Maggie laughed， relaxing for the first time since hearing his voice.
"You"re pushing your luck！ Is that all you"ve come back for？" She didn"t give him time to reply. "No scones， but I"ve fresh bread which is just as good."
And after tea， she drove him to the bus stop. Getting out of the car， he turned， "Will you be out next week？"
"Possibly， if the weather holds."
A brief nod， and he joined the others waiting for the evening bus.
She didn"t wait. Making her way home， she chose the longer route that twisted along the foot of the moor. They had a long way to go， but， like the weather， maybe the outlook was promising.
“……周末预计会阳光明媚，并刮起徐徐的南风。 尽情享受吧。”
气象员愉悦的播报声从电视机中传来，只见这台电视放在一堆书上，摇摇欲坠，这样放是因为唯有如此她才能将电视插销接到插座上。玛吉的厨房就没有闲置过，它有一个特色，那就是永远堆满了成叠的书、报纸和杂志，而从一月开始，这些东西在那些暗无天光的日子里越积越多。可最近几个礼拜，她可以更好地适应自己的处境了，生活又恢复了一些条理。
不过，就像放电视机一样，这是一种微妙的平衡。在别人看来，她似乎是淡漠而又镇静的；可内心当中，她却感到极其脆弱。她想方设法来适应，培养了一些新习惯，对那些引发伤感回忆的地方是坚决避而不去的。
可是，这是一个小镇，有些地方是回避不了的。就好比她每次打开前门都会看到高耸的高沼地。很多年来，她和迈克一年四季都会在高沼地上花上很多时间来散步，两个人相互陪伴很是惬意。
昔日的晚夏时节总是一个忙碌的季节，他们会跟随着无数夫妇的脚步，在丰收来临之时前去采摘，为制作果酱做准备。
天气预报帮玛吉下定了决心。尽管有顾虑，但在晚夏阳光的照耀下，高沼地的诱惑太大了。早晚有一天她需要独自面对；那儿太美了，不可能永远将其置于身外。是时候来做个了断了，而且采摘浆果可以使她忘却一切。下定了决心的玛吉关上电视，辅导孩子做功课去了。
星期六的黎明，天空晴朗而又明亮。抑制住返回去的冲动，玛吉开着车，沿着熟悉的小路一直行驶到山脚的停车场。通向山顶的路似乎变得更长、更陡。她上气不接下气，腿部作痛，心砰砰直跳。
但是，路终于从树林中显露出来，笔直向前，直至消失在阳光中。路的两边，树莓攀附在石南花和金雀花之上，挂满了串串果实，果子已经熟透，就待采摘了；黑色和绿色，紫色和黄色，编织成一片缤纷色彩。
她本不需要担心的。高沼地似乎就像对待一位久未谋面的老朋友一样欢迎她的归来，而她的情绪也高涨起来。玛吉先是在清新的空气中深深地吸了一口气，然后熟练地从口袋里掏出一个袋子，开始采摘，她时不时地会停一下，挺挺腰，欣赏一番这熟悉的景致。她的努力有了结果——手指变得污迹斑斑、双手出现了划痕，而袋子也渐渐放满了这种色黑肉厚的果子。
骑马者和路人在相遇后互致着问候。过了一会儿，一个孤单的身影出现在她身后的小道上，时而驻足，时而弯腰，可是又总能快速地跟上来。
“那你还想要这些吗？”
这个声音吓了她一跳，虽然声音比原来更加轻柔，但肯定是那个声音。当她猛地站起来，她几乎都没感到树莓勒疼了她的手。
“你在这里到底要干什么？”
“我想，在9月的第一个周末，我能在这里找到你。你想要这些吗？”他拿出一把浆果，然后把它们倒入了她的袋子里。“美好的一天啊……这儿有越桔吗？”
他怎么会如此镇定自若？怒气在她内心涌起！她本想把怒气撒向他，因为他破坏了她完美的时光，但话在她脑里盘旋而没有说出来。
“我……我还没找呢。”
“给我一个袋子吧。我去找找。”迈克跨过石南花，朝浓密低矮的灌木丛走去，开始拨开树叶寻找隐藏的果实。
玛吉把身子转了过去，思绪万千，心境烦乱。 她想逃回车里，找回安全的依托。但是，都走了这么远的路了，所以她决定不回去了。她沿着小路缓慢前行，不时采摘着一些浆果，但兴致已然全无。
他慢慢地采摘着，在灌木丛中前后移动着，但是却总能跟上她的脚步。过了一会儿，他回到小路上。她回答了他的问题——孩子、她的工作、她的家人——但总是避而不谈关键问题。
最后，他们来到了高沼地中小路的交汇处。玛吉很高兴可以有机会歇一歇了。她在一张长椅的一端坐了下来，向前伸直了双腿。迈克也在相隔不远的地方坐了下来，与她一样，眼睛盯着他们身下那杂乱拼凑在一起的田野。她已记不清他们曾多少次来到这里来共享野外午餐了。玛吉一直期待着这一时刻的到来，可她已经没有了胃口。与他咫尺相近更加使她烦躁不安；他为什么就不能坐到别的地方去呢？
“你是一个人吗？”愚蠢的问题。话已出口，可玛吉真想能再修饰一下或再深入地想一想啊。不过，这个问题就是她一直想问的，而且似乎在言语上再多加修饰也没什么意义。
“是的。完全是。”他的眼睛一直没有离开田野。玛吉没有说话，等着他说下去。“没坚持到开春。她就离开了。”
那天玛吉第一次转了过来，正视着她的丈夫。他的眼睛陷得更深了，他的头发更加灰白了，他脸上的皱纹更多了，而他的表情也更加倦怠了。一张悲怆的面庞。内心深处的某个念头使她想把他拉得更近，告诉他一切都还好，使那双眼眸再次充满喜悦。但是，他造成的伤痛不是一个拥抱就可以消除的，即使在这个地方也不可以，所以她把脸转了过去。
过了一会儿，她站了起来。虽然阳光明媚，但空气中还是划过一丝寒意。
“我现在该走了。”她不知道还能做点什么或说些什么，但是坐在长椅上是不会有什么进展的。“来，让我提着那个吧。”他拿过袋子，然后他们便默默走了起来。玛吉想知道他正在想些什么，是否他的思绪也跟她的一样是一团糟？
最后，汽车进入了视野。
“你怎么来的？”她一边在口袋里摸索着钥匙一边问道。
“坐火车到通彻斯特，然后再换公交车到这儿来。今晚有一趟返回通彻斯特的公交车。”
她抑制住了突然想要送他到车站的冲动。但是，可能还有一个折中的方法吧。
“在你走之前，有时间喝杯茶吗？”她希望这更像是一句问话而不是一个命令。
“有烤饼和黑莓酱吗？”
玛吉笑了，从听到他的声音开始，这是她第一次放松了下来。
“你得寸进尺了吧！你回来就是为了这些吗？”她就没给他答复的时间。“没有烤饼，但我有一些新鲜的面包，也是同样不错的。
喝过茶之后，她开车送他到了公交车站。从车中走出来后，他转过身，“你下礼拜出去吗？”
“可能吧，如果天气还这样持续下去。”
他迅速地点了一下头，然后就与其他人一起在等候晚班车的到来了。
她没有等下去。在回家的路上，她选择了一条绕远的路线，一条在高沼地底部边缘蜿蜒前行的道路。他们还有一段漫长的路要走，但是，就像天气一样，前景也许是充满希望的。
