文字难度：★★★
SPRING 春——灿烂季
It’s Saturday morning, and she knows it is for sure because last night while her mother was getting her ready for bed she kept asking a whole lot of times until Mommy stopped reading the story and looked up at the ceiling so far that her eyes disappeared inside her head. Then she 1)squinched her mouth real tight and said one-word-at-a-time, “Oh, yessss. Tomorrow ... is ... Saturday.”
现在是星期六的早晨，对此她非常肯定，因为昨夜当妈妈哄她入睡时她不停地问了好多遍，直到妈妈停下来不再跟她读故事，而是把头仰得高高地看着天花板，以至于她都看不见妈妈的眼睛了。接着，妈妈嘴巴绷得紧紧的，一字一句地说道：“噢，是——啊！明天——是——星期六。”
Saturday. The only day she wakes up all by herself and doesn’t have to hurry up and get dressed, because there’s nowhere she has to go. No school. No church. And guess what? Daddy doesn’t go to work, and she gets to have him all to herself because Mommy always stays in bed till almost lunch time on Saturdays.
星期六！唯一的一天她可以一觉睡到自然醒，不用匆匆忙忙地起床穿衣服，因为她哪儿都不用去。不用去学校。不用上教堂。而且你猜怎么着？爸爸也不用上班，而她可以一个人独霸着他，因为妈妈在星期六总会睡到差不多午饭时间才起床。
Pretty soon the best smell will float up the stairs, and she’ll tiptoe down to the kitchen and Daddy will be sitting at the table drinking coffee and reading a book. Quieter than a mouse, she’ll sneak up behind him, cover his eyes and say, “Guess whoooo?” and he’ll make a whole lot of wrong guesses before he gives up and acts so surprised that it’s her. Then they’ll sit together for the rest of the morning drinking coffee and eating donuts, reading 2)Winnie the Pooh, telling knock-knock jokes, and talking about all kinds of stuff.
很快，世界上最美妙的香味就会顺着楼梯飘上来，她会踮着脚尖走进厨房，而爸爸则在餐桌旁一边喝咖啡一边看书。她蹑手蹑脚比老鼠还轻巧地溜到他身后，用手蒙住他的眼睛，说道：“猜猜我是——谁？”而他会一次又一次地猜错，直到投降，然后万分惊讶地发现原来是她。接着，在早晨余下的时光里，他们会坐在一起喝着咖啡，吃着甜甜圈，读着《小熊维尼》，玩着“敲敲门”游戏，天南地北地闲聊着。
SUMMER 夏——恋慕季
“So, would you like to go for coffee or something?”
“那么，你想去喝杯咖啡或别的什么吗？”
“Or something?” she answers 3)flirtatiously, trying her best to sound 4)sultry and sexy like 5)Cher Bono, but sounding instead like Mama 6)Smurf.
“或者别的什么？”她娇媚地说道，尽力使自己的声音显得风骚而性感，就像雪儿·波诺一样，可是听起来却像是蓝精灵妈妈。
“That would be ... uh ... good too,” he replies with a slow motion wink and the sexiest smile she’s ever seen in her life. They both laugh and then stare at each other for a thousand years before he continues, “Listen, there’s a poetry reading tonight at the 7)Quad. Want to go? The coffee’s outstanding.”
“那样……呃……也不错，”他慢慢地眨了眨眼睛回答道，脸上还带着她这辈子见过的最性感的笑容。他们一起放声大笑，然后凝视着对方足有一千年之久，直到他接着说：“听着，今天晚上在学院的院子里有场诗歌朗诵会，你想不想去？那里的咖啡棒极了。”
“And the poetry?” she asks, opting for her own voice this time.
“那么朗诵会呢？”她问道，这次用回了她自己的正常声音。
By the time the poetry reading is over she knows he’s a vegetarian who can’t stand 8)ketchup on anything ever, he isn’t quite so shy once he’s got a half kilo of caffeine 9)under his belt, and he has an amazing sense of humor. At one point she laughs so hard her coffee spurts out her nose, but after his 10)affable response to her Mama Smurf 11)impersonation, she knows it’s no big deal. She doesn’t have to try to impress this guy at all. She can just be herself.
