The Maker of Cakes
蛋糕师
Friday, 8th February, afternoon
2月8日，星期五，下午
There was a noise under Lucy’s desk. It was her mobile phone, with a new text message.
露西的桌子下面有东西在响，是她的手机收到了一条新短信。
Am away this weekend.
我这周末出门。
Wed 13th, salsa dancing
13号星期三，跳萨尔萨舞
at Marco’s Club. U coming?
在马尔科俱乐部。你来不？
From: B
发自：B
44600.6041666667
44600.6041666667
Lucy smiled. The message was from B – her good friend Becky. Becky was always busy with something new – new clothes, a new club, a new man… She was a beautiful girl, and of course men liked her.
露西笑了。这是B——她的好朋友贝姬——发来的短信。贝姬总忙着各种新的事物——新衣服、新俱乐部、新男友……她是个漂亮的女孩子，男人们当然喜欢她。
Lucy sent a text back.
露西回了一条短信。
13th OK.
13号没问题。
From: Lucy
发自：露西
44600.6076388889
44600.6076388889
Lucy’s boyfriend Sam was always busy on the 13th February, because the 14th was Valentine’s Day. Sam made cakes, and had a cake shop and café called the Sunflower Café. Everybody in the town loved Sam’s wonderful Valentine cakes. On the 14th February every year, the window of the Sunflower Café was full of them. ‘Be my valentine!’ they said, or ‘Love me always.’
露西的男友萨姆2月13号总是没有空闲，因为2月14号是情人节。萨姆是蛋糕师，他开了一家蛋糕咖啡店，名叫向日葵咖啡店。城里每个人都喜欢萨姆做的漂亮的情人节蛋糕。每年的2月14号，向日葵咖啡店的橱窗里都会摆满蛋糕。蛋糕上写着，“做我的恋人吧！”或者“永远爱我。”
Lucy looked out of the window. Love me always! Oh yes, she loved Sam. They met three Christmases ago at a party. Sam was tall and quiet, but he was full of good ideas. Soon he and Lucy went everywhere together.
露西向窗外望去。永远爱我！啊，是的，她爱萨姆。他们是在三年前的一个圣诞节派对上认识的。萨姆个子高高的，不怎么说话，不过他有很多好点子。没过多久，他和露西就形影不离了。
Sam and Lucy met three Christmases ago at a party.
萨姆和露西是在三年前的一个派对上认识的。
Is it love?’ asked Becky after the first year.
“这是爱吗？”一年之后贝姬问。
Of course it is,’ said Lucy.
“当然是了。”露西说。
Well, does he say, “Lucy, I can’t live without you! Lucy, marry me! Be my valentine, always.” Does he say all those things?’ laughed Becky.
“哦，那他有没有说‘露西，我没有你就活不下去了！露西，嫁给我吧！做我的恋人，永远的恋人。’他说没说过这些话？”贝姬笑问。
Lucy laughed too. ‘No, that’s not Sam. Sam doesn’t say things – he does things.’
露西也笑了。“不，那不是萨姆。萨姆从来不说——他总是去做。”
But today, Lucy thought, ‘Three years is a long time to love somebody. Perhaps this year… Perhaps this Valentine’s Day… Perhaps.’
可是今天，露西想，“爱一个人三年，这时间也不短了。也许今年……也许这个情人节……也许吧。”
Monday, 11th February, afternoon
2月11日，星期一，下午
Becky phoned Lucy on the 11th. ‘I saw Sam this morning,’ she said. ‘He’s so nice, Lucy – you’re a lucky girl.’
11号那天，贝姬给露西打电话。“我今天早上看见萨姆了。”她说，“他人真好，露西——你是个幸运的女孩。”
Lucy was surprised. ‘Where did you see him, Becky?’
露西感到惊讶。“你在哪里见到他的，贝姬？”
At the Sunflower Café, of course. I went there for a coffee.’
“当然是在向日葵咖啡店了。我去那儿喝了杯咖啡。”
Again?’ Lucy thought. ‘She went there three times last week, twice the week before… The Sunflower isn’t near her office. Why does she always go there for coffee?’
“又去了？”露西心想，“上个星期她去了三次，再上个星期去了两次……向日葵咖啡店离她的办公室并不近。她为什么总去那里喝咖啡？”
Oh,’ she said. ‘Well, Sam’s very busy just now. I’m not going to see him for a day or two.’
