When I was twenty-three, I missed the last bus home after helping my father close his repair shop. Rain tapped on the metal , and the street smelled of wet leaves and oil. My friend Mara appeared with two paper cups of tea. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it?” she said. We had not spoken since an argument over a borrowed coat, though neither of us could remember what had made the argument so serious.
当我二十三岁时，在帮父亲关掉修理铺后，我错过了回家的末班车。 雨水敲打着金属遮阳篷，街道上弥漫着湿树叶和机油的气味。 我的朋友Mara拿着两纸杯茶出现了。 “好久不见了，对吧？”她说道。 自从因为一件借来的外套争吵之后，我们就再没说过话，尽管我们谁也记不清当初为什么把那场争吵看得那么严重。
We sat on the shop steps while she told me about a job she was thinking of leaving. I started giving advice, and she stopped me. “Let’s not beat around the bush. Do you think I’m making a mistake?” I wanted to say yes, but I didn’t know enough. “I’m not buying it when people say you should stay somewhere just because you’ve already spent years there,” I said. She looked down at her tea. Then I admitted, “My bad, I completely forgot to call you after your interview.” The apology felt small, but it changed the air between us.
我们坐在店铺的台阶上，听她讲述一份她正考虑辞掉的工作。 我开始给出建议，她却打断了我。 “我们别拐弯抹角了。 你觉得我在犯错吗？” 我想说“是”，但我了解得还不够多。 “我不买账那种‘仅仅因为你已经在某个地方待了多年，就应该留在那儿’的说法，”我说。 她低头看着她的茶。 接着我承认道：“我的错，你面试后我完全忘了给你打电话。” 这个道歉显得很微小，但它改变了我们之间的气氛。
A taxi finally slowed beside the curb. Mara reached for her wallet, but I shook my head. “It’s on me this time.” She laughed and said, “Let’s not overthink this. We can call it even.” Before we left, she asked if I wanted to meet again the next week. “I’m cutting it close with work,” I said, “but I’m down for that.” We did not solve her job or our old quarrel. We simply agreed to show up.
一辆出租车终于在路边减速停下。 Mara伸手去拿钱包，我却摇了摇头。 “这次我请客。” 她笑了笑说：“别想太多了。 我们可以扯平了。” 在我们离开前，她问我下周愿不愿意再见面。 “我的工作时间排得很紧，”我说，“但我愿意去。” 我们没有解决她的工作问题，也没有化解我们从前的争端。 我们只是答应再次出现。
Now, years later, I pass that shop on my way to the train. It has become a bakery, and the awning is gone. I still think of that wet evening whenever someone asks me to . “Let bygones be bygones” sounds easy until you have to say it to a real person. These days, when trouble is waiting somewhere ahead, I try to remember Mara’s calm face in the taxi light. “I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it,” I tell myself—not because the bridge is harmless, but because I can’t live on the far side of every worry before I arrive.
如今，多年以后，我在去火车站的路上会经过那家店铺。 它已经变成了一家面包店，遮阳篷也不见了。 每当有人要求我了结一桩旧怨时，我依然会想起那个湿漉漉的傍晚。 “让过去的过去吧”听起来很简单，直到你不得不对一个真实的人说出这句话。 如今，当麻烦在前方某处等待时，我努力回想Mara在出租车车灯照耀下平静的面容。 “船到桥头自然直，”我对自己说——不是因为这座桥没有危险，而是因为我无法在到达之前，就住在每一种担忧的彼岸。
