第5章爱是一生的约定(4)
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。他们看起来就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,所有这一切勾勒出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、礼物和香吻密不可分的。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,隐藏于生活之中,令生活变得更加稳固和温暖。
忍耐的报答
Rig
佚名Anonymous
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Helehetically。"I'vehadmysharehtswithher,too。ButI'vebeenhere,longerand,ofcourse,Iknewherhusband。""yeah,Troy。I'veheardabouthim。It'sabouttheonlywordIderstasgoing。"
"Sheila,"Helely。"Iknowit'shardtoworkwithpeoplelikeMrs。Svoboda。WhenMrs。Svobodawasadmittedshewasn'tasbadassheisnow,butsherettyspicy。Sheusedtogivemegriefoverthesmallestthieawasn'thotenough,herbedwasn'tmadeupright。Onherbaddaysshe'daccuseusallofstealihings。Ihadhher,untilonedayherhusbahereduringbathtime。Ifortheusualfightwithherwhenheaskedifhecouldhelp。'Sure,'Isaidgratefully。Goodthiyrestraintswereonbecauseshebegankidsg。"
"Ibeganwashingherquixioustogetitoverwith,whenTroylaidhishandonmyarm。'Giveheramomeothewater,'heasked。ThealkingsoftlyinRussian。Afterafewmomentsshebecamedseemedtolistentehedsoapfrommeandwashedeachof'herhands。Thenslowlyandcarefully,hewashedherarmsandshoulders,whiswayoverthewrinkled,sallowskiouchwasacaress,eaentapromise。Afterawhile,sheclosedhereyesahewarmwater。'MybeautifulNadja,'theoldmanmurmured。'Youaresobeautiful'。Tomysurprise,Mrs。SvobodaopenedhereyesandmurmuredbaybeautifulTroy。'Eveonishiearsi;
&ookadeepbreathanduedherstory。"Mrs。Svobodastayedcalmthatwholeafternoon。Herhusbandhelpedmedressherandfeedherlunplaihefoodaknockedoverhersoup。Mr。Svobodapatieupailhertantrumwasover。Thenheslowlyfedhertherestofhermealaoheruntilshewasreadytogotobed。Iwasedaboutthatoldman。Helookedpletelyexhausted。Iaskedhimwhyheinsistedondoingsomuchbyhimselferepaidtodoit。Heturomeandsaidsimply,'BecauseIloveher。'Youdon'tuainued。We'vebeenmarriedforalmostforty-nineyears。Wheedout,lifeonthefarmwasharderthanyoue。Thedroughtkilledourdtherewasn'tenoughpastureforthecattle。Ourweresmall,andIdidn'tknoeregoingtosurvivethewinter。Iwasveryhardtolivewiththatyear。Nadjaputupwithmymoods,amealooIblepertable。She'dmadeourfavoritetreat,rig,andallIkaboutwashowmuchsugarandmilkshe'dused。"
"Suddenly。Ijust'ttakeit。Ipickedupmybowlaagainstthewall,aothebarn。Idon'tknowhowlohere,butaroundsundown,ofiroy',shesaid,'youarenotaloneinyourtroubles。Ipromisedtostandbyyheverythiourway。Butifyouwon'tletme,theogo。'Shehadtearsihervoicewasfirm。'wheobewithusagain,wearehere。'Thenshekissedmydwalkedbacktothehouse。"
"Istayedihatnight,adayIheadedintotowntolookforajob。Therewasnothing,ofcourse,butIkeeplookiaweek,Iwasreadytogiveup。Ifeltapletefailure,atfarming,asaman。Istartedforhome,notknowingifI'dbewele,butIdidn'thaveaogo。Whenshesawmeingdownthelane,running,heraprsrivihrewherarmsaroundmeaoweep。Igtoherlikeanewbornbaby。"
"Ifshecouldstayittedtmyworsttimes,duritimeofourlife,theleastIdoistoforthernow。Andremihegoodtimesayssmiledateachotherudding,andit'sohiillremembers。"
Hele。SuddenlySheilapushedbackherchair,"Mybreakisover,"shesaid,dabbihatrolleddow;AndIknowanoldladywhoherdi;ShesmiledatHelen。"IfIaskthemnicely,I'llbetthekitrustleupadishofrigforher,too。"
希à的制服上被洒了厚厚的一层晚饭,她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à,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,但也让人觉很非常棘手。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。”