我所认识的台湾女人（一二七）

亭亭和文礼到了家，休息片刻，老教授夫妇便把他们带到餐厅去吃饭。知道他们累了一天，在餐桌上，老阿妈和老Tom没有跟他们聊得太多，吃了饭也没让他们收拾桌子，就催他们赶快上楼洗洗，然后去睡觉。

但亭亭一点睡意都没有，洗了澡，又下楼了。这时，老阿妈一个人正坐在沙发上看电视呢。

“ Heather, I’m so tired...today！I..I..want to stay home tomorrow.”亭亭坐在老阿妈傍边说。
“Come here, dear. Let me give you a hug. You don’t have to go out if you don’t want to. My sweetie is having travel blues, I totally understand.”老阿妈和蔼可亲地说。
“You are so nice.”亭亭笑笑对老阿妈说。
“You are very welcome!” 在说“very ”的时候，老阿妈特意加重了语气。
“Heather， I..I..have.. a question.”一天没怎么说英语了，亭亭又开始结巴起来。
“What is it, dear? Feel free to ask me anything.”老阿妈点头，微笑着，然后目光慈祥地望着亭亭说。
“Can I really...forget my boyfriend? Do you...have...suggestions?”亭亭低下头，小声地问。
“You don’t forget him, ever. But you must overcome the pain that his death brought upon you. For example, you can start gathering pictures you have with him, letters from him, and others, in an envelope and put them away somewhere in a drawer.  Hide whatever you have from  him into a closet, or anywhere way from your eyes for now.  This way, the recovery process may not take so long.  That was how I did at the time.”老阿妈说这些话的时候一直慈祥的看着亭亭的眼睛。
亭亭没有听懂“envelope”的意思，就问：“What's an envelope？What is a ‘closet’?”
老阿妈走到书架前，又拿出了那个陈旧的信封，指着那个信封，说：“This is an envelope—e,n,v,e,l,o,p,e—envelope.” 老阿妈拼读了每一个字母，又重读了一边“信封”这个词，然后，带着亭亭走到门口站在右边的衣橱跟前，指着它说：“This is a closet--c,l,o,s,e,t—closet.”
“I see!”亭亭马上就明白了，它们分别是“信封”和“衣橱”的意思。这时，亭亭才明白，她把俊杰和他的一家送给她的东西都带在身边了，自己这样下去怎么能行？
于是，她指着脖子上的项链和手上的链子，告诉了老阿妈：“These are from him. So, I..I..shouldn't carry them, right?”
“That's right, sweetie. Neither should you have this sweater from his mother. Try other clothing that doesn't remind you of the past.  After a while, you will change how you feel. Can you try that?”老阿妈像个心理医生一样，辅导着心理正在生病的亭亭。
亭亭此时似乎明白了，“Ah, I see. That’s (a) good idea! Let me take off the necklace and hand chain.”说着，亭亭指了指脖子上的项链和手上的链子。
老阿妈笑了笑，指着她手上的链子，说：“ We don’t say it  ‘hand chain’, it’s called ‘bracelet’. ”
亭亭“Oh ”了一声，跟着重复了一遍“bracelet”。
“Very good!”老阿妈点点头。接着，她继续说：“ This is a very good first step toward recovery,  I believe.”边说着，边轻轻地握住亭亭的手。
“Heather, how long did it take for you to recover?”亭亭学着老阿妈的语调和词语问道。
老阿妈抿了抿嘴巴，翻了翻眼睛，回忆道：“ A long time! About 5 or 6 years!”
“How long do you think it will take me…?”亭亭又问。
“ That's hard to say, sweetie. It all depends … ” 老阿姨摇摇头，也不知怎样回答她，然后又接着说：“As I said, be strong and try to find happiness in life. You will recover in due time.  Life must go on.”
亭亭此时，两行热泪再一次滚落了下来，老阿妈紧紧地拉着她的手，摇了几下。
“ You are tired, sweetheart. go to bed and have some good sleep. Tomorrow is a totally new day for us all, my dear!”老阿妈深情地望着亭亭，说。
“ Thank you, Heather! I’m going to bed. Good night!”道了晚安，亭亭就上楼去了。

这一夜，是亭亭来纽西兰以后睡得最香的一夜，而且她真的做了一个美梦……