, and he had a thick British accent. He was like a man who walked out of a book Classical characters - this is obviously the Prince Charming in Cali's mind. Could it be that Cali's sad leaving here is for this man named John Thornton?

At the same time, John was also looking at the person whom Margaret called Cali's best friend—Ginger was naked, beautiful but coquettish, Lester's thick southern American accent made him feel strange, and his behavior was very loose. There was a sense of indescribable vulgarity, but gradually John found that the two of them were so warm and kind, and they knew about Cali's affairs very well. Margaret, like him, had also received a lot of care from them. , he completely gave up the prejudice at the beginning, he really likes the two people, and is also willing to accept the help of the two people.Mr. Thornton learned that Ginger and Cali were in the same situation. He often came to Ginger and Lester's house as guests. They were the happiest couple he had ever seen. Ginger was busy preparing for his wedding every day, and Margery Te often came to help.Now Margaret listens to Ginger's advice and no longer deliberately looks for Cali. She has been working hard in the orphanage, and she is still studying at a community college and wants to get a degree.

John got the most help from Lester. Every time the two of them went out for long-distance transportation together, Lester told John the story of how he fell in love with Ginger while driving. John also liked hearing these things from him very much.

"Maybe a lot of people think I'm crazy, but I really love Ginger, she knows me better than anyone in the world, she has no reservations about me, and I have never met anyone better than her I'm dead. I will work harder to fulfill her wish to complete the operation, you understand!" Lester often said these words to him, and each time he said them with love, pride and pride.Once, when John boldly asked Lester what he thought of Ginger's body, Lester replied without hesitation: "Dude, you can ask that! At the beginning, I was indeed a little awkward, but gradually I found that this is not the case at all." It's not a problem, we'll even play some new tricks - when you and Cali are together in the future, I'll teach you a few tricks!" After that, Lester winked at him, and then laughed.During the long journey, Lester did, as he had promised, accompany John to look for Cali's whereabouts in the cross-dressing bars in the passing cities, hoping to find out some news, but found nothing.He still remembers the first time Lester took him to this kind of bar: the drag dancers on the stage performed dazzling dances and sang intoxicating songs, the smoke was full of people, men and women The boundaries between the two seemed to be blurred, and he was deeply shocked by the sight of people drinking and intoxicated amidst the feasting and feasting.Thinking about Cali telling him that he wanted to escape from her original life, he really felt the meaning of her words.

In the blink of an eye, it is already May, how much John has changed in the past five months, he has grown a thick beard now, the sun in the southern United States has made his face darker, and because of work, he often carries things and even his body has become bigger. He was stronger before, and the muscle lines on his arms were clearly visible. Even Lester envied his mermaid line, and vowed to go to the gym to train a six-pack abs before the wedding to catch up with him. Ginger's wedding day is getting closer and closer, but John still has no news of Cali. Even Ginger is worried about whether Cali's promise to be her bridesmaid will be fulfilled, but no one can be more restless than John, and he starts all over again. The surrounding drag bars were searched over and over again, hoping to catch some clues of Cali from them.

4.

If a person decides to wander around the world, where will the first stop be?I really hope that I can sit in a taxi now, like the scene in many movies: the protagonist gets on the bus and irresponsibly tells the driver to go anywhere, and the taxi starts immediately, carrying the protagonist and disappearing into the distance .But the reality is not a movie scene. Taxi drivers will not pay attention to what we say about "going anywhere". Because no one will decide the destination of the trip for you.When I walked out of the house with my luggage and gave Ginger a final hug and goodbye, I didn't even know what to do with myself.I originally thought that entering my dream world of "South and North" would break me from my previous life, but with the shattering of my dream, I came back with scars, and I couldn't even bear the original life, so I had to choose to escape.With a small amount of money on my body, I came to the long-distance bus station, glanced aimlessly at the few people in the ticket hall, and saw a poster of a vast cotton field on the wall. This hint made me I decided on my destination right away, and half an hour later I left Campbell, Kentucky, on a coach bound for Tennessee.

