每天读点好英文：我不爱这世界，我只爱你(txt+pdf+epub+mobi电子书下载)

作者：暖小昕

出版社：宁波出版社

格式: AZW3, DOCX, EPUB, MOBI, PDF, TXT

每天读点好英文：我不爱这世界，我只爱你试读：

一天清晨，我在世界上人们最不想去的地方——长期看护所里，目睹了一段浪漫故事。那时，我父亲和另外三位先生同住一间房。虽然条件不是很好，但已是当时管理员所能提供的最好环境了。

在那次特殊拜访的前几天，一对老年夫妇被送进了这家看护所。因为没有多余的双人间，他们只好被分开。那位老先生，维斯特先生（化名），被安排住到我父亲的临床。而他的妻子，维斯特太太，则被安排到大厅另一侧的房间，和几位女士合住。

去看父亲的那个上午，我见到了维斯特先生。当时有三个护理员在照料他。自从住进看护所，他就没吃过一口东西。从护理员的神情中，我能看出他们很担心他。当一个护理员正用小勺哄他吃一种胶状食物时，另一个护理员则试着让他吸食一种营养汁，而第三个护理员则端着一杯水站在旁边。可是，维斯特先生却坚决不肯张嘴。“来尝尝这个。”其中一个护理员取出一支棒棒糖，撕掉糖纸递给维斯特先生。然而他仍紧闭着双唇，不听任何人的劝说。最后，他自言自语地说了一些有关他妻子的话，而她就住在大厅的另一侧。“去把维斯特太太找来，”护理员对助手说着，随手把棒棒糖也给了他。“或许维斯特先生肯为她而吃点东西。”

几分钟后，一位和蔼可亲的老太太坐着轮椅被推了进来，她手里拿着的正是那支棒棒糖。她的微笑极富感染力，维斯特先生也露出了灿烂的笑容。我突然觉得自己的存在仿佛侵犯了他们的私人空间，但是我却无法将视线从那对老夫妇身上移开。当维斯特太太轻拍维斯特先生的手并轻抚他的额头时，你可以真切体会到他们之间的那份爱。

维斯特太太温柔地劝说维斯特先生先吃点东西。令人惊讶的事情发生了，维斯特先生张开嘴津津有味地吃起那支棒棒糖，同时也享受着有妻子陪伴的欢愉。护理员喂他食物时，他始终带着笑意凝视着妻子。维斯特太太开始为他轻声哼唱。他原本严肃的脸顿时露出了轻松的表情。

我被感动得热泪盈眶。护理员拉上围帘，将他们围在其中，让他们尽情享用这段私人空间。我发觉，浪漫不仅仅是恋爱中的年轻人的专属，它会陪伴我们一生，并随着年龄的增长而变得愈加香醇。不一会儿，惬意的鼾声从旁边的床上传来。

现在，维斯特夫妇住在一个没有轮椅，没有看护室，没有任何限制的自由之所。他们不会再因为房间而分离，而他们的眼中也不再有泪水。我坚信他们的婚姻已经超越了“生死相许”的誓言成为永恒。那天，我不仅亲眼见证了一段难忘的浪漫故事，也从这对相亲相爱的老夫妇那倦怠而焦灼的眼神中，瞥到了永恒的瞬间。

Early one morning, I witnessed romance at one of the least-expected places in the world—a long-term care facility. At the time, my father shared a room with three other gentlemen. While it wasn' t an ideal situation, it was the best the administrator could do at the time.

A few days before this particular visit, an elderly couple was admitted to the facility. Since there wasn' t a double room available, they were forced to separate the couple. The gentleman, Mr. West (name has been changed) was placed in the bed beside Daddy. His wife, Mrs. West, shared a room with several other ladies down the hall.

When I went to see Daddy that morning, I met Mr. West. Three employees were working with him. He hadn' t eaten a bite of food since he was admitted several days earlier. I could tell by the expression on the nurses' faces that they were worried about him. While one nurse was trying to get him to open his mouth with spoonfuls of gelatin, another nurse was trying to coax him to drink a health shake from a straw. The third nurse was standing nearby with a cup of water. Mr. West refused to open his mouth for any of them.The romance doesn' t only exist when we' re young and in love. Romance lasts a lifetime and grows stronger with age.

“Let' s try this.”one of the nurses said. She pulled out a lollipop, tore off the paper and offered it to Mr. West. His lips were clamped together tightly. He refused to listen to reason. Finally, he uttered something about his sweetheart, who was resting down the hall.

