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瓶中信 Message in a Bottle
作者：尼古拉斯·斯帕克斯 (Nicholas Charles Sparks) [美国]
泰瑞莎一日在海边慢跑时，无意发现了一个埋在白沙中的玻璃瓶，瓶内装着一封属名G的信。泰瑞莎反复看了又看，深深被信中G的热情及真爱所打动了。她好奇着，是怎么样的感情，能让一个人如此心痛。泰瑞莎才从一段失败的婚姻中走出，她把生活重心全放在工作和儿子身上。在别人眼中，她绝对是个成功的单亲妈妈。她任职于芝加哥论坛报的专栏作家，这封她捡来的瓶中信，阴错阳差的被刊登在报纸上，并得到热烈的回响。于是她被指派去寻找这个情感炙热的主人，了解他伤痛的理由。她积极细心的搜寻一切蛛丝马迹，从瓶子、信纸、打字机等线索，终于让她寻得了信的出处。她整理行囊，来到了北卡罗来纳州靠海的小镇，带着尴尬复杂的心情，不是为了工作成就，而是为自己的感情再冒一次险。
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A cold December wind was blowing, and Theresa Osborne crossed her arms as she stared out over the water. Earlier, when she'd arrived, there had been a few people walking along the shore, but they'd taken note of the clouds and were long since gone. Now she found herself alone on the beach, and she took in her surroundings. The ocean, reflecting the color of the sky, looked like liquid iron, and waves rolled up steadily on the shore. Heavy clouds were descending slowly, and the fog was beginning to thicken, making the horizon invisible. In another place, in another time, she would have felt the majesty of the beauty around her, but as she stood on the beach, she realized that she didn't feel anything at all. In a way, she felt as if she weren't really here, as if the whole thing was nothing but a dream.
十二月寒冬，刺骨的寒风肆虐狂舞，特丽莎·奥斯本交叉着双臂，眺望着一望无际的大海。早先，她刚来的时候，这里还有几个人沿着海岸散步，但是他们都注意到天边乌云滚滚，于是早已不见了踪影。现在，她发现海滩上只有自己孤身一人，她仔细环顾四周。浩淼的大海映着阴沉的天色，看起来像铁水，波涛平稳地卷到岸上。乌云密布，越压越低；薄雾渐浓，遮住了地平线。如果换一个地方，换一个时间，她也许会感受到周围壮观的美景，但是此刻，她站在海滩上，形单影只，没有任何感受。恍惚中她仿佛身处异地，整件事不过是一场梦而已。
She'd driven here this morning, though she scarcely remembered the trip at all. When she'd made the decision to come, she'd planned to stay overnight. She'd made the arrangements and had even looked forward to a quiet night away from Boston, but watching the ocean swirl and churn made her realize that she didn't want to stay. She would drive home as soon as she was finished, no matter how late it was.
她今早驱车赶到这里，旅程只在她脑海中留下模糊的印迹，她甚至都记不起了。她准备来时原本计划在这里待一个晚上。她安排好了一切，甚至打算远离波士顿在这里度过一个宁静的夜晚，但是此刻，凝望着眼前翻腾的海水，她意识到自己并不想待在这里。她暗自决定，一旦完成任务就立刻回家，无论多晚。
When she was finally ready, Theresa slowly started to walk toward the water. Beneath her arm she carried a bag that she had carefully packed that morning, making sure that she hadn't forgotten anything. She hadn't told anyone what she carried with her, nor had she told them what she'd intended to do today. Instead she'd said that she was going Christmas shopping. It was the perfect excuse, and though she was sure that they would have understood had she told them the truth, this trip was something she didn't want to share with anyone. It had started with her alone, and that was the same way she wanted it to end.
