货架之间

货架之间

Between the Shelves

“四十个孩子?”Hamid说。“在我的店里?”

“Forty children?” said Hamid. “In my shop?”

“每天四点。到平安夜。只有半个小时。”我紧紧拿着我的单子。“礼堂不能给戏用了。教堂在星期一到星期五太冷。我没有别的地方,Hamid。”

“Every day at four. Until Christmas Eve. Only for half an hour.” I held my list tight. “The hall is closed to the play. The church is too cold in the week. I have nowhere else, Hamid.”

Hamid在St Nicholas Square已经二十五年了。他的店在拐角,开得很晚。他慢慢地看了看店里:米、罐头、报纸、装满牛奶的冰箱。

Hamid has been on St Nicholas Square for twenty-five years, in the late shop on the corner. He looked round it slowly: the rice, the tins, the newspapers, the fridges full of milk.

“国王可以站在面包旁边,”他说。“天使站在窗户旁边。羊可以去后面,和箱子在一起。羊喜欢箱子。”他戴上眼镜。“好,Novak小姐。当然好。”

“The kings can stand by the bread,” he said. “The angels by the window. The sheep can go in the back, with the boxes. Sheep like boxes.” He put on his glasses. “Yes, Miss Novak. Of course yes.”

Ruth不高兴。“一场耶稣降生的戏,”她说,“在洗衣粉和猫粮中间。”可是星期三四点她来了,还带来了她的小电子琴,把它放在冰柜上弹。

Ruth was not happy. “A nativity,” she said, “between the washing powder and the cat food.” But she came at four on Wednesday, and she brought her small electric piano, and she played it on top of the freezer.

成功了。牧羊人在货架中间走。玛利亚坐在一箱橙子上。Hamid请大家喝茶,用纸杯。顾客们站着看,一位老先生看着天使,哭了一点。

It worked. The shepherds walked between the shelves. Mary sat on a box of oranges. Hamid gave everyone tea in paper cups. Customers stood and watched, and one old man cried a little at the angels.

那天晚上我在教室里待得很晚,剪纸星星。七点,一个年轻女人来敲门,外套上有雪,有Hamid那样的黑眼睛。她是Leila Yousef,他的女儿,是记者,从多伦多回家。她的父亲对她说了我去医院的主意。

That evening I stayed late in my classroom, cutting out paper stars. At seven a young woman knocked, with snow on her coat and Hamid’s dark eyes. Leila Yousef, his daughter, a journalist, home from Toronto. Her father told her about my hospital idea.

一个记者。我放下了剪刀。

A journalist. I put down my scissors.

“这是一场噩梦,”我说。“这场戏是一场噩梦。医院还没有说行。Tom神父还没有问主教。还有四十个孩子,晚上,在雪里?”

“It’s a nightmare,” I said. “The play is a nightmare. The hospital hasn’t said yes. Father Tom hasn’t asked the bishop. And forty children in the snow, at night?”

“广场上有人会非常喜欢,”她说。她没有说是谁。“我可以给医院打电话。如果您需要在雪里多一个大人,我和孩子们一起走。”

“Someone on the square would like it very much,” she said. She didn’t say who. “I can phone the hospital. And if you need another adult in the snow, I’ll walk with the children.”

“我试试,”我说。

“I’ll try,” I said.

可是这是我的主意,而且Kofi Mensah每天都问戏的事。星期四我自己又给病房的护士长打了电话。她还是说也许。那天晚上我也给她写了一封短邮件。

But it was my idea, and Kofi Mensah asked about the play every day. On Thursday I phoned the ward sister again myself. She still said maybe. That night I wrote to her too, a short email.

亲爱的护士长:我们有四十个孩子和五个大人。我们平安夜七点可以去,唱三首圣诞歌,二十分钟以后就走。每一个孩子我都负责。请您说行。Clara Novak,St Nicholas学校。

Dear Sister, we are forty children and five adults. We can come at seven on Christmas Eve, sing three carols and leave in twenty minutes. I will be responsible for every child. Please say yes. Clara Novak, St Nicholas School.