诺贝尔文学经典:《宠儿》第2章Part 12
Bolt upright in the chair, in themiddle of sethe's welcome, Beloved had fallen asleep again.
"Miss. Miss." Paul D shook her gently.
"You want to lay down a spell?"
She opened her eyes to slits and stood up on her soft new feet which, barely capable of their job,slowly bore her to the keeping room. Once there, she collapsed on Baby Suggs' bed. Denverremoved her hat and put the quilt with two squares of color over her feet. She was breathing like asteam engine.
"Sounds like croup," said Paul D, closing the door.
"Is she feverish? Denver, could you tell?"
"No. She's cold."
"Then she is. Fever goes from hot to cold."
"Could have the cholera," said Paul D.
"Reckon ?"
"All that water. Sure sign."
"Poor thing. And nothing in this house to give her for it. She'll just have to ride it out. That's ahateful sickness if ever there was one."
"She's not sick!" said Denver, and the passion in her voice made them smile.
Four days she slept, waking and sitting up only for water. Denver tended her, watched her sound sleep, listened to her labored breathing and, out of love and a breakneck possessiveness thatcharged her, hid like a personal blemish Beloved's incontinence.
She rinsed the sheets secretly,after Sethe went to the restaurant and Paul D went scrounging for barges to help unload. Sheboiled the underwear and soaked it in bluing, praying the fever would pass without damage. Sointent was her nursing, she forgot to eat or visit the emerald closet.
"Beloved?" Denver wouldwhisper.
"Beloved?" and when the black eyes opened a slice all she could say was "I'm here. I'mstill here."
Sometimes, when Beloved lay dreamy-eyed for a very long time, saying nothing, licking her lipsand heaving deep sighs, Denver panicked.
"What is it?" she would ask.
"Heavy," murmured Beloved. "This place is heavy."
"Would you like to sit up?"
"No," said the raspy voice.
塞丝正在表示欢迎，宠儿笔直地嵌在椅子里，又一次进入了梦乡。
“小姐!小姐!”保罗?D轻轻摇了摇她。
“你想躺一会儿吗？”
她把眼睛睁开一条缝，站起身来，勉强迈动柔嫩的、不胜重负的双脚，缓缓地走进起居室。一进屋，她就栽倒在贝比?萨格斯的床上。丹芙摘下她的帽子，把带着两方色块的被子盖上她的脚。她像个蒸汽机似的喘起气来。
“听着像哮吼。”保罗?D说着关上门。
“她发烧吗？丹芙，你摸摸她烧吗？”
“不烧。她冰凉。”
“那么她在烧。发烧都是从热到冷。”
“可能是霍乱。”保罗?D说。
“是猜的？”
“那么多水。明显的症状。”
“可怜见的。这房子里没有什么能治她的病。她只能自己挺过去。那种病才可怕呢。”
“她没病!”丹芙说道。她声音里的激动把他们逗笑了。
她一睡就是四天，只为了喝水才苏醒和坐起来。丹芙照料着她，看她酣睡，听她吃力地呼吸，而且，出于爱和一种膨胀的、要命的占有欲，像隐瞒个人缺陷一样掩饰宠儿的失禁。
在塞丝去餐馆、保罗?D四处找驳船去帮忙卸货的时候，她偷偷地洗了床单。她把内衣煮了泡在上蓝剂里，祈求高烧退去，不留下任何损害。她照料得这样专心致志，竟忘了吃饭，忘了去那间祖母绿密室。
“宠儿？”丹芙会小声地叫。
“宠儿？”可是当那对黑眼睛张开一条缝时，她能说的也只是：“我在这儿。我还在这儿。”
有时候，如果宠儿睡眼蒙眬地躺上很长时间，一言不发，舔舔嘴唇，再深深地叹着气，丹芙就慌了。
“怎么啦？”她会问。
“沉重，”宠儿嘟囔道，“这地方真沉重。”
“你想坐起来吗？”
“不，”那粗声粗气的声音说。
