Healthy Breakfast

自她走后，他每天晚上都睡不同的地方：不是窝在客厅的沙发或扶手椅上，就是像无家可归的流浪汉那样，蜷缩在阳台的垫子上。而每天早上，他一定会出去吃早餐——就是监狱每天都有放风时间，让犯人去院子里走走，难道不是吗？就算特意问了是否只有他一个人，咖啡馆的服务员也老是让他坐双人桌，抬头就是把空椅子。天天如此。其他客人都是两三个一桌，有的在说笑，有的在品尝彼此的食物，有的在抢着结账，而米龙却孤零零的，一个人吃着健康早餐：橙汁、蜂蜜牛奶什锦粥、加了低脂温牛奶的双份脱咖啡因蒸馏咖啡。当然喽，他也希望对面能坐着个人，跟自己说笑，或抢着结账，使他不得不费力地把钱递给服务员并说：“别拿他的钱！艾薇，把钱还给他，我来结账！”但他实在找不着人一块吃早餐。不过，就算独自在咖啡馆吃早餐，也比窝在家里强上一百倍。

吃早餐时，米龙经常观察其他桌的客人。此外，他还会偷听别人的谈话，看《体育增刊》，或面无表情地浏览财经版，了解以色列公司在华尔街的股价升降情况。偶尔，有人会过来，问他要一版他已经看完的报纸。那时，他就会竭力挤出一丝微笑，点头同意。有一次，一个性感的年轻妈妈推着婴儿车走过来，问他要当天的头版看——头版的大字标题是关于发生在郊外的一起轮奸事件。把报纸递过去时，米龙甚至开口说了句话：“瞧瞧，我们的孩子出生在一个多么疯狂的世界啊！”他本以为提及彼此共同的命运能拉近人与人之间的距离，但那个性感的少妇只是瞪了他一眼，然后问也没问，就把《健康增刊》也一块拿走了。

后来，某个周四，咖啡馆里来了个大汗淋漓的胖子，一进门就冲米龙微笑，把他吓了一大跳。上次对他微笑的人是玛埃雅。不过，那是在五个月以前，就在她转身离开的时候，而且毫无疑问，她的微笑里充满了讽刺、挖苦的意味。但眼前这个胖子的微笑却显得非常和善，甚至带着几分愧疚。只见胖子手足无措地做了个动作，显然是想坐下来。米龙几乎想也没想，立刻就点了点头。于是，胖子坐了下来。

“鲁宾，”胖子说，“真对不起，我迟到了。我知道我们约的是十点，可是今天早上，孩子一直缠着我，让我实在脱不了身。”

米龙心想也许应该告诉胖子，自己不是鲁宾，却自己看了看表，说：“才迟到十分钟而已，别放在心上。”

他们沉默了一会儿，接着，米龙问孩子有没有事。胖子回答没事，只是刚换了家幼儿园，每次送她去上学，她都不想让他走。

“不过，不用为我担心，”胖子话锋一转，说，“你自己的事情都操心不过来了。那好，我们开始谈正事吧。”

米龙深吸一口气，等着对方说下去。

“听我说，”胖子说，“五百太高了，给我四百吧。最多四百一，我要六百件。”

“四百八，”米龙回道，“最少四百八，而且你得要一千件。”

“你得理解，”胖子说，“受经济衰退等所有事情的影响，市场现在很不景气。就在昨天晚上，新闻还报道有人在垃圾桶里找东西吃呢。你要是这么寸步不让，我只能提高售价了。但那样一来，我就卖不出东西了。”

“别担心，”米龙对他说，“在垃圾桶里找吃的那些人，每三个当中就有一个是开‘奔驰’的。”

这句话把胖子逗得哈哈直笑。“他们跟我说，你很难对付。”他笑着嘟囔道。

“我跟你一样，”米龙反驳道，“都是为了混口饭吃。”

胖子把汗淋淋的手放到衬衫上擦了擦，然后伸了出来。“四百六，”他说，“四百六，我要一千件。”看到米龙没有反应，他补充道：“四百六，我要一千件，外加欠你一个人情。你比谁都明白，鲁宾，在我们这行，人情不是钱能买到的。”

米龙等的就是这句话。听到胖子这么说，他抓住对方伸出的手，握了一下。有生以来第一次，有人欠了他的人情，尽管那人以为他是鲁宾。吃完东西后，他们开始抢着结账，这让米龙的心底升起一股温暖的感觉。最后，他比胖子快了零点一秒的时间，抢先把皱巴巴的钞票塞到了女服务员的手里。

