the notebook-恋恋笔记本(英文版)-第7部分

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s　been　the　words　that　came　to　mind　when　he　tried　to　describe　her　to　others。

“How　long　have　you　been　back　here？”　she　asked　as　the　path　gave　way　to　a　small　grass　hill。

“Since　last　December。　I　worked　up　north　for　a　while；　then　spent　the　last　three　years　in　Europe。”

She　looked　at　him　with　questions　in　her　eyes。　“The　war？”

He　nodded　and　she　went　on。

“I　thought　you　might　be　there。　I’m　glad　you　made　it　out　okay。”

“Me　too；”　he　said。

“Are　you　glad　to　be　back　Home？”

“Yeah。　My　roots　are　here。　This　is　where　I’m　supposed　to　be。”　He　paused。　“But　what　about　you？”　He　asked　the　question　softly；　suspecting　the　worst。

It　was　a　long　moment　before　she　answered。　“I’m　engaged。”

He　looked　down　when　she　said　it；　suddenly　feeling　just　a　bit　weaker。　So　that　was　it。　That’s　what　she　needed　to　tell　him。

“Congratulations；”　he　finally　said；　wondering　how　convincing　he　sounded。　“When’s　the　big　day？”

“Three　weeks。　Lon　wanted　a　November　wedding。”

“Lon？”

“Lon　Hammond　Junior。　My　fiancé”

He　nodded。　The　Hammonds　were　one　of　the　most　powerful　and　influential　families　in　the　state。　Cotton　money。　Unlike　that　of　his　own　father；　the　death　of　Lon　Hammond　Senior　had　made　the　front　page　of　the　newspaper。

“I’ve　heard　of　them。　His　father　built　quite　a　Business。　Did　Lon　take　over　for　him？”

She　shook　her　head。　“No；　he’s　a　lawyer。　He　has　his　own　practice。”

“With　his　name；　he　must　be　busy。”

“He　is。　He　works　a　lot。”

He　thought　he　heard　something　in　her　tone；　and　the　next　question　came　automatically。　“Does　he　treat　you　well？”

She　didn’t　answer　right　away；　as　if　she　were　considering　the　question　for　the　first　time。　Then：　“Yes。　He’s　a　good　man；　Noah。　You’d　like　him。”

Her　voice　was　distant　when　she　answered；　or　at　least　he　thought　it　was。　Noah　wondered　if　it　was　just　his　mind　playing　tricks　on　him。

“How’s　your　daddy　doing？”　she　asked。

Noah　took　a　couple　of　steps　before　answering。　“He　passed　on　earlier　this　year；　right　after　I　got　back。”

“I’m　sorry；”　she　said　softly。

He　nodded；　and　they　walked　on　in　silence。

They　reached　the　top　of　the　hill　and　stopped。　The　oak　tree　was　in　the　distance；　with　the　sun　glowing　orange　behind　it。　Allie　could　feel　his　eyes　on　her　as　she　stared　in　that　direction。

“A　lot　of　memories　there；　Allie。”

She　smiled。　“I　know。　I　saw　it　when　I　came　in。　Do　you　remember　the　day　we　spent　there？”

“Yes；”　he　answered；　volunteering　no　more。

“Do　you　ever　think　about　it？”

〃Sometimes；”　he　said。　“Usually　when　I’m　working　out　this　way。

It　sits　on　my　property　now。”

〃You　bought　it？”

I　just　couldn’t　bear　to　see　it　turned　into　kitchen　cabis。”

She　laughed　under　her　breath；　feeling　strangely　pleased　about　that。　“Do　you　still　read　poetry？

He　nodded。　“Yeah。　I　never　stopped。　I　guess　it’s　in　my　blood。”

“Do　you　know；　you’re　the　only　poet　I’ve　ever　met。”

“I’m　no　poet。　I　read；　but　I　can’t　write　a　verse。　I’ve　tried。”

“You’re　still　a　poet；　Noah　Taylor　Calhoun。”　Her　voice　softened。

“I　still　think　about　it　a　lot。　It　was　the　first　time　anyone　ever　read　poetry　to　me。　In　fact；　it’s　the　only　time。”

Her　ment　made　both　of　them　drift　back　and　remember　as　they　slowly　circled　back　to　the　house；　following　a　new　path　that　passed　near　the　dock。

As　the　sun　dropped　a　little　lower　and　the　sky　turned　orange；　he　asked：　〃So；　how　long　are　you　staying？”

“I　don’t　know。　Not　long。　Maybe　until　tomorrow　or　the　next　day。”

〃Is　your　flanc6　here　on　Business？”　She　shook　her　head。　“No；　he’s　still　in　Raleigh。”

Noah　raised　his　eyebrows。　“Does　he　know　you’re　here？”

She　shook　her　head　again　and　answered　slowly。　“No。　I　told　him　I　was　looking　for　antiques。　He　wouldn’t　understand　my　ing　here。”

Noah　was　a　little　surprised。　It　was　one　thing　to　e　and　visit；　but　it　was　an　entirely　different　matter　to　hide　the　truth　from　her　fiancé。

The　gravel　crunched　beneath　their　feet　as　they　walked。　He　asked：　“Allie；　do　you　love　him？”

She　answered　automatically。　“Yes；　I　love　him。”

