第35章追梦少年ABoywithaMission(2)
Thatdayhefoundtwosacks,whichhetooktwoodenfadsoldtothemaninchargeofpaails。
Theboy’shandtightlyclutchedthefive-tpiecesasherawokilometershome。
Nearhishousestoodtheahathousedthefamily’sgoatsands。Reubenfoundarustysodatinanddroppedhisside。Thenhetotheloftofthebarnaihapileofsweetsmellinghay。
Itwasdiimewhehome。Hisfathersatatthebigkittable,wonafishi。Dorawasatthekitstove,readytoservediookhisplaceatthetable。
Helookedathismotherandsmiled。Sunlightfromthewindowgildedhershthblondehair。Slimaiful,shewasthee,thegluethatheldittogether。
Herchoreswerenever-ehesforherfamilyontheoldsireadlemaealsandbakiingandteablegarden,milkisandsgsoiledawashboard。Butshey。Herfamilyandtheirwell-beipriority。
Everydayafterdschool,Reubeowhehessiannailbags。Ohetwo-roomschoolmer,wasmhtedthanReuben。Nowhewouldhavemoretimeforhismission。
Allsummerloechoresathomeweedingahegarden,gwoodagwater—Reubeohissecrettask。
&oosoonthegardenwasharvested,thevegetablesdstored,andtheschoolreopeheleavesfellandthewindsblewdgustyfromthebay。Reubereets,diligentlyseargforhishessiantreasures。
Oftenhewascold,tiredandhungry,butthethoughtoftheobjetheshopwindowsustainedhim。Sometimeshismotherwouldask:“Reuben,ewerewaitingforyoutohavedinner。”
“Playing,Mum。Sorry。”
Dorawouldlookathisfadshakeherhead。Boys。
FinallyspringburstintreenandReuben’sspiritserupted。Thetimehade!Heranintothebarhehayloftaihesoutaot。
Theedagaismore。Couldtherebeanysacksleftaowofindfourahembeforethedayended。
Reubenrandow。
TheshadtheningwhenReubehefactory。Thesackbuyerwasabouttolockup。
“Mister!Pleasedo。”
&urnedayaained。
&omorrow,boy。”
&er。Ihavetosellthesaow—please。”ThemaremorinReuben’svoidcouldtellhewasclosetotears。
“Whydoyouhismoneysobadly?”
“It’sasecret。”
&ookthesacks,reatohispodputfourReuben’shand。Reubehankyouandranhome。
>hetin,heheadedfortheshop。
“Ihavethemoney,”hesolemnlytoldtheowner。
&tothewindowarievedReuben’streasure。Hewipedthedustoffalyeditinbroer。TheheparReuben’shands。
Rae,Reubenburstthroughthefrontdoor。Hismotherwassgthekitstove。“Here,Mum!Here!”Reubenexclaimedasherantoherside。Heplacedasmallboxinherwhenedhand。
Sheucarefully,tosavethepaper。Ablue-velvetjeeared。Doraliftedthelid,tearsbeginningtoblurhervision。
Ieringonasmall,almond-shapedbroochwasthewordMother。
ItwasMother’sDay,1946。
Dorahadneverreceivedsuchagift;shehadherweddingring。Speechless,shesmiledradiantlyandgatheredhersonintoherarms。