“Go get Mrs. West, ”the nurse instructed her helper, while handing her the lollipop.“Maybe Mr. West will eat for her.”

In a few minutes a kind-looking lady was wheeled into the room. She held the lollipop in her hand. Her smile was contagious and Mr. West smiled brightly. I felt as though I was intruding on a private moment, but I couldn' t take my eyes off the couple. The love between them was obvious, as Mrs. West patted Mr. West' s hand and then caressed his forehead.

With a soft voice, Mrs. West convinced Mr. West to eat. To everyone' s surprise, Mr. West opened his mouth and began to enjoy the lollipop and his wife' s company. While the nurses fed him, he stared at his sweetheart with a smile on his face. Mrs. West began humming a tune to him. The expression on his once solemn face became even brighter.

Tears filled my eyes. The nurse then pulled the curtain around the couple to give them some quality time alone to visit. I discovered that romance doesn' t only exist when we' re young and in love. Romance lasts a lifetime and grows stronger with age. Before long I heard snores of contentment coming from the bed beside me.

Today, Mr. and Mrs. West reside together in a place where there are no limitations, nursing homes or wheelchairs. There are no tears in their eyes or rooms dividing them. I am convinced that the West marriage went well beyond“till death us do part”and will last throughout eternity. Not only did I witness a memorable romance that day, I saw a glimpse of forever in a loving couple' s tired and worn-out eyes.汉诺威广场，不见不散|My Darling Wife佚名 / Anonymous

第一次见到你，真的已经是62年前的事了吗？我明白，这是一生的缘分。但此时，当我凝望着你的双眸时，一切又都像是就发生在昨天，在汉诺威广场的那间小咖啡店里。

当时，你正在为一位年轻的母亲和她的新生宝贝开门，就在那一瞬间，我看到了你的微笑；从那一刻开始，我就知道，我要与你共度我的余生。

时至今日，我仍然觉得，初次遇到你时，我凝望你的眼神看起来一定很愚钝。我记得，当时我呆呆地望着你摘下帽子，用手指轻柔地抚弄着你的黑发。

你把帽子放在桌上，双手捧一杯热气腾腾的茶，嘟着嘴轻轻地吹开热气，那一刻，我感觉自己已经完全沉醉在你的一举一动中了。

从那时起，每一件事对我来说都好像是有意义的。咖啡店里的人们，以及行走于匆忙的街道上的人们顿时都消失在了迷雾之中。我的眼中只有你。

在我的一生之中，那次的初遇曾多次在我的脑中重现。一次又一次，我坐在那里，回味着当时的情形，感受岁月如梭，再次体味着你我初遇时的那份真爱。令我感到欣慰的是，多年以后的今天我仍然能够重拾那份感觉，我知道这是我生命中永远的慰藉。

即使我在战壕中不由自主地战栗和发抖时，我也没有忘记你的容颜。我蜷缩在潮湿的泥浆中，恐惧和枪林弹雨包围着我。我握着步枪，将其紧紧地贴在胸口，再次回想起我们的初遇。当战争的号角吹响时，我在恐惧中大叫。但是当我想到你，看到你在我的背后微笑，周围的一切顿时便陷入沉寂，我与你在这宝贵的时刻里相遇，暂时远离死亡和毁灭。直到我再次睁开双眼，我才又看到周围的战火，听到屠杀的声音。

九月，我回到了你身边，那时的我，因受伤痛的折磨而变得脆弱不堪，我无法告诉你我对你的爱是多么的强烈。我们彼此紧紧拥抱，仿佛想融入对方的身体，就在那一天，我向你求婚。当你注视我的双眼，说“我愿意”时，兴高采烈的我兴奋得大叫。

此时，我正看着我们的结婚照，我一直把它放在梳妆台上——你的首饰盒旁边。那时的我们是多么年轻和天真啊！我记得你说我穿制服很神勇英俊，而那时我正站在教堂的台阶上，咧着嘴笑得像只柴郡猫。这张照片已经有些泛黄和褪色，但是每当我看到它，眼里却只有我们年轻时灿烂的容颜。

