第7章 梦想之舟

Broken Promises

洛林·M.格雷/Lorraine M.Ｇregoire

“烦死了，为什么要约束自己！”我冲着脾气暴躁的丈夫嚷道。经过大卖场时，碰巧一家体育用品商店停业大甩卖，我想进去看看里面有没有我们需要的东西。他用一贯暴躁的男人腔调抱怨道，“都是些昂贵的垃圾，要是有好东西，就不会停业了。”

“但是，我想孩子们会喜欢这里的体育用品，”我极力劝说他，“况且，那些小船、钓鱼用品之类的东西，你也喜欢。要不，这么多年，卫生间的镜子上怎么一直都贴着你那幅梦想之舟的图片呢？我可是看够了。也许你正想进去看看呢！”

“你疯了吗？”他用戏弄的眼神看着我，说道：“我想要的可是‘超级一号’小舟，一旦我攒够了6000美元，我就会直接去厂家那儿订置一艘银光闪闪的小船。这种即将停业的小店不会有那种货色，我可不想拼命挤进去上当受骗。”

“你简直不可理喻且无趣！”我反驳道，“我偏偏喜欢凑热闹，我觉得这让我不至于无所事事。我保证不买东西，只是逛着玩玩，你去喝会儿咖啡，半小时后我来找你。”

“做不到就不要发誓，老伴。”他得意地笑着，好像心里在说“等着瞧吧”，他总是这样激我，“我知道你准会买些没用的东西回来。你一向如此。”

他的话令我极度气恼。他竟敢说我草率行事！我自认为自己从来都是理性购物。我向来很会讨价还价，从不乱花我们的养老金，可现在，我真是生气到家了，“好吧，老兄，我倒要让你看看。”我暗下决心，不管有什么好东西，我绝不买回家。哈！我可不会把笑柄留给这个自以为是、自作聪明的家伙。

我下定决心，于是走进拥挤的商店。商店的过道里摆满了曲棍球、排球、高尔夫球和健身器材、渔具以及儿童玩具等，旁边写着醒目的标语：停业大甩卖，2折优惠，已售商品，概不退货。

我一边在过道里逛来逛去，一边又提防着那挤来挤去的购物者。我嘴里哼着小调，情绪高昂，全身心地享受着逛街的乐趣。

突然，在商店的后门，一个银光闪闪的东西吸引了我的注意，那正是我丈夫照片上的那艘独木舟，里面放着救生衣、船桨、渔具。我屏住呼吸，眨了几下眼睛。啊，的的确确就在那儿，“超级一号”小舟。我的心顿时激动起来。我奋力挤开拥挤的人群，跌跌撞撞地跨过过道里杂七杂八的东西，中间还差点跌进那只独木舟里，我急不可待地去找价格牌。

那张破烂的价格牌上标着，厂家建议零售价：6750美元，另加税价，上面打了一个大大的叉叉，旁边有手写的字，清仓价：750美元，售出不退。少了6000美元？一定是搞错了。我得去问一下售货员。

我瞅了一下那个胸前戴着写有“你好，我是马修”字样牌子的年轻人。他正奋力从淘便宜货的人群中挤出身来。我抓住他的袖子，问道：“马修，那艘独木舟怎么回事，为什么只卖750美元？”

“噢，没什么问题，船是全新的。我们店要关门了，这船和其他东西一样，清仓贱卖。我想这价格还包括救生衣、船桨以及一些钓鱼用具。我去确认一下。”

几分钟后，他回来了，对我说道：“夫人，真的很抱歉，价格标错了，所有一切应该是4750美元。我刚问过我父亲，他负责甩卖，他说这船原价是8000多美元，所以，买下来还是很划算的。”

我的眼泪马上涌了出来，“噢，是这样，”我难过地说，“当然，这几乎不太可能，一直以来我丈夫都梦想拥有这样的小船。当我看到价格标签时，我认为自己简直在做梦。这个星期五，他就要满62岁了。因为身体不好，他早早就退休了。靠退休金维持的生活是很艰难的，但是数年来，这个顽固的老傻瓜还是每周省下10美元，就为拥有这样的船。谁都知道，这只是一个老人在痴人说梦。他总说退休后要驾着独木舟去钓鱼……”我的声音哽咽了，于是转身离去。

快到大卖场门口时，马修赶了过来，“对不起，夫人，你有750美元吗，加上25美元送货费及一点儿税金？”我激动得快要喘不过气来了，说道：“有的，有的，我口袋里刚好有那么多钱。”我边说，脑子里边飞快地想着那笔我攒下来要做白内障手术的钱。

“那好吧，让你先生星期五上午10点在家里等着，我会和我父亲把那艘新船送来。我们还会为他庆祝生日，给船装上一个船头。”

我简直要哭了，两只手颤抖着，填支票时，我不得不眯着眼睛。马修也有些哽咽。

“夫人，我想告诉你一件事。这家店是我爷爷开的，他经营了30多年，总是说有一天会退休，然后好好放松一下，划着独木舟去钓鱼，去年，他为自己订购了这艘船。可是，唉，他最终没能等到这一天。”

他强忍着泪水，继续说道：“爷爷突然在上周去世了，他只活到了68岁，我想，如果他知道你丈夫买下了这艘船，一定会很高兴，我父亲也是这样想的。你能保证你丈夫经常使用这艘船吗？”

我递给马修一张纸巾，我们一起默默地站在那里，任思绪飞扬，激动不已。

“我保证！”说完，我飞快地奔了出去，去找我亲爱的丈夫。

"Sheesh！ Give me a few points for self control！" I snapped at my cranky husband.I wanted to stop at a sporting goods store "Going Out of Business" sale we passed in the mall. "There's nothing we need，" his usual grumpy male comment. "it's all overpriced junk.If they had anything good they wouldn't be going out of business."