Looking at the constantly changing scenery outside the car window, the best memories of my hometown gradually emerged in my mind: Although there are no crops growing on the farm at this time, the vast fields are reflected in the beautiful and warm sunshine, even in winter. The sun is still so warm and lovely. The warehouse next to the farmhouse is where I used to play when I was a child. I don’t know if it still stands there... Yes, go home—it seems like I haven’t returned to my hometown for half a century. Where there was too much pain and joy, I suddenly felt that I was always escaping, from one place to another, without a fixed place, without a foundation, just like a dandelion seed blowing in the wind, hoping for someone who truly belongs to My piece of dirt.During the trip, I woke up and went back to sleep, and then woke up again. I had no intention of chatting with the travel companions next to me. After several transfers, I finally returned to my hometown that I hadn’t set foot in for many years.

I dragged my suitcase and came to the house. Nothing had changed here, even more old and sparse than I remembered: the ivy that covered the walls had become nothing but dry vines due to the cold, and the dark brown There were still pine ornaments from the Christmas period on the wooden door, and it was midday, but the strong sunlight made the farmhouse look even more lonely.Suddenly, I found a blue men's bicycle by the fence next to the house, which was like a bad brand.I stopped and looked at the "brand" that I hated, like a warning sign that said "no entry to Calpernia Addams", which belonged to a miserable boy named Scottie once.When the boy changed himself into Calpernia Addams according to his own wishes, he stepped into the house for the first time, his mother was silent, a tear rolled down her cheek, and she still called the name of Scottie who no longer existed. It breaks Ben Calpernia's heart - it's a past I shouldn't touch, it's all rotten, like it's from a previous life, as old as the house here, like the bare fields behind the farmhouse, lifeless .I shouldn't come back, this place is no longer my home, it belongs to the long dead Scottie.I don't miss this place anymore, I want to go to New York, just like Madonna did back then, she went to New York alone to realize her dream of becoming an actress.

For the next four months, I found a small, shabby apartment in New York, working as a waitress at a restaurant while trying my luck on Broadway, trying to change my old sensuality at a bar.However, the situation on Broadway was not as good as I thought. Whenever I mentioned my transgender identity during the audition, those people would look at me without saying no.Of course, it’s not that no one hired me, but the roles I got were only small ones, not even worthy of the word “role”, just a movable prop, and some producers even asked if I could Performing on the stage with a positive face has shown my uniqueness. There are even so-called "star scouts" who come to me and say that they can make me famous and rich. Absolutely refuse, this is unacceptable to me.In the end, for four months in New York, I got nothing in New York—which is not entirely true, but emptiness, failure, loneliness, and the worst kind of poverty.

Now seeing that Ginger's wedding is getting closer, but I don't have the face to go back to see her and be her bridesmaid openly. I plan to take a sneak peek at Ginger on her wedding day, and I will be satisfied.But now I miss her, Lester, and Margaret so much that I don't even want to admit that I've been thinking of Mr Thornton.I have long since put aside that "North and South" novel, and I have given up such unrealistic dreams.However, the more I resisted this approach, the more I yearned for it. In the end, I couldn't resist the temptation and quietly returned to a place not far from Campbell.In order to support myself, I found another drag bar, under the pseudonym Bell, and took up the job I wanted to get rid of.

Today is my fifth day at the bar and I'm about to perform a very sexy song in a short blond wig, leather-bound bikini and a coat as bright red as blood.

"Bell, it's your turn!" the stage manager yelled into the dressing room.

Bell is my alias here. Before going on stage, I subconsciously looked in the mirror and showed my best state to face the audience.When the music started and the curtain came up, I was standing in the middle of the stage, the spotlights were on me, and the audience was cheering and waving their dollar bills, and it dazzled me.I used to enjoy this kind of stage so much, but then I realized that it was just a show for me to survive, nothing more.The people in the audience cheered, smiled at me, applauded me with all kinds of thoughts, and even lured me from the stage to approach them with a large tip.On the other hand, I professionally scratch my head and pose, professionally meet the eyes of people who cast enthusiastic gazes from the audience, and professionally accept large tips from the audience.The bright spotlights make it difficult for me to see the faces of these people, and I don't want to see the faces of these people in the audience. All they need to do is tip me and let me make money. I don't have to recognize any of them, because they Everyone is no different to me, and I am no different to them, just an object of curiosity, like a circus animal.I can hear people talking loudly about whether I'm a man or a woman, which I thought was an insult, but now I'm numb.

"Hey! Baby! Come over here, we want to talk to you!" a bald white man behind me yelled at me as I walked off the stage after my performance and was accepting tips from people.I raised my hand to signal the bald man to wait for a while. Although they were all annoyingly drunk, after all, according to experience, such people usually give a lot of tips, and I will not make it difficult for money.This person came with a group of friends. There are five of them, four men and one woman. They sat in a booth very close to the stage and drank. I saw these bluffing people when I was performing on stage. They were noisy Louder than anyone else, I noticed that they were talking loudly about me.

