The Keys

When Ana came back across the road, Walter was sitting at the kitchen table. In front of him was a cup of tea that had gone cold. Crumb was asleep under his chair. The radio was off, which was unusual. Ana took off her jacket slowly and sat down opposite him.

Ana过马路回来时，Walter正坐在厨房桌子旁。他面前放着一杯已经凉了的茶。Crumb在他椅子下睡着了。收音机关着，这很不寻常。Ana慢慢脱下外套，在他对面坐了下来。

“Priya says you had a visitor yesterday,” she said. “A woman in a big black car.”

“Priya说你昨天来了一位客人，”她说，“一个坐黑色大车的女人。”

Walter didn’t look up. “Priya has very good eyes and a very long tongue.” He turned his cup round on the table with his left hand. “It was a customer.”

Walter没有抬头。“Priya眼睛很好，舌头也很长。”他用左手在桌上转着茶杯。“是一个顾客。”

“A customer who stayed for an hour?”

“一个呆了一个小时的顾客？”

“She had a lot of questions about bread.” He finally looked at her, and his small blue eyes were tired but very clear. “It was business, Ana. My business. When it is your business, I will tell you. Not before.” He said it without anger, and that made it harder to argue with.

“她问了很多关于面包的问题。”他终于抬头看她，那双蓝色的小眼睛虽然疲惫，却很清澈。“那是生意，Ana。是我的事。到了该你管的时候，我会告诉你的。不到时候就不行。”他说这话时没有生气，但正因如此，让人更难反驳。

On the fridge, under a magnet shaped like a loaf of bread, there was a letter from the hospital. It had been there for three weeks. Ana had read it twice while she was making tea. Mr Bell was invited to an appointment with a specialist to discuss his symptoms. Walter had not called the number. Every time Jess mentioned it, he changed the subject or left the room.

冰箱上用一个面包形状的磁贴压着一封医院寄来的信。信在那里放了三个星期。Ana泡茶时读过两次。信里请Bell先生去跟专家见个面，谈谈他的症状。Walter一直没有打那个电话。每次Jess提起这件事，他要么换个话题，要么走出房间。

That evening, Jess knocked on Ana’s door. She was holding the letter. “I called them,” she said. “I pretended to be his secretary. He has an appointment on Wednesday at ten. Now we have to get him there, and I can’t do it alone. He doesn’t listen to me. He thinks I’m still two years old.”

那天晚上，Jess敲了Ana的门。她手里拿着那封信。“我给他们打电话了，”她说，“我假装是他的秘书。他星期三上午十点有个预约。现在我们得带他去，我一个人不行。他不听我的。他总觉得我才两岁大。”

“Then we do it together,” Ana said. “But not with shouting. Shouting doesn’t work with him. I’ve tried.”

“那我们一起去，”Ana说，“但不能冲他喊。冲他大喊大叫没有用。我试过。”

On Tuesday night, at four in the morning, Ana chose her moment. The dough for the big loaves was resting under its cloths, and the radio was playing quietly. Walter was sitting in his chair by the table, watching her hands with his critical eyes. She sat down next to him with two cups of tea.

星期二夜里凌晨四点，Ana找到了合适的机会。做大面包的面团盖着布在静置，收音机轻轻响着。Walter坐在桌旁的椅子上，用挑剔的眼神看着她的双手。她端着两杯茶在他身边坐下。

“Do you remember what you told me about pride?” she asked. “You said it was a terrible thing. You said a person says one word, and then they can’t take it back, and one year becomes two, and two becomes ten.”

“你还记得以前跟我说过的面子吗？”她问，“你说那是一件很可怕的事。你说人说了一句话，就再也收不回来了，一年变成两年，两年又变成十年。”

Walter looked at her suspiciously. “I remember. I also remember that you didn’t like hearing it.”

Walter怀疑地看着她。“我记得。我也记得你当时不爱听。”

“I didn’t. But you were right. And I think you’re doing the same thing now, with your hands. You don’t want to go to the hospital because you’re afraid of what they’ll say. And because you’re proud. But if you don’t go, nothing changes, except that it gets worse and Jess cries in her room at night. Did you know that she does that?”

“我当时是不爱听。但你说得对。我觉得你现在对你的手也是这样。你不想去医院，是因为你害怕他们说的话。也是因为你放不下面子。但如果你不去，什么都不会改变，只会越来越糟，Jess晚上还会一个人在房间里哭。你知道她在哭吗？”