The children and their father remember Miranda, of course, and they talk about her sometimes.
孩子们和他们的父亲都忘不了米兰达，他们自然会不时谈到她。
Miranda’s sister often visits us, and she always tells the children a story about their mother.
米兰达的妹妹经常来看我们，她总是告诉孩子们关于他们母亲的故事。
Nick remembers Miranda; I know he does.
尼克忘不了米兰达，我知道他忘不了。
And in the hospital, Grandma remembers, too.
住院的奶奶也忘不了她。
They all remember Miranda.
他们都忘不了米兰达。
I never met Miranda, but every day I look at her photograph, next to the telephone in the kitchen, the picture of her with her children.
我从没见过米兰达，但我每天都能看见她的照片，就放在厨房里的电话旁边，照片上是她和她的孩子们。
Every day I look at her beautiful dark eyes and her long dark hair.
每天我都能看到她那美丽的深色眼眸和她深色的长发。
I first saw Miranda’s photograph two years ago.
我第一次看到米兰达的照片是在两年前。
It was a cold October day, and I left London for my new job with a family in Norfolk.
就在那年10月寒冷的一天，我离开了伦敦，赶往诺福克郡的一个人家，准备开始我的新工作。
I drove north, past Norwich, and it began to rain.
我驱车北行，过了诺里奇就下起雨来。
It was dark and there was a strong wind so I drove slowly and carefully.
当时天色昏暗，狂风大作，于是我小心翼翼，把车开得很慢。
I wanted to see the Harvey children before they went to bed.
我想赶在哈维家的孩子们睡觉前见一见他们。
But because of the weather, it was eight o’clock before I arrived in Cromer.
但因为这天气，我到克罗默镇之前就已经8点了。
I drove through the town, along the sea road.
我穿过这座小镇，沿着海边公路驱车前行。
Suddenly, I stopped.
突然，我停了下来。
There was a tree across the road.
一棵树横在公路中间。
I got out of my car.
我下了车。
It was a big tree, and I couldn’t move it.
这是一棵大树，我无法挪动它。
Just then, a car drove up behind me and a man got out.
就在这时候，一辆小汽车开到我身后停了下来，一个男人从车里出来。
‘What’s the matter? Oh – a tree across the road.’
“出什么事了？哦——一棵树横在路上。”
He was a tall man, about thirty years old.
他个子高高的，三十岁左右。
‘Where are you going?’ he asked.
“你要去哪儿？”他问。
‘Not far,’ I said.
“不远了，”我回答。
‘It’s a house along this road, near the sea. It’s called Beach House.’
“就是这路上的一栋房子，靠近海边，叫做海滩屋。”
‘Oh, I know Beach House,’ the man said.
“哦，我知道海滩屋，”那男人说道。
‘It’s the last house along this road. But you can’t drive there tonight, with this tree across the road.’
“那是这路上最后一栋房子。但是，这棵树横在路上，你今晚开车是没法去那里了。”
He stopped for a minute.
他顿了顿。
‘I’m Nick Watson, and I live at the farm along the road. We can go back to my house, and then walk across the fields to Beach House. Are you visiting for the weekend?’
“我叫尼克·沃森，就住在这条路边上的农场里。我们可以一起去我家，然后穿过田地，步行去海滩屋。你是周末来串门的？”
‘No, no. I’m going to work in the house and look after Mr Harvey’s children. Their mother died two years ago, and their grandmother has arthritis in her legs and can’t walk much now. So I’m going to look after the children and the house,’ I told him.
“不，不是。我准备去那家工作，去照看哈维先生的孩子们。他们的妈妈两年前去世了，奶奶的腿又有关节炎，现在不能走太多路。所以，我是要去照看孩子们和料理家务。”我告诉他。
‘I met old Mrs Harvey in London, six weeks ago, and she gave me the job. Do you know the Harveys?’
“六个星期前，我在伦敦碰上了老哈维太太，她给了我这份工作。你认识哈维一家吗？”
The man laughed. His laugh was warm and friendly.
