America 1982-Chapter 672 - 11: this is America!_2

Tommy stood on the stage, looking down at all the guests whose eyes were on him, and he began with a smile:

"Time flies, it has been forty-two years since I first met Odelia. I was just a high school student back then, and she had just graduated from college. To be honest, I hated Lincoln High School, because even though Odelia and I donated a lot of money together, they only hung her picture. They’d rather hang pictures of dogs or other animals next to hers than put mine up there with her. They mocked me, saying, ’Hey, know your place, you’re just a pet shop owner. What makes you think you’re equal to the woman who’s a Supreme Court Justice of America?’"

"In a fit of anger, I was ready to have my lawyer sue the school into closure, but Odelia stopped me. She said if I did that, she would stand on the opposing side, defending Lincoln High School."

"I told Lincoln High School about this, thinking they would feel relieved to have dodged a bullet, but you know what they said? They said that just proves they made the right decision, that I don’t deserve to be in a picture with Odelia."

"Later on, I thought about it and indeed, it was the case. Remember when Odelia and I were dating, friends would always curiously ask her, ’Did Tommy like you back in high school?’ Then Odelia would explain very seriously, ’No, there were many boys who were attracted to me then. They would take opportunities to get closer, chat with me, etc. But Tommy wasn’t one of them. He was only interested in studying. He even gave away all the girly magazines and movie posters he really liked, which he had saved up for a long time, to others to avoid distraction.’"

"Every time I heard Odelia say that, I would just smile and say nothing, but today, I want to say, how could that be possible?"

"I was a normally developing adolescent boy; how could I not like Odelia? Like Dennis, Pam, Sean, and the other dozens of boys from Lincoln High School, the first time I saw her, I liked her. Yes, liking someone during puberty is just that shallow and straightforward. I still remember that scene, when Ronnie Williams asked me to come to his office. I walked over, pushed open the door, and saw an angel standing there in the office."

"I can’t remember at all what Mr. Williams said, nor did I want to listen. My first thought was, I’m so lucky, I’ve found a girlfriend just as I turned eighteen. My second thought was, you have to get rid of those other eighteen-year-old fools who met her at the same time, like Dennis, like Pam."

"When it comes to love, adolescent boys become selfish and cunning, so those jerks Dennis and Pam didn’t shy away from introducing my ’brave deeds’ to Odelia behind my back, slandering me. Of course, I did the same thing. I gave them the posters and told Odelia that I was studying hard."

"Odelia couldn’t detect my affection for her, just as she said, ’Tommy is only interested in studying and making money.’ But I want to say, that was the only way I could pursue her. I was never a fan of fairy tales. The story of a rich man’s daughter happily marrying the son of a shipbreaker isn’t for me. Though I like to provide opportunities for everyone to achieve the American dream, I’m essentially a pessimist. I knew clearly that in order to pursue her, to help her into a wedding dress and ring, to add the surname Hawk to her name, it wasn’t about finding her every day to create chance encounters and chat. It was about becoming exceptional, more exceptional, so that even if there were other men who fell in love with her and pursued her in the time I worked hard on my own evolution, when I emerged anew, she would still believe that choosing me was the most important and correct decision in her life."

"So, looking back, isn’t what Odelia told her friends interesting? How could I possibly not love her? I moved forward because I do love her."

"In fact, before my first official date with Odelia, her father, Mr. Farrell, once found me privately for a serious talk."

"Don’t look so surprised at your own father, Odelia. I would do the same, and I certainly wouldn’t be as gentlemanly as Mr. Farrell. Going back to that talk, Mr. Farell was very sincere. He told me the reason he has only one daughter, Odelia, is because the moment they took the lovely little angel from the nurse’s hands, he knew he couldn’t split his love with any other children. ’She’s my daughter, and I want to give her my all.’"

"Mr. Farrell told me he was very panicked after knowing about my existence, because he understood that his daughter was going to be taken away by a rascal like me, and he was powerless to stop it."

"He talked a lot about his panic. He said, ’Odelia has been raised so innocently by us, she still believes that those beautiful fairy tales are true. If you love her, please let her continue to believe that this world is as wonderful as a fairy tale, that every story has a happy end.’"

"I told him, from my personal experience, this world is not wonderful at all. But his response was very candid, he said, ’That’s why you exist for her.’"

Having said that, Tommy looked toward Julian Farrell, who was holding Odelia at the foot of the stage, preparing to give his daughter away: "I think, I’ve taken good care of your daughter, haven’t I?"