In order to take care of my father, I started to learn to make patient recipes, boil light soups, cook light dishes and send them to the hospital on time. My father, who has a strong taste, is not used to eating these, so I coax him to eat like a child and tell jokes to make him laugh.
I asked the doctor not to tell him about my illness. I tried to improve our previous father-daughter relationship. I wanted him to be happy in his last days.
When it was cool in the evening, I pushed my father in a wheelchair for a walk. The patients passing by envied him for having such a filial daughter like me, and I saw a smile in the corner of his eyes.
When we stopped at the hospital garden, my father took my hand and asked me, "An An, do you know who gave you your name?"
I didn't know why he asked that. I never thought my name had any meaning. I even thought it was very common. I shook my head and waited for him to continue.
"An'an, your name was given by your mother before she passed away. She had severe bleeding when she gave birth to you, which caused complications. She was most worried about you when she passed away, so she named you 'Ping'. She hoped that you would live a peaceful life..."
It turns out that there is such a story behind my name. It is not just a name, but also carries a mother's best wishes for her children.
Dad looked at me, took my hand and said, "An'an, you don't have to ask them to hide it from me. I know my body condition well. I won't live long, so you don't have to worry about me... I saved some money for you, so you have to take good care of yourself in the future!"
I nodded and agreed with my father that he would be a little tired after talking too much today, and then I sent him back to the ward.
Li Ye is in the surgery department upstairs from my father. He has been hospitalized for three days and I have not visited him yet. I made an extra bowl of chicken soup in the morning and planned to send breakfast to my father before visiting him.
When I opened the door of the ward, I saw Li Ye half lying down answering the phone. He pointed his finger and motioned for me to sit down.
"You ugly heartless girl! Why don't you wait until I die before coming to see me?" Li Ye hung up the phone and complained to me for not coming to see me earlier.
Seeing that he was in such good spirits, I guessed that he had almost recovered, so I poured a bowl of soup and handed it to him.
"Wow, you made the soup? Yi Ping'an actually knows how to make soup?" Li Ye asked me in surprise.
I held out the bowl to him and said, "Drink it! I came here to see you, and you called me an ugly girl!"
Li Ye took the soup and drank a few sips, smacking his lips and saying, "Thank you, it's really delicious!"
"Really? But my dad..." I hesitated to speak. I always couldn't help feeling sad when I mentioned my dad.
Li Ye saw that I was frowning and asked me hurriedly, "What happened to your father?"
"Li Ye, my dad may not live long..." After knowing Li Ye for such a long time and going through some things together, I had unknowingly regarded him as a good friend, so I told him about my father's illness.
"Ping'an, I'm sorry, I didn't know this... I still blame you for not coming to see me, I'm sorry!" Li Ye was a little panicked, and it was obvious that he wanted to comfort me.
"Li Ye, actually I have been enduring so much hardship alone these days , and I don't even have anyone to talk to. Thank you." I was cleaning up the soup bowls, and I felt less depressed after telling Li Ye. "The doctor said that Daddy doesn't have much time left. I never cared about him before, but now I want to be a good daughter. I won't have any relatives in the future. I promised Daddy that I would take good care of myself, and now I have to take good care of him."
Li Ye looked at me with complicated eyes. I asked him not to comfort me and told him that I was very strong.