第7章 人间天使

Earth Angel

杰里与洛林·比德尔曼/Jerry and Lorin Biederman

我年近五旬，膝下有两个尚未成年的女儿。虽然生活很艰难，但承蒙上帝的恩赐，我仍然活着。

在临时收容所和街头，两个女儿度过了她们的大部分童年时光。尽管我和她们的父亲共同生活了6年，但一直没有结婚。他什么活都干不长。由于没有受过高等教育，即使我很努力地工作，赚的钱依然无法贴补家用。我赚来的大部分钱，都被孩子的父亲拿去买烈酒了，他还常常不回家。

在他威胁要杀死我（他是一个狂暴的酒鬼）的那天，我带着女儿和少得可怜的家当来到城里更繁华的地区。我盘算着，即使我们沦落到在街头流浪，也要让女儿接受良好的教育。

我在本地一家咖啡馆找到了一份服务员的差事，两个女儿则到一所不错的公立中小学上学。我的薪酬不够缴付房租，一家人只好辗转于收容所之间。不过，最令我头痛的还是我们家的住址。于是，我在邮局租了一个信箱，以便接收学校寄来的作业。

如此这般，再也没有人会怀疑我们无家可归。女儿们每天都去上学，收容所在学校附近，就走路过去；离学校较远，就搭公车。

两个女儿很讨人喜欢。我尽量让她俩到朋友家去玩，也经常尽我所能给她们买些别致的小礼品。但我把微薄收入中的大部分都储存起来了，以备不时之需。

我很清楚，这样的好学校，一旦知晓我们的家境，就不会允许女儿继续在那儿上学。于是，我跟女儿约好，无论如何都不能告诉别人我们无家可归。

几年过去了。一天，一个女儿回到收容所后告诉我，她朋友的母亲邀请我们全家第二天晚上到她家做客。在征得收容所所长的许可后，我用所里的厨房准备了一些小点心。

我们来到一幢漂亮的两层楼前，敲了敲房门。屋里一尘不染，无比舒适、温馨。对我们带来的甜点，女儿朋友的母亲玛丽非常感激。那天晚上，我们相处得很愉快，我知道自己找到了一个朋友。

几天后，小女儿莱蒂西亚回来告诉我，玛丽想要我们家里的电话号码。她想打电话过来，邀我再相聚。莱蒂西亚告诉玛丽，家里的电话坏了，她会让我打电话给玛丽。女儿不得不撒谎，这一点我很是不安。

我给玛丽打了电话，然后再次相聚于她家。此后，我俩成了很好的朋友。我不止一次对她说，希望邀请她光临寒舍，接下来又不得不对她撒谎，诸如，我们跟房东闹矛盾啦，或是家里的炉灶、空调坏了。

一天，玛丽来到我工作的咖啡店，问我是否有空陪她聊聊天。于是，我们一起外出散步。走过几个街区，在一所闲置的房子前，她停住了脚步。这间小房子十分惹人喜爱，房前贴着招租的广告。

“喜欢这所房子吗？”玛丽问。

“噢，非常喜欢，”我大声说道，“不过，我们这种人可住不起。”

玛丽说：“我们为何不打电话问问呢？”她的话触到了我的痛处。我跟她说，我每月最多只能支付350美元的租金。

这么少的租金，没有人愿意出租一所房子——更不用说眼前这所了。

第二天，玛丽拿着那张招租广告，笑容满面地来到了咖啡店。她兴奋不已，跟我说：“我跟房子的主人谈过了，你猜怎么着？他们同意出租房子，每月只收350美元。对于你们一家人来说，没有什么比这更理想的了。”

“怎么可能？”我说，“这一带房子的租金是它的三倍呢！”

玛丽解释说，房东并不是真的需要钱，而是希望有人喜欢住在那里，照管好房子。

几周后，我们搬进了那所房子。从救世军（美国基督教的慈善组织）那儿，我们弄到一些家具。大女儿莎丽选修了学校的工艺课，给家里设计了一张精致的咖啡桌。我们收拾好房子，甚至在院子里种上了花，这使我感到似乎要在这里扎根。我希望能在这里长住，将两个女儿带大，让她们也有家可回。

但是，秘密终会撩开面纱。有一个月，我本想将租金支票寄给房东的，但赶上假期，为了不至于延期，我决定直接将支票投入房东的信箱。

我正在邮局排队等候时，突然听到一个熟悉的声音，那声音正对邮局工作人员说要从信箱里取包裹，而那个信箱正是我要寄租金支票的信箱！我环顾队伍四周，令我大吃一惊，她竟是玛丽！她正在翻查邮件，我碰了一下她的胳膊。一瞬间，泪水溢满了我的双眼，我几乎不能言语。“玛丽，我们住的房子是你的吗？是你为我们做了这一切？”

玛丽用胳膊搂住我的肩膀，我们一起朝邮局外面走去。来到人行道时，我还在不停地啜泣着。我一直很坚强，从不轻易流泪。我吃过很多苦头，但是没有一个人像玛丽这样对我如此地好。

