雙語閱讀美文名篇：Just Two For Breakfast 兩個人的早餐

When my husband and I celebrated our 38th wedding anniversary at our favorite restaurant, Lenny, the piano player, asked,“How did you do it?”

我和丈夫在我們最喜歡的一家餐館裡慶祝結婚38週年時，鋼琴師萊尼向我們問道：“你們的婚姻怎樣保持得如此長久呢？”

I knew there was no simple answer, but as the weekend approached, I wondered if one reason might be our ritual of breakfast in bed every Saturday and Sunday.

我知道，這個問題，隻言片語是說不清楚的。快到週末了，我開始思考這個問題，或許其中一個原因就是，每逢週末，我們都在床上吃早餐。

It all started with the breakfast tray my mother gave us as a wedding gift. It had a glass top and slatted wooden side pockets for the morning paper-the kind you used to see in the movies. Mother loved her movies,and although she rarely had breakfast in bed, she held high hope for her daughter. My adoring bridegroom took the message to heart.

我們結婚時，母親送給了我們一套早餐托盤，於是，我們週末在床上吃早餐的習慣便由此開始了。盤面是玻璃做的盤子兩側各有一個細長的木製側袋，用來放晨報—就是過去常在電影中看到的那種。母親喜歡她那個時代的電影，雖然她很少在床上用早餐，卻很希望女兒這樣。深愛著我的丈夫把母親的這番話記在了心裡。

Feeling guilty, I suggested we take turns. Despite grumblings—“hate crumbs in my bed”—Sunday morning found my spouse eagerly awaiting his tray. Soon these weekend breakfast became such a part of our lives that I never even thought about them. I only knew we treasured this separate, blissful time—to read, relax, forget the things we should remember.

婚後，一直都是丈夫準備早餐。我感覺有些不好意思，於是就提議輪流做早餐。雖然丈夫嘴上抱怨—“我討厭床上有飯渣”—但我還是發現，每個星期天早上，他總是在床上急切的等著他的早餐。不久，這種週末早餐就成了我們生活的一部分，我也習以為常起來。我只知道，我們都很珍視這段有別於其他時刻的幸福時光—看看報，放鬆放鬆。暫時忘卻其他雜事。

Sifting through the years,I recalled how our weekends changed, but that was still preserved the ritual. We started our family(as new parents, we slept after breakfast more than we read), but we always found our way back to where we started, just two for breakfast, one on Saturday and one on Sunday.

回想這些年來，我發現，我們的週末生活總會變化，但這個老習慣卻保留了下來。後來，我們有了孩子（初為父母時，早餐後，我們多半是睡覺，而不是看報），但也總能保持之前的生活習慣—兩個人的早餐，星期六一次，星期天一次。

When we had more time, my tray became more festive. First it was fruit slices placed in geometric pattern; then came flowers from our garden—sometimes just one blossom sprouting from a grapefruit half. This arranger of mine had developed a flair for decorating, using everything from amaryllis to the buds of a maple tree. My husband said my cooking inspired him. Mother would have approved. Perhaps it was the Saturday when the big strawberry wore a daisy hat that I began to think, how can I top this? On dark winter night I woke with a vision of a snowman on a tray. That Sunday I scooped a handful of snow and in no time had my man made. With a flourish I put a miniature pinecone on his head.

只要我們有更多的時間，我們的早餐就更富於喜慶色彩。最初只是以幾何形狀排列的水果片，後來就是從自家花園採摘的鮮花了—有時只採一朵，然後把它放在半個葡萄袖中。沒想到這竟挖掘了我再裝飾材料、點綴方面的天賦。不論什麼東西，孤挺花也好，楓樹的葉芽也罷，都成了我的裝飾材料。丈夫說我做的早餐啟發了他，我想，母親也會贊同他的說法的。可能是在哪個週六，我無意中吧雛菊帽放在了一個大草莓上。之後，我就想：怎麼才能做得比這更好呢？一個漆黑的冬夜，我鏟來了一捧雪，並很快做好了一個雪人。興奮中，我一揮手把一枚小松果按在了雪人頭上。

As I delivered the tray,complete with a nicely-frozen snowman, I waited for a reaction. There was none-but as I headed down the stairs I heard a whoop of laughter and then,“You´ve won! Yes, sir, you´ve won the prize!”

我把早餐端給丈夫，盤面上放著那個凍結實了的小雪人。我期待著他的反應，但他一點反應也沒有—就在我下樓時，我聽到他放聲大笑起來，接著說道：“你贏了！這個獎非你莫屬啦！”