The Man on the Path

Ana looks at the window. Then she closes her eyes. “No,” she says to the room. “Not tonight. Tonight Walter is sad. Tonight I don’t look.”

Ana看窗子。然后她闭上眼睛。“不，”她对房间说。“今天晚上不看。今天晚上Walter不高兴。今天晚上我不看。”

She lies down on the bed. She is very tired. After five minutes, she is asleep.

她在床上躺下。她很累。五分钟以后，她睡了。

On Sunday afternoon, Ana goes down to the kitchen. Walter is at the table with a cup of tea. He looks up. Ana looks at him. For a moment, nobody speaks.

星期天下午，Ana下楼去厨房。Walter在桌子前，有一杯茶。他抬头看。Ana看他。有一会儿，没有人说话。

“Tea?” Walter asks.

“喝茶吗？”Walter问。

“Yes, please.”

“好的，谢谢。”

He makes her a cup of tea. His hands shake, and some tea goes on the table. Ana doesn’t say anything about it. She sits down. They drink their tea.

他给她做了一杯茶。他的手在抖，一些茶到了桌子上。Ana什么也没说。她坐下。他们喝茶。

“I’m sorry about last night,” Ana says. “The store room. It is not my business. I know.”

“昨天晚上的事，对不起，”Ana说。“那个小房间的事。那不是我的事。我知道。”

“I’m sorry too,” Walter says. “My voice is very loud. Crumb is under the table for one hour.” He drinks his tea. “You’re tired, Ana. Six nights, every week. Tomorrow night, don’t work. Sleep. I can do the bread alone.”

“我也对不起，”Walter说。“我的声音很大。Crumb在桌子下面待了一个小时。”他喝茶。“你累了，Ana。每个星期，六个晚上。明天晚上，不要工作。去睡觉。我可以一个人做面包。”

“Are you sure? Your hands…”

“你行吗？你的手……”

“My hands are seventy-two years old. They can make bread for one night.” And then he smiles. A small smile, but a real one.

“我的手七十二岁了。它们可以做一个晚上面包。”然后他笑了。一个不大的笑，但是真的在笑。

On Monday night, Ana goes to bed at ten o’clock. But she can’t sleep. Her body is a baker’s body now. At night, it wants to work.

星期一晚上，Ana十点去睡觉。但是她睡不着。她的身体现在是面包工人的身体。在夜里，它想工作。

At ten to three, she hears the back door. She gets up. She doesn’t turn on the light. She goes to her small window and looks down.

差十分三点，她听见后门响。她起来。她没有开灯。她走到她的小窗子前，向下看。

Walter is on the step. He puts the bag down. He stands there and looks at the path, the same as every night. Then he goes in. The door closes.

Walter在台阶上。他把袋子放下。他站在那里看小路，和每个晚上一样。然后他走进去。门关了。

Ana waits. Downstairs, the radio is on. It is cold at the window. She puts on her jumper. Ten past three. A quarter past three.

Ana在等。在楼下，收音机开着。窗子那里很冷。她穿上毛衣。三点十分。三点一刻。