It had been some time since Jack had seen the old man. College, girls, career and life itself got in the way. In fact, Jack moved clear across the country in pursuit1 of his dreams. There, in the rush of his busy life, Jack had little time to think about the past and often no time to spend with his wife and son. He was working on his future, and nothing could stop him.
Over the phone, his mother told him, “Mr. Belser died last night. The funeral is Wednesday.” Memories flashed through his mind like an old newsreel2 as he sat quietly remembering his childhood days.
“Jack, did you hear me?”
“Oh, sorry, Mom. Yes, I heard you. It's been so long since I thought of him. I'm sorry, but I honestly thought he died years ago,” Jack said.
“Well, he didn't forget you. Every time I saw him he'd ask how you were doing. He'd reminisced3 about the many days you spent with him,” Mom told him.
“I loved that old house he lived in,” Jack said.
“You know, Jack, after your father died, Mr. Belser stepped in to make sure you had a man's influence in your life,” she said.
“He's the one who taught me carpentry4,” he said. “I wouldn't be in this business if it weren't for him. He spent a lot of time teaching me things he thought were important... Mom, I'll be there for the funeral,” Jack said.
As busy as he was, he kept his word. Jack caught the next flight to his hometown. Mr. Belser's funeral was small and uneventful5. He had no children of his own, and most of his relatives had passed away.
The night before he had to return home, Jack and his Mom stopped by6 to see the old house next door one more time. Standing in the doorway, Jack paused for a moment. It was like crossing over into another dimension, a leap7 through space and time. The house was exactly as he remembered. Every step held memories. Every picture, every piece of furniture... Jack stopped suddenly.
“What's wrong, Jack?” his Mom asked.
“The box is gone,” he said.
“What box? ” Mom asked.
“There was a small gold box that he kept locked on top of his desk. I must have asked him a thousand times what was inside. All he'd ever tell me was 'the thing I value most',” Jack said.
It was gone. Everything about the house was exactly how Jack remembered it, except for the box. He figured8 someone from the Belser family had taken it.
“Now I'll never know what was so valuable to him,” Jack said. “I'd better get some sleep. I have an early flight home, Mom.”
It had been about two weeks since Mr. Belser died. Returning home from work one day Jack discovered a note in his mailbox. “Signature required on a package. No one at home. Please stop by the main post office within the next three days,” the note read.
Early the next day Jack retrieved9 the package. The small box was old and looked like it had been mailed a hundred years ago. The handwriting was difficult to read, but the return address caught his attention: “Mr. Harold Belser” it read.
Jack took the box out to his car and ripped10 open the package. There inside was the gold box and an envelope. Jack's hands shook as he read the note inside.
“Upon my death, please forward this box and its contents to Jack Bennett. It's the thing I valued most in my life.”A small key was taped11 to the letter.
His heart racing, as tears filling his eyes, Jack carefully unlocked the box. There inside he found a beautiful gold pocket watch. Running his fingers slowly over the finely etched12 casing13, he unlatched14 the cover. Inside he found these words engraved, “Jack, Thanks for your time! Harold Belser.”
“The thing he valued most... was... my time.”
Jack held the watch for a few minutes, then called his office and cleared his appointments for the next two days.
“Why?” Janet, his assistant asked.
“I need some time to spend with my son,” he said.
“Oh, by the way, Janet... thanks for your time!”
