遇見(jiàn)流浪貓鮑勃

由于父母離異，與家里關(guān)系疏遠(yuǎn)，加上在學(xué)校受到了欺凌，年少叛逆的詹姆斯·鮑恩離開(kāi)了與母親共住的澳大利亞，回到倫敦寄住在他同父異母的姐姐家，但不久后就被趕了出來(lái)，驕傲倔強(qiáng)的他不愿向家人求助，落得露宿街頭，還沾上了毒癮，靠著在街頭彈唱的微薄收入過(guò)著朝不保夕的生活，人生變得一塌糊涂。然后有一天，他遇上了人生的救贖——流浪貓鮑勃。有了鮑勃后，詹姆斯開(kāi)始一步一步地回到正常的人生軌道。他不再依靠賣唱為生，開(kāi)始自力更生，當(dāng)上了《大志》（The Big Issue）的銷售員，還下決心徹底戒掉毒癮，與家人修復(fù)關(guān)系。

鮑勃是一只很有靈性，人見(jiàn)人愛(ài)的貓，它會(huì)跟著詹姆斯出去街頭賣唱和兜售雜志。有人拍下關(guān)于它的短片傳到了Youtube上，獲得超高點(diǎn)擊率，鮑勃意外地成為了很有名氣的貓。后來(lái)，一家出版社得知詹姆斯和鮑勃的故事，表示愿意出版一本關(guān)于他們的書(shū)，這本書(shū)就是《遇見(jiàn)流浪貓鮑勃》（A Street Cat Named Bob）。這本書(shū)一經(jīng)面世就俘虜了萬(wàn)千讀者的心，高居暢銷書(shū)榜首。現(xiàn)在，詹姆斯和鮑勃的故事依然在繼續(xù)著……

It was a cold and wet autumn that year. On one particular morning， as Bob and I left the block of flats and set off for the bus stop， the sun was once more nowhere to be seen and a light， fine drizzle was falling.

Bob wasnt a big fan of the rain， so at first I assumed it was to blame for the lethargic way in which he began padding his way along the path. He seemed to be taking each step at a time， almost walking in slow motion. As I cast an eye up to the sky， a giant bank of steely， grey clouds were hovering over north London like some vast， alien spaceship. Maybe Bob was right and we should turn around， I thought for a second. But then I remembered the weekend was coming and we didnt have enough money to get through it. Beggars cant be choosers—even if they have been cleared of all charges， I said to myself， trying to make light of the predicament.

“Come on， mate， climb aboard，” I said， turning around and ushering him up into his normal position.

He draped himself on my shoulder and we trudged off towards Tottenham High Road and the bus. But as we settled into our bus journey I realised there was more to his low spirits than just the weather.

The ride was normally one of his favourite parts of the day. Bob was a curious cat. No matter how often we did it， he would never tire of pressing himself against the glass. But today he wasnt even bothered about taking the window seat. Instead he curled up on my lap. He seemed tired. Looking at his eyes he seemed a bit drowsy， as if he was half asleep. He was definitely not his normal， alert self.

As we walked down Neal Street I was suddenly aware that Bob was behaving oddly on my shoulder. Rather than sitting there impassively as normal， he was twitching and rocking around.

“You all right there， mate？” I said， slowing down.

All of a sudden he began moving in a really agitated way， making weird retching noises as if he was choking or trying to clear his throat. I was convinced he was going to jump or fall off so I placed him down on the street to see what was wrong. But before I could even kneel down he began to vomit. It was nothing solid， just bile. But it just kept coming.

I knew that all the retching and the fact that he no longer had any liquid to bring up meant that he was getting dehydrated. I decided that some food and， more importantly， some water， would be a good idea. So I scraped him up and held him in my arms as we walked to a general store I knew nearby. I didnt have much cash on me at all， but I cobbled together enough to buy a liquidised chicken meal that Bob usually loved and some good， mineral water.

I carried him to Covent Garden and placed it down on the pavement near our normal pitch. I got out Bobs bowl and spooned the chicken into it.

Ordinarily he would have pounced immediately and guzzled down a bowl of food at a rate of knots， but not today. He only ate the jelly. He didnt touch a bit of the meat. Again， it set the alarm bells ringing. This wasnt the Bob I knew and loved. Something was definitely wrong.

