第25章 The Gardenia Corsage栀子花饰
晚安心语
someday i may find my prinbsp;charming，but my dad will always be my king
也许某天，白马王子会来到我身旁；但是永远，爸爸都是我心中的国王。
by edith patterson hill
my father was an astute observer of human characterwithin seds of meeting someone，he could sum up their strengths and fwsit was always a challeo see if any of my boyfriends could pass dad&039;s testnone diddad was always right-they didn&039;t pass my test eitherafter dad died，i wondered ho;039;d figure it out on my own
that&039;s when jabsp;arrived on the se
he was different from any uy i&039;d datedhe could sit for hours on the piano benbsp;with my mother，discussing obscure posersmy brother ribsp;loudly announbsp;that jabsp;wasn&039;t a turkey like the uys i&039;d brought home
my sister，denise，belly ughed with him over old danny kaye filmsand jabsp;was great with my brother chuck，who has a mental disabilityoime，chubsp;put his greasy hands，just dislodged from a cheeseburger，on jack&039;s shoulders，kissed his cheek with ketchupcovered lips and called him by the wrong name，shouting，“ah，jeff，i luv ya！”jabsp;didn&039;t miss a beat“i love you too，gee！”jabsp;passed my family&039;s testbut what about dad&039;s？
then came the weekend of my mom&039;s birthdayjabsp;was ing down from his home in milwaukee to chicagothe day he was supposed to drive，i got a call，“don&039;t worry，”he said，“but i&039;ve been in an act”his bsp;had stalled；when he pulled over，another bsp;careened into it“i&039;m fi i need you to pibsp;me up”
thank god he&039;s okay，i thought，as i drove up to milwaukee
when i got there，we rushed to a flower shop for something for mom
“how about gardenias？”jabsp;said，pointing out a beautiful white ce
“you never see those this time of year，”i saidthe florist put the a box
the entire ride，jabsp;was unusually quiet“are you all right？”i askedwe were pulling onto my mother&039;s street“i&039;ve been doing a lot of thinking，”he said“i might be moving”
moving？then he added，“moving in with you”
“what？”i asked，parking the car
“i think we should get married，”he saidhe told me he&039;d pnned his proposal for a fanbsp;restaurant，but after the act，he decided to do it right away“yes，”i whisperedwe both sat stuears running down our cheeks，uo speaki&039;d never known subsp;a tender momentif only dad were here to give his final approval
“oh，let&039;s just go inside，”jabsp;said，ughi out of the bsp;and he walked up the driveway，carrying the cemy mother opehe door“happy birthday！”we shoutedjabsp;thrust the box at hershe ope upsuddenly，her eyes brimmed with tearsjabsp;and i looked at eabsp;other“mom，what&039;s wrong？”i asked
“i&039;m sorry，”she said，wiping her eyes“this is only the sed gardenia ce i&039;ve ever receivedi was given one years ago，long before you kids were born”
“from who？”i asked
“your father，”mom said“he gave me ht before we were engaged”my eyes locked on jack&039;s as i blinked away tearsdad&039;s test？i kne;had passed
我的父亲看人很准，只需跟人接触一会儿，他就能总结出这人的优缺点。我的男朋友能否通过爸爸这一关就成为了一种挑战。他们没有一个成功过。爸爸总是对的，他们也没有通过我的考验。爸爸去世后，我不知道该如何靠自己去辨别男友。
这时，杰克出现了。他和我以前约会过的男友都不一样。他可以和我母亲一块在钢琴凳前坐上几个小时，讨论不为大众所知的作曲家。我的弟弟瑞克大声宣称，杰克不像我之前带回家的那些笨蛋。
我的妹妹丹尼斯会与杰克一起看丹尼·凯伊的老电影，两个人乐得捧腹大笑。此外，杰克与我患有智障的弟弟查克也相处得很好。一次，查克将刚抓过奶酪汉堡的油腻双手放在杰克的肩膀上，用沾满了番茄酱的嘴巴亲吻着杰克，还叫错了他的名字，大喊道：“噢，杰夫，我爱你！”杰克并没有躲开，而是回应道：“乔治，我也爱你！”他通过了我的家人这一关。但爸爸也满意吗？
妈妈生日的那个周末，杰克从他住的密尔沃基赶到芝加哥来。那天他本是开车来的，我接到他的电话。“别担心，”他说，“我出了点事故。”他的车熄火了；当他靠边停车时，另一辆车冲过来侧翻了。“我没事，不过需要你来接我。”
我驱车前往密尔沃基，心想，谢天谢地，他安然无恙。我到后，我们急忙赶往花店，为妈妈买礼物。
“栀子花怎么样？”杰克指着一个漂亮的白色花饰说道。
“这个时节从未见过这种花儿。”我说道。花店老板将花饰装在盒中。
一路上，杰克出奇地安静。“你还好吗？”我问道。我们正开到妈妈住的那条街。“我一直在想，”他说，“可能我要搬家。”
搬家？然后他接着说道：“搬过来跟你一起住。”
“什么？”我一边停车一边问道。
“我觉得我们该结婚了。”他说。他告诉我，他本来计划在一家昂贵的餐厅跟我求婚，但经历了这次事故后，他决定马上向我求婚。“好的。”我低声地回答道。我们不知所措地坐着，泪水滑落脸颊，无以言说。我从不知道会有如此温情的时刻，要是爸爸能在这儿给出他最后的认可就好了。
“哦，我们进去吧。”杰克笑着说。
我们下了车，他拿着花饰走上车道。妈妈开了门。“生日快乐！”我们喊道。杰克将盒子塞到妈妈手中。妈妈打开盒子，突然，她热泪盈眶，我和杰克看了看彼此。
“妈，你怎么了？”我问道。
“不好意思，”她一边擦着泪水一边说。“这是我目前为止收到的第二个栀子花饰。我在很久之前收到过，那时你们还没出生。”
“谁送的？”我问道。
“你父亲，”妈妈说道。“他就在我们订婚前送给我的。”我看着杰克，眨着眼睛忍住泪水。爸爸这一关，我知道杰克通过了。
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