stale mates

    - a short story set in the time irls in a boat sat facing each other on . cups of tea stood on the lo ling， irls as“miss.”

    miss chou glared at him through her ne shell at him. her glasses had round black rims and perfectly flat lenses， as she hted. the year lasses irls lasses order to look like girl students.

    each of the men sat irl because the little boat balanced better this irls sat side by side. the pale green gestion of lingering fragrance like a basin of irls  for high school in those days ressive es flocked to the primary schools. miss chou  typical of the ne a little， her face a slim pointed oval， her long hair done in tlossy black side knobs. she old fountain pen tucked in her light mauve tunic. her trumpet sleeves ended flaring just under the elbo men  go ht in the same school as e and taught school in hangchoning beauty. the four had been meeting almost daily for more than a year. they o out on the lake， have dinner at one of the restaurants along the store， and go boating again if there irls held hands  of love.  the girls interminably bet each other the girls’carefully their calligraphy， analyzing their personalities from the hand- . love   lotus leaves， the large green plates crunching noisily against the boat. then there hter  on their oars， letting the boat drift. no sound as if it had a piece of candy in its mouth.“going home this et out of it this time，”lo ans.“my mother has been complaining.”

    she smiled. the mention of his mother did not alter the fact that he oing back to his  increasingly guilty about going home，  at her. then， ht take years.”

    she had turned a and unfurling it. actually she did not agree to his getting a divorce until days later. but that evening， ed and dedicated. all the  out on a long hard journey on a cold night. the restaurant ly place reasy old furniture. the song chant. lass dome  soya sauce doy yelloht miss fan looked flushed and happy and did not seem to mind at all. lo did not go home until the saturday after that. the journey took t a short blue overall  of a silk tunic sho underneath it. she had not been sure that he . he spoke to her that night about divorce. she cried all night. it e ht， he knening her to dishonorable e on being told. she cho home altogether. his mother got his uncle to go up to hangchoed to persuade a cousin to go and talk to his family. it took infernally long to negotiate through relatives  peacemakers at heart， especially e is a cardinal sin that automatically takes ten years off a man‘s given life span. lo got a laly s， boiled over e. did he think his s e themselves on the faithless man unless his  herself on his lintel. that  rascal in the ancestral temple.“family laging. miss fan and lo continued to see each other in the company of hted and exhilarated by the courage of this undertaking- though it did put h the s that couldn‘t be helped. lo hter- in- laan to get on each other’s nerves. there   for a parent- in- laot the idea that her daughter- in- laer otiations had not gained much ground in six years. miss fan‘s family never did approve. no her that at t an old maid. soon she —room filler， a  to have her on his o to get a divorce. possibly alimony  block. there h his long absence from home， ed . if he didn’t depend on his job for a living， n？

    miss chou told nation h of course he added，“it‘s all her family’s doing.”

    “they didn‘t tie her up  her to the restaurant， did they？”lo said sardonically. he promised not to take up the matter  lo drank too much rice ratulations， miss fan！”he said.“i hear you are going to invite us to your  feast.”he drained his cup and strode off angrily. miss fan refused to join them the next day. lo’s letters ain been dining  iven her a big diamond engagement ring. lo‘s divorce action had reached the point an to move through its ons that his hingstock for the rest of his life if he e. so he iving his enerous settlement as he had promised. as soon as the decree ot a professional matchmaker to approach the s of the dye  girl irl in toe of photographs and due investigation， the s accepted him. lo sold a great part of his land and bought miss  a diamond ring even bigger than the one miss fan ot. he irls and had heard something of miss fan’s long attachment to lo. according to the fans it e. some malicious tongues had it that it s lo  in the same toain. it could not be that they e； they had disapproved of the ht it ood thing—for the tain on the lake under the moon. it ed e of either of them. one night lo  them any more. some people shouted at them from another boat. it ing lo to come  across the small table from miss fan. the tea in the cups shone faintly， in each cup a floating silver disk s slightly ht. it stunned him hoh the amenities as if there  amiss， but  a single remark to each other. no reference e. the talk overnment- sponsored ly memorial that dominated the vista along the bank.“it’s an eyesore. spoils everything，”lo said.“it ain.”

    her eyes met his， oing round the lake they landed and separated. the day after， lo received a letter addressed to him in miss fan‘s hand. he tore it open， his heart pounding， and found a sheet of blank paper inside. he kne their friends that they ain seeing a lot of each other. lo again started divorce proceedings. this time he had very fe struggle. on her part miss fan aged in a struggle. hers ainst the forces of the years， against men‘s very nature gle she had nobody to stand by her side as she stood by lo. she remained quietly pretty. her coiffure and clothes  monotonously pliant. she read all the books he gave her and ht it out in the courts s ainst divorce. laes proved to be tractable. lo got his divorce at the end of five years. though in reduced circumstances， he had built a small  age. he had closed do out of the green hills right over the lake. climbing roses and g. lo had never knoame. he told his ood of her to comply but there ht and promise to come back for more the next day. she ans she could not bear to be aroom a single minute. she complained of living so far out. g parties she often had difficulty finding a rick- sha puller  to take her home.  mah- jongg she lounged about in soiled old gos. half the time she lay in bed cracking  the shells over the bed- clothes and into her slippers on the floor. his hints at taking more interest in her appearance nored. then she flared up and said his fussiness et anyood front. still he supposed that neot about， because one day a relative mentioned casually to him that miss  had not yet remarried.“s ree that this ood name hter took a second husband. his ements had been made. despite scenes and threats of suicide， the day miss  returned to him escorted by members of the  family she ’s brother and sister- in- laized for the dinner.“it‘s difficult for us to get a good cook， living so far a lady long ago. of course she ought to come and live here. one can’t be staying  did not speak， since she reement had been reached as to the mode of address bet”behind each other‘s back. not long after ht her back to the rose- covered little house by the lake. both of his ex- ot into from providing for three  everything into consideration. he  for him. and no fu， glamorous blessings- extraordinary in an age that amous， for it  uffaht for a nice game of mah- jongg.”

    the end

    本文摘自“文学视界”（</p>

    <b>狠男人小说最快更新，无弹窗阅读请。

狠男人网最快更新，无弹窗阅读请收藏狠男人小说网(www.41nr.com)。