逃離

This was the summer of rain and more rain. They heard it first thing in the morning， loud on the roof of the 1）mobile home. The trails were deep in mud， the long grass soaking， leaves overhead sending down random showers even in those moments when there was no actual downpour from the sky. Carla wore a widebrimmed old Australian 2）felt hat every time she went outside， and tucked her long thick braid down her shirt.

Nobody showed up for trail rides—even though Clark and Carla had gone around posting signs at all the 3）campsites， in the cafés， and on the tourist-office 4）bulletin board， and anywhere else they could think of. Only a few pupils were coming for lessons， and those were regulars， not the batches of schoolchildren on vacation or the busloads from summer camps that had kept them going the summer before. And even the regulars took time off for holiday trips， or simply cancelled their lessons because of the weather. If they called too late， Clark charged them anyway. A couple of them had argued， and quit for good.

There was still some income from the three horses that were boarded. Those three， and the four of their own， were out in the field now， poking disconsolately in the grass under the trees. They looked as if they couldn’t be bothered to notice that the rain was holding off for the moment， the way it often did for a while in the afternoon. Just enough to get your hopes up—the clouds whitening and thinning and letting through a diffuse brightness that never got around to being real sunshine， and was usually gone before supper.

Carla had finished 5）mucking out in the barn. She had taken her time—she liked the rhythm of her regular 6）chores， the high space under the barn roof， the smells. Now she went over to the exercise ring to see how dry the ground was， in case the five-o’clock pupil did show up.

Most of the steady showers had not been particularly heavy， but last week there had come a sudden stirring and then a blast through the treetops and a nearly horizontal blinding rain. The storm had lasted only a quarter of an hour， but branches still lay across the road， hydro lines were down， and a large chunk of the plastic roofing over the ring had been torn loose. There was a puddle like a lake at that end of the track， and Clark had worked until dark digging a channel to drain it away.

The roof had not yet been repaired. Clark had strung fence wire across to keep the horses from getting into the mud， and Carla had marked out a shorter track.

On the Web， right now， he was hunting for a place to buy roofing. Some salvage outlet， with prices that they could afford， or somebody trying to get rid of such material， secondhand. He would not go to Hy and Robert Buckley’s Building Supply in town， which he called Highway Robbers Buggery Supply， because he owed them money and had had a fight with them.

Clark often had fights， and not just with the people he owed money to. His friendliness， compelling at first， could suddenly turn sour. There were places in town that he would not go into， because of some 7）row. The drugstore was one such place. An old woman had pushed in front of him—that is， she had gone to get something she’d forgotten and come back and pushed in front， rather than going to the end of the line， and he had complained， and the cashier had said to him， “She has 8）emphysema.” Clark had said， “Is that so？ I have 9）piles myself，” and the manager had been summoned to tell him that that remark was uncalled for. And in the coffee shop out on the highway the advertised breakfast discount had not been allowed， because it was past eleven o’clock in the morning， and Clark had argued and then dropped his takeout cup of coffee on the floor—just missing， so they said， a child in its 10）stroller. He claimed that the child was half a mile away and he’d dropped the cup because no sleeve had been provided. They said that he hadn’t asked for a sleeve. He said that he shouldn’t have had to ask.

“You flare up，” Carla said.

“That’s what men do.”

She had not said anything about his row with Joy Tucker. Joy Tucker was the librarian from town who boarded her horse with them. The horse was a quick-tempered little chestnut 11）mare named Lizzie—Joy Tucker， when she was in a jokey mood， called her 12）Lizzie Borden. Yesterday， she had driven out， not in a jokey mood at all， and complained about the roof’s not being fixed yet， and Lizzie looking miserable， as if she might have caught a chill.

There was nothing the matter with Lizzie， actually. Clark had even tried—for him—to be placating. But then it was Joy Tucker who flared up and said that their place was a dump， and Lizzie deserved better， and Clark said， “Suit yourself.” Joy had not—or not yet—removed Lizzie， but Clark， who had formerly made the mare his pet， refused to have anything more to do with her. Lizzie’s feelings were hurt， in consequence—she was balky when exercised and kicked up a fuss when her hoofs had to be picked out， as they did every day， lest they develop a 13）fungus. Carla had to watch out for nips.

But the worst thing， as far as Carla was concerned， was the absence of Flora， the little white goat who kept the horses company in the barn and in the fields. There had been no sign of her for two days， and Carla was afraid that wild dogs or coyotes had got her， or even a bear.

She had dreamed of Flora last night and the night before. In the first dream， Flora had walked right up to the bed with a red apple in her mouth， but in the second dream—last night—she had run away when she saw Carla coming. Her leg seemed to be hurt， but she ran anyway. She led Carla to a barbed-wire barricade， the kind that might belong on some battlefield， and then she—Flora—slipped through it， hurt leg and all， just 14）slithered through like a white eel and disappeared.

