读点好英文:Forgotten and Forgiven 忘记并宽容

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2022年03月09日

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Forgotten and Forgiven 忘记并宽容

·Anonymous·

As I sat perched in the second-floor window of our brick schoolhouse that afternoon, my heart began to sink further with each passing car. This was a day I'd looked forward to for weeks：Miss Pace's fourth-grade, end-of-the-year party.Miss Pace had kept a running countdown on the blackboard all that week, and our class of nine-year-olds had bordered on insurrection by the time the much-anticipated“party Friday”had arrived.

I had happily volunteered my mother when Miss Pace requested cookie volunteers. Mom's chocolate chips reigned supreme on our block, and I knew they'd be a hit with my classmates.But two o'clock passed, and there was no sign of her.Most of the other mothers had already come and gone, dropping off their offerings of punch and crackers, chips, cupcakes and brownies.My mother was missing in action.

“Don't worry, Robbie, she'll be along soon.”Miss Pace said as I gazed forIornIy down at the street. I looked at the wall clock just in time to see its black minute hand shift to half-past.

Around me, the noisy party raged on, but I wouldn't budge from my window watch post. Miss Pace did her best to coax me away, but I stayed out, holding out hope that the familiar family car would round the corner, carrying my rightfully embarrassed mother with a tin of her famous cookies tucked under her arm.

The three o'clock bell soon jolted me from my thoughts, and I dejectedIy grabbed my book bag from my desk and shuffled out the door for home.

On the four-block walk to our house, I plotted my revenge. I would slam the front door upon entering, refuse to return her hug when she would rush over to me, and vow never to speak to her again.

The house was empty when I arrived, and I looked for a note on the refrigerator that might explain my mother's absence, but found none. My chin quivered with a mixture of heartbreak and rage.For the first time in my life, my mother had let me down.

I was lying face-down on my bed upstairs when I heard her come through the front door.

“Robbie，”she called out a bit urgently，“where are you?”

I could then hear her darting frantically from room to room, wondering where I could be. I remained silent.In a moment, she mounted the steps-the sounds of her footsteps quickening as she ascended the staircase.

When she entered my room and sat beside me on my bed, I didn't move but instead stared blankly into my pillow refusing to acknowledge her presence.

“I'm so sorry, honey，”she said，“I just forgot. I got busy and forgot, plain and simple.”

I still didn't move.“Don't forgive her，”I told myself，“She humiliated you. She forgot you.Make her pay.”

Then my mother didsomething completely unexpected. She began to laugh.I could feel her shudder as the laughter shook her.It began quietly at first and then increased in its velocity and volume.

I was increduIous. How could she laugh at a time like this?I rolled over and faced her, ready to let her see the rage and disappointment in my eyes.

But my mother wasn't laughing at all. She was crying.“I'm so sorry，”she sobbed softly，“I let you down.I let my little boy down.”

She sank down on the bed and began to weep like a little girl. I was dumbstruck.I had never seen my mother cry.To my understanding, mothers weren't supposed to.I wondered if this was how I looked to her when I cried.

I desperateIy tried to recall her own soothing words from times past when I'd skinned knees or stubbed toes, times when she knew just the right thing to say. But in that moment of tearful plight, words of profundity abandoned me like a worn-out shoe.

“It's okay, Mom.”I stammered as I reached out and gently stroked her hair，“We didn't even need those cookies. There was plenty of stuff to eat.Don't cry.It's all right.Really.”

My words, as inadequate as they sounded to me, prompted my mother to sit up. She wiped her eyes, and a slight smile began to crease her tear-stained cheeks.I smiled back awkwardly, and she pulled me to her.

We didn't say another word. We just held each other in a long, silent embrace.When we came to the point where I would usually pull away, I decided that, this time, I could hold on, perhaps, just a little bit longer.

逸名

那天下午，我坐在砖石教学楼二楼的窗台上，心情随着每辆车子的驶过而越发低落。今天是我盼了几个星期的日子：帕斯小姐的四年级年终舞会。帕斯小姐从周一就开始在黑板上倒计时，我们这些9岁小孩等着周五舞会的到来简直等得要造反了。

当帕斯小姐要求家长赞助饼干时，我开心地给我妈妈报了名。妈妈的巧克力饼干在我们小区声名远扬，我知道它们肯定会在我的同学中引起轰动。但是已经两点多了，她的身影还是没有出现。别人的妈妈来，放下她们赞助的饮料、饼干、著片、杯仔蛋糕和布朗尼蛋糕（一种巧克力蛋糕），然后就走了。可我的妈妈却在活动当时不知去向。

当我孤单地凝视着街道时，帕斯小姐对我说：“别担心，罗比，她很快就来了。”我看着墙上的钟，正好看到黑色的分针指向半点。

在我周围，喧闹的舞会开始了，但我还是不想离开窗台。帕斯小姐使尽浑身解数想让我从那儿走开，但我还坚守着，期盼着那熟悉的家庭轿车出现在拐角，载着我那理应感到窘迫不安的妈妈，怀里还有一罐她亲手制作的著名饼干。

3点的钟声很快将我从思绪中唤醒。我沮丧地将书包从课桌里拖出，脚步拖沓地走回家去。

走回家要经过四个街区，我琢磨着发脾气的办法。我进门时会将大门狠狠撞上，等她冲过来拥抱我时，不回应她的拥抱，而且再也不和她说话。

等我到家时，家里空无一人。我想从冰箱上找到张能解释妈妈失踪原因的字条，但什么也没有找到。我又气又恨，下巴都哆嗦了起来。有生以来第一次，我的妈妈让我失望了。

当我听到她从大门进来的声音时，我脸朝下趴在楼上自己的床上。

“罗比，”她喊着，声音中带着些焦急，“你在哪儿？”

接下来我听见她疯了似的从一个房间冲到另一个房间，看我在哪里。我不出声。接下来，是她上楼的声音。她的脚步声越来越快。

当她进入我的房间，坐在床边时，我一动也不动，眼睛直勾勾地盯着枕头，无视她的存在。