当她最终做好了准备，特丽莎慢慢朝海水走去。她腋下夹着一个包，是今早她精心收拾好的，她反复查看过，确保没有落下任何东西。她没有告诉任何人她带了什么，也没有告诉他们她今天要做些什么，她只说她是去圣诞节购物。这是个完美的借口，尽管她确信即便她把真相告诉了他们，他们也能够理解，但是她不愿意和任何人分享这趟旅行。她孤身一人来，也但愿孑然一身归去。
Theresa sighed and checked her watch. Soon it would be high tide, and it was then that she would finally be ready. After finding a spot on a small dune that looked comfortable, she sat in the sand and opened her bag. Searching through it, she found the envelope she wanted. Taking a deep breath, she slowly lifted the seal.
特丽莎叹了口气，看了看表。很快就要涨潮了，只有到潮起时她才算最终准备好了。她在一个看似很舒适的小沙丘上找到了一块儿地儿，在沙地上坐了下来，她打开包，在里面找，她找到了她想要的信封。深吸了一口气，她慢慢打开了。
In it were three letters, carefully folded, letters that she'd read more times than she could count. Holding them in front of her, she sat on the sand and stared at them..
信封里有三封信，都仔细折叠着，她不知道读过多少遍。她坐在沙地上，将信握于身前，呆呆痴望着。
In the bag were other items as well, though she wasn't ready to look at those yet. Instead she continued to focus on the letters. He'd used a fountain pen when he'd written them, and there were smudges in various places where the pen had leaked. The stationery, with its picture of a sailing ship in the upper right hand corner, was beginning to discolor in places, fading slowly with the passage of time. She knew there would come a day when the words would be impossible to read, but hopefully, after today, she wouldn't feel the need to look at them so often.
包里还有其他东西，她还没有准备好去看它们。她只是兀自盯着信。他是用钢笔写的信，钢笔漏水时在信上不同的地方留下了斑驳的污迹。信纸右上角是一只帆船，时光如漏，岁月如沙，信渐已褪色。她知道有一天信上的字将如隔着一层薄纱一样，看不真切，但是她希望过了今天，她不再需要如此频繁地读它们了。
When she finished, she slipped them back into the envelope as carefully as she'd removed them. Then, after putting the envelope back into the bag, she looked at the beach again. From where she was sitting, she could see the place where it had all started.
她看完信，又重将它们放回到信封里，小心翼翼，一如把它们拿出来时一样。然后，她将信放回到包里。她又看了看海滩，从她坐的地方，她能看到它的起点。
She'd been jogging at daybreak, she remembered, and she could picture that summer morning clearly. It was the beginning of a beautiful day. As she took in the world around her, she listened to the high-pitched squawking of terns and the gentle lapping of the waves as they rolled up on the sand. Even though she was on vacation, she had risen early enough to run so that she didn't have to watch where she was going. In a few hours the beach would be packed with tourists lying on their towels in the hot New England sun, soaking up the rays. Cape Cod was always crowded at that time of year, but most vacationers tended to sleep a little later, and she enjoyed the sensation of jogging on the hard, smooth sand left from the outgoing tide. Unlike the sidewalks back home, the sand seemed to give just enough, and she knew her knees wouldn't ache as they sometimes did after running on cemented pathways.
她记得那是拂晓时分，她正在海边慢跑，那个夏天的早晨在她脑海中栩栩如生、清晰如昨。那是美好一天的开始。她细细打量四周，聆听燕鸥高亢的鸣叫和浪涛翻卷到沙滩上轻柔的拍打声。即便是在度假，她每天也起得很早去跑步，这样她就不必在人堆里见缝插针地找路了。再过几小时，海滩上便会人满为患，游客包裹着浴巾，躺在新英格兰炙热的阳光下，享受日光浴。每年的这个时候，科德角湾总是熙熙攘攘，但是大部分游客都喜欢睡懒觉，她喜欢在退去的潮汐留下的坚硬、平滑的沙滩上慢跑。不像自己所在城市的人行道，脚踩在沙地上，沙地轻轻下陷，软硬适宜，她知道自己的膝盖不会像她有时候在水泥地路上跑步时那样疼痛难忍。
She had always liked to jog, a habit she had picked up from running cross-country and track in high school. Though she wasn't competitive anymore and seldom timed her runs, running was now one of the few times she could be alone with her thoughts. She considered it to be a kind of meditation, which was why she liked to do it alone. She never could understand why people liked to run in groups.
