佚名/Anonymous

I stretched my legs under the living-room desk,picked up a letter and cut it open.It came from Martels Department Store.I was shocked when I saw the amount we owed them:175 dollars!It was a mistake,of course.Janet and I had not spent that kind of money,certainly not with the way we had been counting every penny and saving for the first payment on the house we planned to buy.I looked at the amount again.Of course,they had meant 17 dollars 50 cents.They had added an extra zero,and misplaced the decimal point.I rubbed my hand across my face.The shock was gone.I looked up across the living room into the bedroom beyond.I saw Janet curled up under the covers reading a magazine.I often looked at her lying that way,as I sat working late at night.To me it represented every thing.Janet was my wife,my partner.We had great plans ahead.

“Janet,”I called to her,“I think that Martel’s made a mistake.They sent us a bill for 175 dollars.I’m sure it should be 17 dollars 50 cents.Will you call about it tomorrow,so I can send the cheque?”Janet did not answer.“Janet,”I called again,“did you hear?I said Martels made a mistake.”She lowered the magazine slowly,lying it across her chest.I could tell she was trying to be calm.“I did not want you to see that,”she said slowly.“I thought I had hidden it from the other letters.”

I flushed when I realized that Janet had spent the money.She had not even asked me about it!I went from the living room to sit on the edge of the bed,watching her closely.We might as well get it all out in the open,I felt.“Do you mean,”I began,“that you spent 175 dollars without discussing it with me?And why not?”Janet tried to smile.“I am working,too.Im going to pay for it.”

“Thats what I want to know,Janet.Pay for what?I haven’t seen anything new around here.”Janet lowered her eyes.“I-I don’t want to tell you,Barney.It’s-just something I wanted to buy.”I kept looking at her.It was hard to believe what I had heard.Janet had spent the money,admitted it,and now didn’t even want to tell me what it was for.I just could not understand that at all.There was no money in the checking account to pay this bill.It would have to be taken from our savings account.That meant another month’s delay in buying the house.It was not fair.It violated our plans and agreement,and worst of all,I would never be able to trust her again.Why had she done this to me?I was becoming angrier,and I decided I was going to get to the bottoms of it all.“Look,Janet,”I said sharply.“Lets not play games.I want to know what that bill is for?I have a right to know.”Janet touched my arm.“Don’t be angry with me,Barney?You’ve been working much too hard these last few months.Youre so jumpy and nervous.”She was trying to escape from the situation and I knew it.That made me angrier.I pulled away roughly,displeased.“Look,”I repeated,“I asked you a question.Do you refuse to give me an answer?”Janet looked up at me,puzzled,as if she was struggling with a problem.When she finally answered,I did not like what she said.“Youll just have to accept the matter as it is,”she said quickly.“Just because I married you does not mean I have no right to a few private affairs.Yes,I refuse to answer.”With that,she looked me in the eyes again.That turned the devil loose in my brain.I stood up and started to walk back and forth,unable to control my boiling anger.All at once,I stopped dead still.I knew everything.She did not have to tell me.She had bought a damned mink fur scarf.Her friend Carol had just gotten one a month before,and I had seen that look in Janets eyes,that look of green-eye envy.Just like a woman!What to put on her back came first.

“You little cheat!”I said,looking down,the words coming slow and burning.“I know what you bought,a home really doesn’t mean anything to you.All you want is a pile of fancy clothes!I thought you were the kind of wife I wanted,but you had me fooled.You’re like a lot of others,a loose spender,thats what you are.A spend thrift.”Janets eyes narrowed to slits and her face showed horror and amazement,and I enjoyed seeing it.It was exactly what I wanted,to see her suffer a little,too.She got out of bed and stood before me.“Is that what you think of me?”Her own anger sent mine up higher.“Youre damned right,it is!”I exploded.“I just wish I had known in time.”Now her anger was as hot as mine.We stood on equal ground.

“You poor fool!”she said.“You don’t even know what you’re talking about.You don’t even know what marriage is.You’ll find out.You have a nice long time to find out,alone.I’m going to take a cab to mother’s,and dont trouble calling me.I never want to see you again.”I knew the situation was really serious now,but I had no thought of giving in.Let her go.Shell soon realize I was right and come crawling back.