“噢。”她说，“嗯，萨姆这阵子很忙。我这一两天都不会见他。”
Becky laughed. ‘We’ve got a surprise for you, you know,’ she said. ‘I’m so excited. Can you wait for a few days?’
贝姬笑了起来。“你知道吗，我们要给你一个惊喜。”她说，“我太兴奋了。你能再等上几天吗？”
We’ve got a surprise for you,’ Becky laughed.
“我们准备了一个惊喜，”贝姬笑着说。
What do you mean?’ asked Lucy.
“你是什么意思？”露西问。
I can’t say anything now,’ Becky answered. ‘See you on the 13th. Bye.’
“我现在什么都不能说。”贝姬答，“13号见。拜拜。”
Suddenly Lucy wasn’t so excited about Valentine’s Day. She began to feel worried about her Sam – and beautiful Becky. What surprise? She didn’t want any surprises. And a surprise from Sam and Becky? Becky often went to have coffee at Sam’s café these days. Why? And Sam liked Becky, he often said that. He laughed a lot when he was with Becky. Perhaps he was in love with Becky. He didn’t phone last night, he didn’t phone the night before…
突然间，露西觉得情人节没那么令人激动了。她开始担心她的萨姆——还有漂亮的贝姬。什么惊喜？她不想要任何惊喜，而且还是萨姆和贝姬的惊喜？贝姬这些天经常去萨姆的咖啡店喝咖啡。为什么呢？况且萨姆也喜欢贝姬，他常常这么说。他和贝姬在一起时总是有说有笑。也许他爱上贝姬了。他昨天晚上没打电话，前天晚上也没打电话……
Wednesday, 13th February, afternoon
2月13日，星期三，下午
Late on the 13th, the Sunflower Café was busy. There were beautiful cakes everywhere, and people went out of the shop with happy smiles on their faces and big red boxes in their hands.
13号的傍晚，向日葵咖啡店里顾客盈门。店里到处都是漂亮的蛋糕。人们走出来的时候，脸上都带着幸福的笑容，手里则拿着红色的大盒子。
Sam went outside and looked at the window. He had a plan for Valentine’s Day, and he was nearly ready.
萨姆走出店外，看了看橱窗。他为情人节制订了一个计划，他就要准备好了。
Hello, Sam.’ It was Becky.
“你好啊，萨姆。”贝姬来了。
Hi, Becky. Are you meeting Lucy?’
“嗨，贝姬。你要和露西见面吗？”
Yes, we’re going salsa dancing tonight. So – what’s going in the window, Sam?’
“是啊，我们今晚一起去跳萨尔萨舞。那么——橱窗里要放什么，萨姆？”
Ah, I’ve got a new idea. It’s your idea, but better! Come into the shop.’
“啊，我有个新主意。其实是你的主意，但是我改进了一下！到店里来吧。”
A moment later Lucy arrived at the door of the shop. She wanted to see Sam before she went dancing with Becky. She looked in, and saw Becky – Becky and Sam, heads together, talking and laughing. Lucy stopped at the door. ‘So it’s true,’ she thought. ‘There they are, together.’ She could not hear their words, but they looked happy, so happy. Then Becky Suddenly kissed Sam on the cheek, and Sam kissed Becky back.
不一会儿，露西到了咖啡店门口。她想先见见萨姆，再和贝姬去跳舞。她往店里看，看见了贝姬——贝姬和萨姆，脑袋凑在一起，有说有笑。露西在门口停住了。“看来是真的了。”她想，“他们就在那儿呢，在一起。”她听不到他俩在说什么，不过他们看上去很开心，那么开心。随后，贝姬突然亲了萨姆的脸颊，萨姆也回亲了贝姬。
Lucy looked in, and saw Becky and Sam, heads together.
露西往店里看，看见贝姬和萨姆，脑袋凑在一起。
Lucy went quietly away, her eyes full of tears. ‘My heart is breaking,’ she thought. ‘I love him so much – but lots of men like beautiful Becky, and now he does too.’
露西默默地离开了，眼里满是泪水。“我的心碎了。”她想，“我那么爱他——可是很多男人都喜欢漂亮的贝姬，现在连他也不例外。”
She took out her phone and sent a text to Becky.