那天以后，这几乎成了米龙的例行公事：找张桌子，点上菜，然后留心任何走进咖啡馆的新客人。要是那人流露出期待的神情，开始在咖啡馆里四下找人，米龙就会立刻挥挥手，邀请那人坐到自己对面。

“我不想把事情闹上法庭。”一个浓眉毛的秃子对他说。

“我也不想，”米龙退让道，“最好还是私了，免得伤和气。”

“告诉你，我不想值夜班！”一个做过“保妥适”(保妥帖Botox：主成分为高纯度的肉毒杆菌素a型；作为美容材料，可用于除皱、瘦脸和丰唇。)丰唇手术、头发染成金黄色的女人气势汹汹地说。

“那你想怎样？别人都要值夜班，就你例外？”米龙嘟囔着回敬道。

“加比让我来告诉你，他感到很抱歉。”一个满口烂牙、一只耳朵戴着耳环的家伙说。

“要是他真的感到很抱歉，”米龙说，“那就应该亲自来告诉我，而不是找个中间人！”

“看你的邮件，你给人的感觉要比现实中高大。”一个骨瘦如柴的红头发女人抱怨道。

“而你给人的感觉没像现实中这么挑剔。”米龙回敬道。

不知为什么，每件事最后都得到了圆满解决：米龙跟秃子私了了；做过丰唇手术的女人同意叫她妹妹代看孩子，好让自己每周值一次夜班；满口烂牙的家伙保证会让加比打电话给米龙；红头发女人和米龙取得了一致意见，即他们不太适合对方。关于早餐的饭钱，有时是对方付的，有时是米龙付的，不过和红头发女人那次，是两人分摊的。这一切实在太有意思了，要是哪天，整整一上午都没人坐到他对面，米龙就会觉得非常失望。幸好，这种情况很少发生。

距大汗淋漓的胖子出现，差不多过去了两个月的时间。那天，咖啡馆里来了个麻子。那人虽然长着一脸麻子，年纪看着起码比米龙大了十岁，但整个人看起来风度翩翩，很有魅力。一坐下来，他就说：“我本来以为你肯定不会露面的。”

“我们说好要见面的。”米龙回道。

“是啊，”麻子凄然一笑，说，“只是在电话里那样吼了你之后，我本来担心你会临阵退缩的。”

“我这不是来了嘛。”米龙略带挑衅地说。

“对不起，我在电话里吼了你，”麻子道了个歉，然后说，“真的对不起，我实在控制不住自己。但是，我在电话里说的每一个字都是认真的——你应该明白吧？请你不要再见她了。”

“可是我爱她。”米龙哽咽着说。

“你可以爱某个人或某样东西，但有时候不得不放弃，”麻子说，“听比你虚长几岁的人一声劝吧，有时候，你真的不得不放弃。”

“对不起，”米龙说，“我做不到。”

“你能做到，”麻子说，“不仅能做到，而且必须做到，别无选择。也许，我们两个都爱她，但我碰巧是她的丈夫。我不准你破坏我的家庭，听明白了吗？”

米龙摇了摇头。“你不知道过去一年，我过的到底是什么生活，”他对麻子说，“简直就跟在地狱里一样。甚至比在地狱还不如，更像是置身于一片无边无际的虚无之中，看不到任何东西。当你这样过了那么长时间之后，某个东西突然出现了，那时，你真的无法舍弃它。那种感觉，你能理解吧？我知道你能理解的。”

麻子咬了咬下嘴唇。“要是再见她一次，”他说，“我就杀了你。我是认真的，你听得出来。”

“那就杀了我吧，”米龙耸了耸肩，说，“我不怕。反正人早晚都是要死的。”

桌对面的麻子突然倾身向前，对着米龙的下巴狠狠地打了一拳。这是米龙生平挨的最重的一记拳头。他顿时感到面部中间一阵火辣辣的疼，接着，疼痛便开始朝四面八方蔓延开来。几秒钟以后，他发现自己摔倒在地，而那个麻子就站在旁边俯视着他。

“我要带她离开这里！”麻子边猛踢米龙的腹部和侧身，边吼，“我要带她远走高飞，去另一个国家，让你找不到她。你再也见不到她了，听到没有，你这个该死的人渣？！”

