038 爱情的烦恼

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With first Meg and then Amy gone, the house seemed empty and desolate

先是梅格，然后是艾米都走了，房子显得空荡荡的，冷冷清清。

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Beth must have felt it too, Jo thought, because her younger sister seemed more subdued lately

贝丝肯定也感觉到了，乔心想，因为她这个妹妹最近似乎更加闷闷不乐了。

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Watching her now as they hung out the laundry on the clothesline in the yard, Jo sensed something was definitely amiss

此刻她们在院子里的晾衣绳上晾衣服，乔看着她，感觉肯定有什么不对劲。

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" Beth, how are you sleeping lately?" Jo asked, clipping two clothespins on Father's undershirt

“贝丝，你最近睡得怎么样？”乔一边问，一边在父亲的汗衫上夹上两个衣夹。

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" Fine, Jo. I'm fine," Beth answered breathlessly

“还好，乔。我挺好的，”贝丝上气不接下气地回答。

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Then looking out across the yard onto the Laurences' garden, Beth let out a short sigh

然后，贝丝望向院子那边劳伦斯家的花园，轻轻叹了口气。

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Laurie was kicking a ball around, probably imagining it was someone's head

劳里正在四处踢球，大概在想象那是谁的脑袋。

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Jo smiled as she remembered how furious Mr. Laurence had been when he heard that his grandson had been suspended from college

想起劳伦斯先生得知孙子被大学停学时有多生气，乔不禁笑了笑。

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It wasn't a laughing matter, but Laurie had told her about his grandfather's reactions so vividly

这本来不是件好笑的事，但劳里给她讲他爷爷的反应时，讲得太生动了，

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imitating his voice and gestures, that Jo couldn't help giggling

模仿他的声音和动作，弄得乔忍不住咯咯笑起来。

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" Look at what a handsome man our boy has turned into," Beth said in a soft voice as she kept her eye on Laurie

“看看我们的男孩长成了多么英俊的男子汉。”贝丝目光追随着劳里，轻声说道。

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Jo, suddenly feeling uneasy, thought she might have figured out why Beth had been so quiet these past few weeks

乔突然感到一阵不安，她想自己可能明白了为什么这几个星期贝丝一直这么沉默。

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" She's in love with Laurie!" Jo screamed silently

“她爱上劳里了！”乔在心中无声地尖叫。

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Around the same time but in an entirely different part of the world

在大致相同的时间，但却是世界上的另一个地方，

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Amy was walking arm-in-arm with Aunt March along the famous Piccadilly Circus in London, England

艾米正与马奇姑妈手挽着手，漫步在英国伦敦著名的皮卡迪利广场。

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Amy was dressed smartly in a well-fitted stylish dress with matching hat and parasol and taking small dainty steps so as to keep pace with her elderly aunt

艾米穿着合身的时髦连衣裙，戴着配套的帽子，撑着阳伞，显得聪明利落。她迈着小巧优雅的步子，以便跟上她年迈的姑妈。

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Looking very prim and ladylike, Amy was noticed by the gentlemen passing by, some of them even stopping to offer compliments

艾米看起来非常端庄，很有淑女风范，引得路过的绅士们纷纷注目，有些人甚至停下来赞美她。

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" Did you know, Aunt March, that the name Piccadilly comes from a frilly collar called a ' picadil,'

“马奇姑妈，您知道吗？皮卡迪利这个名字来源于一种叫做‘皮卡迪’的荷叶边衣领，

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which was quite popular during the seventeenth century?

它在十七世纪时非常流行。”

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That's why there are so many dressmakers along this street," Amy said knowledgeably

所以这条街上才会有这么多裁缝店。”艾米很在行地说道。

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Glowing with pride, Aunt March said," How clever you are, my dear."

马奇姑妈骄傲得满面红光，说道：“你真聪明，亲爱的。”

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Then leading Amy to a very distinguished dressmaker's shop, she said

然后，她把艾米领到一家十分高档的裁缝店，说道：

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" If Piccadilly is famous for its fashions, then that is what we must get for you while we are here."

