迟来的婚礼 Letter In The Wallet

佚名/Anonymous

It was a freezing day,a few years ago,when I stumbled on a wallet in the street.There was no identification inside.Just three dollars,and a crumpled letter that looked as if it had been carried around for years.The only thing legible on the torn envelope was the return address.I opened the letter and saw that it had been written in 1944-almost 60 years ago.I read it carefully,hoping to find some clue to the identity of the wallets owner.It was a“Dear John”letter.The writer,in a delicate script,told the recipient,whose name was Michael,that her mother forbade her to see him again.Nevertheless,she would always love him.It was signed Hannah.

It was a beautiful letter.But there was no way,beyond the name Michael,to identify the owner.Perhaps if I called information the operator could find the phone number for the address shown on the envelope.“Operator,this is an unusual request.Im trying to find the owner of a wallet I found.Is there any way you could tell me the phone number for an address that was on a letter in the wallet?”The operator gave me her supervisor,who said there was a phone listed at the address,but that she could not give me the number.

However,she would call and explain the situation.Then,if the party wanted to talk,she would connect me.I waited a minute and she came back on the line.“I have a woman who will speak with you.”I asked the woman if she knew a Hannah.“Oh,of course!We bought this house from Hannahs family thirty years ago.”“Would you know where they could be located now?”I asked.“Hannah had to place her mother in a nursing home years ago.Maybe the home could help you track down the daughter.”The woman gave me the name of the nursing home.

I called and found out that Hannahs mother had died.The woman I spoke with gave me an address where she thought Hannah could be reached.I phoned.The woman who answered explained that Hannah herself was now living in a nursing home.She gave me the number.I called and was told,“Yes,Hannah is with us.”I asked if I could stop by to see her.It was almost 10 p.m.The director said Hannah might be asleep.“But if you want to take a chance,maybe shes in the day room watching television.”The director and a guard greeted me at the door of the nursing home.

We went up to the third floor and saw the nurse,who told us that Hannah was indeed watching TV.We entered the day room.Hannah was a sweet,silver-haired old-timer with a warm smile and friendly eyes.I told her about finding the wallet and showed her the letter.

The second she saw it,she took a deep breath.“Young man,”she said,“this letter was the last contact I had with Michael.”She looked away for a moment,then said pensively,“I loved him very much.But I was only sixteen and my mother felt I was too young.He was so handsome.You know,like Sean Connery,the actor.”We both laughed.

The director then left us alone.“Yes,Michael Goldstein was his name.If you find him,tell him I still think of him often.I never did marry,”she said,smiling through tears that welled up in her eyes.“I guess no one ever matched up to Michael……”I thanked Hannah,said good-bye and took the elevator to the first floor.

As I stood at the door,the guard asked,“Was the old lady able to help you?”I told him she had given me a lead.“At least I have a last name.But I probably wont pursue it further for a while.”I explained that I had spent almost the whole day trying to find the wallets owner.

While we talked,I pulled out the brown-leather case with its red lanyard lacing and showed it to the guard.He looked at it closely and said,“Hey,I’d know that anywhere.That’s Mr.Goldstein’s.He’s always losing it.I found it in the hall at least three times.”“Whos Mr.Goldstein?”I asked.“He’s one of the old-timers on the eighth floor.That’s Mike Goldsteins wallet,for sure.He goes out for a walk quite often.”I thanked the guard and ran back to the directors office to tell him what the guard had said.He accompanied me to the eighth floor.I prayed that Mr.Goldstein would be up.

“I think hes still in the day room,”the nurse said.“He likes to read at night……a darling old man.”We went to the only room that had lights on,and there was a man reading a book.The director asked him if he had lost his wallet.Michael Goldstein looked up,felt his back pocket and then said,“Goodness,it is missing.”“This kind gentleman found a wallet.Could it be yours?”The second he saw it,he smiled with relief.“Yes,”he said,“thats it.Must have dropped it this afternoon.I want to give you a reward.”“Oh,no thank you,”I said.“But I have to tell you something.I read the letter in the hope of finding out who owned the wallet.”The smile on his face disappeared.“You read that letter?”“Not only did I read it,I think I know where Hannah is.”

He grew pale.“Hannah?You know where she is?How is she?Is she still as pretty as she was?”I hesitated.“Please tell me!”Michael urged.“Shes fine,and just as pretty as when you knew her.”“Could you tell me where she is?I want to call her tomorrow.”

