遲來的婚禮 Letter In The Wallet
佚名/Anonymous
It was a freezing day,a few years ago,when I stumbled on a wallet in the street.There was no identification inside.Just three dollars,and a crumpled letter that looked as if it had been carried around for years.The only thing legible on the torn envelope was the return address.I opened the letter and saw that it had been written in 1944-almost 60 years ago.I read it carefully,hoping to find some clue to the identity of the wallets owner.It was a“Dear John”letter.The writer,in a delicate script,told the recipient,whose name was Michael,that her mother forbade her to see him again.Nevertheless,she would always love him.It was signed Hannah.
It was a beautiful letter.But there was no way,beyond the name Michael,to identify the owner.Perhaps if I called information the operator could find the phone number for the address shown on the envelope.“Operator,this is an unusual request.Im trying to find the owner of a wallet I found.Is there any way you could tell me the phone number for an address that was on a letter in the wallet?”The operator gave me her supervisor,who said there was a phone listed at the address,but that she could not give me the number.
However,she would call and explain the situation.Then,if the party wanted to talk,she would connect me.I waited a minute and she came back on the line.“I have a woman who will speak with you.”I asked the woman if she knew a Hannah.“Oh,of course!We bought this house from Hannahs family thirty years ago.”“Would you know where they could be located now?”I asked.“Hannah had to place her mother in a nursing home years ago.Maybe the home could help you track down the daughter.”The woman gave me the name of the nursing home.
I called and found out that Hannahs mother had died.The woman I spoke with gave me an address where she thought Hannah could be reached.I phoned.The woman who answered explained that Hannah herself was now living in a nursing home.She gave me the number.I called and was told,“Yes,Hannah is with us.”I asked if I could stop by to see her.It was almost 10 p.m.The director said Hannah might be asleep.“But if you want to take a chance,maybe shes in the day room watching television.”The director and a guard greeted me at the door of the nursing home.
We went up to the third floor and saw the nurse,who told us that Hannah was indeed watching TV.We entered the day room.Hannah was a sweet,silver-haired old-timer with a warm smile and friendly eyes.I told her about finding the wallet and showed her the letter.
The second she saw it,she took a deep breath.“Young man,”she said,“this letter was the last contact I had with Michael.”She looked away for a moment,then said pensively,“I loved him very much.But I was only sixteen and my mother felt I was too young.He was so handsome.You know,like Sean Connery,the actor.”We both laughed.
The director then left us alone.“Yes,Michael Goldstein was his name.If you find him,tell him I still think of him often.I never did marry,”she said,smiling through tears that welled up in her eyes.“I guess no one ever matched up to Michael……”I thanked Hannah,said good-bye and took the elevator to the first floor.
As I stood at the door,the guard asked,“Was the old lady able to help you?”I told him she had given me a lead.“At least I have a last name.But I probably wont pursue it further for a while.”I explained that I had spent almost the whole day trying to find the wallets owner.
While we talked,I pulled out the brown-leather case with its red lanyard lacing and showed it to the guard.He looked at it closely and said,“Hey,I’d know that anywhere.That’s Mr.Goldstein’s.He’s always losing it.I found it in the hall at least three times.”“Whos Mr.Goldstein?”I asked.“He’s one of the old-timers on the eighth floor.That’s Mike Goldsteins wallet,for sure.He goes out for a walk quite often.”I thanked the guard and ran back to the directors office to tell him what the guard had said.He accompanied me to the eighth floor.I prayed that Mr.Goldstein would be up.
“I think hes still in the day room,”the nurse said.“He likes to read at night……a darling old man.”We went to the only room that had lights on,and there was a man reading a book.The director asked him if he had lost his wallet.Michael Goldstein looked up,felt his back pocket and then said,“Goodness,it is missing.”“This kind gentleman found a wallet.Could it be yours?”The second he saw it,he smiled with relief.“Yes,”he said,“thats it.Must have dropped it this afternoon.I want to give you a reward.”“Oh,no thank you,”I said.“But I have to tell you something.I read the letter in the hope of finding out who owned the wallet.”The smile on his face disappeared.“You read that letter?”“Not only did I read it,I think I know where Hannah is.”
He grew pale.“Hannah?You know where she is?How is she?Is she still as pretty as she was?”I hesitated.“Please tell me!”Michael urged.“Shes fine,and just as pretty as when you knew her.”“Could you tell me where she is?I want to call her tomorrow.”