“既然皮卡迪利以时尚闻名，那我们在此期间就得给你弄几套。”

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Hardly able to contain her excitement, Amy followed her aunt into the shop

艾米几乎抑制不住兴奋之情，跟着姑妈进了店。

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Back home Jo was going into a shop of a different sort, the fruit and vegetable kind

家这边，乔则进了一家截然不同的店铺——果蔬铺子。

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Since Beth did not have much of an appetite these days ( as Jo found out from Meg, many lovesick people suffer the same symptoms )

近来贝丝食欲不佳（乔从梅格那儿得知，害相思病的人多有此症状），

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Jo wanted to buy some of Beth's favorite fruits and surprise her that evening

乔想买些贝丝最爱吃的水果，晚上给她个惊喜。

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As she was choosing a couple of ripe apples, a familiar voice called to her from behind

她正挑着几个熟透的苹果，一个熟悉的声音从背后传来。

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" Jo! Fancy meeting you here!" Laurie shouted so loudly that the entire shop could hear

“乔！真没想到在这儿碰到你！”劳里大喊，整间铺子都听得见。

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" Shush, Laurie! Everyone's staring," Jo whispered, her face turning as red as the apple in her hand." What are you doing here, anyway?"

“嘘，劳里！大家都在看呢，”乔压低声音，脸涨得像手里的苹果一样红。“话说，你在这儿做什么？”

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" I felt like getting some fruit to munch on," Laurie said, tossing an apple into the air and catching it

“我想弄点水果嚼嚼，”劳里边说边把苹果抛向空中又接住。

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" Don't be silly. You have servants to do your shopping," Jo said, pointing at the apple," and besides, I happen to know that you don't like apples."

“别傻了。你有仆人替你买东西，”乔指着苹果说，“再说了，我碰巧知道你不喜欢吃苹果。”

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Laurie held up both hands as if to surrender and said

劳里举起双手，一副投降的样子，说：

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" I've been cooped up in the house, bored out of my mind, and then I saw you leaving the house and thought to myself:

“我闷在家里，无聊得要命，后来看见你出门，心里就想：

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That's odd — the old girl hasn't been around lately."

真奇怪——那丫头最近怎么没露面。”

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Jo placed a hand over his mouth to stop his rambling

乔伸手捂住他的嘴，不让他继续唠叨。

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" As you can see I'm very busy right now, but perhaps I'll come over later, if I have time," she said

“你也看到了，我现在很忙，不过要是有时间，也许等会儿我会过去，”她说。

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Shaking his head, Laurie said," Mmm... bloof... mmhffoo," through Jo's hand

劳里摇摇头，隔着乔的手说：“唔……噗噜……嗯嗯唔。”

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Removing her hand, Jo said," What?"

乔把手拿开，问：“什么？”

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" I said no. You've been avoiding me and I want to know why," Laurie repeated more clearly this time

“我说不。你一直在躲着我，我想知道为什么，”这次劳里更清楚地重复道。

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" I haven't been avoiding you," Jo said as she turned her back on him and walked away

“我没有在躲你。”乔说着转过身背对着他走开了。

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" See? You're doing it again, Jo. I demand to know what I've done to deserve such treatment from you," he said, pretending to be insulted

“瞧见没？你又来了，乔。我倒要知道，我做了什么才让你这样对我。”他装出一副受了冒犯的样子说。

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" It's not you; it's Beth," Jo wanted to say but instead she said," Would you mind holding this basket like a real gentleman?

“不关你的事，是贝丝。”乔本想这么说，说出口的却是：“能像个真正的绅士那样，帮我拎一下这个篮子吗？

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By the way, when are you going back to school?"

对了，你什么时候回学校？”

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With one hand, Laurie held the basket but with the other he grasped Jo's hand tightly

劳里一只手拎着篮子，另一只手却紧紧握住了乔的手。

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" Jo, why do you keep running? I'm getting tired of chasing you," he said in a very serious voice

“乔，你为什么一直跑？我追你追得都累了。”他用十分严肃的语气说。

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As much as Jo had been trying to ignore the signs

尽管乔一直努力忽视种种迹象，

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there was no denying now that Laurie was indeed in love with one of the March sisters, but it certainly was not Beth

现在却再也无法否认，劳里确实爱上了马奇家的一位姐妹，但那人肯定不是贝丝。

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That evening, Jo sat in the living room with Mother