那個(gè)夏天，雨下得沒完沒了。大清早人們聽到的第一個(gè)聲音就是雨聲，很響地打在拖車房頂上。小路上泥濘很深，長長的草吸飽了水，即使有些時(shí)候天上并沒有真的下雨，頭上的樹葉也會(huì)隨時(shí)灑下一陣雨粉。卡拉每次出門，都要戴一頂高高的澳大利亞寬邊舊氈帽，并且把她那條又粗又長的辮子掖進(jìn)襯衫里。

來練習(xí)騎馬的客人寥寥——雖然克拉克和卡拉沒少走路，在他們能想起來的所有野營地、咖啡屋里都樹起了廣告牌，在旅行社的布告欄里也都貼上了廣告。只有很少幾個(gè)學(xué)生來上騎馬課，也就是那幾個(gè)?？投?，沒有像去年那樣有一大群放暑假的小學(xué)生和一客車又一客車來夏令營的小家伙給他們帶來紅火的生意。即便是舊學(xué)員，現(xiàn)在也大都外出度假去了，或是因?yàn)樘鞖馓疃税嗔恕Ｈ绻麄兺税嗟碾娫挻蛲砹?，克拉克還要跟他們把賬算清楚，該收的錢一個(gè)都不能少。有幾個(gè)學(xué)員嘀嘀咕咕表示不滿，以后就再也不露面了。

從寄養(yǎng)在他們這兒的三匹馬身上，他們還能賺點(diǎn)小錢。這三匹馬，連同他們自己的那四匹，此刻正放養(yǎng)在外面的田野里，在樹底下悶啃著草覓食。雨暫時(shí)歇息了，馬兒的表情卻對(duì)此全然不在意。這種情況在下午是會(huì)出現(xiàn)片刻的，也就是剛能勾起你的希望罷了——云變得白了一些，薄了一些，透過來一些散漫的亮光，它們卻永遠(yuǎn)也不會(huì)凝聚成真正的陽光，而且一般總是在晚飯之前就收斂了。

卡拉已經(jīng)清掃完了馬廄里的糞便。她做得不慌不忙的——她喜歡干日常雜活時(shí)的那種節(jié)奏，喜歡畜棚屋頂?shù)紫履菍掗煹目臻g，以及這里的氣味?，F(xiàn)在她又走到環(huán)形訓(xùn)練跑道那里去看看地上夠不夠干，說不定五點(diǎn)鐘那一班的學(xué)員還會(huì)來呢。

通常，一般的陣雨都不會(huì)下得特別大，可是上星期突然出現(xiàn)異象，樹頂上刮過一陣大風(fēng)，接著一陣讓人睜不開眼睛的大雨幾乎橫掃而來。一刻鐘以內(nèi)，暴風(fēng)雨就過去了。但是路上落滿了樹枝，高壓電線斷了，環(huán)形跑道頂上有一大片塑料屋頂給扯松脫落了。跑道的一頭積起了一片像湖那么大的水潭，克拉克不得不加班干活到天黑，挖出一條溝來把水排走。

屋頂至今未能修復(fù)，克拉克只能扎起一個(gè)鐵絲圍欄，以防馬匹走到泥潭里去，而卡拉則標(biāo)記出一條稍短些的跑道。

就在此刻，克拉克在網(wǎng)上尋找有什么地方能買到做屋頂?shù)牟牧?。可能有某個(gè)清倉處理尾貨的鋪?zhàn)?，開的價(jià)是他們能夠承受的，或是有沒有什么人要處理這一類的二手貨。他再也不去鎮(zhèn)上的那家“海與羅伯特·伯克利”建材商店了，他已經(jīng)把那店改稱為“路邊搶奸撈大利”建材商店，因?yàn)樗妨怂麄冨X，而且還跟他們打過一架。

克拉克經(jīng)常跟人打架，且不單單跟他的債主打。他上一分鐘跟你還顯得挺友好的——那原本也是裝出來的——下一分鐘說翻臉就翻臉。有些地方他現(xiàn)在不愿進(jìn)去了，就是因?yàn)樗莾旱娜顺尺^架。藥房就是這樣的一個(gè)地方。有位老太太在他站的隊(duì)前面加塞——其實(shí)她是去取一樣她之前忘了拿的東西，回來時(shí)站回到他的前面而沒有站到隊(duì)尾去，他便嘀嘀咕咕抱怨起來了，那收銀員對(duì)他說：“她有肺氣腫呢?！笨死司徒硬缯f：“是嗎，我有痔瘡呢。”后來經(jīng)理也給叫出來了，他硬要經(jīng)理承認(rèn)對(duì)自己不公平。還有，公路邊上的一家咖啡店沒給他打廣告上承諾的早餐折扣，因?yàn)闀r(shí)間已經(jīng)過了早上十一點(diǎn)，克拉克便跟他們吵了起來，還把外帶的一杯咖啡摔到地上，店里的人說，差那么一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)就會(huì)潑到手推車?yán)镆粋€(gè)小娃娃的身上了。他則說那孩子離自己足足有半英里遠(yuǎn)呢，而且他沒拿住杯子是因?yàn)闆]給他杯套。店里說他自己沒說要杯套。他說這種事本來就是不需要?jiǎng)e人問了才做的。

