My Shoeless Husband

By Su Xin

My Shoeless Husband

By Su Xin

That was a night when my daughter turned one year old.I worked overtime that night until one o’clock in the morning.After work,I cycled home,alone,in the empty street,boiling with resentment.What a dull and cheerless man I married! There were no sweet words on the mundane days,and not even a caring and warming call on this special occasion.How disappointing it was to live with such a man.

The moment I saw the door of my home,I heaved a sigh of relief.I fumbled for the key in my bag for quite a while,but failed.I had to knock on the door,as light-ly as possible,so the noise wouldn’t wake up my little daughter.After a moment,just when I was about to try a second time,the door opened and my husband was at the door.He leaned over me while I walked my bike into the yard and whispered,“Be quiet...our daughter has a fever.I’ve given her some medicine and she is finally sleeping.”Lowering my head,I noticed he was only wearing socks.I figured that he,much like me, was avoiding making too much noise and waking up our daughter.Perhaps he was hurrying out to open the door for me and had no time for shoes.

We moved to a new house after our daughter began kindergarten.

Another night I worked overtime again,and it was already past twelve o’clock when I arrived at our residential building.I went upstairs,fumbling for the key in my bag.Just then,the door opened;my husband seemed relieved at the sight of me,“Long day at work again?I’ve prepared bathwater for you.Go have a bath and get some rest.”

Seeing his bare feet on the floor,I asked,“Why the bare feet?”

Nonchalantly,he replied,“I didn’t want to keep you waiting long.”

That reminded me of the night of our daughter’s birthday,when he rushed out to open the door for me, shoeless.When we were ready for bed,I asked him about that night,and he tried hard to recall.“That night,after I put our daughter to sleep,I was thinking of picking you up,but I was afraid that our daughter would wake up while I was away.I then thought of giving you a call,but again was afraid that I might bring you trouble.So I had to stay home,waiting for you.Iknow you are weary after long days of work,so at the sound of your knocking,I ran out to receive you—I had no time for shoes.”

Lying on the bed,I felt a warm feeling spread from my heart.For many years after we got married,my husband had been taking good care of me quietly.He was a man of few words.

Then my husband leaned towards me,asking,“What are you thinking about?”I replied with just a sweet smile.Nestling myself into his arms,soon we were sound asleep.

(FromMarriage and Family,Vol.5,2015.Translation: Liu liqin.Illustration:Tong Ling.)

女儿一岁多时，一天晚上，我加班到凌晨一点多。下班后，我孤身一人急行在空荡荡的大街上，心里越想越气：那个木讷老公真没劲，平时温柔的话听不到一句，加班到三更半夜也不打个电话问问，和这种人过日子真让人寒心。

看见家门的那一刻，我长吁一口气，在包里掏了半天没找到钥匙。抬手拍门，怕吵醒女儿，就拍得很轻。稍停，正准备拍第二次，门开了，老公站在门口。我推着自行车走进院子，老公跟在后边：“你轻点儿，孩子有些发烧，我给她喂了退烧药，睡得正香呢。”一低头，看到老公只穿着袜子站在院子里。估计他怕吵醒女儿，听到我敲门就跑出来，鞋也没来得及穿。

女儿上幼儿园后，我们搬了新家。

又一个加班的夜晚，我回到家已经12点多了。上了楼，正在翻包找钥匙，防盗门开了。老公一副如释重负的样子：“你又飞车回来的？我给你烧好了洗澡水，快洗洗睡吧。”

我看到他光脚站在地板上，问他：“你怎么光着脚呢？”

他淡淡地说：“我怕你等急了。”

我想起几年前的那个夜晚，他也是没穿鞋就跑出来开门，于是问他。老公回想着：“那天我哄睡了女儿，想去接你，就一直支着耳朵等你。我知道你胆小，听你一敲门，就没顾上穿鞋，赶紧跑出去开。”

躺在床上，我的心慢慢热起来。结婚这些年，老公一直默默地照顾我，只是不善于表达。

这时，老公凑过来问：“你想啥呢？”我甜蜜一笑，没说话，躺进他的臂弯里，沉沉睡去。

（摘自《婚姻与家庭》2015年第5期图/童玲）

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