The　words　hurt。　But　again　he　thought　he　heard　something　in　her　tone；　as　if　she　were　saying　it　to　convince　herself。　He　stopped　and　gently　took　her　shoulders　in　his　hands；　making　her　face　him。　The　fading　sunlight　reflected　in　her　eyes　as　he　spoke。

“If　you’re　happy；　Allie；　and　you　love　him。　I　won’t　try　to　stop　you　from　going　back　to　him。　But　if　there’s　a　part　of　you　that　isn’t　sure；　then　don’t　do　it。　This　isn’t　the　kind　of　thing　you　go　into　halfway。”

Her　ansaking　the　right　decision。　Noah。”

He　stared　for　a　second；　wondering　if　he　believed　her。　Then　he　nodded　and　they　began　to　walk　again。　He　said：　I’m　not　making　this　easy　for　you；　am　I。？”

She　smiled　a　little。　〃It’s　okay。　I　really　can’t　blame　you。”

〃I’m　sorry　anyway。〃

〃Don’t　be。　There’s　no　reason　to　be　sorry。　I’m　the　one　who　should　be　apologizing。　Maybe　I　should　have　written。”

He　shook　his　head。　〃I’m　glad　you　came。　It’s　good　to　see　you　again。　You　were　the　best　friend　I　ever　had；　Allie。　I’d　still　like　to　be　friends；　even　if　you　are　engaged；　and　even　if　it　is　just　for　a　couple　of　days。　How　about　we　just　kind　of　get　to　know　each　other　again？”

She　thought　about　it；　and　decided　that　since　he　knew　about　her　engagement；　it　would　probably　be　all　right。　Or　at　least　not　wrong。

She　smiled　slightly　and　nodded。　〃I’d　like　that。”

〃Good。　How　about　dinner？　I　know　a　place　that　serves　the　best　crab　in　town。”

〃Sounds　great。　Where？”

〃My　house。　I’ve　had　the　traps　out　all　week；　and　I　saw　that　I　had　some　good　ones　caged　a　couple　of　days　ago。　Do　you　mind？”

〃No；　that　sounds　fine。”

He　smiled　and　pointed　over　his　shoulder　with　his　thumb。

〃Great。　They’re　at　the　dock。　I’ll　just　be　a　couple　of　minutes。”

Allie　watched　him　walk　away　and　noticed　the　tension　she’d　felt　when　telling　him　about　her　engagement　beginning　to　fade。　Closing　her　eyes；　she　ran　her　hands　through　her　hair　and　let　the　breeze　fan　her　cheek。　She　took　a　deep　breath　and　held　it　for　a　moment；　feeling　the　muscles　in　her　shoulders　relax　as　she　exhaled。　Finally；　opening　her　eyes；　she　stared　at　the　beauty　that　surrounded　her。　She　always　loved　evenings　like　this；　when　the　faint　aroma　of　autumn　leaves　rode　on　soft　southern　winds。　She　loved　the　trees　and　the　sounds　they　made。　Listening　to　them　helped　her　relax　even　more。　After　a　moment；　she　turned　towards　the　dock　and　looked　at　Noah。

God；　he　looked　good。　Even　after　all　this　time。

She　watched　him　as　he　reached　for　a　rope　that　hung　in　the　water。　He　began　to　pull　it；　and　despite　the　darkening　sky　she　saw　the　muscles　in　his　arm　flex　as　he　lifted　the　cage　from　the　water。　He　let　it　hang　over　the　river　for　a　moment　and　shook　it；　letting　most　of　the　water　escape。　After　setting　the　trap　on　the　dock；　he　opened　it　and　began　to　remove　the　crabs　one　by　one；　placing　them　into　a　bucket。

She　looked　around　and　realized　she　had　forgotten　how　fresh　and　beautiful　everything　seemed　here。　Over　her　shoulder；　as　she　walked　over　to　join　Noah；　she　saw　he　had　left　a　couple　of　lights　on　in　the　house。　It　seemed　to　be　the　only　house　around。　At　least　the　only　one　with　electricity。

She　stepped　on　the　dock　and　it　creaked　under　her　foot。　The　sound　reminded　her　of　a　rusty　squeezebox。　Noah　glanced　up；　then　went　back　to　checking　the　crabs；　making　sure　they　were　the　right　size。　She　walked　to　the　rocker　that　sat　on　the　dock　and　touched　it；　running　her　hand　along　the　back。　She　could　picture　him　sitting　in　it；　Fishing；　thinking；　reading。　It　was　old　and　weather…beaten；　rough…feeling。　She　wondered　how　much　time　he　spent　here　alone；　and　about　his　thoughts　at　times　like　those。

A　pulsion　had　driven　her　here；　and　for　the　first　time　in　three　weeks　the　feeling　was　gone。　She’d　needed　Noah　to　know　about　her　engagement；　to　understand；　to　accept　it—she　was　sure　of　that　now。　While　thinking　of　him；　she　was　reminded　of　something　they　shared　the　summer　they　were　together。　With　head　down；　she　paced　around　slowly　until　she　found　it—the　carving。　Noah　loves　Allie；　in　a　heart。　Carved　into　the　dock　a　few　days　before　she’d　left。

A　breeze　broke　the　stillness　and　chilled　her；　making　her　cross　her　arms。　She　stood　that　way；　alternately　looking　down　at　the　caning　and　the