那天晚上，乔和母亲一起坐在客厅里。

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Beth had already gone up to bed, saying she had a headache, and Father was visiting a farmer who had lost his son in the war

贝丝说自己头疼，已经上楼睡了，父亲则去探望一位在战争中失去儿子的农夫了。

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" Is something troubling you, dear?" Mother always seemed to know when her girls were weighed down by problems

“亲爱的，有什么事困扰你吗？”母亲似乎总能看出女儿们被问题压得喘不过气来。

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Jo deliberated whether to discuss Beth and Laurie with Mother, then decided it would be for the best and told her everything

乔犹豫着是否要跟母亲谈贝丝和劳里的事，后来认为说出来最好，便把一切都告诉了她。

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Mother listened without speaking. Then she said," That's the trouble with love; it's uncontrollable

母亲静静地听着，然后说：“这就是爱情的烦恼；它不受控制。

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It never goes in the direction that you want it to."

它从不会朝着你期望的方向发展。”

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" Everything would be solved if Laurie would love Beth," exclaimed Jo

“要是劳里能爱上贝丝，一切就都解决了。”乔大声说。

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" Are you sure of Beth's feelings for Laurie? Have you spoken to her?

“你确定贝丝对劳里的感情吗？你跟她谈过了吗？

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Perhaps it's something else and you are jumping to conclusions," Mother said

也许是别的原因，你贸然下结论了。”母亲说。

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" I haven't asked her about it, but what else could it be?" Jo asked in a frustrated voice

“我没问过她，可那还能是什么？”乔沮丧地问。

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" What are your feelings for Laurie?" Mother asked gently

“你对劳里是什么感觉？”母亲温柔地问。

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" I love Laurie with all my heart but not like that

“我全心全意地爱劳里，但不是那种爱。

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He's my best friend, my brother, but..." Jo paused

他是我最好的朋友，像我的兄弟，但……”乔停住了。

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" I don't love him like Meg loves John."

“我不是像梅格爱约翰那样爱他。”

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" Has Laurie told you how he feels?" asked Mother

“劳里向你表白过吗？”母亲问。

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Shaking her head, Jo answered," No, but I'm afraid he's going to very soon and I will break his heart

乔摇了摇头，答道：“没有，但我担心他很快就要表白了，我会伤他的心。

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And if Beth finds out, then her heart will be broken. Oh, what a mess."

要是贝丝知道了，她的心也会碎。唉，真是一团糟。”

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Mother held Jo in her arms for a while and then said," What do you think is the solution to this problem?"

母亲把乔搂在怀里好一会儿，然后说：“你觉得这个问题的解决办法是什么？”

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" I was thinking," Jo began." Your friend Mrs. Kirke wrote that she is looking for a governess for her two girls in New York, didn't she?"

“我在想，”乔说，“你的朋友柯克太太写信说，她在纽约为两个女儿找家庭教师，是吧？”

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Mother nodded and told her to go on

母亲点点头，让她接着说。

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" Well, what if I could apply for the position, just for the winter for now and see whether or not it's a suitable place for me

“嗯，要是我能申请这个职位呢？就先干这个冬天，看看那儿适不适合我。

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I have become restless and thought of traveling myself, so this might be the best time to do so," said Jo

我最近变得坐立不安，自己也想着出去走走，所以这也许是最好的时机。”乔说。

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" Yes, it does sound like a good idea," said Mother

“对，听起来确实是个好主意。”母亲说。

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" But Jo," she added, looking deep into her daughter's eyes," running away from a problem doesn't solve it."

“可是乔，”她凝视着女儿的眼睛补充道，“逃避问题并不能解决问题。”

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" I'm not running away. I'm buying time so that I will know how to straighten out the situation best

“我没有逃避。我是在争取时间，好知道怎样最好地理清局面。

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And who knows, maybe while I'm gone, Laurie will fall madly in love with Beth," Jo said hopefully

谁知道呢，也许我不在的时候，劳里会疯狂地爱上贝丝。”乔满怀希望地说。

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" I'll write to Mrs. Kirke immediately," Mother said

“我马上就给柯克太太写信。”母亲说。