一年后，你轻轻地将我的手放在你的腹部，悄悄地告诉我，我们有孩子了。那一刻，我记得我几乎被这突如其来的幸福所击倒！

我知道我们的两个孩子都深深地爱着你，此时，他们就在门外等候着。

你记得吗？乔纳森出世时，我是多么慌张！我还记得，当我第一次把他抱在怀中，你含笑望着我时的表情。微笑中，你的眼泪夺眶而出，我望着他，也流下了开心的眼泪。

萨拉和汤姆今天早上带着小泰西来了。你还记得我们初次看到我们的小孙女时，曾紧紧地拥抱在一起吗？

亲爱的，我知道你很累，我必须要放你走。但我是如此爱你，让你离开，我好难过。

亲爱的，我必须得走了，孩子们正在外面等我，他们也希望能同你道别。

你要离开我了，我很悲痛，但是请不要担心，只要一想到我很快就能去陪你，我就感到欣慰。我知道，不久之后，我们就会在汉诺威广场上的那间小咖啡店里再次相聚。

Can it really be sixty-two years ago that I first saw you?

It is truly a lifetime, I know. But as I gaze into your eyes now, it seems like only yesterday that I first saw you, in that small cafe in Hanover Square.

From the moment I saw you smile, as you opened the door for that young mother and her newborn baby, I knew that I wanted to share the rest of my life with you.

I still think of how foolish I must have looked, as l gazed at you, that first time I remember watching you intently, as you took off your hat and loosely shook your short dark hair with your fingers I felt myself becoming immersed in your every detail, as you placed your hat on the table and cupped your hands around the hot cup of tea, gently blowing the steam away with your pouted lips.

From that moment, everything seemed to make perfect sense to me. The people in the cafe and the busy street outside all disappeared into a hazy blur.All I could see was you.

All through my life I have relived that very first day. Many, many times I have sat and thought about that the first day, and how for a few fleeting moments I am there, feeling again what is like to know true love for the very first time. It pleases me that I can still have those feelings now after all those years, and I know I will always have them to comfort me.

Not even as I shook and trembled uncontrollably in the trenches, did I forget your face. I would sit huddled into the wet mud, terrified, as the hails of bullets and mortars crashed down around me. I would clutch my rifle tightly to my heart, and think again of that very first day we met. I would cry out in fear, as the noise of war beat down around me. But, as I thought of you and saw you smiling back at me, everything around me would be silent, and I would be with you again for a few precious moments, far from the death and destruction.It would not be until I opened my eyes once again, that I would see and hear the carnage of the war around me.

I cannot tell you how strong my love for you was back then, when I returned to you on leave in the September, feeling battered, bruised and fragile. We held each other so tight I thought we would burst. I asked you to marry me the very same day and I whooped with joy when you looked deep into my eyes and said“yes”to being my bride.

I' m looking at our wedding photo now, the one on our dressing table, next to your jewellery box. I think of how young and innocent we were back then. I remember being on the church steps grinning like a Cheshire cat, when you said how dashing and handsome I looked in my uniform. The photo is old and faded now, but when I look at it, I only see the bright vibrant colors of our youth.

I remember being so over-enjoyed, when a year later, you gently held my hand to your waist and whispered in my ear that we were going to be a family.

I know both our children love you dearly; they are outside the door now, waiting.

Do you remember, how I panicked like a mad man when Jonathon was born? I can still picture you laughing and smiling at me now, as I clumsily held him for the very first time in my arms. I watched as your laughter faded into tears, as I stared at him and cried my own tears of joy.

Sarah and Tom arrived this morning with little Tessie. Can you remember how we both hugged each other tightly when we saw our tiny granddaughter for the first time?

I know you are tired, my dear, and I must let you go. But I love you so much and it hurts to do so.

I must go now, my darling. Our children are waiting outside. They want to say goodbye to you.

I am sad that you had to leave me, but please don' t worry. I am content, knowing I will be with you soon. I know it won' t be long before we meet again in that small cafe in Hanover Square.玫瑰之约|Roses for Rose佚名 / Anonymous

红玫瑰是她的最爱，她的名字叫罗丝，也是“玫瑰”的意思。每年情人节，丈夫都要送她用漂亮的丝带扎好的玫瑰花。丈夫去世的那年，她依然收到了玫瑰花，卡片上像往年一样写着：“献给我的爱人！”

