The First Customer

“From the bakery,” Ana says. “From the back step. In the morning, the bread isn’t there. Only the bag. Like this.”

“从面包房来的，”安娜说，“在后面的台阶上。到了早上，面包不在那儿。只有那个袋子。就是这个样子。”

Priya picks up the paper square. She looks at it. Then she puts it in Ana’s hand and closes Ana’s fingers on it.

Priya拿起了那块方形纸片。她看了看。然后她把纸片放在安娜的手里，拉着安娜的手指合上。

“Keep it in your pocket, my dear,” she says. “And don’t show it to Walter. Please.”

“亲爱的，放在你的大包里，”她说，“请不要给Walter看。”

“Why? Who takes the bread? Do you know?”

“为什么？谁拿走了面包？你知道吗？”

Priya smiles again, but it is not a real smile. “Your cake, Ana. Don’t forget your cake.” And she starts to talk about the weather.

Priya又笑了笑，但是那不是真心的笑。“你的蛋糕，安娜。不要忘了你的蛋糕。”然后她开始说天气的事。

That night, at three o’clock, Ana is in the bakery again. The bag is on the back step again. Walter doesn’t talk about it. Ana doesn’t ask.

那天晚上三点，安娜又在面包房里。袋子又在后面的台阶上。Walter不说这个事。安娜也不问。

At twenty to five, Walter says, “Today you sell. I’m busy with the oven. Rolls are one pound fifty. Coffee is one pound eighty. Tea is one pound twenty. The prices are on the wall.”

差二十分五点的时候，Walter说：“今天你来卖。我很忙，在弄烤炉。小面包一个一镑五十。咖啡一杯一镑八十。茶一杯一镑二十。价钱在墙上。”

“I sell? Alone?”

“我来卖？一个人吗？”

“Alone. You can count, can’t you?”

“一个人。你会数数，对吗？”

At ten to five, a big green bus stops outside. On the front of the bus, there is a number: N7. The driver gets off. He comes into the shop. The bell over the door rings.

差十分五点的时候，一辆绿色大公共汽车停在外面。车的前面有一个数字：N7。司机下车。他走进店里。门上的铃响了。

He is tall, with a short beard and a woolly hat. He has a yellow jacket. “Good morning!” he says. Then he stops. “You’re not Walter.”

他个子很高，有短胡子，头上戴着毛线帽子。他穿着一件黄色大衣。“早上好！”他说。然后他停住了。“你不是Walter。”

“No. I’m Ana. I’m the new night baker.”

“不是。我是安娜。我是新来的夜班面包师傅。”

“Good! Walter isn’t nice at five in the morning,” he says, and he laughs. “I’m Daniel. I drive the night bus. Every morning, I want two cheese rolls and a coffee. Every morning, the same.”

“太好了！早上五点的时候，Walter很不客气，”他说，然后他笑了。“我是Daniel。我开夜班公共汽车。每天早上，我要两个奶酪小面包和一杯咖啡。每天早上都一样。”

Ana puts two cheese rolls in a bag. She makes the coffee. Her hands are slow. She looks at the prices on the wall.

安娜把两个奶酪小面包装进一个袋子里。她冲了咖啡。她的手很慢。她看着墙上的价钱。