那个男人笑了。他的笑温和而友好。
‘Oh, yes, I know them,’ he said.
“哦，是的，我认识他们。”他回答。
We drove back down the road and into the farm. Then we walked across the fields.
我们掉转车头沿路开进了农场。然后，我们步行穿过田地。
It was dark and windy and cold.
天色漆黑，刮着风，很冷。
After ten minutes we arrived at a big white house.
十分钟后，我们来到了一栋大大的白色住宅前。
The lights were on downstairs, and the house looked friendly.
楼下的灯亮着，这栋房子看起来舒适怡人。
I had no home because my mother and father died a long time ago, and I had no brothers or sisters.
我没有家，因为我的父母很早以前就过世了，我也没有兄弟姐妹。
This was my first job and I wanted to be happy in this house.
这是我的第一份工作，我希望在这所房子里过得很快乐。
A man opened the door.
一个男人来开了门。
He looked tired and there was no smile on his face.
他看起来很疲惫，脸上毫无笑意。
‘Hello, I’m Cathy Wilson,’ I began. ‘I’m very late, I know. It’s because the weather’s so bad.’
“你好，我是凯茜·威尔逊。”我开口道，”我知道，我来得太晚了，都是因为天气太差了。”
‘There’s a tree down across the road,’ Nick said. ‘So Cathy left her car at the farm and we walked here.’
“一棵树横在了公路中间，”尼克说，”所以凯茜把她的车停在了农场，我们步行过来的。”
Duncan Harvey looked at Nick. ‘You always want to help,’ he said coldly. ‘And you’re always there at the right time, ready to help.’ His face was angry and I didn’t understand why.
邓肯·哈维看着尼克。”你永远乐于助人，”他冷冷地说，”你总是在关键的时候出现，准备助人一臂之力。”他的脸看起来很生气，而我不明白为什么。
‘The wind’s very strong…’ I began.
“风大极了……”我说。
‘It doesn’t matter,’ Nick said. He smiled at me and his eyes were very blue. ‘Goodbye, Cathy. Come and get your car tomorrow.’
“没关系，”尼克回答。他冲我笑笑，他的眼睛很蓝。”再见，凯茜。明天过来取你的车。”
Duncan said nothing.
邓肯什么也没说。
I went into the house and he took me through into the kitchen.
我走进屋里，他带着我穿过屋子进了厨房。
‘Duncan is angry because he doesn’t like Nick,’ Mrs Harvey told me quietly. ‘He’s not angry with you.’
“邓肯生气是因为他不喜欢尼克。”哈维太太悄悄地告诉我，”他不是在生你的气。”
Why didn’t Duncan like Nick? I thought. I didn’t understand, but I didn’t like to ask Mrs Harvey.
邓肯为什么不喜欢尼克？我在想。我不明白，但是我也不想问哈维太太。
The next morning I met the children.
第二天早晨，我见到了孩子们。
Tim was five years old. He ran up and down the garden with a football.
蒂姆5岁。他追着足球在花园中跑来跑去。
Susan was seven years old, a quiet little girl with big brown eyes. She watched me carefully but she didn’t smile.
苏珊7岁，是个文静的小姑娘，长着一双褐色的大眼睛。她小心翼翼地打量着我，脸上并没有笑容。
The weather changed and the sun was warm.
天气变了，太阳照得暖暖的。
In the afternoon I walked with the children by the sea. The sky was blue and the sea was beautiful.
下午，我同孩子们一起在海边散步。天空是蓝色的，大海很美。
I cooked dinner and we all ate in the kitchen.
我做好饭，大家在厨房共进晚餐。
After dinner Juliet arrived.
晚餐后，朱丽叶来了。
‘I left my car at Nick’s,’ she said. ‘There’s a tree across the road.’ Juliet had long black hair and dark eyes. She was Miranda’s sister.