He grabbed my hand and said,“You know something?When that letter came,my life ended.I never married.I guess Ive always loved her.”“Michael,”I said.“Come with me.”The three of us took the elevator to the third floor.We walked toward the day room where Hannah was sitting,still watching TV.

The director went over to her.“Hannah,”he said softly,“do you know this man?”Michael and I stood waiting in the doorway.She adjusted her glasses,looked for a moment,but didnt say a word.“Hannah,its Michael.Michael Goldstein.Do you remember?”“Michael?Michael?Its you!”He walked slowly to her side.She stood and they embraced.Then the two of them sat on a couch,held hands and started to talk.

The director and I walked out,both of us crying.“See how the good Lord works,”I said philosophically.“If its meant to be.It will be.”Three weeks later,I got a call from the director who asked,“Can you break away on Sunday to attend a wedding?”He didnt wait for an answer.“Yup,Michael and Hannah are going to tie the knot!”

It was a lovely wedding,with all the people at the nursing home joining in the celebration.Hannah wore a beige dress and looked beautiful.Michael wore a dark blue suit and stood tall.The home gave them their own room,and if you ever wanted to see a 76-year-old bride and a 78-year-old groom acting like two teen-agers,you had to see this couple.A perfect ending for a love affair that had lasted nearly 60 years.

那是几年前一个寒冷的冬日，我在街上偶然拾到一个钱包。里面只有3美元和一张看似写自多年前的皱巴巴的信，除了信封上依稀可辨的寄信人地址，没有任何可以证明主人身份的东西。我打开信，看到它写于1944年——60年前啊。我仔细读了一遍，希望能从中找出这钱包主人的线索。这是一封绝交信，娟秀的字体告诉收信人迈克尔，她的母亲不准他们再见面。但不管怎样，她会永远爱他，署名是汉娜。

这是一封措辞优美的信，然而除了迈克尔这个名字外，信中没有其他可以识别失主的信息。或许咨询处的接线员能够按照信封上的地址查到电话号码。“您好，接线员！我有一个特殊的请求，我拾到一个钱包，正在努力寻找失主。钱包里只有一封信，您能否帮我按照信上的地址查到电话号码呢？”接线员把电话转到了主管处，主管说那个地址的电话虽然找得到，但是她不能告诉我号码。

不过，她说可以替我打电话问一下情况，若对方同意，她再和我联系。几分钟后她回了电话：“有位女士要和你讲话。”我问这位女士是否认识汉娜。“哦，当然认得！我们30年前买了汉娜家的房子。”“那您知道他们现在住哪儿吗？”我问。“几年前汉娜不得已把她妈妈送去了养老院。那儿或许有人能提供一些汉娜的线索。”这位女士告诉了我这个养老院的名字。

我打电话给养老院，得知汉娜的母亲已经过世。接电话的女士又提供给我一个地址。她说汉娜也许会在那儿。我拨通了电话，接电话的女士说汉娜本人也住在养老院，并给了我号码。我打过去，主任告诉我说：“对，汉娜是在我们这儿。”我问是否可以去看她，这时已快晚上10点了。他说她可能睡了。“不过你可以来试试，没准儿她在休息室看电视呢！”主任和保安在养老院的门口等候我。

我们一起上三楼，见到了护理员。她说汉娜确实还在看电视。我们走进休息室。汉娜是一位和蔼可亲的白发老人，她面带微笑，友好地看着我。我把拾到钱包的事告诉了她，并把那封信拿给她看。

在看到信的那一秒，她深深地吸了一口气。“年轻人，”她说，“这是我写给迈克尔的最后一封信。”她凝视了一会儿，忧郁地说：“我非常爱他，但那时我只有16岁，妈妈认为我太小。他长得很帅，酷似演员肖恩·康奈利。”我们都笑了。

主任出去了，只剩下我们两个人在屋里。“他叫迈克尔·戈尔茨坦。如果你找到他，请转告他，我仍然很想他，至今我都没结婚。”她微笑着，泪水却夺眶而出。“我甚至想，根本没有人能配得上他……”与汉娜道过别，我乘电梯下了楼。

到门口时，保安问我：“那位老妇人能帮你什么忙吗？”我说她给了我些提示。“至少她告诉了我失主的名字。但是我不可能继续追查下去了。”我说我几乎整整一天都在寻找钱包的主人。