He grabbed my hand and said,“You know something?When that letter came,my life ended.I never married.I guess Ive always loved her.”“Michael,”I said.“Come with me.”The three of us took the elevator to the third floor.We walked toward the day room where Hannah was sitting,still watching TV.
The director went over to her.“Hannah,”he said softly,“do you know this man?”Michael and I stood waiting in the doorway.She adjusted her glasses,looked for a moment,but didnt say a word.“Hannah,its Michael.Michael Goldstein.Do you remember?”“Michael?Michael?Its you!”He walked slowly to her side.She stood and they embraced.Then the two of them sat on a couch,held hands and started to talk.
The director and I walked out,both of us crying.“See how the good Lord works,”I said philosophically.“If its meant to be.It will be.”Three weeks later,I got a call from the director who asked,“Can you break away on Sunday to attend a wedding?”He didnt wait for an answer.“Yup,Michael and Hannah are going to tie the knot!”
It was a lovely wedding,with all the people at the nursing home joining in the celebration.Hannah wore a beige dress and looked beautiful.Michael wore a dark blue suit and stood tall.The home gave them their own room,and if you ever wanted to see a 76-year-old bride and a 78-year-old groom acting like two teen-agers,you had to see this couple.A perfect ending for a love affair that had lasted nearly 60 years.
那是幾年前一個寒冷的冬日，我在街上偶然拾到一個錢包。裏麵隻有3美元和一張看似寫自多年前的皺巴巴的信，除了信封上依稀可辨的寄信人地址，沒有任何可以證明主人身份的東西。我打開信，看到它寫於1944年——60年前啊。我仔細讀了一遍，希望能從中找出這錢包主人的線索。這是一封絕交信，娟秀的字體告訴收信人邁克爾，她的母親不準他們再見麵。但不管怎樣，她會永遠愛他，署名是漢娜。
這是一封措辭優美的信，然而除了邁克爾這個名字外，信中沒有其他可以識別失主的信息。或許谘詢處的接線員能夠按照信封上的地址查到電話號碼。“您好，接線員！我有一個特殊的請求，我拾到一個錢包，正在努力尋找失主。錢包裏隻有一封信，您能否幫我按照信上的地址查到電話號碼呢？”接線員把電話轉到了主管處，主管說那個地址的電話雖然找得到，但是她不能告訴我號碼。
不過，她說可以替我打電話問一下情況，若對方同意，她再和我聯係。幾分鍾後她回了電話：“有位女士要和你講話。”我問這位女士是否認識漢娜。“哦，當然認得！我們30年前買了漢娜家的房子。”“那您知道他們現在住哪兒嗎？”我問。“幾年前漢娜不得已把她媽媽送去了養老院。那兒或許有人能提供一些漢娜的線索。”這位女士告訴了我這個養老院的名字。
我打電話給養老院，得知漢娜的母親已經過世。接電話的女士又提供給我一個地址。她說漢娜也許會在那兒。我撥通了電話，接電話的女士說漢娜本人也住在養老院，並給了我號碼。我打過去，主任告訴我說：“對，漢娜是在我們這兒。”我問是否可以去看她，這時已快晚上10點了。他說她可能睡了。“不過你可以來試試，沒準兒她在休息室看電視呢！”主任和保安在養老院的門口等候我。
我們一起上三樓，見到了護理員。她說漢娜確實還在看電視。我們走進休息室。漢娜是一位和藹可親的白發老人，她麵帶微笑，友好地看著我。我把拾到錢包的事告訴了她，並把那封信拿給她看。