“你脾氣也太火爆了?！笨ɡf?！澳腥司褪沁@樣的?！?/p>

她還沒提他跟喬伊·塔克吵架的事呢。喬伊·塔克是鎮(zhèn)上的女圖書館員，把自己的馬寄養(yǎng)在他們這里。那是一匹脾氣很躁的栗色小母馬，名叫麗茲——喬伊·塔克愛逗樂的時(shí)候就管它叫麗茲·玻頓。昨天她來騎過馬了，心情不怎么好，抱怨說棚頂怎么還沒修好，還說麗茲看上去狀態(tài)不佳，是不是著涼了呀。

其實(shí)麗茲并沒有什么問題。克拉克倒是——對(duì)他來說已經(jīng)是很不容易了——想要息事寧人的?？墒墙酉聛戆l(fā)火的反而是喬伊·塔克，她指責(zé)說這塊地方簡直就是片垃圾場(chǎng)，麗茲該得到更好的待遇，于是克拉克說：“那就悉聽尊便吧。”喬伊倒沒有——或者是還沒有——當(dāng)即就把麗茲領(lǐng)回去，可是原來總把這匹小母馬當(dāng)作自己小寵物的克拉克卻堅(jiān)決不想再跟它有任何牽扯了。自然，麗茲在感情上也受到了傷害。在練習(xí)的時(shí)候總是跟你鬧別扭，你要清理它的蹄子時(shí)它便亂踢亂蹬。馬蹄是每天都必須清的，否則里面會(huì)長霉菌?？ɡ€得提防著被它冷不丁地咬上一口。

不過讓卡拉最不開心的一件事還得說是把弗洛拉給弄丟了，那是只小小的白山羊，老是在畜棚和田野里跟幾匹馬做伴。有兩天都沒見到它的蹤影了，卡拉擔(dān)心它會(huì)不會(huì)被野狗、土狼叼走了，沒準(zhǔn)是撞上了熊。

昨天晚上還有前天晚上她都?jí)粢姼ヂ謇恕Ｔ诘谝粋€(gè)夢(mèng)里，弗洛拉徑直走到床前，嘴里叼著一只紅蘋果，而在第二個(gè)夢(mèng)里——也就是昨晚——它看到卡拉過來，就跑開了。它一條腿似乎受了傷，但還是跑開去了，引著卡拉來到一道鐵絲網(wǎng)柵欄的跟前，也就是某些戰(zhàn)場(chǎng)上用的那一種，接下去它——也就是弗洛拉——從那底下鉆過去了，受傷的腳以及整個(gè)身子，就像一條白鰻魚似的扭著身子滑了過去，然后就不見了。

愛麗絲·門羅（Alice Munro，1931年7月10日—），加拿大作家，被譽(yù)為“加拿大的契訶夫”。1968年，門羅出版第一部小說集《快樂影子之舞》，奪得當(dāng)年的加拿大最高文學(xué)獎(jiǎng)項(xiàng)——總督獎(jiǎng)；1978年，出版小說集《你認(rèn)為你是誰》，這本書為她再次贏得總督獎(jiǎng)；上世紀(jì)八九十年代的二十年里，門羅每隔四年就會(huì)出版一部短篇小說集，人們對(duì)她贊譽(yù)有加，而她也不斷在國際上斬獲大獎(jiǎng)；2012年，門羅在出版了小說集《親愛的生活》后，宣布封筆，有那么一絲遺憾的是，門羅在封筆之后才于2013年獲得諾貝爾文學(xué)獎(jiǎng)，成為諾貝爾文學(xué)獎(jiǎng)歷史上的第13位女性。

本文節(jié)選自門羅2004年出版的短篇小說集《逃離》，此書由八個(gè)故事組成，本篇便是小說集開篇的第一個(gè)同名故事——《逃離》中的一部分。這本書中每個(gè)故事的主人公都是女性且都生活在加拿大的小鎮(zhèn)上，書中對(duì)于日常生活的細(xì)節(jié)描寫是當(dāng)代小說中已經(jīng)遺失許久的：農(nóng)活、輕淡如水的日常交際，還有生活中潛藏的些許不如意，而后這些主人公正是因?yàn)檫@些不如意的累積而選擇逃離，其實(shí)這正是現(xiàn)代社會(huì)賦予我們身上的悲劇性機(jī)緣。18歲的卡拉從父母家出走后與克拉克結(jié)婚，二人以教授騎馬為生，而慘淡的生意使得他們生活拮據(jù)至極，更甚的是克拉克的壞脾氣也快要觸及卡拉的底線了，所有的一切好像都為卡拉無法預(yù)知的下一次逃離找好了借口……