Sal Garfield was having a bad day. He had been busy making cakes since 3 am. And now, his employee (雇员) who should take over the shop for the afternoon had just called in sick (请假).

Sal was an artist in making cakes. No one could make cakes like him, but he wasn’t a person who is good at talking to others. He dealt with several hateful (令人讨厌的) customers that morning, so when Janie, a nine-year-old girl, walked in, he was already very angry. Janie placed her little hands against the glass as she looked at the delicious cakes. “Hey, kid!” Sal shouted. “Don’t put your hands on the glass! I just cleaned it!” Janie jumped back and said sorry. “Everything looks so delicious! My mom says you make the best red velvet (丝绒) cake in the world,” Janie smiled. Sal felt happy about the praise.

“I want to buy a birthday cake,” Janie said and reached out her hand. There were many coins that didn’t come to more than a few dollars. She said she wanted to buy a red velvet cake. But Sal replied, “I hope you have more than those three or four dollars, kid! That cake costs $70!” Janie was shocked, and hoped she could buy just a slice (薄片) since she didn’t have any more money.

“Kid,” Sal answered, “you can’t even afford a slice!” Janie almost cried. She pointed at other cakes, asking whether she could buy one of the cheapest. Sal shook his head.

Janie was so sad. She wanted to buy a birthday cake for her mom, who had got seriously ill. Sal’s red velvet cake was her mom’s favorite. Janie wanted to buy one to surprise and cheer her mom up. Knowing she couldn’t even afford one of any other birthday cakes, Janie started crying, “Please, Sir. You don’t understand…” Sal lost his patience, shouting, “Get out! Try somewhere else!” Janie ran out and sat on a chair outside of the door, crying sadly. Just then, an old lady walked past.

The old lady stopped to ask Janie, “Sweetie, are you OK?”

Overhearing their conversation, Sal felt regretful for his behavior just now.

This Old Chair

“Mom! I’m home!” John slammed the door and dropped his books on a nearby chair.

“Hi, John, home already?” His mom turned around, “Spring is coming, and I am doing our annual spring cleaning. Come and help me, okay?”

“Okay, okay,” John agreed reluctantly.

They cleaned upstairs, downstairs, inside, outside, until everything was spotless. Exhausted, they sank into the couch. Wearily pointing to Pop-Pop’s chair, which was faded and worn, John’s mom exclaimed, “Oh my! That old chair has got to go. We’ll buy Pop-Pop a new one. Let’s take the chair to the curb (马路边缘). Tomorrow the garbage truck is picking up on our block.”

As they attempted to move the chair, Pop-Pop, John’s grandpa, who lived with them since Grandma had died, worked his way through the door. Seeing what was happening, he quickly blocked their way. “Oh, no!” he protested. “You can’t take my chair.”

“It’s old. . . It’s worn. . . . ” John’s mom argued, a slight edge to her voice.

“No,” Pop-Pop persisted, trying to push his chair back into place.

“But Pop, we’ll buy you a new one,” John’s mom tried to persuade the old man.

“I don’t want a new one,” Pop-Pop’s voice trembled.

“I give up.” John’s mom let go of the chair. “We’ll discuss it tonight when Matt gets home.”Matt, John’s dad, was still at work. With a sigh of relief, the old man sank into his chair and closed his eyes.

“Pop-Pop, why won’t you let us get rid of the chair?” John asked when his mother left the room. “It’s so old.”

“You don’t understand, John.” Pop-Pop shook his head and said, “I sat in this chair, with your grandma right here, when I asked her to marry me. It was so long ago, but when I sit in this chair and close my eyes I feel she is near.” The old man tenderly stroked the arm of the chair.

It’s amazing, John thought, how Pop-Pop can remember things from the past. In the present, he forgets almost everything. John sat down on the floor by Pop-Pop’s feet and listened as the old man went on.

A week before Halloween, my young children wild with great happiness were walking and running around our home in their Halloween costumes. Just then the babysitter called, telling me that she was extremely sorry for asking for a day off. I knew that emergencies did occur, and I told her that I completely understood. But what was actually going through my mind were feelings of frustration and self-pity. And I had to pack my three kids into the car, and then drove to the hospital.

On the way, numerous things flooded into my mind, and I especially thought about how life should be going. I was thirty years old, a mother of three girls-five-year-old twins and a one-year-old baby. At this moment, I should be playing with them in the park or visiting the library together. But I was, once again, going to see the doctor. It had been a year since I was diagnosed with cancer. I knew that I was one of the lucky ones. I was grateful that surgery and chemotherapy (化疗) were over, and this was just a routine blood test. As always, there was the remaining fear that the cancer would come back. To be honest, my family and friends were great during the past year when I was in bad condition, but they were also busy with their lives. Therefore, I did not want to burden them with my feelings of unhappiness. What I just wanted to see were the positive things in life and I really wanted to express my heartfelt gratitude to them.

When we finally arrived, we sat in a crowded waiting room. Nothing special occurred until my youngest daughter, dressed up as an angel, walked up to a woman who was in a wheelchair and accompanied by her caregiver. My daughter looked at the woman and pointed to the vending (售货) machine next to her, saying sweetly, “Tweet.” This was how she said “Trick or Treat”, who had been coached previously by her twin sisters.

Surprisingly, the woman, a complete stranger to us, knew exactly what my daughter meant.

My daughters thanked everyone who gave them treats.