在看到信的那一秒，她深深地吸了一口氣。“年輕人，”她說，“這是我寫給邁克爾的最後一封信。”她凝視了一會兒，憂鬱地說：“我非常愛他，但那時我隻有16歲，媽媽認為我太小。他長得很帥，酷似演員肖恩·康奈利。”我們都笑了。
主任出去了，隻剩下我們兩個人在屋裏。“他叫邁克爾·戈爾茨坦。如果你找到他，請轉告他，我仍然很想他，至今我都沒結婚。”她微笑著，淚水卻奪眶而出。“我甚至想，根本沒有人能配得上他……”與漢娜道過別，我乘電梯下了樓。
到門口時，保安問我：“那位老婦人能幫你什麽忙嗎？”我說她給了我些提示。“至少她告訴了我失主的名字。但是我不可能繼續追查下去了。”我說我幾乎整整一天都在尋找錢包的主人。
說著，我把那個鑲著紅花邊的棕色皮錢包給保安看。他湊到跟前看了一眼說：“嘿，我好像在哪兒見過。是戈爾茨坦先生的，他常把它弄丟，我在大廳撿過三次。”我問：“誰是戈爾茨坦先生？”“住在八樓的一位老人。一定是他的，他經常出去散步。”我謝過保安，又來到主任辦公室，把保安的話告訴了他。他陪我來到了八樓。我希望戈爾茨坦還沒睡。
“我想他一定還在休息室，”護理員說，“他晚上喜歡讀書……他是一位很討人喜歡的老人。”我們來到唯一那間亮著燈的房間，有位老人還在那兒看書呢。主任問他錢包是否丟了。邁克爾·戈爾茨坦翻了翻背包，然後說：“天啊！真的不見了。”“這位好心的先生撿到了一個，您看看是不是您的？”他看了一會兒欣慰地笑了。“是的，”他說，“就是它。一定是今天下午弄丟的。我該好好謝謝你。”“哦，不必客氣，”我說，“但我必須告訴你一件事，為了找到錢包主人，我讀了裏邊的信。”他的笑容消失了：“你讀了那封信？”“我不僅讀了信，而且還知道漢娜在哪兒。”
他的臉色頓時蒼白。“漢娜？你知道她在哪兒？她生活得怎樣？還是像年輕時那麽漂亮吧？”我猶豫了一下沒說什麽。“求你快點告訴我！”邁克爾催促道。“她很好，並且和你認識她時一樣漂亮。”“你能告訴我她在哪兒嗎？我想明天打電話給她。”
他抓著我的手說：“你一定知道一些事，是嗎？當我收到那封信時，我的生活便終結了。我一直沒結婚。我知道自己一直愛著她。”我說：“跟我來。”我們三人乘電梯來到了三樓。走進漢娜所在的那間休息室，她仍舊在那兒看電視。
主任走到她跟前輕聲說：“漢娜，你認識這個人嗎？”我和邁克爾站在門口等著她回答。她扶了一下眼鏡，看了一會兒，但什麽也沒說。“漢娜，他是邁克爾，邁克爾·戈爾茨坦。你不認得了嗎？”“邁克爾？邁克爾？真的是你！”他慢慢地走到她跟前。她站起身來，他們幸福地擁抱，然後坐在沙發上，握緊彼此的手交談起來。
我和主任走了出去，我們都感動得忍不住落淚了。我感歎道：“看上帝都做了些什麽！”三周後，我接到主任的電話，他問我：“你周日可以抽時間參加個婚禮嗎？”他沒等我答複，就迫不及待地說：“是邁克爾和漢娜，他們終於要步入婚姻的殿堂了！”
那是一場別開生麵的婚禮，養老院的所有人都參加了。漢娜身穿米色禮服，看起來很漂亮。邁克爾身著深藍色西裝，顯得分外高大。養老院為他們提供了一個單間。如果你想目睹76歲的新娘和78歲的新郎如年輕人一般相親相愛的感人場麵，那可一定要看看他們這幸福的一對兒。這個持續了60年的愛戀終於畫上了一個完美的句號。
心靈小語
愛真是一個很奇妙的東西，幸運的人們，可能很容易就得到它的果子——婚姻。但總有那麽一些人，他們相愛著對方，卻不能及時步入愛的鳥巢。但是，真愛，它可以穿越時間與空間，我們可以等的，隻要彼此還愛著對方，我們可以等到花開月明的時候。
詞匯筆記
freezing[fri:zi?]adj.冰凍的；冷凍用的；嚴寒的
Even in summer the temperature here might suddenly
drop below freezing.
即使在夏天，這裏的氣溫也可能突然降到零下。
operator[’ɑp?’ret?]n.操作員；話務員；報務員
Operator,I want to make a long distance call.
話務員，我要打長途電話。
supervisor[sju:p?vaiz?]n.監督人；管理人；主管人；導師
“Right.So what did your supervisor say?”
“就是啊，那你的主管怎麽說？”
locate[?ukeiti]v.（在……）設置；坐落於
Early settlers located where there was water.
早期的移民安居在有水的地方。
小試身手
如果你找到他，請轉告他，我仍然很想他，至今我都沒有結婚。
他晚上喜歡讀書……他是一位很討人喜歡的老人。
如果你想目睹76歲的新娘和78歲的新郎如年輕人一般相親相愛的感人場麵，那可一定要看看他們這幸福的一對兒。這個持續了60年的愛戀終於畫上了一個完美的句號。
短語家族
Smiling through tears that welled up in her eyes.
welled up：（眼淚等）湧上
She took a deep breath.
take a deep breath：深呼吸