諾貝爾文學經典:《寵兒》第2章Part 13
It took three days for Beloved to notice the orange patches in the darkness of the quilt. Denver waspleased because it kept her patient awake longer. She seemed totally taken with those faded scrapsof orange, even made the effort to lean on her elbow and stroke them. An effort that quicklyexhausted her, so Denver rearranged the quilt so its cheeriest part was in the sick girl's sight line.
Patience, something Denver had never known, overtook her. As long as her mother did notinterfere, she was a model of compassion, turning waspish, though, when Sethe tried to help.
"Did she take a spoonful of anything today?" Sethe inquired.
"She shouldn't eat with cholera."
"You sure that's it? Was just a hunch of Paul D's."
"I don't know, but she shouldn't eat anyway just yet."
"I think cholera people puke all the time."
"That's even more reason, ain't it?"
"Well she shouldn't starve to death either, Denver."
"Leave us alone, Ma'am. I'm taking care of her."
"She say anything?"
"I'd let you know if she did."
Sethe looked at her daughter and thought, Yes, she has been lonesome. Very lonesome.
"Wonder where Here Boy got off to?" Sethe thought a change of subject was needed.
"He won't be back," said Denver.
"How you know?"
"I just know." Denver took a square of sweet bread off the plate.
Back in the keeping room,Denver was about to sit down when Beloved's eyes flew wide open. Denver felt her heart race. Itwasn't that she was looking at that face for the first time with no trace of sleep in it, or that the eyeswere big and black. Nor was it that the whites of them were much too white — blue-white. It wasthat deep down in those big black eyes there was no expression at all.
"Can I get you something?"
寵兒花了三天時間才注意到暗色被子上的橙色補丁。丹芙非常滿意，因為這使她的病人醒的時間更長。她似乎完全被那褪了色的橙紅色碎片吸引住了，甚至費勁地靠胳膊肘支撐着身體，去撫摩它們。這很快使她疲憊不堪，於是丹芙重新安排好被子，讓它最有活力的那部分留在病姑娘的視線裏。
耐心，這丹芙聞所未聞的東西，佔據了她。只要她的媽媽不來干涉，她就是個同情體貼的楷模，可是一旦塞絲企圖幫點忙，她就立即變得暴躁起來。
“她今天吃了什麼東西嗎？”塞絲詢問道。
“她得了霍亂，不該吃東西。”
“你能肯定嗎？只不過是保羅?D瞎猜的。”
“我不知道，可不管怎麼説，她現在就是不該吃東西。”
“我以為得霍亂的人什麼時候都在嘔吐。”
“那不吃就更有理由了，對吧？”
“可她也不該活活餓死呀，丹芙。”
“甭管我們，太太。我在照看她。”
“她説過什麼嗎？”
“她説了我會告訴你的。”
塞絲看着女兒，心想：是的，她一直孤獨。非常孤獨。
“奇怪，‘來，小鬼’到哪兒去了？”塞絲認為有必要換個話題。
“它不會回來了。”丹芙説。
“你怎麼知道的？”
“我就知道。”丹芙從盤子裏拿起一塊甜麪包。
丹芙回到起居室，剛要坐下，寵兒的眼睛一下子睜圓了。丹芙感到心跳加快。倒不是因為她頭一回看見這張臉睡意全無，也不是因為那雙眼睛又大又黑，也不是因為眼白過分地白———白得發藍。是因為在那雙又大又黑的眼睛深處根本沒有表情。
“我能給你拿點什麼嗎？”
