While at the park one day, a woman sat down next to a man on a bench near a playground. “That’s my son over there,” she said, pointing to (指着) a little boy in a red sweater.
“He’s a fine looking boy,” the man said. “That’s my daughter on the bike in the white dress.” Then, looking at his watch, he called to his daughter: “We have to leave for home now, Melissa.”
“Just five more minutes, Dad,” Melissa said. “Please? Just five more minutes.”
The man nodded (点头) and Melissa went on riding her bike happily. Minutes passed and the father stood and called again to his daughter, “Time to go now?”
“Five more minutes, Dad,” Melissa said again. “Just five more minutes.”
The man smiled and said: “OK.”
“Oh, you really are a patient father,” said the woman.
The man smiled and then said: “Her older brother Tommy died (死) in a traffic accident last year while he was riding his bike near here,” the man said. “I never spent much time with Tommy and now I’d give anything for just five more minutes with him. I’ve vowed (发誓) not to make the same mistake with Melissa. She thinks she has five more minutes to ride her bike. The truth is, I get five more minutes to watch her play.”
The man’s daughter and her brother were playing at the park.
The man felt sorry that he didn’t give more of his time to his older son.
Melissa wanted to stay longer when her father asked her to go the first time.
Melissa agreed to go home when her father called her the second time.
The man learned a lot from Tommy’s death.