The Train to Leeds

Walter bent down slowly and picked up the wet bag with his good hand. He looked inside at the cold bread. Then he walked past Ana, into the kitchen, and threw it in the bin.

沃尔特慢慢弯下腰，用他那只好手捡起那个湿袋子。他看了看里面的冷面包。然后他走过安娜身边，走进厨房，把它扔进了垃圾桶。

He didn’t say anything more. Ana didn’t ask. They both knew there were questions in the room, and they both left them there.

他没有再说话。安娜也没有问。他们都知道屋子里有疑问，但他们谁也没有提。

At breakfast, Jess came down with a letter in her hand. Her face was pink. “Grandad. Ana. I have to tell you something.” She looked at Ana. Ana gave her a small smile.

吃早饭的时候，杰丝手里拿着一封信走下楼来。她的脸红红的。“爷爷。安娜。我有一件事要告诉你们。”她看着安娜。安娜对她笑了笑。

“There’s an open day at the university in Leeds on Saturday. You can see the buildings and talk to the teachers. For architecture. I want to go.” She took a breath. “And I have a letter from London too. They want to see me in the spring.”

“星期六利兹的大学有开放日。可以看那些楼，还可以和老师说话。是建筑学。我想去。”她吸了一口气。“我还有一封从伦敦来的信。他们想在春天见我。”

Walter put down his cup. He looked at Jess for a long time. Ana was afraid he was going to be angry. But he only said, “Architecture. Like your drawings.”

沃尔特放下杯子。他看了杰丝很长时间。安娜害怕他会生气。但他只是说：“建筑学。就像你画的画那样。”

“You know about my drawings?”

“你知道我画画？”

“I’m old, Jess. I’m not blind.” He drank his tea. “I can’t go with you on Saturday. Somebody has to make the bread, and my hand…”

“我老了，杰丝。但我没瞎。”他喝了口茶。“星期六我不能和你一起去。总得有人烤面包，而且我的手……”

“I can go with her,” Ana said. “After the baking. If you can do the shop alone.”

“我可以和她一起去，”安娜说，“烤完面包以后。如果你一个人能看店的话。”

Walter nodded. And for one second, Jess put her arms round her grandad. Then she ran upstairs, very fast, so nobody could see her face.

沃尔特点了点头。有一秒钟，杰丝用双手抱住了她爷爷。然后她飞快地跑上楼去，不让任何人看到她的脸。

On Saturday, at a quarter past eight, Ana and Jess were at Hollin Bridge station. It was a small station at the top of the town, with two platforms and one ticket machine.

星期六早上八点一刻，安娜和杰丝到了 Hollin Bridge 火车站。那是镇子最高处的一个小站，有两个站台和一台买票机。

“Two returns to Leeds, please,” Ana said to the machine. Then she laughed. “I always talk to machines. In English, they understand me better than people.”

“请给我两张去利兹的往返票，”安娜对机器说。然后她笑了。“我总是和机器说话。用英语说话，它们比人更懂我。”

Jess looked at the timetable. “Platform two. Eight thirty-two. The journey is fifty minutes. We’re going to be early for once.”

杰丝看了看时刻表。“二号站台。八点三十二。坐车要五十分钟。我们难得早到了一次。”

The train went through green hills, little stone towns and fields with sheep. Ana was tired after her night of work, but she couldn’t sleep. She watched Jess. Jess was watching the window, with her headphones round her neck.

火车穿过绿色的山、石头建的小镇和有羊的田地。上完夜班后安娜很累，但她睡不着。她看着杰丝。杰丝戴着耳机挂在脖子上，正看着窗外。

“Can I ask you something?” Jess said suddenly. “Do you miss your dad?”

“我能问你一件事吗？”杰丝突然说，“你想你爸爸吗？”