她一直都喜欢慢跑，这个习惯是她在高中时跑越野田径赛养成的。尽管她不再求胜心切，也很少计时，然而跑步却是现在为数不多能让她独处一隅沉思的活动。她将其视为一种冥想，这就是为什么她喜欢一个人跑步的原因。她一直都没有弄懂为什么有人会喜欢结伴跑步。
As much as she loved her son, she was glad Kevin wasn't with her. Every mother needs a break sometimes, and she was looking forward to taking it easy while she was here. No evening soccer games or swim meets, no MTV blaring in the background, no homework to help with, no waking up in the middle of the night to comfort him when he got leg cramps. She had taken him to the airport three days ago to catch a plane to visit his father-her ex-in California, and it was only after reminding him that Kevin realized he hadn't hugged or kissed her good-bye yet. "Sorry, Mom," he said as he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her. "Love you. Don't miss me too much, okay?" Then, turning around, he handed the ticket to the flight attendant and almost skipped onto the plane without looking back.
尽管她深爱着自己的儿子凯文，但是她很高兴他没有跟来。任何一位妈妈都有想休息一下的时候，她期望在这里度过悠闲的时光。没有晚间的足球赛或游泳比赛，没有吼叫的MTV背景音乐，没有家庭作业需要辅导，不需要在他腿抽筋的时候半夜起来去安抚他。三天前她就将他送去了机场，让他搭乘飞机去看望他父亲——她的前夫，他现在居住在加利福尼亚。临登机前，凯文兴奋得忘乎所以，忘记了拥抱她或跟她吻别，直到她提醒，他才意识到。“对不起，妈妈，”他一边将胳膊揽了上来、圈住了她跟她吻别，一面道歉，“我爱你。不要太想念我，好吗？”然后一转身，他将机票递给了乘务员，几乎是跳上飞机的，没有再回头看她一眼。
She didn't blame him for almost forgetting. At twelve he was in that awkward phase when Easter break when school let out for a week. Annette, David's new wife, had her hands full with the baby, but Kevin liked her a lot, and he had never returned home feeling angry or neglected. In fact, he usually raved about his visits and how much fun he had. There were times when she felt a twinge of jealousy at that, but she did her best to hide it from Kevin.
她没有因此而责备他。十二岁，他正处于笨拙的成长阶段，认为在公开场合拥抱和亲吻妈妈不太酷。而且，那一刻，他的全部心思都在别的事情上。自从去年圣诞节起，他就一直期盼着这趟旅行。他和他爸爸将要一起去大峡谷，在那里他们将花一周在科罗拉多河上漂流，终点站是迪斯尼乐园。这是所有孩子的梦幻之旅，她也为他感到雀跃。尽管他这一去就是六个星期，但是她知道多让凯文和父亲相处对他有好处。
Now, on the beach, she ran at a moderate clip. Deanna would be waiting for her to finish her run before she started breakfast-Brian would already be gone, she knew-and Theresa looked forward to visiting with her. They were an older couple-both of them were nearing sixty now-but Deanna was the best friend she had.
她在沙滩上以中速奔跑。迪安娜会等她跑步完才开始吃早餐——布莱恩应该已经走了，她知道——特丽莎期盼着和她一起来度假。他们是一对老夫妻——两人都年近六十——但是迪安娜是她最好的朋友。
They have had a good relationship since she divorced David three years ago. Although he was not the ideal husband, he was a worthy father to Kevin. When Kevin birthday or Christmas every year, he never forgot to send a gift to him, every week to call Kevin a year will come to trek, several times, only to spend the weekend with his son. Then, of course, Kevin will visit his father on a legal holiday -- six weeks in the summer, Christmas every other year, and Easter school week. Annette -- David's new wife was too busy looking after the new baby to take care of him, but he liked her very much. He never got angry or left home when he came home. In fact, he was always enthusiastic about how much he had visited and how much fun he had. Sometimes her heart would be stung by jealousy, but she always tried to hide it and never showed it before Kevin.