玛丽告诉我，有一次，莱蒂西亚不小心说漏了嘴，告诉她的女儿我们无家可归。她从来没有想过这一点，因为我的两个女儿总是干干净净、衣着得体、光彩照人。她还告诉我，那房子是她和丈夫的第一个家，对他们有着特殊的意义，这所房子他们已经买了很长时间，现在房子的钱也还清了。她和丈夫谈过要把房子租给我们，但她不希望我们知道，怕我误会是施舍给我们住的。

今年，莎丽就要高中毕业了。因为我们省下了足够的钱，她即将到大学去念书。

玛丽是我的人间天使。我想让她知道，我爱她，她的仁慈、她的慷慨，我将无限感激。

每周，我都会在花园里采一些鲜花，送给玛丽。

I am in my late forties and have two teenage daughters. My life has been difficult but， by the grace of God， I am a survivor.

My girls and I spent much of their childhood in shelters and living on the street. Though we were together six years， I never married the girls'father. He couldn't hold a job and although I am a hard worker， without a college education. The money just wasn't enough to support us. He spent most of my money on hard liquor， and he didn't come home for days.

One day， after he threatened to kill me (he was a violent drunk)， I packed up my babies and our belongings and headed for a better part of town. I figured I would give my girls a good education， even if we had to live on the street.

I managed to find a job as a waitress at a local coffee shop， and I enrolled my girls in a good public school. My job didn't pay enough for rent， so we moved from shelter to shelter. I was nervous about the address， so I got a post office box and used the address for the school paperwork.

No one suspected we were homeless. My girls went to school every day. If the shelter was nearby， we walked. If we had to， we took a bus.

My girls were always very presentable. I let them go to friends'houses as much as possible， and I often tried to buy them special gifts. But， mostly， the little money we had was put away for their future.

We had made a pact that we would not tell anyone we were homeless because I was sure this fine school wouldn't allow my daughters remain if they knew about our situation.

One day， several years later， one of the girls came back to the shelter and told me her friend's mother had invited all three of us over for supper the next evening. I managed to talk to the director of the shelter into allowing me to use the kitchen to bake cookies.

We knocked on the door of a beautiful two-story home. It was spotless and comfortable. Mary， the mother， was so appreciative of the cookies. We had a wonderful evening， and I knew I had found a friend.

A few days later， Leticia， my youngest， came home. And said that Mary had asked for our phone number. She wanted to call me to get together. Leticia told her we were having trouble with the phones， and she would have me call her. I hated that my girls had to lie.

I called Mary and again we got together at her house. She and I became good friends. I constantly told her that I wanted to have her over to our place， but then I would lie and say we were having trouble with the landlord of our apartment building or that something wasn't working， like the stove， the air conditioning， etc.

Mary came into the coffee shop one day and asked if I could spend my break with her. We took a walk， and then she stopped at a vacant house a few blocks down the road. It had a For Rent sign out front and was the most adorable little home.

Mary said， "Do you like this place？"

"Oh， very much！" I exclaimed. "But it's way out of my league."

"Why don't we call and find out？" Mary said. This upset me. I told her that the most I could afford was $350 a month.

No one would rent a house for that little—especially this house.

The next day， Mary came into the coffee shop with a big grin on her face and a For Rent sign in her hands. She was so excited that she couldn't hold back the news. "I spoke with the owner of that house and guess what？ They're renting the house for $350 a month！ It couldn't be more perfect for you and the girls."

I told her， "That's impossible. Houses rent for three times that much in this neighborhood."

She explained that the owners didn't really need the money. They just needed someone who would appreciate living there and would take special care of it.

A few weeks later， we moved in. We managed to get some furniture from the Salvation Army. Shari， my oldest， took wood shop in school and made us a fine coffee table. We fixed the place up， and I even planted some flowers， which made me feel like I was planting my roots. I hoped to stay here for a long time， raise my gifts， and always have a place for them to come to.

But secrets， I've found， don't usually stay secrets. One month， I had mailed my rent check， but it was during the holidays， and I didn't want it to be late， so I decided to drop it off at the appropriate post office box.

I was standing in line at the post office when I heard a familiar voice ask for a package from the box where I sent my rent. I peeked around the line and was shocked to see Mary！

She was thumbing through her mail when I touched her arm. Tears were starting to form in my eyes， and I could barely speak. "Mary， is it your house we're living in？ Did you do this for us？"

She put her arm around my shoulder and walked me outside. By the time we reached the sidewalk， I was sobbing. I am a very strong woman and tears don't come easily. I have been through a lot in my life， but no one had ever been so kind.

Mary told me that Leticia had slipped and told her daughter we were homeless. She said she never would have guessed. The girls were always so clean and well dressed. She said it was her and her husband's first home， and it was very special to them， that they had owned the house for a long time， and it was paid for. She and her husband had talked about it and wanted to rent the house to us. She hadn't wanted me to know because she was afraid I would think it was charity.

Shari is graduating from high school this year， and because we were able to save enough money， she is going to college.

Mary is my Earth Angel， and I want her to know that I appreciate her kindness and generosity， and that I love her.

I bring Mary fresh flowers every week from our garden.