她掏出手机，给贝姬发了一条短信。
Sorry. Not feeling well.
对不起。不太舒服。
Going home to bed.
回家睡觉了。
From: Lucy
发自：露西
44605.7361111111
44605.7361111111
Sam put his cakes in the window, and smiled. Becky went dancing, and laughed. Lucy went to bed – and cried.
萨姆把他的蛋糕放进橱窗里，笑了起来。贝姬去跳舞了，乐呵呵的。露西躺在床上——哭了。
Thursday, 14th February, morning
2月14日，星期四，早上
Lucy woke up the next morning. ‘It’s Valentine’s Day,’ she thought happily – but then she remembered Sam and Becky, and the happy smile left her face. Did it really happen?
第二天露西一觉醒来。“今天是情人节。”她高兴地想——但她随即想起了萨姆和贝姬，快乐的笑容就从她的脸上消失了。那真的发生了吗？
But it was Valentine’s Day. She waited until nearly nine o’clock. Perhaps a letter, some flowers, a cake from Sam? But nothing came.
不过今天确实是情人节。露西一直等到将近九点钟。也许萨姆会给她送一封信、几枝花或是一个蛋糕？可是什么也没有。
Becky phoned. ‘Are you OK, Lucy? How are you feeling today? Do you want to meet me at lunchtime at the Sunflower?’
贝姬打电话过来了。“你还好吧，露西？今天感觉怎么样？想不想午餐的时候在向日葵咖啡店见个面？”
I – I don’t know,’ Lucy said. But she did know. She didn’t want to see Sam and Becky together. She needed some time. ‘It’s going to be busy at work today,’ she said. ‘Perhaps later, OK?’
“我——我没想好。”露西说。但是她已经想好了。她不想看到萨姆和贝姬在一起的样子。她需要一些时间。“今天工作会忙。”她说，“也许晚些时候，好吗？”
Then a text message arrived from Sam.
之后她收到了萨姆的一条短信。
Can you meet me at the café?
你能到咖啡店和我见个面吗？
From: Sam
发自：萨姆
44606.3715277778
44606.3715277778
Lucy sent her answer.
露西回复：
Perhaps later.
也许晚些时候吧。
From: Lucy
发自：露西
44606.3743055556
44606.3743055556
But I’m not going to see Sam, she said to herself, and I’m not going to see Becky – and I’m not going to the shop. Valentines, love, hearts, kisses – no, thank you. And she turned off her phone and went to work.
不过我不会去见萨姆的，她自言自语，我也不会去见贝姬——我不会去店里的。情人，爱情，桃心，吻——我都不要了。她关了手机去上班。
Thursday, 14th February, afternoon
2月14日，星期四，下午
Later that afternoon Lucy turned on her phone again. There were two texts, one from Becky…
那天下午晚些时候，露西又打开了手机。有两条短信，一条来自贝姬……
Come to the café. Exciting news!
快来咖啡店。激动人心的消息！
From: B
发自：B
44606.6888888889
44606.6888888889
and another from Sam…
另一条来自萨姆……
Come to the café. Exciting news!
快来咖啡店。激动人心的消息！
From: Sam
发自：萨姆
44606.6909722222
44606.6909722222
But Becky sent her text at 16:32, and Sam sent his text just three minutes later. ‘So they were together,’ Lucy said to herself. ‘Exciting news! Well, not for me.’
可是，贝姬16点32分发的短信，萨姆是三分钟之后发的。“这么说他们是在一起的。”露西自言自语，“激动人心的消息！哼，我可不觉得。”
She did not want to think about it. On the bus home she looked out of the window, but everywhere she saw hearts and red roses.
她不愿去想这件事。坐公交车回家的路上，她往窗外望去，可满眼都是桃心和红玫瑰。
Forget Valentine’s Day!’ Lucy said to herself when she got home. ‘I’m going to watch a film.’ But when she opened her door, there was a piece of paper on the floor. The message on the paper said, ‘Watch the local news on TV at 18:00.’ There was no name.
“忘了情人节吧！”露西到家时对自己说，“我要看电影。”但当她打开家门的时候，发现地板上有一张纸。纸上写着：“看电视18:00的本地新闻。”没有落款。
Who wrote this?’ Lucy said. ‘Watch the news? Why?’