自从三年前她和戴维离婚后，他们的关系还算融洽。尽管他不是最理想的丈夫，但是他对凯文来说算得上是个称职的父亲。凯文每年过生日或圣诞节的时候，他从来没有忘记给他送礼物，每周都会打电话给凯文，一年中还会不辞辛苦、长途跋涉赶过来几次，只为和他的儿子共度周末。然后，当然，凯文也会在法定假日去看望他父亲——暑假六周、每隔一年的圣诞节，还有复活节学校放假一周。安妮特——戴维的新妻子忙着照看新生婴儿，无暇顾及他，但是他却很喜欢她，每每回家他从来没有感到生气或受到冷落。实际上，他总是热烈地讨论他的拜访经过以及他得到了多少乐趣。有时候她的心甚至会因嫉妒而刺痛，但是她总是竭力掩饰，从没有在凯文面前表露出来。
The managing editor at the newspaper where Theresa worked, Deanna had been coming to the Cape with her husband, Brian, for years. They always stayed in the same place, the Fisher House, and when she found out that Kevin was leaving to visit his father in California for a good portion of the summer, she insisted that Theresa come along. "Brian golfs every day he's here, and I'd like the company," she'd said, "and besides, what else are you going to do? You've got to get out of that apartment sometime." Theresa knew she was right, and after a few days of thinking it over, she finally agreed. "I'm so glad," Deanna had said with a victorious look on her face. "You're going to love it there."
特丽莎工作的那家报社的总编迪安娜和她的丈夫布莱恩有好几年都来科德角湾度假。他们总是待在同一个地方——渔人小屋，当她发现今夏凯文大部分时间都要离开特丽莎去加利福尼亚看望他父亲时，她便坚持让特丽莎一道前往。“布莱恩在这里每天都要去打高尔夫，我想让你陪我，”她说，“再说了，你还有什么别的要做吗？你也得偶尔从那栋公寓出来走走。”特丽莎知道她说得没错，考虑了几天后，她最终同意了。“我太高兴了，”迪安娜说，脸上带着胜利的表情，“你会爱上那个地方的。”
Theresa had to admit it was a nice place to stay. The Fisher House was a beautifully restored captain's house that sat on the edge of a rocky cliff overlooking Cape Cod Bay, and when she saw it in the distance, she slowed to a jog. Unlike the younger runners who sped up toward the end of their runs, she preferred to slow down and take it easy. At thirty-six, she didn't recover as fast as she once had.
特丽莎不得不承认这是个不错的地方。渔人小屋坐落在岩石峭壁边上，是一栋重建的漂亮房子，它的主人是位船长。悬崖峭壁俯瞰着科德角湾港，当她远远看见终点时，不由得放慢了脚步，开始慢跑。年轻的跑步者都习惯在接近终点时加大马力提速，而她更喜欢放慢速度。岁月不饶人，三十六岁的年纪，她不像过去恢复得那么快。
As her breathing eased, she thought about how she would spend the rest of her day. She had brought five books with her for the vacation, books she had been wanting to read for the last year but had never gotten around to. There just didn't seem to be enough time anymore-not with Kevin and his never-ending energy, keeping up with the housework, and definitely not with all the work constantly piled on her desk. As a syndicated columnist for the Boston Times, she was under constant deadline pressure to put out three columns a week. Most of her co-workers thought she had it made-just type up three hundred words and be done for the day-but it wasn't like that at all. To constantly come up with something original regarding parenting wasn't easy anymore-especially if she wanted to syndicate further. Already her column, "Modern Parenting," went out in sixty newspapers across the country, though most ran only one or two of her columns in a given week. And because the syndication offers had started only eighteen months ago and she was a newcomer to most papers, she couldn't afford even a few "off" days. Column space in most newspapers was extremely limited, and hundreds of columnists were vying for those few spots.