I half-heartedly set myself up to start selling the magazine. We needed some money to get us through the next few days， especially if I was going to have to take Bob to a vet and pay for some drugs. But my heart really wasnt in it. I cut the day short after less than two hours.

When we got home Bob just headed straight for the radiator where he just curled up and went straight to sleep. He stayed there for hours. That night I didnt sleep much， worrying about him. Id creep up in the gloom and listen for the sound of his breathing. I couldnt believe how relieved I was when I found he was purring gently.

The next day I decided to stay home until late in the afternoon to give Bob a good chance to rest. He slept like a log， curled up in his favourite spot. He seemed OK， so I decided to leave him for three or four hours and try and squeeze in some selling. I didnt have much option.

When I got to Covent Garden all everyone could ask was“Wheres Bob？” When I told people that he was ill they were all really concerned.

It was then that an idea struck me. I had come across a vet nurse called Rosemary. Her boyfriend， Steve， worked at a comic-book shop near where we sometimes set up. Bob and I would pop in there every now and again and we had become friends.

I decided to stick my head in there to see if either of them was around. Luckily Steve was there and gave me a phone number for Rosemary.

When I spoke to Rosemary she asked me a load of questions.

“What does he eat？ Does he ever eat anything else when hes out and about？”

“Well， he rummages around in the bins，” I said.

I could hear it in her voice; it was as if a light bulb had been switched on.

“Hmmm，” she said. “That might explain it.”

She prescribed some probiotic medication， some antibiotics and some special liquid to settle the stomach.

“Whats your address？” she said. “Ill get it biked over to you.”

I was taken aback.

“Oh， Im not sure that I can afford that， Rosemary，” I said.

“No， dont worry， it wont cost you anything.” she said. “This evening OK？”

“Yes， great，” I said.

I was overwhelmed. Such spontaneous acts of generosity hadnt exactly been a part of my life in the past few years. Random acts of violence， yes; kindness， no. It was one of the biggest changes that Bob had brought with him. Thanks to him Id rediscovered the good side of human nature.

Rosemary was as good as her word. I had no doubt she would be. The bike arrived early that evening and I administered the first doses of the medicine straight away.

The medicine had an almost immediate impact. That night he slept soundly and was a lot friskier the following morning.

Seeing Bob sick had a profound effect on me. He had seemed to be such an indestructible cat. Id never imagined him getting ill. Discovering that he was mortal really shook me.

It underlined the feeling that had been building inside me for a while now. It was time for me to get myself clean.

I was fed up with my lifestyle. I was tired of the mind-numbing routine of having to go to the DDU unit every fornight and the chemist every day. I was tired of feeling like I could slip back into addiction at any time.

So the next time I went to see my counsellor I asked him about coming off methadone and taking the final step towards becoming completely clean. Wed talked about it before， but I dont think hed ever really taken me at my word. Today， he could tell I was serious.

“Wont be easy， James，” he said.

“Yeah， I know that.”

“Youll need to take a drug called Subutex. We can then slowly decrease the dosage of that so that you dont need to take anything，” he said.

“OK，” I said

“The transition can be hard， you can have quite severe withdrawal symptoms，” he said， leaning forward.

“Thats my problem，” I said. “But I want to do it. I want to do it for myself and for Bob.”

“OK， well， I will get things moving and we will look at beginning the process in a few weeks time.”

For the first time in years， I felt like I could see the tiniest light at the end of a very dark tunnel.

那年秋天，天氣寒冷潮濕。一天早上，當(dāng)我和鮑勃離開(kāi)公寓，前往巴士站時(shí)，太陽(yáng)仍然不見(jiàn)蹤影，天空下起了蒙蒙細(xì)雨。

鮑勃不太喜歡下雨，所以我剛開(kāi)始以為它走起路來(lái)昏昏沉沉的樣子是因?yàn)樘鞖馑?。它似乎是一步一個(gè)腳印，近乎以慢動(dòng)作行走著。我抬頭望向天空，一大片烏黑冰冷的烏云正盤(pán)旋在倫敦北部的上空，仿佛一艘巨大的外星飛船。也許鮑勃是對(duì)的，我們應(yīng)該轉(zhuǎn)身回去，這樣的念頭在我腦海中一閃而過(guò)。但我隨即想起周末快到了，而我們還沒(méi)湊夠這兩天的生活費(fèi)。乞丐沒(méi)有選擇的權(quán)利——即使他們沒(méi)有犯下任何罪行，我對(duì)自己這樣說(shuō)，試圖淡化眼前的窘境。