每年，丈夫送她花时，都要写下这样一些话：“我爱你，今朝更胜往昔。”“时光流转，我对你的爱历久弥新。”她知道，这是她最后一次收到丈夫的玫瑰花了。

她想，玫瑰花一定是他提前预订的。她亲爱的丈夫并不知道，自己将会死去。他总喜欢提前把一些事情安排妥当，这样，即使再忙，他也可以从容应对，处理好一切。

她修剪好枝叶，将花插到一个别致的花瓶里。然后，把花瓶放到面带微笑的丈夫的遗像旁。她会坐在丈夫最喜欢的椅子里，一坐就是几个小时，伴着玫瑰花，凝神地望着他的照片。

一年过去了，没有丈夫的日子十分难熬。在孤独与寂寞中，她又迎来了另一个情人节。情人节前夕，一如既往，家里的门铃响了，有人送来一束玫瑰花，放在了门口。

她把玫瑰花拿进屋，吃惊地看着它们。然后走到电话旁，拨通了花店的电话，是店主接的，她要他解释为什么还有人送花给她，徒增她的悲伤。“我知道您的丈夫一年前就过世了，”店主说，“我也知道您会打电话来问究竟的。您今天收到的花，也是他提前付过款的。您丈夫总是提前准备好一切，以求万无一失。“他预付了花款，委托我们每年给您送花。还有一件事，我想您应该了解。几年前他就写好了一张特别的小卡片。“那张卡片……是他让我们在他死后的第二年送给您。现在他不在了，所以就把卡片送给您了。”When you get these roses,think of all the happiness, that we had together,and how both of us were blessed.I have always loved you and I know I always will.

她谢过店主，挂断了电话，泪如泉涌。她的手颤抖着，缓缓地伸向那张卡片。

卡片上是丈夫的字迹，她静静地注视着它，这是他亲手写给她的……“亲爱的，你好！我知道我已经离开你一年了，我希望这一年里你没有受太多的苦。“我知道这一年你一定很孤单，很痛苦。我也知道，如果换作是我，我也会那样的。我们的爱使生命中的一切都变得美好。我对你的爱用语言无法表达，你是我完美的爱妻。“你是我的朋友、我的爱人，你让我时刻都感到心满意足。我知道这才仅仅过去一年，但我还是要你努力去忘记苦痛。我想让你快乐，即使流泪也是因幸福而泣。正因为如此，我要每年送你玫瑰花。“当你收到这些玫瑰时，想想我们一起度过的美好时光，我们曾经是多么幸福呀！我一直深爱着你，并将一直深爱下去。但是，亲爱的，答应我，一定要好好活着。“请努力寻找幸福，珍惜生命中的每一天。我知道那并不容易，但我仍希望你能努力去做。玫瑰花每年都会如期而至，除非你不再应门，花店才会停止送花。“每年送花时，花店会派人来五次，以免你外出。第五次来访时若还没有遇到你，送花人便可确定他已经可以把花送到我告诉他们的另一个地方，那就是我们的重逢之地。”

Red roses were her favorites, her name was also Rose. And every year her husband sent them, tied with pretty bows. The year he died, the roses were delivered to her door. The card said, “Be my Valentine, ”like all the years before.

Each year he sent her roses, and the note would always say, “I love you even more this year, than last year on this day.”“My love for you will always grow, with every passing year.”She knew this was the last time that the roses would appear.

She thought, he ordered roses in advance before this day. Her loving husband did not know, that he would pass away. He always liked to do things early, before the time. Then, if he got too busy, everything would work out fine.

She trimmed the stems, and placed them in a very special vase. Then, sat the vase beside the portrait of his smiling face. She would sit for hours, in her husband' s favorite chair. While staring at his picture, and the roses sitting there.

A year went by, and it was hard to live without her mate. With loneliness and solitude, that had become her fate. Then, the very hour, as on Valentines before, the doorbell rang, and there were roses, sitting by her door.

She brought the roses in, and then just looked at them in shock. Then, went to get the telephone, to call the florist shop. The owner answered, and she asked him, if he would explain, why would someone do this to her, causing her such pain?

“I know your husband passed away, more than a year ago, ”The owner said, “I knew you' d call, and you would want to know. The flowers you received today were paid for in advance. Your husband always planned ahead, he left nothing to chance.

“There is a standing order, that I have on file down here. And he has paid, well in advance, you' ll get them every year. There also is another thing that I think you should know, he wrote a special little card ... he did this years ago.

“Then, should ever I find out that he' s no longer here, that' s the card ... that should be sent to you the following year.”

She thanked him and hung up the phone, her tears now flowing hard. Her fingers shaking, as she slowly reached to get the card.