呼吸平息下来后，她开始想该如何打发这一天的剩余时光。她带了五本书来度假，这些书她去年就想看，但一直没时间。似乎她再也不可能有足够的时间了——没有时间陪凯文和他一起消耗掉他没完没了的精力；没有时间做家务；而且很显然没有时间处理掉她书桌上堆积如山的工作。作为《波士顿时报》的一名专栏作家，她每周要写出三个专栏，一直处于最后期限的压力之下。她的大部分同事以为她的日子过得很清闲——只不过敲出三百字，然后一天的工作就完成了——但实际根本不是那样。要挖空心思不断想出一些有关育儿话题的新鲜爆料不再那么容易了——尤其是如果她想进一步联合专栏的话。她的专栏“现代育儿”已经在全国六十家报刊上发表，尽管大部分报刊只在指定的一周里刊登她的一到两个专栏。因为她才在一年半前得到这个联合专栏的缺，对大部分报刊来讲她是个新手，因此哪怕休几天假对她来说都成了奢望。大部分报刊中的专栏篇幅极其有限，而成百上千个专栏作家都对这为数寥寥的几个豆腐块虎视眈眈。
Theresa slowed to a walk and finally stopped as a Caspian tern circled overhead. The humidity was up and she used her forearm to wipe the perspiration from her face. She took a deep breath, held it for a moment, then exhaled before looking out over the water. Because it was early, the ocean was still murky gray, but that would change once the sun rose a little higher. It looked enticing. After a moment she took off her shoes and socks, then walked to the water's edge to let the tiny waves lap over her feet. The water was refreshing, and she spent a few minutes wading back and forth. She was suddenly glad she had taken the time to write extra columns over the last few months so that she would be able to forget work this week. She couldn't remember the last time she didn't have a computer nearby, or a meeting to attend, or a deadline to meet, and it felt liberating to be away from her desk for a while. It almost felt as if she were in control of her own destiny again, as if she were just starting out in the world.
特丽莎放慢速度开始步行，最终停了下来，一只红嘴巨燕鸥在她头顶上空盘旋。浑身湿漉漉的，她用手臂擦去了脸上的汗水。她深吸了一口气，憋住一会儿，徐徐吐息，然后朝大海望去。因为现在尚早，大海依然是浑浊的铅灰色，但是一旦太阳再升高一点，海水的颜色就会改变。它看上去是那么的诱人。过了一会儿，她脱掉鞋袜，走到海水边，海水轻轻拍打着她的脚，令人精神振奋，她在海水中来回走了几分钟。她突然高兴起来，因为她在过去的几个月里抓紧时间多写了几篇专栏，因此这周才能将工作全部抛诸脑后。她都想不起上一次没有电脑在身边，或不必参加会议，或不必赶最后期限是什么时候了，能从桌边离开一会儿让她有种解放的感觉。她几乎感到生活重新回到了她的掌控之中，就好像她在这个世界的人生才刚刚起步。
True, there were dozens of things she knew she should be doing at home. The bathroom should have been wallpapered and updated by now, the nail holes in her walls needed to be spackled, and the rest of the apartment could use some touch-up painting as well. A couple of months ago she had bought the wallpaper and some paint, towel rods and door handles, and a new vanity mirror, as well as all the tools she needed to take care of it, but she hadn't even opened the boxes yet. It was always something to do next weekend, though the weekends were often just as busy as her workdays. The items she bought still sat in the bags she'd brought them home in, behind the vacuum, and every time she opened the closet door, they seemed to mock her good intentions. Maybe, she thought to herself, when she returned home...
