TheFlowerinHerHair
贝蒂·Ｂ.杨斯 /
？ Towork？ Toprofessionalmeetings？ Shewasanaspiringgraphicdesignerinthelarge， ’dsailintotheofficewithitsextra-moderncrispdécor ， —coordinatedwithherotherwisesuitableattire， itbloomed， asmallparasolofvividcolor， ， likeatthecompanyChristmasparty， ， “professionally-minded” womenintheofficewerepracticallyindignantaboutit， andthoughtsomeoneoughttotakeherasideandinformherofthe “rules” inbeing “takenseriously” ， myselfincluded， thoughtitjustanoddquirk.
， weprobablywouldhavebeenmoreinclinedtoquestionherhadsheshownupwithoutit.
， Iqueried.“Inoticedthereisnoflowerinyourhairtoday，” Isaidcasually， “I’msousedtoseeingyouwearonethatitalmostseemsasifsomethingismissing.”
“Oh， yes，” sherepliedquietly， ， “Areyouokey？” ThoughIwashopingfora “Yes， I’mfine.” response， intuitively， IknewIhadtreadedontosomethingbiggerthanamissingflower.
“Oh，” shesaidsoftly， withanexpressionencumberedwithrecollectionandsorrow.“Todayistheanniversaryofmymother’’mabitblue.”
“Iunderstand，” Isaid， feelingcompassionforherbutnotwantingtowadeintoemotionalwaters.“I’msureit’sverydifficultforyoutotalkabout，” Icontinued， thebusinesspartofmehopingshewouldagree， butmyheartunderstandingthattherewasmore.
“No， it’sokay， ’， ...” andshebegantotellmethestory.
“， ， ， sheprerecordedabirthdaymessageIwastowatcheveryyearonmybirthday， fromage16untilIreached25.Todayismy25thbirthday， ’.”
“Well， myheartgoesouttoyou，” Isaid， reallyfeelingagreatdealofempathyforher.
“Thankyouforyourkindness，” shesaid.“Oh， ， ， ， shetookitfromme， andwithoutsayingaword， pulledmeclosetoher， strokingmyhairandbrushingitfrommyface， placeditinmyhair， .” Tearscametohereyesassheadded， “I’vejustalwayswornaflowerinmyhairsince—itmademefeelasthoughshewerewithme， ，” shesighed， “today， asIwatchedthevideodesignedformeonthisbirthday， initshesaidshewassorryfornotbeingabletobethereasIgrewup， thatshehopedshehadbeenagoodparent， ’sthewaymymotherthoughtthewayshetalked.” Shelookedatme， smilingfondlyatthememory， “Shewassowise.”
Inodded， agreeing， “Yes， shesoundsverywise.”
