desting, too wonderful
红玫瑰的考验
Appointment with Love
佚名 / Anonymous
Six minutes to six, said the clock over the information booth in New York's Grand Central Station. The tall, young Army lieutenant lifted his sunburned face and narrowed his eyes to note the exact time. His heart was pounding with a beat. In six minutes he would see the woman who had filled such a special place in his life for the past 13 months, the woman he had never seen, yet whose written words had sustained him unfailingly.
Lieutenant Blandford remembered one day in particular, during the worst of the fighting, when his plane had been caught in the midst of a pack of enemy planes. In one of his letters he had confessed to her that be often felt fear, and only a few days before this battle he had received her answer: "Of course you fear, all brave men do. Next time you doubt yourself, I want you to hear my voice reciting to you: 'Yeah, though I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me.'..." He had remembered, and it had renewed his strength.
Now he was going to hear her real voice. Four minutes to six.
A girl passed close to him, and Lieutenant Blandford started. She was wearing a flower, but it was not the little red rose they had agreed upon. Besides, this girl was only about 18, and Hollis Meynell had told him she was 30. "What of it?" he had answered. "I'm 32." He was 29.
His mind went back to that book he had read in the training camp. Of Human Bondage it was; and throughout the book were notes in a woman's handwriting. He had never believed that a woman could see into a man's heart so tenderly, so understandingly. Her name was on the book plate: Hollis Meynell. He had got hold of a New York City telephone book and found her address. He had written; she had answered.Next day he had been shipped out, but they had gone on writing.
For 13 months she had faithfully replied. When his letters did not arrive, she wrote anyway, and now he believed that he loved her and that she loved him.
But she had refused all his pleas to send him her photograph. She had explained: "If your feeling for me has any reality, what I look like won't matter. Suppose I'm beautiful. I'd always be haunted by the feeling that you had been taking a chance on just that, and that kind of love would disgust me. Suppose I'm plain (and you must admit that this is more likely), then I'd always fear that you were only going on writing because you were lonely and had no one else. No, don't ask for my picture. When you come to New York, you shall see me and then you shall make your decision."
One minute to six ... he pulled hard on a cigarette. Then Lieutenant Blandford's heart leaped.
A young woman was coming toward him. Her figure was long and slim; her blond hair lay back in curls over her delicate ears. Her eyes were as blue as flowers, her lips and chin had a gentle firmness. In her pale-green suit, she was like springtime come alive.
He started toward her, forgetting to notice that she was wearing no rose, and as he moved, a small, provocative smile curved her lips.
"Going my way, soldier?" she murmured. He made one step closer to her. Then he saw Hollis Meynell.
She was standing almost directly behind the girl, a woman well past 40, her graying hair tucked under a worn hat. She was more than plump; her thick ankled feet were thrust into low-heeled shoes.
But she wore a red rose on her rumpled coat.
The girl in the green suit was walking quickly.
Blandford felt as though he were being split into two, so keen was his desire to follow the girl, yet so deep was his longing for the woman whose spirit had truly companioned and upheld his own; and there she stood. He could see her pale, plump face was gentle and sensible; her gray eyes had a warm twinkle.
Lieutenant Blandford did not hesitate. His fingers gripped the worn copy of Human Bondage which was to identify him to her. This would not be love, but it would be something precious, a friendship for which he had been and must ever be grateful...
He squared his shoulders, saluted, and held the book out toward the woman, although even while he spoke he felt the bitterness of his disappointment. "I'm John Blandford, and you—you are Miss Meynell. May—may I take you to dinner?"
The woman smiled. "I don't know what this is all about, son," she answered. "That young lady in the green suit, she begged me to wear this rose on my coat. And she said that if you asked me to go out with you, I should tell you she's waiting for you in that restaurant across the street. She said it was some kind of a test."
在纽约地铁中心总站，咨询处上方的时钟指向了5点54分。年轻高大的陆军中尉抬起他那被太阳晒得黝黑的脸庞，眯着眼睛看着上面的时间。激动令他心跳不已，6分钟后，他就要见到那个女人了——在过去的13个月里她一直在他的心中占据着特殊位置的女人。虽然他们素未谋面，但她的信却一直是他的精神支柱。
布兰福德中尉还记得那天，那是战斗中最艰苦的时刻，他的飞机被敌机重重包围。他曾在一封信里对她坦言，他常会感到畏惧。就在战斗打响的前几天，他收到了她的回信；“你当然会畏惧，勇士们都会那样，下次在你不自信时，我希望你能听到我为你朗诵的声音，‘啊，是的，尽管我要走过死亡之谷，但我将勇往直前，因为你与我同在。’”他记得，正是那封信使他重新鼓起了战斗的勇气。
此时，他就要听到她真实的声音了，还有4分钟就6点了。
一个女孩走近他，布兰福德中尉一惊。她戴着一朵花，但不是他们约好的那种小红玫瑰。这女孩只有18岁左右，而霍丽丝·梅内尔告诉过他，她已30岁。“有什么关系呢？”他还回信说，“我32岁”，其实他只有29岁。
他又想到了在训练营时看过的一本书——《人性的枷锁》，书里布满了有一个女人的批注。他难以相信，一个女人竟能如此透彻地读懂男人的心。书签上有她的名字：霍丽丝·梅内尔。于是他找来一本纽约市电话簿，查到了她的地址，写信给她，并收到了她的回信。因为执行任务，第二天他就坐船离开了，但他们仍然保持通信。
13个月里，她始终诚挚地给他回信，通常是他的信还未到，她的信就来了。因而，他深信，他们彼此深爱着。
然而，她拒绝送他照片，并解释说：“如果你真心对我，我的外表并不重要。如果我长得很漂亮，我会认为，你爱的是我的外貌，那样会令我很反感。如果我长相平凡（你必须承认这个更有可能），我就会担心，你和我通信，是因为内心孤独，无人倾诉。别向我要照片。你来纽约时就可以看到我了，那时，你便可以做出自己的决定。”
还有1分钟就6点了布兰福德猛抽了一口烟，心跳更加快了。
一位年轻的女士向他走来，她身段高挑，金黄的卷发拢在小巧的耳后，双唇红润，下巴精致，眼睛深蓝动人。一身μ绿的西装，浑身散发着青春的活力。
他开始向她走去，根本没注意她是否戴着玫瑰花，他走近她，看到她嘴角浮起动人的微笑。
“你挡住我了，士兵。”她轻轻地说。他又向她走近一步，接着，他看到了霍丽丝·梅内尔。
霍丽丝·梅内尔就站在这姑娘的身后，一个40多岁的女人，一头灰白的头发塞在破旧的帽子下面，很胖，厚实的双脚穿着一双低跟鞋。
可在她那皱巴巴的外衣上别着一朵红玫瑰。
绿衣女孩匆匆离去。
布兰福德心碎了，他多想跟着那女孩啊，然而他又真切地渴望见这个女人，是她的精神一直陪伴他，激励他；而此时她就站在那儿，苍白丰满的面庞，温柔而理性；灰色的眼睛里闪着温和的光芒。