没错，家里有许多事情等着她做。浴室该重新贴墙纸了；墙壁上的钉眼也需要填上泥料；公寓的其他地方也需要刷上点儿增色的油漆。几个月前，她已经买好了墙纸、油漆、毛巾杆、门把手、一面新梳妆镜，以及装修工作需要的所有工具，但直到现在她甚至都还没来得及打开那些盒子。这些总是下周末必须做的事情，然而周末跟工作日没什么两样，她都忙得像陀螺。她将它们拎回来后，那些东西就原封不动地装在那个袋子里，放在吸尘器的后面，每次她打开壁柜门，它们似乎都在嘲笑她徒有良好的愿望。也许，她暗自想，当她回家后……
She turned her head and saw a man standing a little way down the beach. He was older than she, maybe fifty or so, and his face was deeply tanned, as if he lived here year-round. He didn't appear to be moving-he simply stood in the water and let it wash over his legs-and she noticed his eyes were closed, as if he were enjoying the beauty of the world without having to watch it. He was wearing faded jeans, rolled up to his knees, and a comfortable shirt he hadn't bothered to tuck in. As she watched him, she suddenly wished she were a different kind of person. What would it be like to walk the beaches without another care in the world? How would it be to come to a quiet spot every day, away from the hustle and bustle of Boston, just to appreciate what life had to offer?
一扭头，她看到一个男人站在稍远一点的海滩上。他比她年长，五十左右，脸被晒成了深棕褐色，就好像他整年都住在这里。他一动不动——站在水里，海水从他腿旁流过——她注意到他闭着眼睛，好像在用心而不是用眼在感受世间之美。他穿着褪色的牛仔裤，裤腿挽到了膝盖上，上身穿着一件舒适的衬衣，没有扎进裤子里。看着他，她突然希望自己是另一个人，一个和现在的自己截然不同的人。如果在这人世间无牵无挂，走在沙滩上又会是怎样的感觉？如果远离了波士顿的繁忙和喧嚣，每天到一个安静的地方去，只是去欣赏生命赐予我们的礼物又会怎样？
She stepped out a little farther into the water and mimicked the man, hoping to feel whatever it was that he was feeling. But when she closed her eyes, the only thing she could think about was Kevin. Lord knew she wanted to spend more time with him, and she definitely wanted to be more patient with him when they were together. She wanted to be able to sit and talk with Kevin, or play Monopoly with him, or simply watch TV with him without feeling the urge to get up from the couch to do something more important. There were times when she felt like a fraud when insisting to Kevin that he came first and that family was the most important thing he'd have.
她在海水中向前走了一点，学那个男人，希望能感受到他的所感，无论那是什么感觉。但是当她闭上眼睛，她唯一能想到的只有凯文。上帝知道她想花更多的时间和他在一起；当然，他们在一起的时候，她想对他更耐心点。她希望自己能悠然地坐下来和凯文聊聊天，或跟他一起玩“大富翁”游戏或只是陪他一起看看电视，而不用迫切地想从沙发上起身去忙些更重要的事情。有时候，当她坚持向凯文表示，他对她来说是第一位的，家庭对他来说是最重要的时候，她感觉自己像个言不由衷的大骗子。
But the problem was that there was always something to do. Dishes to be washed, bathrooms to be cleaned, the cat box to be emptied; cars needed tune-ups, laundry needed to be done, and bills had to be paid. Even though Kevin helped a lot with his chores, he was almost as busy as she was with school and friends and all his other activities. As it was, magazines went straight to the garbage unread, letters went unwritten, and sometimes, in moments like these, she worried that her life was slipping past her.
总有忙不完的事情。碗碟要洗、浴室要打扫、猫箱要倒、汽车要保养、衣服要干洗、还有账单要付。尽管凯文也帮着做了不少家务，但是他要忙学业、忙交友，还有许多其他活动，他像她一样忙得不可开交。于是，杂志没看就直接进了垃圾箱；该写的信无限期拖延。有时候，在这样的时刻，她真担心自己的人生会就这么忙忙碌碌地蹉跎了。
But how to change all that? "Take life one day at a time," her mother always said, but her mother didn't have to work outside the home or raise a strong and confident yet caring son without benefit of a father. She didn't understand the pressures that Theresa faced on a daily basis. Neither did her younger sister, Janet, who had followed in the footsteps of their mother. She and her husband had been happily married for almost eleven years, with three wonderful girls to show for it. Edward wasn't a brilliant man, but he was honest, worked hard, and provided for his family well enough that Janet didn't have to work. There were times when Theresa thought she might like a life like that, even if it meant giving up her career.
