精致閱讀者套裝(全5冊)

執子之手,與子偕老A Gentle Caress

字體:16+-

達芙娜·勒南/Daphna Renan

Michael and I hardly noticed when the waitress came and placed the plates on our table.We were seated in a small deli tucked away from the bustle of Third Street, in New York City.

Our exchange was lively, if not profound.We laughed about the movie that we had seen the night before and disagreed about the meaning behind the text we had just finished for our literature seminar.He told me about the moment when he had taken the drastic step into maturity by becoming Michael and refusing to respond to“Mickey.”Had he been twelve or fourteen? He couldn’t remember, but he did recall that his mother had cried and said he was growing up too quickly.As we bit into our blueberry blintzes, I told him about the blueberries that my sister and I used to pick when we went to visit our cousins in the country.I recalled that I always finished mine before we got back to the house, and my aunt would warn me that I was going to get a very bad stomachache.Of course, I never did.

As our sweet conversation continued, my eyes glanced across the restaurant, stopping at the small corner booth where an elderly couple sat.Her floral-print dress seemed as faded as the cushion on which she had rested her worn handbag, The top of his head was as shiny as the soft- boiled egg on which he very slowly nibbled.

She also ate her oatmeal at a slow, almost tedious pace.

But what drew my thoughts to them was their undisturbed silence.It seemed to me that a melancholy emptiness permeated their little corner.

As the exchange between Michael and me fluctuated from laughs to whispers, confessions to assessments, this couple’s poignant stillness called to me.How sad, I thought, not to have any thing left to say.Wasn’t there any page that they hadn’t yet turned in each other’s stories? What if that happened to us?

Michael and I paid our small tab and got up to leave the restaurant.As we walked by the corner where the old couple sat, I accidentally dropped my wallet.Bending over to pick it up, I noticed that under the table, each of their free hands was gently cradled in the other’s.They had been holding hands all this time!

I stood up and felt humbled by the simple yet profound act of connection I had just been privileged to witness.This man’s gentle caress of his wife’s tired fingers filled not only what I had previously perceived as an emotionally empty corner, but also my heart.Theirs was not the uncomfortable silence whose threat one always feels just behind the punch line or at the end of an anecdote on the first date.No, theirs was a comfortable, relaxed ease, a gentle love that knew it did not always need words to express itself.

They had probably shared this hour of the morning with each other for a long time, and maybe today wasn’t that different from yesterday, but they were at peace with that, and with each other.

Maybe, I thought as Michael and I walked out, it wouldn’t be so bad if someday that was us.Maybe, it would be kind of nice.

我和邁克爾坐在離紐約市繁華的第三大道的一家小熟食店裏,當服務員把盤子端到了我們桌上,我們幾乎沒注意到。

也許我們的交流算不上深刻,但卻很生動。我們笑談前晚看過的電影,對文學討論課上文章中所表達的內在含義提出異議。他對我說,當他從少年步入成年之後,便拒絕別人再叫他“米奇”,成為真正的邁克爾時,是12歲還是14歲,他記不清了,但他的確記得母親曾嚷著嫌他長得太快。我們開始吃藍莓薄餅卷時,我把我和妹妹去鄉下看表姐妹時摘藍莓的故事講給他聽。記得我總是在回家前把我摘的那些都吃光,而姑姑總告誡我說,那樣會肚子疼。當然,我肚子從來都沒疼過。

我們的暢談仍在繼續,我環顧了一下餐館,一對老年夫婦吸引了我的目光,他們坐在一個靠牆角的小餐桌旁。她的那條花裙子和她身後的椅墊一樣褪了色,而她的舊手提包就放在椅墊上。老頭有著光澤的頭頂,就和他正細嚼慢咽的糖心蛋一樣閃閃發亮。

她不緊不慢地喝著麥片粥,讓人感到單調乏味。

他們不受外界幹擾的靜默吸引了我的注意。在我眼裏,他們那個小小的角落被一種令人憂鬱的空虛浸透了。

我和邁克爾繼續交談著,時而歡笑,時而低語,時而表白,時而品評,而我卻被這對老夫婦透徹的靜寂深深觸動了。太可悲了,我想,難道真的無話可說了,難道彼此的故事裏再也沒有未敞開的新篇章了嗎?倘若我們遇到這樣的情景又會怎樣呢?

我和邁克爾埋單後起身離開餐館。我們經過老夫婦就坐的角落時,我的錢包剛好掉到地上。我彎下身去撿錢包,卻發現他們的另一隻手溫柔地在餐桌下握在一起。他們的手始終這樣握著!

我站起身,親眼目睹的樸素而真摯的相依之情,不禁讓我感到自慚形穢。老人溫柔地愛撫妻子那疲憊的手指時所流露出的柔情,不僅填補了我曾以為是情感空白的角落,也充溢著我的內心。他們的靜默並非那種初次約會時一句妙語或一段趣聞之後那種沉默。他們的沉默反而令人感到很愜意,是一種無需語言表達的溫柔之愛。

或許,很長時間以來他們一直這樣共同分享早上的時光,今天與昨天相比,並沒有什麽差別,可他們卻用一種平和的心態對待一切,彼此以誠相待。

我與邁克爾走出餐館時,我不禁想,或許有一天,我們也會這樣,那未必是件壞事,興許會是件好事。

(1) profounda.very sad

(2) melancholy b.showing intellectual penetration or emotional depths

(3) perceive c.an interesting incident

(4) anecdote d.to attain awareness or understanding of

Write

TRUEif the statement agrees with the information

FALSEif the statement contradicts the information

_______ (1) I felt there was no affection between the elder couple.

_______ (2) I know how to love Michael from the elder couple.

1.As the exchange between Michael and me fluctuated from laughs to whispers, confessions to assessments, this couple’s poignant stillness_______.

我和邁克爾繼續交談著,時而歡笑,時而低語,時而表白,時而品評,而我卻被這對老夫婦透徹的靜寂深深觸動了。

2.I stood up and felt humbled by the simple yet profound act of connection I hadj ust been _______.

我站起身,親眼目睹的樸素而真摯的相依之情,不禁讓我感到自慚形穢。

3.Theirs was a comfortable, relaxed ease, a gentle love that knew it did not a l w a y s need words to _______.

他們的沉默反而令人感到很愜意,是一種無需語言表達的溫柔之愛。