Ferraro's weapons store is not big, and there are not many weapons displayed inside. And directly opposite the door, there is a blond woman wearing a leather apron and glasses who is using a carving knife in her hand.
Something is carefully carved on a double-barreled shotgun.
In addition, there was a little boy who looked to be about eight or nine years old in the weapons store. He was lying on the wooden floor playing with some tin soldier toys to simulate a battle before the battle.
"Is it Ms. Laura?" Will, the black man walking at the front, asked, "Ms. Laura Raft?"
"Hello"
The woman who was busy behind the workbench raised her head, nodded first, and then shook her head, "Laura Raft was my name two years ago, and now my name is Laura Ferraro."
At this point, Laura paused, and then asked tentatively, "Are you...Tom's comrades in arms?"
“It is true”
Will glanced at the child who was still lying on the floor, dubbing the cannon fire, but he didn't know how to continue the topic.
Laura was silent for a moment, then pointed to the stairs leading to the second floor, "Come upstairs with me and have a chat."
"Ms. Laura, can you please help me take care of the child?" Marshall asked, pointing to the stroller with one hand and the little boy lying on the floor amusing himself with the other.
"Pierce, how about locking the door and helping take care of the little guest in the stroller?" Laura asked loudly.
"No problem, Mom! Just leave it to me downstairs! I will definitely take good care of this little guest!"
The little guy named Pierce made a promise like a little adult, and at the same time locked the door of the weapons store with a familiarity.
"He is my and Tom's child, Pierce." Laura explained as she led everyone up to the second floor.
When he got everyone a glass of juice, the scene fell silent because no one on either side knew how to speak or what to say.
In the end, Marshall was the first to speak, explaining in detail the relationship between everyone and Tom, as well as what happened on the battlefield that year.
"I'm sorry, Ms. Laura, it was because of me that I hurt Tom." Marshall finally said, "If I hadn't wanted to hold a birthday party, maybe Tom would have..."
"Don't think so"
Laura, who had already burst into tears because of the sad incident, said quickly, "Marshall, don't think so, Tom will not blame you for this reason, and I will not blame you for this reason, neither I nor Tom, we don't want to
You continue your life with self-blame."
Laura wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and tried to smile and said, "On the contrary, I am very grateful to you for allowing Tom to have so many friends on the battlefield. I believe he must have been very happy at that time."
"The time we spent with him was also our happiest memory in Guam."
Wei Ran hesitated for a moment, pulled out the pistol he had won in a bet from his waist, turned the handle of the gun and pushed it to Laura sitting opposite, "This is Tom's sidearm. I'm sorry for taking it back so late."
"This is the last work left by his father."
As Laura spoke, she pointed to a small piece of floral engraving on the trigger guard and said, "I engraved the phrase 'God is with you' myself before he set off."
"Laura, there's this"
Marshall also handed the plastic-sealed Bible he had been holding to the other party, "This is also a relic of Tom. He comforted many wounded soldiers on the battlefield with his faith in God, and also saved me."
Picking up the Bible, Laura gently rubbed the two bullets still embedded in it, but her tears fell down like broken beads, soaking the book that had been stained with the blood of an unknown number of people.
The bible was soaked through and the 1911 pistol with complicated patterns was also wet.
"Laura, I also have a gift here that Tom prepared for you before he was alive." Will, the black man, said after careful consideration, "But I'm not sure whether it will scare you."
"To be precise, it's a gift that Marshall helped Tom prepare for you." Randy added on the side.
"What is it?" Laura asked, wiping her tears.
"It's...a human skull"
When Marshall saw that the people around him were silent, he could only explain himself, "Tom once said that you are a sculptor, and the most suitable gift he could give you might be a human skeleton, so I used..."
Before Marshall could finish speaking, Laura shook her head, "I haven't made any sculptures since Tom was killed in battle. Now I put all my energy into this store and Pierce. However, that share
Can I see the gift?"
"Of course! Of course!"
Before he finished speaking, Will hurriedly opened his satchel and took out the glistening white human head.
Looking at the text left by Tom on the head, Laura seemed to remember something, and said with a nostalgic tone, "His biggest hobby is to hang out in the strip bar next door, although at most he is only drunk and sent away
He's back, but I still care about him. If I had known he would die on the battlefield, maybe I would have been more tolerant of him."
Wei Ran and others couldn't help but look at each other, and couldn't help but think of the tattoo on Tom's butt again.
With a silent sigh, Laura picked up the human head, skillfully spinning it on her calloused fingertips like a basketball, and then accurately threw it into the satchel next to Will.
"Although this is a gift prepared by Tom for me, please take it away if you can. After all, Pierce is still young and our house is also very small. I am worried that it will scare him."
"give it to me"
Marshall took the initiative and said, "My place is big enough and I will keep it well. Laura, if you need this thing one day, you can contact me at any time."
"Then I'll trouble you."
Laura picked up the Bible and the pistol on the table, "I will keep these two things forever. Marshall, Will, Randy and Victor, thank you for sending these things back."
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "Thank you for your willingness to forgive us," Marshall said sincerely.
"Tom just did what he was supposed to do, and you guys did what you were supposed to do, so there's no need to feel guilty."
Laura wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes again, then got up and ran into the bathroom and closed the door. Soon after, suppressed crying came from inside. Obviously, even though more than a year had passed, Tom's death still remained
It was bad news that she couldn't bear to bear.
"It's time for us to leave," Will, the black man, said, and then he was the first to stand up.
After hearing this, everyone stood up one after another and followed Will back to the first floor.
Hanging the satchel in his hand casually on the armrest of the stroller, Marshall knelt down and waved to Tom's son Pierce. When he ran over, he reached out and took out a pill from the stroller's utility bag.
A natural gold nugget the size of an egg was handed to the other party.