两名服务员扑到麻子身上，费了九牛二虎之力才把他从米龙身边拉开。有人朝吧台大喊，叫服务员报警。米龙脸贴在冰凉的地上，看着麻子逃出了咖啡馆。有名服务员俯下身子，问他有没有事，米龙努力想回答，却发不出声。

“要叫救护车吗？”那名服务员问。

米龙吃力地轻声回答：“不用了。”“你确定吗？”服务员坚持说，“你流血了。”米龙缓缓地点点头，闭上了眼睛。他竭力想象自己正跟那个从未谋面的女人在一块，而且几乎就要成功了。就在这时，他突然感到浑身疼痛难当——他感到自己还活着。

选自《突然，响起一阵敲门声》，埃特加.凯雷特著，楼武挺译。

Every night since she had gone he had slept in a different place: on the sofa or armchair in the living room, or curled up on the balcony cushion, like a homeless man. And every morning, he would go out for breakfast -- that is, there would be yard time every day for the inmates to walk around the yard, wouldn't there? Even when asked if he was alone, the barista would always seat him at a table for two, looking up at an empty chair. Every day. The other guests were two or three at a table, some joking, some tasting each other's food, some jostling for the check, while Muron was alone, a healthy breakfast: orange juice, Muesli with honey and milk, double decaf espresso with low fat warm milk. Of course, he also wanted someone to sit across from him, to joke with him, or to fight over the bill, he had to hand over the money to the waiter and say, "Don't take his money! Ivy, give it back to him and I'll Settle Up!" But he couldn't find anyone to eat breakfast with. But even eating breakfast alone in a cafe is a hundred times better than staying at home. At breakfast, Muron often observed the guests at other tables. In addition, he eavesdrops on conversations, reads sports supplements, or reads the business section deadpan to learn about the ups and downs of Israeli companies on Wall Street. Occasionally, someone would come and ask him for a page of the newspaper he had finished reading. Then he would try to force a smile and nod his head in agreement. Once, a sexy young mother came up to him with a stroller and asked him for the front page of the day, with the headline about a gang rape in the suburbs. As he handed the paper over, Muron even said, "look what a crazy world our children were born into!" He had thought that mentioning our shared destiny would bring people closer together, but the hot chick just gave him a dirty look, then took the health supplement without asking. Then, one Thursday, a fat, sweaty man came into the cafe and gave Muron a fright by smiling at him. The last person who smiled at him was Maya. But that was five months ago, when she turned away, and there was no doubt that her smile was sarcastic. But the Fat Man's smile was very kind, even guiltily. The Fat Man made a gesture of bewilderment, apparently to sit down. Almost without thinking, Muron nodded. So the Fat Man sat down. "Rubim," said the Fat Man, "I'm so sorry I'm late. I know we had a 10:00, but this morning the kids were all over me, and I couldn't get away." Muron thought maybe he should tell the fat guy, he was not Rubim, but he looked at his watch and said, "it's only ten minutes late. Don't worry about it." They were silent for a moment. Then Muron asked the boy if he was all right. The Fat Man replied that he was fine, but he had just changed kindergarten, and every time he took her to school, she didn't want him to leave. "but don't worry about me," the fat man said, "you can't worry about your own affairs. Well, let's get down to business." Miron took a deep breath, waiting for the other person to say something. "listen to me," said the Fat Man. "five hundred is too high. Give me four hundred. Four hundred and ten at the most. I want six hundred." Four hundred and eighty, replied Muron, "at least four hundred and eighty, and you have to have a thousand," the Fat Man said, "the market is very depressed right now because of the recession and everything. Just last night, the news said someone was eating out of a garbage can. If you won't budge, I'll have to raise the price. But then I won't be able to sell anything.""Don't worry," Muron told him, "one out of every three people who look for food in the garbage can drive a Mercedes," fat person laughed. "they told me you were tough," he grins. "I'm like you," Muron retorted, "just trying to make a living." The Fat Man wiped his sweaty hand on his shirt and held it out. "four hundred and sixty," he said, "four hundred and sixty, I want a thousand." There was no response from Muron, "four hundred and sixty," he added, "I want a thousand, and I owe you a favor. You know better than anyone, Rubim, in this business, favors don't come with money." That's what Miron and others were saying. Hearing this, the Fat Man took hold of the other man's outstretched hand and shook it. For the first time in his life, someone owed him a favor, even though he thought it was Rubim. When they had finished, they began to fight for the check, which gave Muron a warm feeling in his heart. In the end, he beat the Fat Man by