"But， it's sporting goods，" I wheedled. "could be some good deals for the grandkids.And， you like boats and fishing stuff.I've put up with that photo of your 'dream-canoe' stuck on the bathroom mirror for years now.Maybe you'd enjoy just looking around？"

"Are you crazy？" his eyes got funny and he said something like. "The boat I want is the Supremo Numero-Uno blah， blah.Soon as I finish saving up 6 000 bucks for that baby I'm going to order right from the manufacturer.Custom.In silver.This loser store wouldn't carry something like THAT.And I'm sure not going near those sucker crowds."

"You're so darn negative and boring！" I retorted. "I happen to like crowds.They make me feel like I'm part of something.I promise I won't buy anything but I'm going to look around for fun anyways.You go for coffee and I'll meet you back here in half an hour."

"Don't make promises you can't keep， old girl." He chuckled in that self-satisfied "I'll believe it when I see it" way that always gets me riled. "I know you're going to come out of there with useless junk.You always do."

His words made me mad.How dare he accuse me of being frivolous！ I prided myself on being a wise shopper.I had a darn good nose for bargains and stretched our old age pensions like nobody's business.Now I had a mad on， that's for sure. "Boy， I'll show him." I promised myself I would not buy a darn thing， no matter what.Ha！ I wouldn't give Mr.Know-It-All smarty-pants reason to gloat.

I squared my chin and marched into the crowded store.Aisles and aisles of hockey equipment， basketballs， golf clubs， exercise equipment， fishing gear， boy toys galore were strung with huge blaring signs.CLOSING OUT SALE—Up to 80% OFF.NO REFUNDS.

Up and down the aisles I strolled， ducked and dodged， humming to myself and enjoying the frenetic energy and excitement of a sale.

All of a sudden， there， at the back of the store， in gleaming silver， full of lifejackets， paddles and fishing stuff， sat the exact canoe of my husband's picture.I gasped and blinked three times.Yup.It was still there.The Supremo Numero-Uno blah， blah.My heart beat wildly.I elbowed my way through the crowds， scrambled over junk in the aisles and darned near fell into the canoe looking for the price tag.

There it was a little tattered， with the manufacturer's suggested retail price at $6750 plus tax crossed out and a handwritten TO CLEAR $750 AS IS.NO RETURNS.Must be a mistake.$6000 off？ Salesman.I had to talk to a salesman.

I spotted a young fellow with a "Hi.I'm Mathew" tag trying to hide out from the mob of bargain hunters.I clutched his sleeve. "Mathew.Tell me about this Supremo canoe.What's wrong with it？ Why is it only $750？"

"Oh.There's nothing wrong with it.It's brand new.We're closing the store.That is all.It's on clearance like everything else.I think that includes lifejackets， paddles and a bunch of fishing gear， too.I'll go check."

A few minutes later he came back and said， "I'm sorry ma'am.Someone made a mistake on the sale tag.It's supposed to be $4750 for the whole package.I just talked to my dad who is running the close-out.He said it was worth more than $8000 regular price so it's still a real good deal."

I felt tears well up in my eyes. "Oh well，" I said sadly， "of course， it was too good to be true.This is exactly like my husband's dreamboat.I guess I started to dream myself when I saw that price tag.He's going to be 62 years old Friday.Had to retire early for his health.It's been hard on just the pension but the stubborn old fool has been saving $10 every week for years to buy one just like this.Just an old man's silly dream， you know.Always said he wanted to spend his retirement out fishing in a canoe，" my voice trailed off and I turned and walked away.

I was already at the mall door when Mathew caught up with me. "Do you have $750 plus $25 for delivery and a bit more for tax， ma'am？" I gasped. "Yes.Yes.That's about all I have." I said as I thought fleetingly about the cataract surgery I was saving up for.

"Well then， you just have your husband sitting on the front porch on Friday morning around 10 o'clock so he can be there when my Dad and I come to unload his new boat.We'll even put a bow on it for his birthday."

I started to cry.My old hand shook and I had to squint as I wrote out my cheque.Mathew swallowed hard.

"Ma'am.There's something you should know.This store was my Grandpa's.He ran it for more than 30 years.He always promised to retire one day.Said he wanted to spend time relaxing and out fishing in a canoe.He ordered this one， custom， for himself last year but， well， just never took the time off to use it."

He swallowed even harder. "My Grandpa died， sudden-like， just last week.He was only 68 years old.I think he'd be mighty happy that your husband will get this here canoe.My Dad thinks so， too.You just have to make sure he uses it a lot， okay？ Promise？"

I handed Mathew a Kleenex and we stood there together， quietly lost in our own thoughts for a moment， blowing our noses.

"I promise！" I said as I dashed off to look for my dear sweet husband.