Battle of the Rhine

Mary had done well over the years at the old factory, and Dan quit to start a small accounting firm.Besides Will, they had two boys, George and Robin.Mary complained several times, "If you give birth to a boy, you will always be a boy... It's like encountering a red light. You will never encounter a green light along the way, even once."

Today, Will, George, and Robin stand on the porch, all three of the Polison boys with identical brown hair, round eyes, and freckled faces.Michael emerges from the kitchen, shakes Daniel's hand vigorously, then hugs Mary. "This is your Uncle Mike," Mary said, "Will? Oh, well," she pushed her shy older son, "he was just talking the last time he saw you, you should make a few more trips to America— — for God's sake, you look fat."

"No," Michael denied, "Come on, come in and sit, my God, I didn't expect you to come—"

It was true that he had intended to visit Mary in the city.Quincy would rather die than meet Mary, and Michael couldn't explain it. "Big girl" is a well-informed New Yorker, but this does not mean that all Americans can agree with Michael's "marriage" and love, especially in the remote countryside of Arizona, men and men must not "make trouble" .In the eyes of most conservative cowboys, violating the teachings of the Bible is condemned by God.It took Michael himself many years to get around this intellectual rock, and he didn't deny that Mary was the kindest woman he'd ever met, and likewise he didn't think it was a good idea to be frank—and Mary With the addition of a tachycardia, Michael was determined not to stimulate her as much as possible.

But now, Mary came uninvited, which really made Michael very troubled.Quincy stood there stiffly, as if planning to find a room to hide.This is bound to arouse suspicion even more, Michael patted Quincy on the shoulder, and introduced with a pretentious ease, "Hi, this is Mr. Von Quincy, my boss."

Mary was eyeing Quincy, with his blond hair, blue eyes, ripped jeans and cotton shirt, "Hello," she held out her hand enthusiastically, "I'm Mary, maybe Michael mentioned me—"

"As mentioned," Michael said, "my boss knows everything."

"Hello," Quincy squeezed Mary's fingers stiffly, "Hello...good evening."

"Good evening." Like all over-enthusiastic Americans, Mary grinned.She cut her hair short and curled it a lot. "Mike is still as out of tune as ever, I called five times and no one answered, so I figured I'd have to come and see..."

"The tape recorder is broken." Michael went to check the phone. "We have been repairing the tractor this afternoon. I borrowed it. The engine is broken. God, it's a piece of scrap metal."

Mary turned around in the living room, looked around, and finally showed disappointment, "Where's Karna?"

Karna didn't come, of course, Karna never showed up, because there was never a blond college girl Karna.Karna was nothing more than a lie woven by Michael.At eleven o'clock at night, after watching the Paulison family's car go away, facing the evening wind, Michael breathed a sigh of relief, put his arms around Quincy, "uh—"

"I'm sorry," Quincy said suddenly.

Michael never expected Quincy to have such a reaction.At the dinner table, Quincy has been acting perfectly normal, smiling just right, speaking sincerely, chatting with Dan about the ups and downs of the stock market and horse racing, praising Mary's craft, affirming Serena's career choice, and even Robin's weird question (" Do you have hamburgers in Germany?") without a hint of impatience.He even promised to do his best to help Michael get promoted when he parted with Mary.

"What's wrong with you?" Michael pulled Quinnessy to sit down, the college student's eyes were full of tears, twinkling like stars, "Mary, she—"

"She's a good woman." Quincy looked down. "I'm very, very sorry that I—"

"She's a good woman, Mary Jean Anderson is the nicest girl I've ever met," Michael said, "but you don't have to feel sorry or sorry, I'm the one who hurt her jerk."

The wind blows in gusts, and the dry dust rises in the twilight of the moonlit night.Under the wooden floor of the porch, a nest of unknown bugs chirped tirelessly, making a loud "buzz-buzz". "Don't cry." Michael wiped the tears off Quincy's face, "You are a kind guy...you are the same kind of person as Mary, kind and gentle, let's not deny it, I have slept in the same bed with you for so many years, I know you better than anyone."

"At that time, I was young, and she was young, 19 years old, what do you know. I started to use my brain after I met you. I am not afraid of your jokes. Before that, I was confused and lived the same life every day. I don’t think about anything—I don’t need to think about it. I don’t need to think because I live here.” Michael took out a cigarette from his trouser pocket, and he was “socializing” with Dan just now, “Will you have one?”

Trembling, Quincy produced one, and Michael lit it for him. "I'm not like you, Carl, I'm not very educated, I'm not smart, I'm lazy. Although Mary and I were determined to be abnormal, and she found it, neither of us thought otherwise. As I told I've passed you many times, if there hadn't been a war, if I hadn't met you, I'd have lived in peace with Marianne, right here, raising cows, settling accounts, she knits sweaters and lace, we might have a baby, maybe If not, I will adopt a boy and a girl. The boy will herd cows when he grows up and continue my life, and the girl will get married when she grows up. If she is willing to study, I will send her to a higher school and become a middle school teacher or something..."

"It's not that it's your fault that I divorced Marie. You're right, it's mine. You must always keep that in mind, Karl von Quinnessy, you don't have to compete with me for hell, you'll Destined to go to heaven. I mean, assuming there hadn't been a world war, or I hadn't met you, would my life on the farm with Mary have been truly blissful? Apparently not. She's with Dan, setting up the fireplace, Traveling, having kids... that's what she deserves, that's what she deserves, not growing old with me on the farm. I love Mary, she's like my sister. But I give The love between her husband and wife... I said this, do you understand?"

Quincy nodded with difficulty and sniffed. "Why do you say I'm your boss?" After a while, he asked hoarsely, "I'm not your boss."

"I'm not talking nonsense." Michael leaned Quincy against him. "Number one, you're higher than me at the company—"

"I'm not your immediate supervisor—"

"I'll apply to be transferred to your office when I go back this time!"

"He will never agree."

"'Davarish' dare not sign, I will punch his nose. He is so small, I can punch him ten with one hand..."

"Mike!"

"Okay," Michael pinched Quincy's ear, "second, I live in your house, you are my landlord, I have to listen to you, don't I?"

Quincy sneered, "I've got to settle the score."

"Forget it! I don't have any more money, I have turned it all in." Speaking of this, Michael paused. "Big girl" secretly asked him, what's so novel about falling in love with a man?Michael's answer at the time was, "The novelty? No, it's all the same, and the salary is paid—"

"You trash!" The big girl hammered him, "This is treason!"

"Third, you have the final say at home." Michael concluded, "I have no status in the family, and I'm not as good as Arden. At least Arden can eat meat, but I have to look at the balance and drooling—"

"It's for your own good," said Quincy softly. "Didn't you hear Mary said you were fat?"

"Slander." Michael murmured.

"...would she like that necklace?"

Before coming to America, Quincy carefully selected a necklace for Mary.Michael gave Mary the necklace, telling her it was a gift from Karna.Mary was moved to tears, and put it on on the spot. "She likes it very much." Michael kissed Quincy's forehead. "Take it easy! She might travel to Germany in the future...and then...and she's smart, I think..."