a fraction of a second and slipped the crumpled bill into the waitress's hand. After that day, it became almost routine for Muron: find a table, order food, and keep an eye out for any new customers who walked into the cafe. If the man looked expectantly around the coffee shop, Muron immediately waved and invited the man to sit across from her. "I don't want to take this to court," a bald man with bushy eyebrows told him. "neither do I," Muron conceded, "It's better to settle up before it hurts," said a woman with a history of Botox (a high-purity botulinum toxin A; used as a beauty treatment for wrinkles, slimming faces and plumping lips) , lip surgery and dyed blonde hair. "I don't want to work the night shift, I tell you!". "So What do you want? Everyone else on the night shift except you?" Muron grumbled back. "Gabi told me to tell you he's sorry," said a guy with rotten teeth and an earring in one ear. "if he's really sorry," Muron said, "then you should have come to me and told me in person, not through a middleman!" One skinny redheaded woman complained. "you look taller in your e-mail.". "and you don't seem as fussy as you are in real life," Muron replied. Somehow, everything worked out in the end: Muron had an affair with a bald man; a woman who had had lip surgery agreed to have her sister babysit so she could work the night shift once a week; The guy with the bad teeth promised to have Gabi call Muron; the redhead and Muron agreed that they weren't right for each other. Sometimes they paid for breakfast, sometimes Muron did, but with the redhead they split the bill. It was all very interesting, and Muron would be disappointed if no one sat across from him all morning. Fortunately, this rarely happens. It had been nearly two months since the sweaty fat man had appeared. The other day, there was a pock in the cafe. The man, pockmarked and at least ten years older than Muron, seemed personable and charming. As soon as he sat down, he said, "I thought for sure you wouldn't show up.""We were supposed to meet," Muron replied. "yeah," Asako said with a rueful smile. "It's just that after yelling at you on the phone, I was afraid you'd chicken out.""here I am," Muron said defiantly. "I'm sorry I yelled at you on the phone," Asako apologized and said, "I'm really sorry. I couldn't help myself. But I meant every word I said on the phone -- you understand? Please don't see her again." But I love her," Muron sobbed. "You can love someone or something, but sometimes you have to give it up," Asako says, "listen to someone a few years older than you, sometimes you really have to give up," Muron said. "I'm sorry, I can't do it.""you can do it," Asako said, "it can be done, it must be done, there's no choice. Maybe we both love her, but I happen to be her husband. I Won't let you destroy my family. Do you understand?" Muron shook her head. "you have no idea what kind of life I've had this past year," he told Asako, "It's like being in Hell. It was even worse than being in hell, more like being in an endless nothingness, seeing nothing. When you've been doing this for so long, and something pops up, you really can't get rid of it. You understand how that feels, don't you? I know you understand." The pockmark bit his lower lip. "If you see her again," he said, "I'll kill you. I mean it, you can tell.""then kill me," Muron shrugged, "I'm not afraid," he said. "people are going to die anyway." Across the table, Asako suddenly leaned forward, and punched Muron in the jaw. It was the heaviest blow Muron had ever taken. He felt a burning pain in the middle of his face, and then it began to spread in all directions. A few seconds later, he found himself on the ground, with Asako standing over him. "I'm going to get her out of Here!" The Pock kicked Miron on the stomach and side, growling, "I'm gonna take her away to another country where you'll never find her. You'll never see her again. You Hear Me, you fucking piece of shit? !" Two waiters jump on Asako, it took a lot of work to get him away from Muron. Someone shouted at the bar and called the waiter to call the police. Muron pressed his face to the cold ground and watched as Asako fled the cafe. One of the waiters leaned over and asked if he was all right, and Muron tried to answer, but he couldn't. "should I call an ambulance?" The attendant asked. "No.""are you sure?" The waiter insisted. "You're bleeding." Muron nodded slowly and closed his eyes. He tried to imagine himself with the woman he had never met, and almost succeeded. Just then, he suddenly felt pain all over-he felt alive. From suddenly, there was a knock at the door, Etgar. By Quérette.

标题: 健康早餐
作者: 埃特加·凯雷特
字数: 3203
简介: 自她走后，他每天晚上都睡不同的地方：不是窝在客厅的沙发或扶手椅上，就是像无家可归的流浪汉那样，蜷缩在阳台的垫子上。而每天早上，他一定会出去吃