On the Step

“He’s asleep,” Ana said quickly. “He’s upstairs, asleep. He’s all right.” Then she saw that this was not true, and that Michael could see it in her face. She took a breath. “No. He isn’t all right. We went to the hospital yesterday. He has Parkinson’s disease, Michael.”

“他睡了，”Ana连忙说，“他在楼上，睡着了。他没事。”接着她发现这不是真话，而且Michael能从她的脸上看出来。她深吸了一口气。“不。他不好。我们昨天去医院了。Michael，他得了帕金森病。”

For a moment Michael did not move at all. Then he walked the last few steps to the bakery, very slowly, like a much older man. He looked at the open door and the bright kitchen. Then he sat down on the step, next to the paper bag, with his long coat folded under him.

有一会儿，Michael一动也不动。然后他走完了去面包店的最后几步，走得很慢，像个年纪大得多的人。他看着开着的门和明亮的厨房。接着他在台阶上坐了下来，就在纸袋旁边，长外套叠在身下。

Ana understood that he had not sat on this step for fifteen years. She did not say anything. She sat down next to him. Behind them, Crumb came to the door, smelled Michael’s coat carefully and lay down across the doorway with a heavy sigh.

Ana明白，他已经有十五年没坐过级台阶了。她什么也没说，在他身边坐了下来。在他们身后，Crumb走到门前，仔细闻了闻Michael的外套，然后重重地叹了口气，在门口趴了下来。