Inside the card, she saw that he had written her a note. Then, as she stared in total silence, this is what he wrote ...“Hello, my love, I know it' s been a year since I' ve been gone, I hope it hasn' t been too hard for you to overcome.

“I know it must be lonely, and the pain is very real. For if it was the other way, I know how I would feel. The love we shared made everything so beautiful in life. I loved you more than words can say, you were the perfect wife.

“You were my friend and lover, you fulfilled my every need. I know it' s only been a year, but please try not to grieve. I want you to be happy, even when you shed your tears. That is why the roses will be sent to you for years.

“When you get these roses, think of all the happiness, that we had together, and how both of us were blessed. I have always loved you and I know I always will. But, my love, you must go on, you have some living still.

“Please ... try to find happiness, while living out your days. I know it is not easy, but I hope you find some ways. The roses will come every year, and they will only stop when your door' s not answered, when the florist stops to knock.

“He will come five times that day, in case you have gone out. But after his last visit, he will know without a doubt, to take the roses to the place, where I' ve instructed him, and place the roses where we are, together once again.”看不见的线|Love Is Just a Thread佚名 / Anonymous

有时我怀疑，父母之间是否存在着真爱。每一天，他们都疲于奔命，为我和弟弟赚学费。我从没见他们有过任何我在书中或电视中看到过的浪漫举止。在他们看来，将“我爱你”这句话说出口都太奢侈，更别说在情人节互赠鲜花了。父亲脾气很糟，特别是经过了一天劳累的工作之后，他那糟糕的脾气更容易发作。

有一天，母亲正在缝被子，我安静地坐在旁边看着她。“妈妈，我有个问题想问你。”过了一会儿，我说。“什么问题啊？”她答道，而手里的活儿却没停下。“你和爸爸之间有爱情吗？”我压低声音问道。

母亲停下手里的活儿，抬起头诧异地看着我，并未马上回答，然后又低下头，继续缝被子。

我很担心，因为我觉得这个问题会伤她的心。我很尴尬，不知所措。可接下来，我却听到母亲说出了这样一番话。“苏珊，”她若有所思地说，“你看这线。有时我们看得见它，但更多时候它却藏于被子中，我们看不见。然后这些线却确实能使被子结实耐用。如果将生活比作一床被子，那么爱就是丝线。你不可能时刻都看得到它，但是它却真实地存在着。爱隐藏于生活之中。”

我仔细听着，但是直到第二年春天才真正明白她这番话的含义。当时，父亲病重，母亲在医院里照顾他。一个月后，父亲出院回到家时，两个人看起来都面色苍白，就像他们都生了一场大病。

他们回家后，每到黎明和黄昏，母亲总会搀扶着父亲在乡间小路上散步。父亲从没有那样温柔过。他们看起来仿佛是世间最和谐的一对。路旁有许多漂亮的鲜花、绿草和树木，阳光透过叶子的缝隙温柔地照射在上面，所有这一切都像是一幅世间最美的画面。

医生说，两个月后父亲就能病愈。不过，两个月后他还是不能独立行走，为此，我们都很担心。“你感觉如何，爸爸？”有一天我问他。“苏珊，不要担心我，”父亲慢慢地说，“不瞒你说，我很喜欢和你妈妈一起散步的感觉。我喜欢这样的生活。”从他的眼神中，我读出了他对母亲那份深深的爱恋。

曾经，我以为爱情是与鲜花、礼物和吻的。可是，经历了这些后，我明白了：爱情就如同我们生活中被子里的丝线，它隐藏于生活之中，令生活变得更加稳固和温暖。

Sometimes I really doubt whether there is love between my parents. Every day they are very busy trying to earn money in order to pay the high tuition for my brother and me. They don' t act in the romantic ways that I read in books or I see on TV. In their opinion, “I love you”is too luxurious for them to say. Sending flowers to each other on Valentine' s Day is even more out of the question. Finally my father has a bad temper. When he' s very tired from the hard work, it is easy for him to lose his temper.

One day, my mother was sewing a quilt. I silently sat down beside her and looked at her.

“Mom, I have a question to ask you.”I said after a while.

“What? ”she replied, still doing her work.

“Is there love between you and Dad? ”I asked her in a very low voice.

My mother stopped her work and raised her head with surprise in her eyes. She didn' t answer immediately. Then she bowed her head and continued to sew the quilt.

