The keychains

Even though they were already married, the couple still hesitated about having children. There were many reasons for such an important issue. They needed more time to earn money, needed more time to play. After all, they were still too young and were overwhelmed with work six days a week. On the remaining Sundays, choosing to live happily, the couple leisurely went to Lai Thieu garden, went to Thu Duc or he drove me all the way to Mui Ne, Binh Thuan to change the atmosphere, temporarily forgetting all the work of the week.

His mother looked at the two of them when they took each other to visit their paternal grandparents: “Is there any good news for you two? Is there any problem that you don’t have a baby for me to hold? This house hasn’t had a child for a long time.” My mother, in her free time, picked up two hangers and crocheted cute children’s shirts and hats “for her grandchildren.”

The day we went to Thailand for the New Year holiday, it was our first trip abroad. Looking at the woman pushing her baby in a stroller on the street, he suddenly whispered in my ear: "In a few years, let's also push our baby in a stroller around the street, okay?" Then our friends had their own cute children, and he and I often went to the first birthday parties of our friends' children. Those bustling parties were often held right at home. Each house had a different decoration, but most of the time there was the sound of children crying and laughing, the sound of adults cuddling and exclaiming, making me feel indescribable happiness.

But we had only been married for two years, I was still too young, my job at the advertising company was always full, I had to stay at noon, come back in the afternoon and jostle through the heavy traffic, when I got home it was already dark. And he was the marketing director of a software company, often on business trips. His company's clients were all over the country, sometimes he had to go to Cambodia, Thailand, Laos.

So in my souvenir display cabinet there are countless keychains he bought during those trips. Why keychains? Simply, when we were students, he and I met because he had a side job to pay for his studies, making keychains from miscellaneous items such as dry coconut shells, wood, plastic, or even colorful yarn. My part-time job was to find and collect small, pretty items to sell online.

After graduating, getting a job and living together, our life seemed stable. He gradually got into the habit of buying keychains as souvenirs wherever he went. And whenever he had free time after many tiring business trips, he would take me somewhere, or take me to places he had been to, sometimes for no reason but just to have some private moments together. My life was filled with happiness.

But as time passed, I began to think more about whether I should have children. I got into the habit of looking at pregnant women when I saw them in the supermarket, on the street, in restaurants. Pregnant women no longer have slim figures, that's for sure. I imagined that if I got pregnant, I would definitely become ugly. I also imagined that he wouldn't care about me anymore. Who knows...

But my mother said that no matter what, a couple should have a child. It is the bond of love and responsibility between husband and wife, it is the happiness of life. His mother said that except in cases of force majeure due to health, every family has children so that adults can experience the feeling of pampering and loving their grandchildren in the house. That feeling will make everyone happy.

Then there was another member in my small house. He thought very carefully about choosing a name for his first son. I did not compete with him in naming the child, because I knew it was his joy. Finally, he decided to name him An Nhien. The name for a boy sounded like a girl's name, but An Nhien is a beautiful name. From the moment I was three months pregnant, when the baby boy was taking shape in my belly, he became an exemplary family man. He asked to be transferred to the administrative department so that he could come home often.

Normally, he loves listening to music. He bought a very good speaker system for the living room. Every time he comes home, he plays upbeat music. But since I got pregnant, he bought classical music CDs and played them softly. “To lull the baby to sleep.” He skipped drinking with friends in the evening and came home early. Before going home, he stopped by the store and bought the food I liked. When I was morning sick in the third month, I suddenly craved dried fish. He bought dried fish from Ca Mau and brought it back. He grilled the dried fish and sat there watching me eat it with chili sauce. In general, he was more attached to his family and pampered me than when we first started dating.

Days passed, months passed. I had happy days of pregnancy. My husband and I waited each day to welcome baby An Nhien.

But it wasn’t just my husband and I waiting, more precisely, both my parents’ families were waiting to welcome the little grandchild. His mother and my mother often went back and forth, shopping for all sorts of things for both mother and baby. His mother brought ginger wine for me to massage her feet. My mother brought pretty clothes that she had painstakingly knitted. As for him, he managed to buy a small car. He said: “Buy a car to pick up my son and bring him home in a few days.”

* * *

Today, our whole family is preparing to celebrate An Nhien’s first birthday. The small apartment of the couple is crowded with people but it is fun. Both the paternal and maternal sides take turns holding the baby. When An Nhien cries, the sound of the baby shakes the whole space. Everyone sees the baby’s face as similar to their own. As for him, he whispered in my ear: “Actually, our child looks just like me in every way.”

He displayed several key chains in front of An Nhien, some of which he had made during his college days. An Nhien chose a pretty key chain shaped like a car. The whole family burst into laughter...

Source: https://baocantho.com.vn/nhung-chiec-moc-khoa-a188669.html