諾貝爾文學經典:《寵兒》第14章Part5
"She says Wednesday, you hear? Baby? Baby?"
She took the shoes from him — high-topped and muddy — saying, "I beg your pardon. Lord, I beg your pardon. I sure do." Out of sight, the cartcreaked on down Bluestone Road. Nobody in it spoke. The wagon rock had put the baby to sleep. The hot sun dried Sethe's dress, stiff, like rigor morris.
THAT AIN'T her mouth.
Anybody who didn't know her, or maybe somebody who just got a glimpse of her through thepeephole at the restaurant, might think it was hers, but Paul D knew better. Oh well, a littlesomething around the forehead — a quietness — that kind of reminded you of her. But there wasno way you could take that for her mouth and he said so. Told Stamp Paid, who was watching him carefully.
"I don't know, man. Don't look like it to me. I know Sethe's mouth and this ain't it." He smoothedthe clipping with his fingers and peered at it, not at all disturbed. From the solemn air with whichStamp had unfolded the paper, the tenderness in the old man's fingers as he stroked its creases andflattened it out, first on his knees, then on the split top of the piling, Paul D knew that it ought tomess him up. That whatever was written on it should shake him.
"她說星期三，你聽見了嗎？貝比？貝比？"
她從他手裏接過鞋——高靿的，沾着泥——說道："請原諒。主啊，我求你原諒。我真的求你了。"視線之外，運貨馬車吱吱呀呀地駛下藍石路。裏面沒有人開口。大車已經把嬰兒搖晃得睡着了。炎熱的太陽曬乾了塞絲的裙子，硬挺挺的，彷彿屍僵。
那不是她的嘴。
素不相識的人，或者也許只從餐館的門洞裏瞥見過她一眼的人，可能會認爲那是她的嘴，但是這事保羅·D更明白。噢，的確，前額上還籠罩着那麼一點東西——一種安詳——能使你想起她來。可是你單憑這個就說那是她的嘴，那可不行，於是他就這樣講了。告訴了正在審視他的斯坦普·沛德。
"我不知道，大叔。反正我看着不像。我認識塞絲的嘴，可不是這樣。"他用手指撫平那張剪報，凝視着，絲毫不爲所動。從斯坦普打開報紙的莊嚴氣氛中，從老人用手指按平摺痕，先是在他的膝蓋上、然後在樹樁劈裂的頂端將它攤平的慎重中，保羅·D知道，它該攪得他不得安寧了。無論那上面寫的是什麼，都會震動他。