杰克已有些时间没见到贝尔瑟老人了。上大学、谈恋爱、工作还有生活本身一忙就顾不上了。事实上，为了追逐自己的梦想，杰克在全国各地到处奔波。在忙碌的生活中，他无暇回想自己的过去，也没有时间陪伴妻儿。他在为自己的将来努力奋斗，其他的事情都不能妨碍他。
母亲来电话了，她告诉杰克：“贝尔瑟先生昨晚去世了，葬礼定在周三。”杰克静静地坐着，陷入回忆中，童年时光如老电影一般在脑海中一幕一幕闪过。
“杰克，你在听吗？”
“哦，对不起，妈妈，在听呢。很久没想起他了。我很难过，还以为他几年前就不在了。”杰克说。
“他可一直惦记着你呢。每次见到贝尔瑟先生，他都要问起你。他还清楚地记得你从前陪伴他的那些日子。”妈妈告诉他。
“我喜欢他住的老房子。”杰克说。
“杰克，你爸爸去世后，贝尔瑟先生就主动来照料你，他不希望你的生活中失去男人的影响。”她说。
“是他教会了我做木工活。”他说，“如果没有他，我就不会从事这一行当。他认为重要的都教给我了，费了好多时间……妈妈，我要去参加他的葬礼。”杰克说。
尽管工作繁忙，杰克还是信守了自己的诺言。他搭下一航班回到了家乡。
贝尔瑟先生的葬礼简单而平淡。他膝下无子，亲戚大多已不在人世。
在不得不离乡返回的前一夜，杰克和母亲顺便再一次去看隔壁的老房子。杰克站在门口，静静地呆了片刻。他感觉自己仿佛跨越时空，来到了另一个世界。房子还是他记忆中的老样子。走进屋内，每一步都勾起他的回忆。这里的每一幅画、每一件家具……突然，杰克停下了脚步。
“杰克，怎么了？”妈妈问。
“盒子不见了！”他说。
“什么盒子？”妈妈问。
“贝尔瑟先生有一个上了锁的金色小盒子，他一直把它放在桌上。我总是问他里面是什么，他只告诉我那里面藏着他最珍视的东西。”杰克说。
现在，它不翼而飞了！除了那个盒子，房间里的一切都还是杰克记忆中的模样。他估计是贝尔瑟家的哪位亲戚拿走了盒子。
“我永远不会知道他最珍视的东西是什么了。”杰克颇感遗憾。“我最好睡一下。我要搭早班飞机回家，妈妈。”
贝尔瑟先生去世大约两周了。一天下班回家，杰克发现邮箱里有一张便条。便条上写着：“请在邮包上签字。家中无人。请在近3日内去邮政总局领取邮包。”
第二天一大早，杰克领回了邮包。装邮件的小盒子很破旧，就像一百年前邮寄的。笔迹很难辨认，不过寄件人的姓名引起了他的注意，正是“哈罗尔德·贝尔瑟先生”。
杰克把盒子拿到车上，撕开了邮包。里面是一个金色的盒子和一个信封。他读着里面的便条，双手颤抖。
“我死后，请把这个盒子和里面的物品转交给杰克·贝尼特。这是我一生中最珍视的东西。”一把小钥匙粘在信上。
杰克心跳加快，热泪盈眶。他小心翼翼地打开盒子，里面是一个做工精美的金怀表。杰克的手指缓缓地滑过精致的表壳，掀开翻盖，里面刻着一行字：“杰克，谢谢你抽时间陪伴我！——哈罗尔德·贝尔瑟。”
“他最珍视的东西……是……我和他呆在一起的时间！”
杰克捧着手里的怀表，良久，他打电话到办公室让助理取消未来两天的工作安排。
“为什么？”助理珍尼特不解地问。
“我得花些时间陪陪我的儿子。”他说。
“噢，对了，珍尼特……谢谢你和我共同度过的时间！”
1. pursuit n. 追逐，追求
2. newsreel n. （电影）新闻短片
3. reminisce v. 回忆
4. carpentry n. 木工手艺，木匠活
5. uneventful adj. 平静的，平凡的
6. stop by （顺便）过访
7. leap n. 飞跃，跳跃
8. figure v. 认为
9. retrieve v. 领回，取回
10. rip [rip] v. 撕
11. tape [teip] v. 用胶布固定
12. etch v. 蚀刻，浸蚀（图案、图画等）
13. casing n. 壳
14. unlatch v. 打开，拉开