第34章爱在不言不语中(5)
Iestlysayitwasthebestoftimesaoftimes。Iwasjoyfullyexpegmyfirstchild,atthesametimethatmyetic,zestfulmotherwaslosilewithabraintumor。
Fortenyears,myfierdepeaherhadfought,buthesurgeriesortreatmentshadbeeill,sheherabilitytosmile。Butnow,finally,atonlyfifty-five,shebecametotallydisabled—uospeak,walk,eatordressonherown。
Asshegrewdybabygrewdclosertolifeinsideme。Mybiggestfearwasthattheirliveswould。Igrievednotonlyfortheupymother,butalsothatsheandmybabywouldneverkher。
Myfearseemedwell-founded。Afewweeksbeforemyduedate,motherlapsedintoadeepa。Herdoctorsdidnotholdaoldushertime。Itwasuselesstoputiube,theysaid。Shewouldnevera>
&motherhometoherownbedinherownhouse,aedookeepherfortable。AsoftenasIcould,Isatbesideheraoheraboutthebabymovinginsideme。Ihopedthatsomehowdeepinside,sheknew。
OnFebruary3,1989,ataboutthesametimemylaborstarted,motheropenedhereyes。Wheoldmethisatthehospital,Icalledherhomeahephoomom'sear。
"Mom—Mom—listen。Thebabyising!Ytohaveanewgrandchild。Doyouuand?"
"Yes!"
Whatawonderfulword!Thefirstclearwordshe'dspokeninmonths!
WhenIcalledagainanhourlater,theherhousetoldmetheimpossible:Momwassittingup,heroxygentubesremoved。Shewassmiling!
"Mom,it'saboy!Youhaveanewgrandson!"
"Yes!Yes!Iknow!"
Fourwords。Fourbeautifulwords。
BythetimeIbroughtJawassittinginherchair,dressedaowel。TearsofjoyblockedmyvisionasIlaidmysoninherarmsandshecluckedathim。Theystaredateachother。
Theyknew。
Fortwomoreweeks,motherclucked,smiledandheldJacob。Fortwoweeksshespoketomyfather,herandgrandiewomiracleweeks,shegaveusjoy。
Thelyslippedbaaahevisitsfromallher,wasfihepainsandesofabodythatnolongerdidherwill。
Memoriesofmyson'sbirthwillalwaysbebittersweetforme,butitwasatthistimethatIlearnedanimportanttruthaboutliving。Forwhilebothjoyandsorrowarefleeting,awihepowertoovereboth。Aforever。
老实说,我最幸福也是最悲惨的时刻到了——在我欣喜地期待着我第一个孩子降生的同时,往日精力充沛、热情开朗的母亲却在与脑肿瘤病魔的斗争中逐渐失利。
10年来,母亲以惊人的毅力独自与病魔抗争,虽然手术和药物治疗都没能获得成功,但她从未因此失去笑容。如今,年仅55岁的她最终全身瘫痪——不能说话,不能走路,连吃饭、穿衣都不能自理。
正当死神日益逼近她时,我体内的孩子快要出世了,最令我担心的是他们没有相见的机缘。我悲恸,不仅因为将要失去母亲,还因为她和我的孩子将永远无法相识。