關於最後的一站The Last Stop
"You're at the last stop, lady. Come on, get off the bus. I have a schedule to keep to."
Mrs. Conroy was having trouble waking up. She staggered to her feet. The bus driver took her arm and helped her down the aisle. As she stepped off the bus, she felt a sense of panic. "Wait a minute," she said in a shrill voice. "This isn't Essex Avenue. Where am I? How can I get home?"
"Cool off, lady. I told you, you're at the end of the line. We all make it here sooner or later."
"But why can't I ride back with you?" she pleaded. "I have the fare!"
"Sorry, lady," he said as he closed the door. "It's against the rules."
Mrs. Conroy watched the bus disappear down the road. She looked around and tried to figure out what part of the city she was in. Suddenly the sun seemed awfully bright.
Mrs. Conroy squinted. She didn't recognize this place. There were no trees around, no street signs, and no people. The city seemed to have ended miles back. She couldn't get her bearings. There was nothing to see in any direction. Nothing at all. Mrs. Conroy wondered if she were still dreaming.
"Are you ready, Madam?"
The voice came from behind her. Mrs. Conroy whirled around, her heart beating rapidly.
"Who? What? Are you speaking to me?"
A tall, handsome man in a blue pin-striped suit stepped forward. His suit reminded her of the one that her boss, Mr. Burton, always wore. What was a businessman doing so far out here in the country?
The man smiled. "Yes, Mrs. Conroy. I've come to meet you. It's time to go now."
"Go where? What are you talking about? And how do you know my name?" The man in the blue suit smiled.
"I know it must be very confusing, Mrs. Conroy. Most people seem to feel that way at first. But as we go along, everything will become quite clear." He took her by the arm. "It's all right," he said kindly. "Just come with me."
"No! I'm not going anywhere with you. Why should I? I don't even know who you are," Mrs. Conroy said. She pulled away from the man and stepped back.
The man smiled gently. "I'm only an assistant, Mrs. Conroy," he said.
"Well, Mr. Assistant, there must be some mistake. I just fell asleep and stayed on the bus too long. Then the driver made me get off. He wouldn't take me back with him! He talked some nonsense about rules. I'm going to call the company and report him!"
"He was just doing his job, Mrs. Conroy," the man said patiently.
"But he left me out here alone," Mrs. Conroy said. "Now it's getting late. I have to get home and fix dinner. What kind of bus driver refuses to take passengers?"
The man in the blue suit stepped toward Mrs. Conroy and took her arm again. This time she didn't resist. He patted her hand and smiled down at her. "You'll have to forgive the driver for being rude, Mrs. Conroy. He's new at the job. But he was only following orders. You see, Mrs. Conroy, this is the end of the line. You don't have to worry about getting home and fixing passengers only go one way."
下午是康羅伊太太的天最喜歡的時間。經過努力工作一天，她的眼睛累了，她的腳受傷。她喜歡這樣的好長，她在公共汽車上打盹了。康羅伊太太曾與巴士司機先生，埃朋友。她醒來了，他總是在她面前停下來。她經常感到新鮮的是菊花當她下車。
但是今天卻不同。埃先生不開車。如果一個滿臉皺紋均勻的小男子坐在駕駛員的座位。
“哪裏的埃先生？”康羅伊太太問道，投進她的錢盒。
“我不知道。生病了，我猜。我只是在這裏工作，夫人。步到後方。”
夫人康羅伊希望埃先生是所有權利。她不喜歡這個新的驅動程序。她決定不回家的路上睡今天。她不想問這個司機叫醒她。他不喜歡的類型看誰願意要幫的忙。
夫人康羅伊望着窗外。這是一個溫暖的下午。雖然她試圖使她的眼睛打開，柔和的巴士搖晃了安撫作用。在幾分鐘之內她的眼睛關閉。她的頭下降到她的肩膀。儘管在自己夫人康羅伊很快就睡着了。
接下來的事情康羅伊太太知道，一隻手在她的肩膀上。有人在搖她入睡。
“醒醒，小姐。我們已經到了該行的末尾。叫醒了。”
夫人康羅伊眨了眨眼，睜開了眼睛。巴士司機低頭看着她。 “我說，這是該行的末尾，夫人。時間下車。”
夫人康羅伊凝視着窗外。 “我在哪裏？”她問道。 “我應該接受在埃塞克斯大街了。”
“你在最後一站，夫人。來吧，下車。我有一個時間表，堅持。”
夫人康羅伊有麻煩醒來。她錯開，她的腳。巴士司機抓住她的胳膊，並幫助她沿着過道。當她走下巴士，她感到一種恐慌感。 “等一下，”她說，在刺耳的聲音。 “這不是埃塞克斯大街。我在哪裏？我怎樣才能回家？”
“冷靜下來的女人。我告訴你，你在該行已經接近尾聲。我們都會在這裏遲早的事。”
“但是，爲什麼我不能坐回去嗎？”她懇求道。 “我的車費！”
“對不起，夫人，”他說，他關上了門。 “它的。違反規定”
夫人康羅伊看着巴士消失在道路上。她環顧四周，試圖找出是什麼，她突然進來的陽光城市的一部分似乎非常光明的。
夫人康羅伊眯着眼睛。她不認識這個地方。周圍有沒有樹木，沒有路牌，也沒有人。這個城市似乎已經結束英里回來。她不能讓她軸承。有沒有看到任何方向。什麼也沒有。康羅伊太太不知道她是否還在做夢。
“你準備好了，女士嗎？”
這聲音來自她身後。康羅伊太太猛地轉過身，她的心跳很快。
“是誰？什麼？你跟我說話？”
一個身材高大，在一個藍色細條紋西裝英俊的男子走上前來。他想起了一個適合她的老闆，伯頓先生，總是戴着她。什麼是商人做迄今在該國嗎？
該名男子笑了。 “是的，康羅伊太太。我來接你。現在是時候走了。”
“去哪裏？你在說什麼？你怎麼知道我的名字？”在藍色西裝的人笑了。
“我知道它一定很混亂，康羅伊太太。大多數人似乎覺得首先這種方式。但我們的前進，一切都會變得非常清楚。”他拉着她的胳膊。 “沒事，”他和氣地說。 “你跟我來。”
“不！我不會跟你任何地方。爲什麼要我呢？我什至不知道你是誰，”康羅伊太太說。她拉離人與後退。
該名男子輕輕地笑了。 “我只是一個助手，康羅伊太太，”他說。
“嗯，先生助手，必須有一些錯誤。我剛剛睡着了，在公共汽車上停留太久。然後司機讓我下車。他不會採取與他我回來了！他談到一些有關規則的無稽之談。我現在就打電話給該公司，並報告了他！“
“他只是在做自己的工作，康羅伊太太，”那人說耐心。
“但他留給我獨自在這裏，”康羅伊太太說。 “現在，已經很晚了。我要回家和修復晚餐是什麼樣的巴士司機。拒絕接載乘客？”
在加強對康羅伊太太的藍色西裝的人把她的手臂了。這一次她沒有抗拒。他拍拍她的手，微笑着她。 “你得原諒粗魯的司機，康羅伊太太。他是在新的工作。但他只是奉命行事。你看，康羅伊太太，這是該行的末尾。您沒有擔心回家和固定乘客只沿着一條路走。”