Ignoring Randy's wide eyes, Marshall said gently, "Good boy, this is a gift your father Tom asked me to bring you. After we leave, you can lock the door again and give it to you."
How is your mother?"
Pierce looked at the heavy gold nugget in his hand, and then nodded seriously, "I will do as you say."
"I will come back to see you when I have time."
Marshall, who was half-kneeling on the floor, saluted Pierce energetically. After getting a response from the little guy holding the gold nugget opposite, he stood up, pushed the stroller and left the Ferraro Arms Store, and walked straight
After Pierce locked the door again, he walked towards the jeep parked far away.
"Marshall, was that gold just now?" Randy asked dully.
“If it’s not gold, is it shit?”
Marshall seemed to have returned to his original carefree appearance in Guam. As he walked, he said, "Remember when I said I found a piece of gold as big as a grenade in a tributary of the Mississippi River?"
"Remember" Randy seemed to have remembered something, "you also said that when you woke up, Ji Nu had already taken away your wallet."
"That idiot woman did take my wallet," Marshall said with a proud smile, "but she forgot to take the gold nuggets in my safe."
"So what you said at that time was true?" Randy asked belatedly, "Did you really discover a gold mine?!"
“How can such a good thing happen?”
Marshall smiled and explained, "I just looked at the nugget of gold I found in a sunken car while hunting near the Mississippi River. I joined the army to avoid suspicion that the nugget of gold found its way into my hands.
I just didn’t expect that I lost too many things on the battlefield that were far more valuable than that piece of gold.”
"You should be satisfied," Randy said, holding Marshall's shoulders. "At least you know us friends, right?"
Marshall looked back at the weapons store on the corner, and then nodded vigorously, "It's exactly what you said, but I don't even know yet whether that war caused me to lose more or gained me more.
many."
"I'm afraid even God can't explain this issue clearly."
Will pointed to the striptease bar across the street and said, "Should we go have a drink? Randy spent a lot of money on the bar for this day."
“It’s really time to go have a drink”
Marshall said, pretending to take out a children's eye mask with Mickey Mouse printed on it from the stroller's utility bag and put it on the little guy lying inside, "But he's not old enough to watch the striptease show, and I
I hope the bartender can provide this little guy with hot milk today."
"You're as bad at fooling a baby as you are fooling God," Marshall said angrily.
"I'm taking good care of him very seriously," Marshall proudly said as he pushed the stroller across the street. "And I have a hunch that this little guy will definitely become as good a bastard as me in the future."
"That was truly the greatest disaster in American history."
Randy pretended to sigh, and then everyone burst into hearty laughter.
Visiting a striptease bar is definitely a new experience for Wei Ran, but even for a veteran like Randy, it is definitely the first time to visit a striptease bar with a friend pushing a stroller.
Of course, for the dancers standing next to the pole waiting for the performance, the little guy wearing a blindfold and using a 1911 pistol as a toy is definitely the youngest guest they have ever received in their career——
Even though he couldn't see anything because he was wearing a blindfold.
Since there are so many firsts, the bar occupied by Randy naturally doesn't mind preparing a bottle of warm milk that is absolutely non-alcoholic for the youngest guest, Mr. Brown.
Leave the job of feeding the little guy to a dancer who Marshall and Randy agree is the ugliest dancer.
The four of them were sitting on the sofa, admiring the dancers who had never twisted their bodies under such soothing music, and chatting about their experiences.
"Are all you white people's stripteases so elegant?"
Will drank most of the beer in one gulp, "This is the first time I know that a white girl can do a striptease so well to the accompaniment of Bach's minuet..."
"Aren't you worried about disturbing our Mr. Brown?" Randy pointed helplessly at the baby in the distance who was surrounded by two scantily clad dancers, "That little bastard is really happy."
"Mr. Bartender, please bring Randy a bottle of milk. Remember to use a bottle with a nipple." Marshall teased with joy.
"I didn't book this place just to drink milk." Randy picked up the cup angrily, "Originally, I was worried that you were not doing well."
"On the contrary, I'm doing pretty well."
Marshall held up the cup and said, "I returned to Texas. My grandfather passed away last year and he left his farm to me. What about you? What are you doing now?"
"After I retired, I went to the shipyard in Houston," Randy said depressedly, "Now I'm a welder."
"I remember you wanted to be a doctor?" Wei Ran asked in surprise.
"I still wanted to be President of the United States, but who would have thought that that idiot Truman took my position."
Randy made a self-deprecating joke, and finally said with a grimace, "I wanted to be a doctor, but there are too many things to learn, so after two days of thinking, I still think that a welder may be more suitable for me."
"What about you?" Wei Ran turned to look at Will, "Are you still working as a music teacher?"
"No, no, no, I am now the pastor of our local church." After saying this, Will seemed to have remembered something, reached out and took out a paper box and handed it to Wei Ran, "Victor, I hope you didn't
Forget our original bet, this is the harmonica I owe you."
"It's rare that you still remember." Wei Ran took the box handed to him with a dumbfounded expression.
"What about you?" Marshall looked at Weiran, "What are you doing now?"
"Photographer?" Randy asked, "I remember you said you wanted to be a photographer."
"I am indeed a photographer now." Wei Ran scratched his head, "I should have brought my camera with me."
"Mr. Victor, we have a camera here. Do you need to borrow it?"
The bartender who came over with a glass of milk asked politely, and then said to Randy, "This is your milk. Sorry, we don't have a bottle with a nipple here, but if you are willing to wait, you can wait until Mr. Brown uses it."
..”
"Thank you, I'll just drink it."
Randy dumbfounded and refused the bartender who was also teasing him, "Bring your camera by the way and take a group photo for us."
"Remember to let those beautiful girls stand behind us," Marshall reminded, holding the cup.