到诗歌朗诵会结束时，她知道了他是个素食主义者，无论吃什么从来都不放番茄酱，只要向肚子里灌多几杯咖啡就不会再腼腆，而且他还出人意料地幽默。有一阵她笑得太厉害了，把咖啡都从鼻子里喷了出来，可是见到自己那蓝精灵妈妈式的拙劣模仿并没有受到他丝毫的嘲笑，她就知道了这没什么大不了的。她根本不需要去努力取悦这个家伙，她可以自然地做她自己。
She also knows he’s an English major and exceptionally talented poet who digs the 12)Moody Blues, weeps every time he hears Elton John’s Your Song, and never has nor never will do any kind of sports other than ping pong and maybe some volleyball at the beach. And she knows absolutely without a doubt for sure that this is the guy she wants in her bed drinking coffee, laughing, and reciting poetry to her till almost lunch time on lazy Saturday mornings for the rest of her life.
她还知道他学英语专业，是一位极有天分的诗人，钟爱忧郁蓝调乐队，每次听到艾尔顿·约翰的《你的歌》都会流泪，而且除了打打乒乓球，偶尔可能在沙滩上玩玩排球外，他几乎不做任何运动。而她很肯定地知道，他就是那个人，那个她想在此生每个慵懒的星期六早晨和她一起躺在床上喝咖啡，大笑，并且为她读诗读到午饭时间的人，对此她毫不怀疑。
AUTUMN 秋——忧虑季
No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get any more information out of her daughter.
无论多么努力，她都无法从她女儿那里得到更多的信息。
“Let’s meet for coffee Saturday morning, okay, Mom? Listen, don’t worry. It’s good news. I just don’t want to tell you over the phone. It’s too good!”
“妈妈，我们星期六早晨一起喝杯咖啡，怎么样？听着，别担心。是个好消息。我只是不想在电话里告诉你罢了。那消息太棒了！”
It took her nearly all week to figure it out but once she did, she realized it couldn’t be more obvious. They’ve been dropping hints ever since her son-in-law became Chief Administrator of the place. What was it? Sunny Acres? Something-Meadows? Whatever. A “happenin’ retirement community for seniors” is how he describes it. Oh, please.
她花了差不多一个星期的时间去思考这件事，不过等她一想明白了，她就发现这件事简直太明显不过了。自从她的女婿当上了那里的主管后，他们就一直在给她暗示。那叫什么来着？“阳光家园”？什么“草场”？管他呢！“正好是间专为退休老人开设的社区”，他就是这么描述的。哦，拜托！
“We’ve got an apartment with your name on it, Mom!” They keep joking. Not funny. Not one bit funny. They’ll be living in it themselves before I ever will, she thought, as she grabbed her car keys to go meet her daughter. No way would she ever even consider leaving her home. Not a chance. It was all she had left of Michael and their years together. Oh, such wonderful years! His laughter still alive in every room, his books, their garden, the ocean. Coffee on the desk at sunrise, long walks on the beach. Oh, no. Absolutely not.
“妈妈，我们以你的名义在那里弄了间房子！”他们总是这么开玩笑。不好笑。一点都不好笑。在我住进去之前让他们自己先住进去吧，她边想着，边抓起汽车钥匙准备去赴女儿的约。绝对别想让她离开自己的家。绝不可能。这里充满了她和迈克尔多年共度的时光所遗留下来的全部记忆。哦，那些日子多么精彩！他的笑声依然在每个房间里，他的书中，他们的花园里，还有海边回响。沐浴着日出阳光的咖啡，在海滨沙滩上的漫步。噢，不。绝对不行。
“So, tell me, what exactly is this BIG surprise?” she asks in a voice that would make her 13)assertiveness training instructor proud.
“那么，告诉我，那个大惊喜到底是什么？”她说话的语气都能让她自信训练课的指导老师感到骄傲了。
Her daughter smiles, takes a deep breath and says, “Are you sure you’re ready?”
她的女儿微笑着，深深吸了一口气，说道：“你确定你准备好了吗？”
“Ready as I’ll ever be,” she answers, bracing herself.
“我随时都准备好了，”她鼓起勇气回答道。
“Okay. Here goes ... STAN AND I ARE GOING TO EUROPE!!”
“好吧。是这样……斯坦和我将要去欧洲啦！！”
That’s it? That’s the surprise? They’re NOT packing her off to a retirement community? She sits motionless, staring straight ahead.
就是这样吗？这就是那个惊喜？他们不是要把她打发到某个退休老人社区去？她一动不动地坐在那里，眼睛凝视着前方。
“Mom? Are you okay, Mom?” her daughter asks nervously.