“Do you hate men dressed as women?” the Asian man in the group of five asked one of the equally drunk white men in straw hats.

"Of course not, but she really has a pair...!" The one with the straw hat replied while making exaggerated gestures with his hands, and his tongue was a little weak when speaking due to the effect of alcohol.

"Then let's study the current situation!" The bald man said, leaning his body towards a young man with short hair and a slightly shy expression, "Barry, I sent you! Your task is to identify 'her' !"

"Confirm what?" The shy young man looked confused.

"Hello!" At this moment, I came to them and interrupted their conversation deliberately.

"Go and find out if she is convex or concave!" That annoying bald-headed Howe continued to urge his companion regardless of my hearing.

"Did you enjoy tonight's show?" I asked loudly with a forced smile, trying to drown out the man's voice.

"Of course, I like it very much!" The Asian man and the woman next to him replied excitedly.

"Our Barry is so excited!" the bald man interjected curtly.

"That's new..." I replied coldly, trying to be as polite and restrained as possible.

"He wants to know you better, deeply..."

"God, Fisher, shut up, I didn't say that!" The shy young man reproached slightly, shyly retorted, but his eyes did not leave my body for a moment.

"It's okay, come on, Barry!"

"Stop talking!" The atmosphere became tense.

"Are you from Campbell?" I tried to change the subject again.

"Are you a real couple?" The man named Fisher was still unrelenting, and even the female partner protested.

"Don't worry girls, I've had all sorts of problems," I replied, turning to the obnoxious person, "It's just a small price to pay for beauty!"

The bald man gave a disgusting look and said, "My friend wants to pet it!"

"Shut up!" the shy young man snapped.

"What the hell are you telling me!"

"Haven't you heard?"

At this moment, the bald man stood up abruptly and staggered due to drunkenness, knocked the bar on the table to the ground, and cursed: "Don't tell me to shut up, bastard! Only I can say shut up! Including you... ..." He turned his head to me at this time, pointed at me, his eyes became fierce, I was so scared that I involuntarily took two steps back.Suddenly, a tall, muscular man with a beard and a baseball cap stood in front of me with his back to me. He parried the bald man's hand with one fist and said in a stern and deep voice: "Sir, let me answer your question. This lady is a real woman! Your vexatious troubles should be stopped!" The bald man looked at the intruder who was a head taller than him, and he seemed to have sobered up at this moment For the most part, there was some fear in his eyes, and several of his friends also stood up and supported him, fearing that he would not be able to control and cause trouble, "Fisher, don't forget that we can't make trouble outside the barracks, we will be punished!" The ancestral man persuaded.At this time, in order to calm things down, I hurriedly pulled the tall "knight" who stood in front of me to the backstage, and wanted to thank him for his rescue just now.

I let him follow me, trying to find my way out of the dim light of the bar, I didn't even see the man's face, I just said: "Thank you, sir! If you didn't save me, I'm afraid they will make trouble , if it develops like that, it will make the boss here unhappy, I have just been on the job for a few days, he will definitely fire me, fortunately, I have you!"

"Cali!" When we got to the stage where there was no one else, the tall man stopped me and called my name. No one here knows my real name. The voice of this man has been on my mind since he spoke just now. Feel a little familiar.I stopped and turned around to see his face for myself.

"Mr. Thornton! How could you..." I couldn't help being taken aback.

I used to want to run away again, but he grabbed my hand tightly and pulled me into his arms, hugged me from behind, and whispered in my ear: "Cali, forgive me ! I won't let you leave me again!"

My mood at this time is indescribable, as if in a dream, all kinds of emotions hit my brain and heart, like a strong torrent erupting from my heart, I slowly turned around, raised my head and looked at His eyes, my reflection in his eyes, how different he is now from what he was then, but those eyes are the Mr. Thornton I know, and they are full of love for me!He also looked at me, still holding me tightly, as if he was afraid that I would disappear from his side again, he slowly lowered his head, first kissed me gently, and then his passion erupted like a volcano, erupting so violently , left me breathless.

"Cali, I want to ask you again solemnly, and this time I won't run away again—Miss Calpernia Addams wants you to marry me!"

"Do you really not regret it?"

"Of course! I won't let you leave me again!"

I finally nodded.