Fathers

It was Walter. His right hand was in a white bandage. He stopped at the door and looked at the letter in Ana’s hand. Then he looked at her face.

是Walter。他的右手绑着白色的绷带。他在门口停下来，看着Ana手里的信。然后他看着她的脸。

“I was cleaning,” Ana said quickly. “The letters were under the tins. I didn’t open anything. I’m sorry.”

“我刚才在打扫，”Ana快快地说。“信在那些铁盒下面。我什么都没看。对不起。”

Walter walked over to her. He took the letter from her hand with his good hand. He didn’t look at it. He put it in the pocket of his apron.

Walter向她走过来。他用没受伤的手从她手里拿走信。他没有看信，直接放进了围裙的口袋里。

“Jess is taking me to the doctor at nine,” he said. “She’s worse than her grandmother. Don’t say anything to her about this. She has exams.”

“Jess九点带我去看医生，”他说。“她比她奶奶还烦。别对她说这封信的事。她要考试。”

“Walter, eighteen thousand pounds is a lot of money.”

“Walter，一万八千镑很多啊。”

“I know how much it is.” His voice wasn’t angry. It was only very tired. “Go and sleep, Ana. Thank you for the bread.”

“我知道是多少钱。”他的声音没有生气，只是很累。“去睡吧，Ana。谢谢你的面包。”

The doctor said Walter’s hand was going to be fine in two weeks. About his shaking hands, the doctor wanted to do some tests at the hospital. Walter said he didn’t have time for tests. Jess didn’t talk to him for the rest of the day.

医生说Walter的手两周后会好。关于他手抖的事，医生想让他在医院做检查。Walter说他没时间做检查。那天后面的时间，Jess一直没理他。

On Sunday afternoon, Ana’s phone rang. It was her brother, Leo. He always called on Sundays, but usually Ana called him.

星期天下午，Ana的手机响了。是她哥哥Leo打来的。他总是在星期天打电话，但是平时都是Ana打给他。

“How is your English?” Leo asked, and he laughed. “Do you dream in English now?”

“你的英语怎么样了？”Leo笑着问。“你现在会用英语做梦了吗？”

“Sometimes. I dream about bread in English.” She was sitting on the bottom stair in the bakery, near the kitchen. It was warm there. “What’s wrong, Leo? You sound strange.”

“有时会。我会用英语梦到面包。”她坐在面包店最下面的楼梯上，就在厨房边上。那里很暖和。“怎么了，Leo？你的声音听起来怪怪的。”

Leo was quiet for a moment. “Dad wants to talk to you. He asks about you every day now. He’s sitting next to me. Can I give him the phone?”

Leo安静了一会儿。“爸爸想和你说话。他现在每天都问起你。他就坐在我旁边。我能把手机给他吗？”

Ana’s hand went cold on the phone. For two years she didn’t speak to her father. Not one word. She said, “No, Leo. I’m sorry. Not now.”

Ana拿着手机的手变冷了。她已经两年没和爸爸说过话了。一句话都没说过。她说：“不行，Leo。对不起。现在不行。”

“Ana, please. He…”

“Ana，求你了。他……”

“Not now. I have to go. I’ll call you next Sunday. I promise.” She ended the call. Then she sat on the stair and didn’t move.

“现在不行。我要走了。我下星期天打给你。我保证。”她挂了电话。然后她坐在楼梯上，一动不动。