A SIMPLE TRUTH ABOUT HAPPINESS
幸福的简单真谛
After I gave a talk on the subject of happiness， a woman in the audience stood up and said， "I wish my husband had come." As much as she loved him， she explained， it wasn"t easy being married to someone so unhappy.
This woman enabled me to put into words what I had been searching for-the altruistic， as well as the personal， reasons for taking happiness seriously. I told her that each of us owes it to our family and friends to be as happy as we can be. And if you don"t believe me， ask a child what it"s like to grow up with an unhappy parent， or ask parents what pain they suffer if they have an unhappy child.
I was not a particularly happy child， and like most teenagers， I reveled in my angst. One day， however， it occurred to me that I was taking the easy way out. Anyone could be unhappy； it took no courage or effort. True achievements lay in struggling to be happy.
The notion that we have to work at happiness comes as news to many people. We assume it"s a feeling that comes as a result of good things that just happen to us， things over which we have little or no control.
But the opposite is true： happiness is largely under our control. It is a battle to be waged and not a feeling to be awaited.
To achieve a happier life， it"s necessary to overcome some stumbling blocks， three of which are：
Comparison with Others.
Most of us compare ourselves with anyone we think is happier-a relative， an acquaintance or， often， someone we barely know. I once met a young man who struck me as particularly successful and happy. He spoke of his love for his beautiful wife and their daughters， and of his joy at being a radio talk show host in a city he loved. I remember thinking that he was one of those lucky few for whom everything goes effortlessly right.
Then we started talking about the Internet. He blessed its existence， he told me， because he could look up information on multiple sclerosis-the terrible disease afflicting his wife. I felt like a fool for assuming nothing unhappy existed in his life.
Images of Perfection.
Almost all of us have images of how life should be. The problem， of course， is that only rarely do people"s jobs， spouses and children live up to these imagined ideals.
Here"s a personal example. No one in my family had ever divorced. I assumed that marriage was for life. So when my wife and I divorced after five years of marriage and three years after the birth of our son， my world caved in. I was a failure in my own eyes.
I later remarried but confided to my wife， Fran， that I couldn"t shake the feeling that my family life had failed. She asked me what was wrong with our family now （which included her daughter from a previous marriage and my son.） I had to admit that， aside from the pain of being with my son only half the time （my exwife and I shared custody）， our family life was wonderful.
"Then why don"t you celebrate it？" she asked.
That"s what I decided to do. But first I had to get rid of the image of a "perfect" family.
"Missing Tile" Syndrome.