Deep autumn was birthday time for Francesca, and cold rain sweptagainst her frame house in the south Iowa countryside. She watched the rain,looked through it toward the hills along Middle River, thinking of Richard. Hehad died on a day like this, eight years ago, from something with a name shewould rather not remember. ButFrancesca thought of him now his sturdy kindness,his steady way, and the even life he had given her.

深秋，正值弗朗西斯卡生日，冷冷的雨横扫着她那位于爱荷华州南方乡村的木屋。她注视着雨，并透过雨幕眺望沿着中河委婉起伏的山丘，她思念理查德。八年前，也是这样的天气，他去世了，那夺走他生命的疾病的名字她还是不记得为好。但此刻，她想念他，他的厚道善良，他的稳健风格，以及他曾给予她的平稳生活。

The children had called. Neither of them could make it home again thisyear for her birthday, though it was her sixty-seventh. She understood, as shealways did. Always had.Always would. They were both in midcareer, running hard,managing a hospital, teaching students, Michael getting into his second marriage,Carolyn struggling with her first. Secretly she was glad they never seemed toarrange a visit on her birthday, she had her own ceremonies reserved for thatday.

孩子们已打过电话了。今年他们还是不能回家为她过生日，即便这已是她第六十七个生日。她理解，因为她总是理解，过去理解，并将一如既往的理解。他俩都处于事业中途，艰苦努力，一个在管理一家医院，一个在教书，迈克尔收获了第二段婚姻，卡洛琳仍在第一次婚姻中挣扎。他俩从不安排在她生日的时候来看望她，对此，她却暗自高兴，因为她保留着属于自己的纪念这一天的仪式。

This morning her friends from Winterset had stopped by with a birthdaycake. Francesca made coffee, while the talk ran to grandchildren and the town,to Thanksgiving and what to get for Christmas for whom. The quiet laughter andthe rise and fall of conversation from the living room were comforting in theirfamiliarity and reminded Francesca of one small reason why she had stayed hereafter Richard’s death.

这天早晨，温特塞特的朋友们带着一个生日蛋糕赶来了。弗朗西斯卡煮了咖啡，而话题自然谈到了孙儿们和小城轶事，以及到了感恩节和圣诞节给谁怎样的礼物。客厅里温馨的笑语和他们亲密无间、时起时落的交谈令人欣慰，这使弗朗西丝卡想起为什么理查德去世后她还留在这里的一个小小的理由。

Michael had touted Florida, Carolyn New England. But she had remainedin the hills of south Iowa, on the land, keeping her old address for a specialreason, and she was glad she had done that.

迈克尔竭力吹捧佛罗里达，拉罗琳则吹捧新英格兰。但她还是想留在南爱荷华州的这片丘陵中。她有着一个特殊的理由留在这片土地上，保持着原先的地址，她很高兴这么做了。

Francesca had watched them leave at lunchtime. They drove their Buicksand Fords down the lane, turned onto the paved county road, and headed towardWinterset, wiper blades pushing aside the rain. They were good friends, thoughthey would never understand what lay inside of her, would not understand evenif she told them.

弗朗西丝卡在午餐时间送了朋友们。他们开车别克车和福特车沿着小巷，驶上了铺着路面的县道，前往温特塞特，雨刮来回地擦拭着车窗上的雨水。他们是好朋友，不过，他们从不理解她的内心想法，即使她告诉了他们，他们也不会理解。

Her husband had said she would find good friends, when he brought herhere after the war, from Naples. He said, “Iowans have their faults, but one ofthem is not lack of caring.”And that was true, is true.

她丈夫在战后从那不勒斯把她带到这里时曾说过，她将会找到好朋友的。他说：“爱荷华人有他们自身的弱点，但没有一个人缺乏同情心。”这过去和现在都是真的。

She had been twenty-five when they met—out of theuniversity for three years, teaching at a private school for girls, wonderingabout her life. Most of the young Italian men were dead or injured or in POWcamps or broken by the fighting. Her affair with Niccolo, a professor of art atthe university, who painted all day and took her on wild, reckless tours of theunderside of Naples at night, had been over for a year, done in finally by theunceasing disapproval of her traditional parents.

She wore ribbons in her black hair and clung to her dreams. But nohandsome sailors disembarked looking for her, no voices came up to her windowfrom the streets below. The hard press of reality brought her to therecognition that her choices were constrained. Richard offered a reasonablealternative: kindness and the sweet promise of America.

她的黑发上扎着缎带，她坚持着自己的梦想。但没有英俊的水手上岸后来看她，也没有呼唤她的声音从下面的街头传到她的窗前。现实的艰难紧迫感使她认识到，她的选择余地极其有限。而理查德给了她一个合理的选择：仁慈和美国式的甜蜜承诺。

She had studied him in his soldier’s uniform as they sat in a café inthe Mediterranean sunlight, saw him looking earnestly at her in his Midwesternway, and came to Iowa with him. Came to have his children, to watch Michaelplay football on cold October nights, to take Carolyn to Des Moines for herprom dresses.She exchanged letters with sister in Naples several times eachyear and had returned there twice, when each of her parents had died. ButMadison Country was home now, and she had no longing to go back again.

当他们都坐在地中海阳光下的一家咖啡厅时，她仔细观察一身戎装的他，他用美国中西部人特有的真诚目光注视着她，于是她跟随着他来到了爱荷华。来到这里后就有了他的孩子，在十月的寒夜里看麦克打橄榄球，为了卡洛琳的舞会礼服，就带她来得梅因。每年她和那不勒斯的姐妹通几次信，她父母相继去世时她返回了那不勒斯两次。但现在，麦迪逊县就是她的家，她再也不想回去了。