I was very worried because I thought I had hurt her. I was in a great embarrassment and I didn' t know what I should do. But at last I heard my mother say the following words:

“Susan, ”she said thoughtfully, “look at this thread. Sometimes it appears, but most of it disappears in the quilt. The thread really makes the quilt strong and durable. If life is a quilt, then love should be a thread. It can hardly be seen anywhere or anytime, but it' s really there. Love is inside.”

I listened carefully but I couldn' t understand her until the next spring. At that time, my father suddenly got sick seriously. My mother had to stay with him in the hospital for a month. When they returned from the hospital, they both looked very pale. It seemed both of them had had a serious illness.

After they were back, every day in the morning and dusk, my mother helped my father walk slowly on the country road. My father had never been so gentle. It seemed they were the most harmonious couple. Along the country road, there were many beautiful flowers, green grass and trees. The sun gently glistened through the leaves. All of these made up the most beautiful picture in the world.

如果将生活比作一床被子，那么爱就是丝线。你不可能时刻都看得到它，但是它却真实地存在着。爱隐藏于生活之中。

The doctor had said my father would recover in two months. But after two months he still couldn' t walk by himself. All of us were worried about him.

“Dad, how are you feeling now? ”I asked him one day.

“Susan, don' t worry about me, ”he said gently, “To tell you the truth, I just like walking with your mom. I like this kind of life.”Reading his eyes, I know he loves my mother deeply.

Once I thought love meant flowers, gifts and sweet kisses. But from this experience, I understand that love is just a thread in the quilt of our life. Love is inside, making life strong and warm.忍耐的报答|Rice Pudding佚名 / Anonymous

希拉的制服上被洒了厚厚的一层晚饭，她怒气冲冲地走进了护士室。她向当晚的领班护士海伦发火道：“天哪！我实在不明白您是怎么做到的！斯沃博达太太刚刚又把盘子扔到我身上了。她情绪这么激动，我真不知道在睡前该怎么为她洗澡。为什么你在服侍她时，就不会碰到这些麻烦呢？”

海伦满怀同情地微笑着说：“刚开始，我也曾有过很多糟糕的夜晚。不过因为我来这里的时间比较长，自然，我也就认识她丈夫。”“哦，我听说过，是特洛伊吧。她每次暴躁不安时，我就只能听明白这个词。”

海伦迟疑了一下，说：“希拉，我明白，要让斯沃博达太太这样的人来配合你的工作，这的确很难。她刚来到这里时，情况还没有现在这么糟糕，但让人觉很非常棘手。她总是在一些鸡毛蒜皮的小事上找我的茬——比如，她的茶不够热，她的床整理得不够整洁等等。心情糟糕时，她还会指责我们所有人，说我们偷她的东西。我对她的忍耐已经达到了极限，直到有一天为她洗澡时，她丈夫碰巧在场。我像平常一样蓄势待发，准备与她进行‘战斗’，此时，他问我是否需要帮忙。我十分感激地说：‘当然。’因为她已经开始又踢又叫，好在我已经做好了安全约束措施。”“然后我开始用最快的速度给她洗澡，心里盼望着能早一点结束。这时特洛伊把手放在我的胳膊上，让我先停下来。他请求道：‘请给她一点时间来适应水温。’接着他开始用俄语温柔地对她说话。不一会儿，她就安静了下来，看起来像是在听他讲话。他接过我手中的毛巾和肥皂，非常温柔地擦洗着她的双手。之后，又缓慢而细心地擦洗着她的手臂和肩膀，认真地擦拭着她满是皱纹并已变得灰黄的皮肤。他的每次触摸仿佛都是爱抚，每个动作仿佛都是许诺。不久，她闭上了眼睛，在温暖的水里显得很轻松。老人喃喃低语道，‘我美丽的娜佳，你多么漂亮啊。’令我惊讶的是，斯沃博达太太居然睁开双眼，低声答道，‘我英俊的特洛伊。’更令人诧异的是，她的眼里竟含着泪水！”