The next morning at the office,I kept to myself,burying myself in work.No one seemed to notice my quiet manner.When I returned from lunch,I found Bill beside my desk,showing a new set of golf clubs to the other fellows.“Best buy in town!”he said proudly.He turned to me with a smile.“Say,Barney,you used to play,didnt you?”I forced a smile and said“Sure did,”That gave me an idea,to start playing again.If I bought some golf clubs,that would even things up with Janet.That afternoon,I bought the clubs I wanted and started to swing them on the floor.One ball,I hit harder that I meant to,and the ball rolled across the living room,through the bedroom and into Janets half-opened closet.

The closet was a big one,and dark.A lot of Janet’s things were still hanging there.I got down on my knees and felt around in a dark corner way at the back.My hands rubbed against a heavy box.I lifted the top of the box and looked inside,I was not prepared for what I saw.It was the best-looking set of golf clubs I had ever seen,better than the ones I had chosen.There was also a golf bag,a dozen balls and a pair of golf shoes.The box was marked.It came from Martel’s Department Store.It was then that I remembered our wedding anniversary would be Tuesday.All this for me.There was nothing for Janet.Janet,with her love for surprises and her unselfish love for me.How crazy I had been!Janet was right.I was a poor,stupid fool!There was only one thing to do now,I thought.Go crawling and begging for her to return.And I was man enough to do it.And tomorrow Id do something else.I would hide a mink scarf in my closet.

我坐在客厅的书桌旁，伸展着双腿，忽然看到一封信，便拾起来打开看。信是马特尔商场寄来的帐单，看到账款金额时，我大吃一惊：175美元！这一定弄错了，我和珍妮特从不这样大手大脚地花钱，更何况，我们计划买房子，正一分一厘地筹集第一笔房款。我又看了一下金额，应该是17美元50美分，他们多加了一个零，又把小数点打错了位置。我用手干搓了一下脸，镇定下来。我抬起头，从客厅向那边的卧室望去，看见珍妮特正蜷在被子里看杂志。每次，我工作到深夜时，经常见她这样躺着。对我来说，这就是一切。珍妮特是我的妻子，我的伴侣，我们有一个宏伟的未来规划。

“珍妮特，”我对她喊道，“我想，一定是马特尔百货商场弄错了，他们寄给我们一张175美元的账单，一定是17美元50美分。明天，你能给他们打个电话吗？这样我好寄支票过去。”珍妮特没有回答。“珍妮特，”我又叫道，“你听见了吗？我说马特尔商场搞错了。”她慢慢放下杂志，把它抱在胸前，我感觉她在强装镇定。“我不想让你看见这张账单，”她慢慢说道，“我以为我把它从那些信里抽出来，藏好了。”

当我意识到，是珍妮特花了这笔钱时，我气得满脸通红。她甚至没问过我！我走进卧室，坐在床边，紧紧盯着她。我想，我们开门见山好了。“你是说，你没和我商量就花了175美元？为什么？”珍妮特勉强笑道，“我也在工作，我准备自己来付。”

“这正是我想知道的，珍妮特，你买了些什么？我没见家里添置什么新东西。”珍妮特垂下眼帘，“我——我不想跟你说，巴尼。那是——只是我想买点东西。”我一直盯着她，简直不敢相信自己的耳朵，珍妮特承认她花了钱，而且竟不想告诉我是为了什么。我全然无法理解，要知道，支票付款账户上已经没有钱了，要支付这张账单，就必须从储蓄账户取钱，那就是说，买房子的事又要耽搁一个月。这不公平，我们的计划和协议全被破坏了，更糟的是，我不能再相信她了。为什么她要这样对我？我的火气越来越大，决定问个究竟，“听着，珍妮特，”我尖刻地说道，“别再绕弯子了，我想知道你买了什么？我有权知道。”珍妮特抚摩着我的手臂，“别生我气，巴尼，这几个月来，你工作太辛苦，你太紧张，太焦躁了。”我很清楚，她想转移话题，这让我更生气。我很恼火，粗暴地推开她，又问道，“听着，我再问一遍，你果真不想回答吗？”珍妮特抬起头，一脸疑惑地看着我，好像面对一个十分棘手的问题。她终于回答了，但答案却令我极不满意，“你只能接受这个事实，”她很快说道，“我嫁给你并不意味着我毫无隐私权。是的，我不想回答。”说着，她又直视着我，这无异于火上加油，我无法抑制胸中升腾的怒火，于是站了起来，在房间里踱来踱去。突然，我死死地站定，什么都明白了，不用说，她一定是买了那该死的貂皮围巾了。上个月，她朋友卡罗尔买了一条，我看见珍妮特当时的眼神，眼馋得要命。女人就是这样！什么都没有穿着打扮重要！