说着，我把那个镶着红花边的棕色皮钱包给保安看。他凑到跟前看了一眼说：“嘿，我好像在哪儿见过。是戈尔茨坦先生的，他常把它弄丢，我在大厅捡过三次。”我问：“谁是戈尔茨坦先生？”“住在八楼的一位老人。一定是他的，他经常出去散步。”我谢过保安，又来到主任办公室，把保安的话告诉了他。他陪我来到了八楼。我希望戈尔茨坦还没睡。

“我想他一定还在休息室，”护理员说，“他晚上喜欢读书……他是一位很讨人喜欢的老人。”我们来到唯一那间亮着灯的房间，有位老人还在那儿看书呢。主任问他钱包是否丢了。迈克尔·戈尔茨坦翻了翻背包，然后说：“天啊！真的不见了。”“这位好心的先生捡到了一个，您看看是不是您的？”他看了一会儿欣慰地笑了。“是的，”他说，“就是它。一定是今天下午弄丢的。我该好好谢谢你。”“哦，不必客气，”我说，“但我必须告诉你一件事，为了找到钱包主人，我读了里边的信。”他的笑容消失了：“你读了那封信？”“我不仅读了信，而且还知道汉娜在哪儿。”

他的脸色顿时苍白。“汉娜？你知道她在哪儿？她生活得怎样？还是像年轻时那么漂亮吧？”我犹豫了一下没说什么。“求你快点告诉我！”迈克尔催促道。“她很好，并且和你认识她时一样漂亮。”“你能告诉我她在哪儿吗？我想明天打电话给她。”

他抓着我的手说：“你一定知道一些事，是吗？当我收到那封信时，我的生活便终结了。我一直没结婚。我知道自己一直爱着她。”我说：“跟我来。”我们三人乘电梯来到了三楼。走进汉娜所在的那间休息室，她仍旧在那儿看电视。

主任走到她跟前轻声说：“汉娜，你认识这个人吗？”我和迈克尔站在门口等着她回答。她扶了一下眼镜，看了一会儿，但什么也没说。“汉娜，他是迈克尔，迈克尔·戈尔茨坦。你不认得了吗？”“迈克尔？迈克尔？真的是你！”他慢慢地走到她跟前。她站起身来，他们幸福地拥抱，然后坐在沙发上，握紧彼此的手交谈起来。

我和主任走了出去，我们都感动得忍不住落泪了。我感叹道：“看上帝都做了些什么！”三周后，我接到主任的电话，他问我：“你周日可以抽时间参加个婚礼吗？”他没等我答复，就迫不及待地说：“是迈克尔和汉娜，他们终于要步入婚姻的殿堂了！”

那是一场别开生面的婚礼，养老院的所有人都参加了。汉娜身穿米色礼服，看起来很漂亮。迈克尔身着深蓝色西装，显得分外高大。养老院为他们提供了一个单间。如果你想目睹76岁的新娘和78岁的新郎如年轻人一般相亲相爱的感人场面，那可一定要看看他们这幸福的一对儿。这个持续了60年的爱恋终于画上了一个完美的句号。

心灵小语

爱真是一个很奇妙的东西，幸运的人们，可能很容易就得到它的果子——婚姻。但总有那么一些人，他们相爱着对方，却不能及时步入爱的鸟巢。但是，真爱，它可以穿越时间与空间，我们可以等的，只要彼此还爱着对方，我们可以等到花开月明的时候。

词汇笔记

freezing[fri:zi?]adj.冰冻的；冷冻用的；严寒的

Even in summer the temperature here might suddenly

drop below freezing.

即使在夏天，这里的气温也可能突然降到零下。

operator[’ɑp?’ret?]n.操作员；话务员；报务员

Operator,I want to make a long distance call.

话务员，我要打长途电话。

supervisor[sju:p?vaiz?]n.监督人；管理人；主管人；导师

“Right.So what did your supervisor say?”

“就是啊，那你的主管怎么说？”

locate[?ukeiti]v.（在……）设置；坐落于

Early settlers located where there was water.

早期的移民安居在有水的地方。

小试身手

如果你找到他，请转告他，我仍然很想他，至今我都没有结婚。

他晚上喜欢读书……他是一位很讨人喜欢的老人。

如果你想目睹76岁的新娘和78岁的新郎如年轻人一般相亲相爱的感人场面，那可一定要看看他们这幸福的一对儿。这个持续了60年的爱恋终于画上了一个完美的句号。

短语家族

Smiling through tears that welled up in her eyes.

welled up：（眼泪等）涌上

She took a deep breath.

take a deep breath：深呼吸