A Good Loaf

Daniel puts down his coffee. “Right. My bus. See you tomorrow, Ana. Bye, Walter.” The bell over the door rings, and he is gone.

Daniel放下他的咖啡。“好。我的车来了。Ana，明天见。再见，Walter。”门上的铃响了，他出去了。

Walter puts the tray of bread on the counter. He puts it down hard. Then he looks at Ana.

Walter把一盘面包放在桌子上。他放得很重。然后他看Ana。

“Listen to me,” he says. “We don’t talk about that bag. Not with Daniel. Not with Priya. Not with Jess. Not with anybody. Do you understand?”

“听我说，”他说。“我们不说那个大包。不和Daniel说。不和Priya说。不和Jess说。不和任何人说。你明白吗？”

“Yes,” Ana says. “I understand.”

“是的，”Ana说。“我明白。”

But she doesn’t understand. And all morning, Walter doesn’t say one more word to her.

但是她不明白。整个早上，Walter不再和她说一句话。

The next night is cold and grey. At three o’clock, Walter makes the dough for the big loaves. He puts it on the table. Then he tries to make the loaves round.

第二天晚上很冷，天是灰色的。三点，Walter做大面包的面。他放在桌子上。然后他想把面包做圆。

His hands shake. Tonight they shake a lot. The dough isn’t round. It isn’t anything. Walter tries again. And again.

他的手在动。今天晚上动得很厉害。面不圆。什么样子也没有。Walter再试。又试一次。

Then he hits the table with his hand. Crumb gets up from the floor and goes to the back door.

然后他用手打桌子。Crumb从地上站起来，走到后门去。

“Walter? Can I help?” Ana asks.

“Walter？我可以帮你吗？”Ana问。

For a long time, Walter doesn’t answer. He looks at his hands. Then he says, very quietly, “You do it.”

很长时间，Walter没有回答。他看自己的手。然后他小声说：“你来做。”

“Me? The big loaves?”

“我？做大面包？”

“You. I can tell you how. Push with this part of your hand. Turn it. Push again. Don’t be afraid of the dough.”

“你。我可以告诉你怎么做。用手这里推。转一下。再推。不要怕这个面。”

Ana puts her hands on the dough. Her first loaf is bad. It looks like a hat. Her second loaf is bad too. It looks like a shoe.

Ana把手放在面上。她的第一个面包不好。像一个帽子。她的第二个面包也不好。像一只鞋。

“A shoe,” Walter says. “Very good. People can eat shoes for breakfast.”

“一只鞋，”Walter说。“很好。大家早上可以吃鞋。”