海伦长长地呼了口气，接着说：“那天下午，斯沃博达太太一直都很安静。她丈夫帮我给她穿衣服，并喂她吃午餐。她埋怨午餐不合胃口，还打翻了汤。斯沃博达先生耐心地清理完洒了的汤，并一直等到她发完脾气，恢复平静。之后他又慢慢地喂她把剩下的食物吃完，并陪她聊天，一直到她准备睡觉。我很担心这位老人，因为他看上去已经非常疲惫。这些事本都是我们应该做的，于是我问他为什么要坚持自己做。他转身面对着我，简单地说道：‘因为我爱她！’他又接着讲道，‘你不明白，我们结婚差不多49年了。你无法想象，我们当初在农场的生活是多么的艰苦。旱灾让我们的庄稼颗粒无收，也没有充足的牧场养牛。那时我们的孩子还小，而我甚至不知道我们是否能够熬过那个寒冷的冬天。那一年，我变得脾气暴躁，难以相处。然而，娜佳却一直忍受着我恶劣暴躁的脾气，也不烦扰我。但最终有一天我还是爆发了，当时一家人正在吃晚饭。娜佳做了我们最爱吃的米饭布丁。可我脑海里唯一能想到的就是她得用了多少的牛奶和糖啊！‘我一口也不想吃，猛地抓起我的碗，用力砸到墙上，然后冲出门，跑到谷仓里。我不清楚自己独自在那儿待了多长时间。但日落时，娜佳找到了我。她说：“特洛伊，你有麻烦，可你却并不孤单。我答应你，我会永远站在你身边，不管生活给我们带来多少艰难困苦，我都会和你一起面对。但倘若你不同意，那你就只能离开了。”尽管她满眼含泪，但语气却十分坚定。“无论何时，我们都会在这里等你，只要你愿意回到我们身边。”她轻吻我的脸颊，然后转身走回了屋子。‘那晚我一直待在谷仓里。次日，我直接去了城里，准备在那里找一份工作。当然，我一无所获，但我还是继续在找。大约一周后，我决定放弃了。作为一个男人，一个庄稼汉，我觉得自己彻底地失败了！于是我动身回家，我不知道他们是否会欢迎我的归来，但除了家，我的确无处可去。当我走在回家的乡间小路上时，娜佳看到了我并飞快地从屋里冲了出来，朝我跑来，她的围裙带欢快地跳跃着。她张开双臂，紧紧地拥抱着我。我不禁哭了出来，像刚出生的婴儿—样紧紧地依偎着她。‘在我人生最黑暗的时候，在我们生活最艰苦的时候，娜佳都能一直守候在我身边，那么，我现在能做的只有尽力来安慰她，让她回忆起我们曾经美好快乐的日子。每当一起吃米饭布丁时，我们总会微笑着看着彼此。而这也是现在她能想起的少数几件事情之一。' ”

说完，海伦默默地望着希拉。突然，希拉推开椅子，站起身来，将脸颊上滚落的泪水轻轻拭去，柔声地说道：“我休息好了。我也终于明白了，这位老太太为什么总想要其他的晚餐。”然后，她看着海伦，露出了笑容并说：“只要我诚心诚意地请求他们，我敢打赌厨房一定能很快地为她做一盘米饭布丁。”

Sheila stomped into the staff room, her uniform plastered with someone' s dinner.“I don' t know how you do it! ”she fumed to Helen, the nurse supervising the evening shift.“Mrs. Svoboda just threw her tray at me again, and she' s so agitated I don' t know how l' ll be able to clean her up before bed. Why don' t you have so much trouble with her? ”

Helen smiled sympathetically.“I' ve had my share of rough nights with her, too. But I' ve been here longer and, of course, I knew her husband.”“Yeah, Troy. I' ve heard about him. It' s about the only word I can understand when she gets going.”

“Sheila, ”Helen began hesitantly.“I know it' s hard to work with people like Mrs. Svoboda. When Mrs. Svoboda was admitted she wasn' t as bad as she is now, but she was still pretty spicy. She used to give me grief over the smallest things. Her tea wasn' t hot enough, her bed wasn' t made up right. On her bad days she' d accuse us all of stealing her things. I had no patience with her, until one day her husband happened to be there during bath time. I was gearing up for the usual fight with her when he asked if he could help. ‘Sure.' I said gratefully. Good thing the safety restraints were on because she began kicking and screaming.'

“I began washing her quickly, anxious to get it over with, when Troy laid his hand on my arm. ‘Give her a moment to get used to the water.' he asked. Then he began talking softly in Russian. After a few moments she became calm and seemed to listen to him. Very gently, he took the cloth and soap from me and washed each of her hands. Then slowly and carefully, he washed her arms and shoulders, working his way over the wrinkled, sallow skin. Each touch was a caress, each movement was a promise. After a while, she closed her eyes and relaxed into the warm water.‘My beautiful Nadja, ' the old man

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