但是要怎样才能改变这所有这一切？“一次只过一天。”她的妈妈过去老这么念叨，但是她的妈妈不需要外出工作或在没有孩子爸爸的帮助下独自抚养一个强壮、自信也会关心人的儿子。她无法理解特丽莎每天面对的压力。她的妹妹珍妮特也不能，她也走了她们妈妈的老路。她和丈夫结婚十一年了，婚姻美满，生活幸福，一共生了三个漂亮女儿，她们是她用来炫耀自己幸福婚姻的资本。爱德华不是个聪明的男人，但是他为人诚实、工作勤奋，足以让家人丰衣足食，珍妮特不必出去工作。有时候，特丽莎会想，她也许也会喜欢过这种家庭主妇的生活，即使那意味着她要放弃现在如日中天的事业。
But that wasn't possible. Not since David and she divorced. Three years now, four if you counted the year they were separated. She didn't hate David for what he had done, but her respect for him had been shattered. Adultery, whether a one-night stand or a long affair, wasn't something she could live with. Nor did it make her feel better that he never married the woman he'd been carrying on with for two years. The breach of trust was irreparable.
但那是天方夜谭。自从她和戴维离婚后就再没指望了。三年过去了，如果算上他们分居的那一年应该是四年。她并不因戴维的背叛而恨他，但是她对他的尊敬却已经破碎了。通奸，无论是一夜情或是一段长久的婚外恋都是她所不能容忍的。尽管他最后没有和那个跟他鬼混了两年的女人结婚，这也没能让她感觉好受些。信任一旦丧失就再难修补。
David moved back to his home state of California a year after they separated and met Annette a few months later. His new wife was very religious, and little by little she got David interested in the church. David, a lifelong agnostic, had always seemed to be hungry for something more meaningful in his life. Now he attended church regularly and actually served as a marriage counselor along with the pastor. What could he possibly say to someone doing the same things he'd done, she often wondered, and how could he help others if he hadn't been able to control himself? She didn't know, didn't care, really. She was simply glad that he still took an interest in his son.
他们分居一年后戴维就搬回到他的故乡加利福尼亚去了，几个月后就遇到了安妮特。他的新任妻子对宗教异常虔诚，潜移默化中，她使得戴维也对教堂产生了浓厚的兴趣。戴维，一辈子都是不可知论者，总是渴望在生活中寻找更有意义的事物。而现在，他定期上教堂，实际上，他还和牧师一起充当公众的婚姻顾问。他对那些跟他一样犯下同样错的人能说些什么呢？她经常忍不住想，如果他连自己都控制不了，他又怎么能去帮助别人？她不知道，也不关心，真的。她只是很高兴他对他的儿子依然兴致不减。
Naturally, once she and David had split up, a lot of her friendships ended as well. Now that she was no longer part of a couple, she seemed to be out of place at friends' Christmas parties or backyard barbecues. A few friends remained, though, and she heard from them on her answering machine, suggesting that they set up a lunch date or come over for dinner. Occasionally she would go, but usually she made excuses not to. To her, none of those friendships seemed the way they used to, but then of course they weren't. Things changed, people changed, and world went rolling along right outside the window.
她和戴维一离婚，许多友谊自然也随之戛然而止。现在她不再是夫妻伴侣中的另一半，在朋友的圣诞节聚会或后院烧烤活动中她显得格格不入。尽管如此，她还是有几个硕果仅存的朋友，她会在电话答录机上听到他们的留言，提议大家一起吃个午餐或邀请她过去吃晚餐什么的。有时候她会去，但是通常她会找借口搪塞过去。对她来说，那些友谊都不再像从前了，变味儿了，但也并非全是如此。情况在改变，人也在改变，而世界就在窗外不停地转动。
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