“这是谁写的？”露西说，“看新闻？为什么？”
She turned on the TV and went to make a cup of coffee. Suddenly she heard the name ‘Sam Morris’ and she ran back to the TV.
她打开了电视，然后去弄一杯咖啡。突然她听见了“萨姆·莫里斯”这个名字，于是赶紧跑回电视前。
It’s Valentine’s Day,’ said the TV reporter, ‘and Sam put a message in the Sunflower Café for his girlfriend Lucy. Sam made all the cakes, and he put them in the window last night. You can see them here.’
“今天是情人节。”电视记者说，“萨姆在向日葵咖啡店展示了一条给他女友的信息。他做了这些蛋糕，昨晚把它们摆在了橱窗里。观众们可以从这里看到蛋糕。”
Lucy looked. There in the window of the Sunflower Café was a big red heart cake. Around it were lots of little cakes, and they made a message – a special message for Lucy.
露西看着。在向日葵咖啡店的橱窗里有一个大大的红色心形蛋糕。周围放了很多小蛋糕，小蛋糕组成了一条信息——一条给露西的特别的信息。
A message for Lucy…
一条给露西的信息……
There’s the message, but where’s Lucy?’ the reporter said. ‘She often comes to the Sunflower Café, but she didn’t come today. And she isn’t answering her phone. Is Sam going to have a happy Valentine’s Day? What’s your answer, Lucy?’
“信息在那儿，可露西在哪儿？”记者说，“她经常来向日葵咖啡店，可今天却没来，还一直不接电话。萨姆会有一个快乐的情人节吗？你的答复是什么，露西？”
But Lucy didn’t tell him. She didn’t even stop to turn off the TV. She got her coat and ran out of the door. She had a very important message for Sam. She didn’t want to phone him, she didn’t want to send a text. She wanted to give him the message, face to face.
不过露西没有告诉他。她甚至都没把电视关上。她拿上大衣就跑出门。她有很重要的话要对萨姆说。她不想给他打电话，也不想发短信。她想把这些话告诉他，面对面地告诉他。
Friday, 15th February, evening
2月15日，星期五，傍晚
The next evening, Becky arrived at Lucy’s house. Sam opened the door.
第二天傍晚，贝姬来到露西的家。萨姆开了门。
Congratulations, Sam!’ said Becky. ‘And Lucy too.’
“恭喜你，萨姆！”贝姬说，“还有露西，也恭喜你啊。”
Congratulations, Sam! And Lucy, too,’ said Becky.
“恭喜你，萨姆！还有露西，也恭喜你啊。”贝姬说。
Oh, thank you, Becky. Come on in,’ Lucy said.
“噢，谢谢你，贝姬。进来吧。”露西说。
I’ve got some champagne for you,’ Becky said. ‘Here.’
“我给你们带来了香槟。”贝姬说，“这儿。”
Sam took the bottle. ‘Wonderful!’ he said. ‘Let’s drink it now.’ He went away to open the bottle. Becky turned to Lucy.
萨姆接过瓶子。“棒极了！”他说，“我们现在就喝吧。”他到一旁去开酒瓶。贝姬转过身来看着露西。
You look so happy!’ said Becky. ‘But what happened yesterday? I was really worried, you know. You didn’t tell me anything on the phone this morning.’
“你看上去真幸福！”她说，“不过昨天是怎么回事？你知道吗，我真的很担心。你今早在电话里可什么也没告诉我。”
Lucy laughed, but her face was red. ‘I know. I’m sorry,’ she said.
露西笑了起来，但她的脸红了。“我知道。我很抱歉。”她说。
But why didn’t you answer my phone messages or my texts?’ said Becky. ‘Come on! Tell me everything!’
“那你为什么不回我的电话留言，也不回我的短信？”贝姬说，“来！把一切都告诉我！”
Well,’ Lucy said, ‘I went to the café on the 13th, and I was at the door and… and I saw you inside with Sam. You looked so happy together. Then you kissed Sam, and he kissed you. And on Monday, you remember, you talked about a “surprise”. Well, I thought that was the surprise – you and Sam.’
