eting Jas Carter was unexpected, and even now, he remains in her mory as that exceptionally gentle and refined big boy. She had seen him running with his long-sleeved legs, seen him in the swimming pool like a flying fish.
Seeing him now, however, Jane Sampson felt a pang of sorrow for him; he must have left their circle due to a physical ailnt. Because of the limitations to his legs, Jas Carter’s walking pace couldn’t be fast. He took a couple of steps, then turned his head toward Jane Sampson and suddenly asked, "Or maybe you should go up first? I might be a bit slow."
There was not a bit of embarrassnt on his face, nor any trace of moodiness in his tone, as if what he said was a very minor concern.
From his question, Jane understood that Jas had already co to terms with his present situation, whether good or bad—he had bravely accepted a new version of himself.
At that mont, Jane saw courage in him, the kind needed to face the truest self.
"It’s okay, I’ll just stand behind Mr. Carter." That way, she thought, if he wasn’t steady on the phone, she could rush up to help him, to steady him.
Seeing that Jane truly showed no impatience or urgency, Jas replied with a smile and continued walking.
If it weren’t for following behind Jas Carter and watching him navigate the staircase, Jane Sampson might never have realized how difficult what used to seem so effortless to her could be for others.
Jane even wanted to ask Jas why he didn’t move his study and room together.
But in the end, she held back.
"My mom and dad’s room and study are on the left side of the second floor; to the right are my room and study. The third floor is my sister’s domain." Upon reaching the second floor, Jas Carter casually introduced the layout to Jane, "I don’t co back to stay often, so there isn’t much stuff in my study."
"Mr. Carter has a sister too?" Jane expressed her surprise. As soon as she walked in, she could see the family photo on his desk, which she picked up and glanced at.
"Yes, I have a sister who’s about your age," explained Jas. "This family photo was taken when I was 16, and my sister was only a few years old at that ti."
In the photo, a girl with dimples laughed sweetly in the arms of a father dressed in team uniform, holding a string of rock sugar candy. Her eyes were narrowed into happy slits as she laughed.
The other hand not holding the candied haws was held by her mom, and Jas Carter at 16 stood beside his father and sister, his eyes full of smiles as he looked at the cara.
"She looks so pretty when she laughs," Jane secretly admired in her heart. It was a girl’s most fortunate and happiest smile because, in this world, three people adored her.
Daddy, mom, and a brother who was much older than her.
"Your smile is pretty too," Jas sincerely complinted Jane. "You have dimples like my mother, and when you laugh, it’s especially sweet."
To Jane, that comnt was undoubtedly a complint. She smiled back at Jas and then pointed at Jas’s father in the photo, saying, "So, Mr. Carter’s father was a guard? Jas Black, my husband, is also a guard. My grandpa was a guard, and Jas Black’s grandfather as well. I grew up in a guard team area courtyard as a child."
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