“妈妈？你还好吗，妈妈？”她的女儿紧张地问道。
“I’m ...” she 14)stammers. “Oh, I’m fine. Oh, how wonderful! I ... I couldn’t be happier for you. When? For how long?”
“我……”她结结巴巴地说道，“噢，我很好。噢，那真是太棒了！我……我太替你们高兴了。什么时候去？要去多久？”
“I’ll tell you all the details in a minute,” her daughter answered, “But first I’d really like to ask a favor. Um ... do you think maybe you could keep the dog for us?”
“我马上就告诉你所有的细节，”她的女儿回答道，“不过首先，我真的想要请你给我帮个忙。呃……你觉得你是否有可能帮我们照顾一下我们的狗狗呢？”
WINTER 冬——收获季
It’s Saturday morning, and she knows it is for sure because there’s nothing on TV but cartoons, and the groundskeeper isn’t out there 15)mowing the lawn or tending the roses. What’s his name? George? Greg? Nice young man. Loves her lemon bars.
又是星期六清晨，她对此非常肯定，因为电视里什么节目都没有，全是卡通片，而且园丁也没在外面的草地上除草或照料玫瑰花。他叫什么名字？乔治？还是格雷格？很好的年轻人。喜欢吃她做的柠檬棒。
She didn’t sleep well last night, but it doesn’t matter. Today’s going to be a good day anyway. Her granddaughter Jenny Rebecca, or is it Emily? Whichever. One of them will be here pretty soon to take her out to lunch. Beautiful girls they are. One named after a poet and one after a song.
昨天晚上她睡得不好，不过这不要紧。不管怎么说，今天会是个好日子。她的外孙女詹妮·丽贝卡，还是艾米莉？随便哪个吧。她们其中的一个很快就要来这里接她出去吃午餐了。她们都是非常漂亮的女孩子。一个的名字源于一位诗人的名字，另一个源于一首歌。
“You’re going to love the café, Grandma,” she told her when she called last night to remind her what time to be ready. “It’s a new little place near the boardwalk, right around the corner from that little antique shop. Maybe we can even take a walk on the beach.”
“你会爱上那家咖啡店的，外婆！”外孙女昨晚打电话给她提醒她准备出门的时间时这么说。“这个新开张的小店离海滨的木板人行道很近，就在那家小古董店的拐角处。也许我们还能去海滩上散散步呢。”
It was such a gorgeous morning. Maybe she would be able to walk for a bit. Oh, how she loved walking at the beach. How hard it was to give up the house. She missed it so. But living in Sunshine Meadows wasn’t nearly so bad as she thought. Beautiful gardens. Lovely people. Lots of new friends. The food was quite good. She really didn’t like to cook that much anymore. And she certainly was a lot safer. Not a chance she’d be on the floor for more than five minutes before someone would be here to help her if she fell again. Lots of folks around all the time. And her granddaughters make sure she gets to see the ocean at least twice a month. Wonderful girls.
这天早上天气极好。也许她真的可以稍微走走。噢，她真喜欢在海滩上散步。要放弃自己的房子真是个艰难的决定。她实在想念那老房子。不过住在“阳光草场”并不像她当初想象地那么糟糕。这里有美丽的花园。友善的人们。许许多多的新朋友。食物也很棒。她现在确实不那么喜欢下厨了。而且她也的确比以前要安全许多。如果她再次跌倒在地，五分钟之内一定会有人前来帮助她，不会让她一直躺在地板上。四周总是有许多人在关心着她。而她的外孙女们也保证她每个月至少能去海边看两次海。多好的姑娘啊！
The books are all ready to go. She put them in one of those 16)newfangled wrapping paper bags and set it by the door so she wouldn’t forget. Emily? Jenny? Whichever one is coming today asked to borrow them. She’s doing a poetry reading at her college next week and wants to include a few of Michael’s poems. She’s such a gifted poet. Her grandfather would be so proud.
几本书都已经准备好了。她把它们放进一个新做的包装纸袋里，摆在门边，以免自己出门时忘了拿。艾米莉？还是詹妮？她们中的一个今天要过来借这几本书。下个星期外孙女会在她的大学举办一场诗歌朗诵会，想要朗读迈克尔的一些诗。她也是个非常有才华的诗人。她的外公会为她感到骄傲的。
