Most people need to hear those "three little words"- I love you. Once in a while, they hear them just in time.
很多人都期待能听到那“三个字”——我爱你。但是有时候说这几个字的时候需要及时表达.
I met Connie the day she was admitted to the hospice ward, where I worked as a volunteer. Her husband, Bill, stood nervously nearby as she was transferred from the gurney to the hospital bed. Although Connie was in the final stages of her fight against cancer, she was alert and cheerful. We got her settled in. I finished marking her name on all the hospital supplies she would be using, then asked if she needed anything.
我见到Connie 的时候是她住进疗养院的那天,那时我在那里当义工, 她的丈夫Bill 神情紧张地站在她旁边看着把他从轮椅担架抬到病床上, 尽管connie 是癌症晚期, 但是她依然很谨慎而且很快乐. 我们把她安顿好等记了她的名字和所有信息之后,我问她是否需要什么帮助.
"Oh, yes," she said, "Would you please show me how to use the TV? I enjoy the soaps so much and I don't want to get behind on what's happening." Connie was a romantic. She loved soap operas, romance novels and movies with a good love story. As we became acquainted, she confided how frustrating it was to be married 32 years to a man who often called her "a silly woman".
她说:” 是的.,你可以帮教我怎么打开电视机吗? 我非常喜欢看肥皂泡沫剧,我不想错过今天的剧情.” . Connie 是个浪漫的人, 她喜欢肥皂泡沫剧,浪漫小说和结局完美的爱情电影. 我们变得很熟之后,她告诉我说她是多么的灰心，因为在她32岁时嫁给了一个经常叫她”傻女人”的男人.
"Oh, I know Bill loves me," she said, "but he has never been one to say he loves me, or send cards to me."She sighed and looked out the window at the trees in the courtyard. "I’d give anything if he'd say 'I love you,' but it's just not in his nature."
她说” 我知道Bill 爱我, 但是他从来都没对我说过他爱我, 或者给我送贺卡,” , 她叹息着透过窗户看着窗外的大树.接着说:” 如果他对我说句我爱你的话,我会不惜一切,但是这不是他的本性”.
Bill visited Connie every day. In the beginning, he sat next to the bed while she watched the soaps. Later, when she began sleeping more, he paced up and down the hallway outside her room. Soon, when she no longer watched television and had fewer waking moments, I began spending more of my volunteer time with Bill.
Bill 每天都来看望Connie . 起初, 当Connie开肥皂泡沫剧的时候他就坐在她床边, 后来,当Connie越来越能睡觉时, 他开始在病房外边焦虑不安地来回走动, 不久, Connie不再看电视并且醒的时间越来越短了, 于是我开始尽我一个义工该尽的责任－－陪Bill聊聊天.
He talked about having worked as a carpenter and how he liked to go fishing. He and Connie had no children, but they'd been enjoying retirement by traveling, until Connie got sick. Bill could not express his feelings about the fact that his wife was dying.
他说曾经他是个木匠,他是如此喜欢钓鱼,他和Connie 没有孩子, 退休之后整个生活都在享受旅游, 直到Connie 生病, Bill 并没有表达他妻子即将面临死亡的情感.
One day, over coffee in the cafeteria, I got him on the subject of women and how we need romance in our lives; how we love to get sentimental1 cards and love letters.
一天, 经过一家自助式咖啡店的时候, 我对他谈到关于女性在生活中对与浪漫的追求, 希望收到一张表达情感的卡片和情书期待.
"Do you tell Connie you love her?" I asked (knowing his answer), and he looked at me as if I was crazy.
我问他” 你告诉Connie你爱她了吗?” 他看着我似乎在想我是否疯了.
"I don't have to," he said. "She knows I do!"
他说:” 我没必要那样做,他知道我爱她”
"I'm sure she knows," I said, reaching over and touching his hands rough, carpenter's hands that were gripping the cup as if it were the only thing he had to hang onto "but she needs to hear it, Bill. She needs to hear what she has meant to you all these years. Please think about it."
我抓住他那粗糙的手对他说:” 我确信她知道你爱她. 但是他想听见你说, Bill, 她需要听到你说这些年她对你是多么重要,请你好好想想吧”.
We walked back to Connie"s room. Bill disappeared inside, and I left to visit another patient. Later, I saw Bill sitting by the bed. He was holding Connie's hand as she slept. The date was February 12.
我们回到Connie的病房, 一会Bill不见了, 后来我就去查看另外一个病人, 后来我看见Bill坐在床边抓住熟睡的Connie的双手, 这一天是二月十二日.
Two days later I walked down the hospice ward at noon. There stood Bill, leaning up against the wall in the hallway, staring at the floor. I already knew from the head nurse that Connie had died at 11 A.M.
两天之后的一个下午, 我在疗养院散步, 看见Bill立在走廊边的墙上, 眼睛死死地盯着地板发呆, 我已经在护士长那里知道Connie已经死于早上11点了.
When Bill saw me, he allowed himself to come into my arms for a long time. His face was wet with tears and he was trembling. Finally, he leaned back against the wall and took a deep breath." I have to say something," he said. "I have to say how good I feel about telling her." He stopped to blow his nose. "I thought a lot about what you said, and this morning I told her how much I loved her... and loved being married to her. You should have seen her smile!"
I went into the room to say my own good bye to Connie. There, on the bedside table, was a large Valentine card from Bill. You know, the sentimental kind that says, "To my wonderful wife... I love you."
Bill 看见我时,他抱在我怀里很长时间, 他的脸被眼泪浸湿了, 还在不断地抽搐, 最后,他又立在了墙上深深地吸了口气说:” 我必须说点什么.我必须说我和她在一起是多么的开心”, 他擦掉鼻涕又说 :” 你那天说的话我想了很多,今天早上我告诉了她我爱她, 并且和她结婚是多么幸福, 你应该看看她的微笑.”.我走进Connie的病房和她最后道别, 在桌子旁边有一张巨大的来自Bill的情人节贺卡, 上面写着: 致：我至爱的妻子――我爱你！
