Mandylamented,“HowdoyouknowthisisthebestformeIcouldhaveledanotherlife。。。。。”l
“Idon‘tthinkit‘stherightattitudeforlife。Itseemsyouwillalwaysberegrettingoveryoureachandeverychoiceordecision。”Therewasanedgetohisvoice,buthestayedcool,“Stopcomparingwithothers‘livesandstopmoaningformore。Thefishermanandhiswifeshouldhavebeencontentedwithwhattheyhavereceivedfromthegoldfishandthey‘dbetternotbegformorethantheydeserved。”
Mandyremarkedwithadangeroustone,“AreyoutellingmeIdon‘tdeservethebestoflife”
Locksensedsomething,“Don‘ttwistit。YouknowwhatImeant。Youwouldneverbeabletofigureoutwhatthebestiswhenyouweresixteen。”
Mandymurmuredasifshehadbeeninadream,“HowIwishtobesixteenagain,carefree。”
Lockcamenearertoher,andhuggedher,leavinghiswheelchairbehind,“Thepointis,whateverhappenstoyou,fromnowontosixtyorninety,youwillalwayshaveus。”
Mandyburstintotears,“Ihavenothingexceptyouandthekids。Ifeelcold。Thisworldlooksatmewithviciouseyes。”
“Youcanalwayscountonus,”Lockpromised,“Igiveyoumyword。There‘snopartingofusuntilonedies。Staypositiveandcherisheveryminute。”
MandyleanedagainstLock‘sshoulder,totallyforgettingheshouldnothavestoodupandsupportedherweight。“Iwon‘tfallforit。TheylookasifworriedformebutIguesstheyreallyenjoyedthemselvesseeingmealmostcrashed。”
shelookedatLockandwassuddenlystartled,“Iwasalmosttakenin。。。。。。。Ishouldn‘thavetoldthemhowIbrokedown。。。。。。Iwouldneverletthemreceivethewrongmessageasifmylifewereajoke。”
“Don‘toverrespond。”Locksaid,“Theyareyourfriends,andtheyshowedconcernsaboutourlife。Themorepatheticwelook,thefunnieritwouldbewhentheyknowwhatwe‘rereallylike。”
“Yes,someofthemdidtrytoruinmyself-esteemandnearlyconvincedmetopitymyself。Howcanonebesomean”
Locksuggested,“I‘vecomeupwithanidea。Whydon‘tweholdaparty”Hehesitated,“Doesanyofthemhaveafamily”
“No,noneofthemdo。Peopledon‘tgetmarriedthesedays,Iguesstheyareafraidtogivecommitments。”Mandyformedasmileasthoughshefeltsorryforherfriends。
“So,thatsettleseverything。”Locksmiledback,“Weinviteabunchofkids。”
“DoweknowotherkidsbesidesthoseinOscar‘skindergarten”Mandyasked。
“Oh,ofcoursewedo,”announcedLock,“Thereareplentyofkids,Asian,Latino,andblackinthechildren‘shospital。Thiswillbeafund-raisingpartyfordisabledchildren,andmeaswell。”Locksatbackintothewheelchairasquicklyashiskneesallowedtocarryhim,whichamusedMandylikehell。
“Sincetheyaresokind,suretheydon‘tminddonatingsomedollarsforthegoodcourse”Lockquestioned。
“That‘sreallyniceofyou。Allofmyfriendswouldbeverythankfuliftheyareofferedachancetoshowthattheyreallycareforthehandicapped。”Mandybitherlips,tryinghardnottolaugh。
“IsuddenlyrememberIhaveoneortwoacquaintancesonthepress。”Locksneered,“Theywoulddietoseemeonthemoveagain。”