歡迎戳連結

文章來源：《每天讀點好英文：我不愛這世界，我只愛你》

Early one morning， I witnessed romance at one of the least-expected

places in the world—a long-term care facility。

一天清晨，我在世界上人們最不想去的地方——長期看護所裡，目睹了

一段浪漫故事。

At the time， my father shared a room with three other gentlemen。

While it wasn‘t an ideal situation， it was the best the administrator

could do at the time。

那時，我父親和另外三位先生同住一間房。雖然條件不是很好，

但已是當時管理員所能提供的最好環境了。

A few days before this particular visit， an elderly couple was admitted to the facility。 Since there wasn’t a double room available， they were forced to separate the couple。 The gentleman， Mr。 West （name has been changed） was placed in the bed beside Daddy。 His wife， Mrs。 West， shared a room with several other ladies down the hall。

在那次特殊拜訪的前幾天，一對老年夫婦被送進了這家看護所。因為沒有多餘的雙人間，他們只好被分開。那位老先生，

維斯特

先生（化名），被安排住到我父親的臨床。而他的妻子，

韋斯特

太太，則被安排到大廳另一側的房間，和幾位女士合住。

When I went to see Daddy that morning， I met Mr。 West。 Three employees were working with him。 He hadn’t eaten a bit of food since he was admitted several days earlier。 I could tell by the expression on the nurses’ faces that they were worried about him。 While one nurse was trying to get him to open his mouth with spoonfuls of gelatin， another nurse was trying to coax him to drink a health shake from a straw。 The third nurse was standing nearby with a cup of water。 Mr。 West refused to open his mouth for any of them。

去看父親的那個上午，我見到了維斯特先生。當時有三個護理員在照料他。自從住進看護所，他就沒吃過一口東西。從護理員的神情中，我能看出他們很擔心他。當一個護理員正用小勺哄他吃一種膠狀食物時，另一個護理員則試著讓他吸食一種營養汁，而第三個護理員則端著一杯水站在旁邊。可是，維斯特先生卻堅決不肯張嘴。

“Let’s try this。” one of the nurses said。 She pulled out a lollipop， tore off the paper and offered it to Mr。 West。 His lips were clamped together tightly。 He refused to listen to reason。 Finally， he uttered something about his sweetheart， who was resting down the hall。

“來嚐嚐這個。”其中一個護理員取出一支棒棒糖。撕掉糖紙遞給維斯特先生，然而他仍然緊閉著雙唇，不聽任何人的勸說。最後。他自言自語地說了一些有關他妻子地話，而她就住在大廳地另一側。

“Go get Mrs。 West，” the nurse instructed her helper， while handing her the lollipop。 “Maybe Mr。 West will eat for her。”

“去把維斯特太太找來吧。”護理員對助手說著，隨手把棒棒糖也給了他。“或許維斯特先生肯為她吃點東西”。

In a few minutes a kind-looking lady was wheeled into the room。 She held the lollipop in her hand。 Her smile was contagious and Mr。 West smiled brightly。 I felt as though I was intruding on a

private moment

， but I couldn’t take my eyes off the couple。 The love between them was obvious， as Mrs。 West patted Mr。 West’s hand and then caressed his forehead。

幾分鐘後，一位坐著輪椅的，和藹可親的老太太被推了進來。她手裡拿著那支棒棒糖。她的微笑極富感染力，維斯特先生也露出了燦爛的笑容。我突然覺得自己是在侵犯一段私人空間。但是我卻無法使目光移離那對老夫婦。當

維斯特太太

輕輕拍維斯特先生的手並輕撫他的額頭時，你可以真切體會到他們之間的那份愛。

With a soft voice， Mrs。 West convinced Mr。 West to eat。 To everyone’s surprise， Mr， West opened his mouth and began to enjoy the lollipop and his wife’s company。 While the nurses fed him， he stared at his sweetheart with a smile on his face。 Mrs， West began humming a tune to him。 The expression on his once solemn face became even brighter。

維斯特太太溫柔地勸說維斯特先生先吃點東西，令人驚訝的是維斯特先生開始張嘴吃那支棒棒糖了，同時也享受著妻子陪伴的歡愉。護理員喂他食物時，他始終帶著笑意注視著妻子。維斯特太太開始為他輕聲哼唱。原本嚴肅的臉頓時露出了輕鬆的表情。

Tears filled my eyes。 The nurse then pulled the curtain around the couple to give them some quality time alone to visit。 I discovered that romance doesn’t only exist when we’re young and in love。 Romance lasts a lifetime and grows stronger with age。 Before long I heard snores of contentment coming from the bed beside me。

我感動得雙眼噙滿了淚水。護理員把圍簾給他們拉上了，讓他們享受一段私人空間。我發覺浪漫不僅僅是戀愛中的年輕人的專利，它常會伴我們一生，並隨年齡的增長而更有內涵。不一會兒，愜意的鼾聲從旁邊的床上傳來。

Today， Mr。 and Mrs。 West reside together in a place where there are no limitations， nursing homes or wheelchairs。 There are no tears in their eyes or rooms dividing them。 I am convinced that the West marriage went well beyond “till death us do part” and will last throughout eternity。 Not only did I witness a memorable romance that day， I saw a glimpse of forever in a loving couple’s tired and worn-out eyes。

現在，維斯特夫婦住在一個沒有看護室和輪椅的自由之所。不再有房間將他們分開，他們眼中也不再有淚水。我堅信他們的婚姻超越了“生死相許”，並將成為永恆。那天，我不僅親眼見證了一段難忘的浪漫故事，也從這對

相親相愛

的老夫婦那倦怠而焦灼的眼神中，瞥到了永恆的瞬間。