“你这个小骗子！”我低头看着她，一字一顿地厉声说道，“我知道你买了什么，家对于你来说根本不重要，你只想要一堆漂亮的衣服！我以为你是我想要的妻子，但你骗了我，你跟其他女人一样，挥霍无度，你就是这样，一个挥金如土的人。”珍妮特的眼睛眯成了两条缝，脸上全是惊骇和诧异的表情，看到她也痛苦，我更得意了，这正是我想看到的。她下了床，站在我面前，“你就这样认为的？”她的怒气进一步激怒了我，“对，你就是这样！”我咆哮道，“我早就该看出来。”现在她跟我一样怒不可遏，我们怒目相对。

“你这个可怜的傻瓜！”她说，“你甚至不知道自己在说什么，更不懂什么是婚姻。你会明白的，自己好好想想吧，你有的是时间，我现在就坐车去我妈家，别打电话来烦我，我再也不想见到你。”我知道事态严重了，但丝毫不想让步，想走就走，她很快会意识到自己错了，会一路爬回来的。

第二天上午，我在办公室埋头工作，好像没人注意到我的沉默。午餐后，我回到办公室，发现坐在桌边的比尔正在向同事展示一套新的高尔夫球杆。“我买的是全城最好的！”他骄傲地说道，转过头来，笑着对我说：“嘿，巴尼，你以前也打高尔夫的，对吧？”我强装笑脸，说道，“是啊，”突然，我冒出了再次打高尔夫球的想法，如果我买一套高尔夫球杆，就可以和珍妮特扯平了。那天下午，我就去买了回来，在地板上试着挥舞了一下，我打得太用力，有一个球滚过客厅和卧室，钻进珍妮特半开着的壁橱里。

壁橱很大，里面很黑，挂着很多珍妮特的东西。我跪下去，四处摸索后面黑暗的角落，突然，我的手碰到了一个很重的盒子，便打开盒盖往里看。毫无思想准备的我立刻就惊呆了，这是我见过的最漂亮的高尔夫球杆，比我自己买的还要好。盒子里还有一个高尔夫球袋、一打球和一双球鞋。盒子上有个标签，是马特尔百货商场。这时，我才想起我们的结婚纪念日就在星期二，这些都是给我的，而她自己什么都没有，珍妮特，她喜欢给我惊喜，无私地爱我！我真傻！珍妮特是对的，我是个可怜的傻瓜！我想，现在只能做一件事了，一路爬过去求她回来。我是个男人，完全能做到。而且，明天还有件事情要做——藏一条貂皮围巾在我的壁橱里。

词汇笔记

rub[r?b]v.擦；搓；揉

Go and rub your hands dry.

去把你的双手擦干。

violate[vai?leit]v.违背；违反

The country violates the international agreements.

那个国家违背了国际协议。

roughly[r?fl?]adv.粗略地；大体上；大致上

He roughly examined the old records.

他粗略地检查了一下旧记录。

crawl[kr?:l]v.爬；爬行；徐缓而行

We learn to crawl before we learn to walk.

我们学会走路之前先要学会爬。

小试身手

什么都没有穿着打扮重要。

这时我才想起我们的结婚纪念日就在星期二。

短语家族

I saw Janet curled up under the covers reading a magazine.

curl up：（使）卷；弯曲

Janet looked at me,puzzled,as if she was struggling with a problem.

struggle with：在内心与（自己、自己的良心等）进行斗争