“嗯。”露西说，“我13号那天去了咖啡店，当时我站在门口，然后……然后我看到你和萨姆在店里。你们在一起看起来很快乐。然后你亲了萨姆一下，他也亲了你。而且星期一的时候，你还记得吧，你说会有一个‘惊喜’。呃，我以为惊喜是——你和萨姆。”
Oh Lucy!’ said Becky. ‘That wasn’t the surprise! Sam and I talked about Valentine’s Day. He wanted to make a special Valentine’s Day for you. So I said to him, “What do you do best, Sam? You make wonderful cakes. So make her a cake!” And he thought about it, and he had a better idea – he made lots of cakes. I kissed him because I was so excited for you.’
“啊，露西！”贝姬说，“那可不是我说的惊喜！萨姆和我在讨论情人节的事。他想为你准备一个特别的情人节。所以我就和他说：‘你最擅长什么，萨姆？你做的蛋糕特别棒。那就给她做个蛋糕吧！’他就一直在想这件事，后来他有了一个更好的主意——他做了好多好多的蛋糕。我亲他是因为我太为你感到激动了。”
Well,’ said Lucy, ‘when I saw you two, I got the wrong idea. And I went home. I didn’t want to talk to anyone. And I really didn’t want to talk to you – or Sam!’
“噢，”露西说，“我看到你们在一起，我误会了。然后我就回了家。我不想和任何人说话。我特别不想和你——还有萨姆说话！”
Becky laughed. ‘Oh Lucy,’ she said. ‘You thought – me and Sam… Well, it doesn’t matter now. And I wanted to tell you – on Wednesday night at Marco’s Club I met this man. He’s called Matt, and he’s really nice. But go on with your story.’
贝姬笑了。“噢，露西。”她说，“你以为——我和萨姆……算了，现在这些都无所谓了。我还想告诉你——周三晚上在马尔科俱乐部，我认识了一个人。他叫马特，他人非常好。不过，你继续说你的故事吧。”
On Valentine’s Day I didn’t answer my phone, and Sam couldn’t leave the café,’ Lucy said. ‘So his friend Nick put a message under my door. It said, “Watch the local news on TV at 18:00.” And at last I saw the cakes, and the message – and I ran to the Sunflower Café.’
“情人节那天，我没有接电话，萨姆又不能离开咖啡店。”露西说，“所以他的朋友尼克就在我的门下留了言。上面写着：‘看电视18:00的本地新闻。’我这才看到那些蛋糕和萨姆的信息——于是我就跑到向日葵咖啡店。”
And now it’s all OK,’ said Becky. ‘Can I see your ring? Oh, that’s beautiful.’
“现在一切都好了。”贝姬说，“我能看看你的戒指吗？啊，真美。”
Sam brought three glasses of champagne.
萨姆端来了三杯香槟。
To Lucy and Sam!’ said Becky, and they all drank.
“为露西和萨姆干杯！”贝姬说，他们三个人一起喝了香槟。
Sam looked at his watch, and turned on the TV. ‘Hey, Becky, watch this,’ he said. ‘This is the end of the story.’ After a few minutes the local news began, and they saw the same reporter from the day before. He was outside the window of the Sunflower Café.
萨姆看了看手表，打开了电视。“嘿，贝姬，看这个。”他说，“这是故事的结局。”过了几分钟，本地新闻开始了，他们看到了昨天的那位记者。他正在向日葵咖啡店的橱窗外。
Everyone wanted to know the answer to Sam’s question to Lucy yesterday,’ the reporter said. ‘Well, Sam got his answer. Lucy came to the Sunflower Café last night after she saw the news on TV. And this was her answer – here in the window!’
“每个人都想知道，萨姆昨天向露西提出的问题得到了怎样的答复。”那个记者说，“好了，萨姆得到了答复。昨天晚上，露西在电视上看到新闻之后，就来到了向日葵咖啡店。这就是她的答复——往橱窗里看！”
The television camera went closer to the window. In the window there were just four cakes now. There was the big red heart cake, and three little cakes above it.
电视的摄像机对着橱窗逐渐拉近。橱窗里现在只有四个蛋糕——那个大大的红色心形蛋糕，还有上方三个小蛋糕。
Lucy wanted to do that. She took my little cakes and wrote her answer with them,’ said Sam. He gave Lucy a little kiss.
“是露西要这么做的。她用我的小蛋糕写下了答复。”萨姆说。他轻轻地吻了露西一下。
Becky laughed. ‘Oh, you two!’ she said. ‘You’re – wonderful!’
贝姬笑了。“啊，瞧你们俩！”她说，“你们——真是太棒了！”
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