Jess’s Secret

Nobody answered. Priya looked at Ana. Ana looked at the paper square on the table. Fast, she put it back in her pocket.

没有人回答。Priya看着Ana。Ana看着桌上的方纸片。她动作很快，把它放回了口袋里。

“Jess, my dear,” Priya said. “We were only talking about the old days. About the bakery.”

“Jess，亲爱的，”Priya说，“我们只是在说过去的事。说面包店的事。”

“About him,” Jess said. “I heard you. You said his name.” She looked at Ana. “Did Grandad ask you to find out about him? Is that it?”

“在说他吧，”Jess说，“我听到了。你说了他的名字。”她看着Ana。“是爷爷让你打听他的吗？是这样吗？”

“No! Walter doesn’t know anything,” Ana said. “I asked Priya. I wanted to understand. About the fire.”

“不是！Walter什么都不知道，”Ana说，“是我问Priya的。我想弄明白。关于那场火灾的事。”

“Then ask me,” Jess said. Her voice was hard. “I can tell you. It’s a very short story. My father burned down the bakery, and the next day he ran away. He left his father. He left me. I was two. The end.”

“那就问我吧，”Jess说。她的声音很冷。“我可以告诉你。这是个很短的故事。我父亲烧了面包店，第二天就跑了。他丢下了他的父亲。他也丢下了我。那时我两岁。讲完了。”

“Jess…” Priya started.

“Jess……”Priya开口说。

“I came in for a pen, Priya. Just a pen. For my exam tomorrow.” Jess took a blue pen from the box on the counter and put a pound next to it. Then she walked out. The bell over the door rang behind her.

“Priya，我进来是想买支笔。只要一支笔。明天考试用。”Jess从柜台上的盒子里拿了一支蓝色的笔，在旁边放下了一镑。然后她走了出去。门上的铃在她身后响了。

“Go after her,” Priya said quietly. “And Ana, say nothing about the man. Nothing. Not to Jess.”

“快去追她，”Priya轻声说，“还有，Ana，关于那个男人，什么都别说。什么都不要对Jess说。”

Ana ran out. Jess wasn’t going home. She was walking fast down Bridge Street, to the river. Ana caught her on the old stone bridge.

Ana跑了出去。Jess没有回家。她正沿着Bridge Street快步走着，走向河边。Ana在那座旧石桥上追上了她。

“Jess, wait. I’m sorry. Really. It was not my business.”

“Jess，等等。对不起。真的。那不是我的事。”

Jess stopped. She looked down at the water for a long time. When she spoke again, her voice was different. Tired, not angry.

Jess停下了脚步。她看着桥下的水，看了很久。当她再说话时，声音变了。很累，不是生气。

“Everybody in this town knows the story,” she said. “At school, when I was little, a boy said to me: your dad burned down the bakery. I didn’t know what to say. I went home and asked Grandad. He didn’t answer. He went into the bakery and made bread all night.”

“这个镇上的每个人都知道这个故事，”她说，“上学的时候，我还小，一个男生对我说：你爸爸烧了面包店。我不知道该说什么。我回家问了爷爷。他没有回答。他走进面包店，做了一整夜的面包。”

“I’m sorry, Jess.”

“对不起，Jess。”

“It’s fine. I don’t need a father. I have Grandad.” She took her school bag off her back. “Can you keep a secret, Ana? A real one?”

“没事。我不需要父亲。我有爷爷。”她把书包从背上拿了下来。“你能保守一个秘密吗，Ana？一个真正的秘密？”