平安夜

平安夜

Silent Night

星期二早上,在圣器室里,Amara把东西一件一件放在Tom神父的桌子上。最后是那盏小灯,它还亮着。

Amara put the things on Father Tom’s table one by one, in the vestry, on Tuesday morning. Last came the little lamp, which was still on.

然后她站得很直,像她爸爸对她说的那样。

Then she stood up very straight, the way her father told her to.

“对不起,神父,”她说。“是我拿的。没有人帮我拿。”她转向Doyle先生。“对不起,先生。我是从您的窗户爬进去的。”

“I’m sorry, Father,” she said. “I took them. Nobody helped me take them.” She turned to Mr Doyle. “I’m sorry, sir. I climbed in by your window.”

Tom神父说不出话。他只是把他的大手放在她的头上。

Father Tom couldn’t speak. He just put his big hand on her head.

“我的窗户,”Doyle先生终于说。“十一月,你问我,我用长杆把它打开了。然后你很急,我就很快把它关上了。三十年了,我没有检查过。”他看着我。“所以我也有错,Novak小姐。您也有一点。”

“My window,” said Mr Doyle at last. “I opened it with my pole, in November, because you asked me. Then I closed it fast, because you were in a hurry. Thirty years, and I didn’t check it.” He looked at me. “So it’s on me too, Miss Novak. And on you, a little.”

然后他伸出手,我把他的钥匙还给了他。

Then he held out his hand, and I gave him back his key.

“我会再打扫一次礼堂,也会看一下暖气,”他说。“为了孩子们。Novak小姐,我还没有原谅您。”

“I’ll clean the hall again, and look at the heating,” he said. “For the children. I don’t forgive you yet, Miss Novak.”

这很公平。我没有争。

That was fair. I didn’t argue.

后来我给Shah警官打了电话,他把这件事结案了,没有去Marco的工作间。然后我自己去了医院,站在病房护士长的桌子前,一直站到她抬起头。

After that I phoned PC Shah, and he closed the report, and he didn’t go to Marco’s workshop. Then I went to the hospital myself and stood at the ward sister’s desk until she looked up.

我给了她一张Kofi Mensah写的条子,八号床,用铅笔慢慢写的。请让孩子们来。这是我女儿能给我的唯一的圣诞节。

I gave her a note from Kofi Mensah, bed eight, written slowly in pencil. Please let the children come. It is the only Christmas my daughter can give me.

护士长读了两遍。“您的记者给我打了三次电话,”她说。“那没有改变什么。这个可以。”她拿出一张表。“晚上四十个孩子来我的病房。这里写谁的名字?学校的吗?”

The sister read it twice. “Your journalist phoned me three times,” she said. “That didn’t change anything. This does.” She took out a form. “Forty children on my ward at night. Whose name goes here? The school’s?”

“不是。学校今天早上说不行。晚上的教区的戏,不是学校的活动。”

“No. The school said no this morning. A parish play at night is not a school trip.”

“那是谁的?”

“Then whose?”