“我把车停在尼克家了，”她说，”有棵树横在了路中间。”朱丽叶有一头长长的黑发和一双深色的眼睛。她是米兰达的妹妹。
‘Miranda was wonderful,’ she told me. ‘Wonderful and beautiful.’
“米兰达很出色，”她告诉我说，”很出色而且很漂亮。”
‘Yes, I know,’ I said quietly. ‘I saw the photograph of her, next to the telephone, with Tim and Susan.’
“是的，我知道。”我平静地回答，”我看到过她的照片，就在电话旁边，跟蒂姆和苏珊在一起。”
‘Miranda is our mummy,’ Susan said. ‘She died a long time ago.’
“米兰达是我们的妈妈，”苏珊说，”她很早以前就死了。”
‘Let’s go to the cinema,’ Juliet said suddenly. ‘I want to take Susan and Tim. Cathy, you come with us.’
“我们去看电影吧！”朱丽叶突然说，”我想带蒂姆和苏珊去，凯茜，你也和我们一块儿去吧！”
Tim began to shout. ‘Let’s go to the cinema! Let’s go to the cinema!’
蒂姆开始嚷嚷：”我们去看电影吧！我们去看电影吧！”
‘Be quiet, Tim!’ Duncan said. He looked angry. ‘No, Juliet. It’s school tomorrow, and the children must go to bed early.’
“安静点儿，蒂姆！”邓肯说。他看起来很生气。”不行，朱丽叶。明天就要上学了，孩子们必须早点儿上床。”
Tim began to cry. ‘I want to go with Juliet,’ he said.
蒂姆哭了起来，说道：”我想和朱丽叶一起去。”
‘No, Tim,’ Duncan said.
“不行，蒂姆。”邓肯说。
‘We can go to the cinema next weekend,’ I said quickly. ‘Let’s play with your little cars now.’ And soon Tim stopped crying.
“我们可以下个周末去看电影，”我马上说，”我们现在来玩儿你的小汽车吧。”很快蒂姆不哭了。
The days went quickly.
日子过得很快。
Duncan went to stay in London for three weeks for his work. He had a job with a big London company.
邓肯因为工作要在伦敦待三个星期。他在伦敦的一家大公司里工作。
He often worked on his computer at home, but he went away a lot, too.
他常常在家里用电脑办公，但也经常出差。
I liked the children and I liked old Mrs Harvey, but I had no friends.
我喜欢孩子们，也喜欢老哈维太太，可是我没有什么朋友。
One day, I came out of a shop in Cromer, and there was Juliet!
有一天，我走出克罗默镇的一家商店，正巧碰上了朱丽叶。
‘Hello!’ she said. ‘It’s good to see you! Let’s go and have a coffee, and we can talk.’
“你好！”她说，”很高兴见到你！我们去喝杯咖啡吧，可以说说话！”
And we did.
于是我们去了。
Juliet told me about her teaching job, and she talked about Susan and Tim, and she talked about her sister.
朱丽叶跟我讲她教书的工作，讲苏珊和蒂姆，也讲她姐姐。
‘I often visited Miranda at Beach House because she wasn’t happy there,’ Juliet said quietly. ‘Duncan is a difficult man; you can see that. He loved her, of course, but he was often away in London. She loved the children, and Grandma, but she was very lonely.’
“我过去常常去海滩屋看米兰达，因为她在那里过得不开心。”朱丽叶悄悄地说，”邓肯是个很难相处的人，这你也能看得出来。当然他很爱她，但他老是去伦敦。她爱孩子们和奶奶，但她很孤独。”
I was lonely, too, at Beach House.
在海滩屋，我也感到很孤独。
Juliet stood up and smiled warmly. ‘I must go now. Let’s go to the cinema this weekend with the children. Ask Grandma tonight, and ring me.’
朱丽叶站起来，亲切地笑着说：”我现在必须走了。这周末我们带孩子们去看电影吧！今晚问一下奶奶，然后给我打电话吧。”
And so I found a friend.
于是，我找到了一个朋友。
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