“來(lái)吧，伙計(jì)，爬上來(lái)，”我邊說(shuō)邊轉(zhuǎn)身招呼它爬上平時(shí)的位置。

它懶洋洋地坐到我的肩膀上，然后我們便步履維艱地前往托特納姆大街乘坐巴士。但當(dāng)我們坐上巴士后，我意識(shí)到它之所以無(wú)精打彩不僅僅是因?yàn)樘鞖獠缓眠@么簡(jiǎn)單。

通常，乘坐巴士是它一天里最喜歡的活動(dòng)之一。鮑勃是一只好奇心很強(qiáng)的貓。無(wú)論我們坐了多少次巴士，它每次都會(huì)擠向玻璃往外看，從不會(huì)對(duì)此感到厭倦。但今天它甚至都懶得坐到靠窗的位置去，反而蜷縮在我的大腿上。它似乎很累，眼神迷蒙，就像快要睡著一樣。這絕對(duì)不是平常那個(gè)活潑機(jī)靈的它。

當(dāng)我們走到尼爾街時(shí)，我突然察覺(jué)到趴在我肩上的鮑勃表現(xiàn)異常。它沒(méi)有像往常一樣乖乖地坐著，而是在抽搐，扭來(lái)扭去的。

“你還好嗎，伙計(jì)？”我說(shuō)道，并放慢腳步。

突然，它開(kāi)始焦躁地扭動(dòng)起來(lái)，發(fā)出奇怪的干嘔聲，就像被噎著了或是在清嗓子。我確信它快要跳下去或者掉下去，所以我把它放到了地面上，看看到底是怎么回事。但我都還沒(méi)彎下膝蓋它就開(kāi)始嘔吐起來(lái)。吐出來(lái)的全是膽汁，沒(méi)有固體的東西。但它就是不停地吐著。

我知道一直嘔吐就意味著它會(huì)面臨脫水，何況它現(xiàn)在連水都吐不出來(lái)。我覺(jué)得要給它吃點(diǎn)食物，更重要的是要多喝點(diǎn)水。所以我把它抱在懷里，走到附近的一家雜貨店。我身上沒(méi)有多少錢(qián)，但拼拼湊湊還是夠給鮑勃買一份它喜歡的雞肉濃湯和一些優(yōu)質(zhì)的礦泉水。

我抱著它來(lái)到了考文特花園，把它放在我們平時(shí)擺攤地點(diǎn)附近的人行道上。我拿出鮑勃的碗，把雞肉倒了進(jìn)去。

平常，它都會(huì)立馬猛撲過(guò)來(lái)，然后開(kāi)始迅速地狼吞虎咽碗里的食物，但今天它沒(méi)有這樣做。它只吃了碗里的濃湯，沒(méi)有碰一點(diǎn)肉。警鐘再次響起。這不是我認(rèn)識(shí)和喜歡的那個(gè)鮑勃?？隙ㄓ惺裁床粚?duì)勁。

我穩(wěn)住不安的心情，心不在焉地開(kāi)始兜售雜志。我們需要一些錢(qián)來(lái)支撐接下來(lái)幾天的生活，尤其是如果我要帶鮑勃去看獸醫(yī)和支付藥費(fèi)的話。但我真的無(wú)心工作。不到兩個(gè)小時(shí)，我就提前結(jié)束了今天的工作。

我們回到家后，鮑勃徑直走到暖爐旁蜷縮起來(lái)，開(kāi)始睡覺(jué)。它在那里呆了很久。我那晚沒(méi)怎么睡，擔(dān)心著它。我摸黑起床，悄悄地傾聽(tīng)它呼吸的聲音。當(dāng)我聽(tīng)到它發(fā)出輕柔的咕嚕聲時(shí)，我不敢相信自己松了多大一口氣。

第二天，我決定在家呆到臨近傍晚再出去，讓鮑勃能好好休息一番。它睡得很熟，蜷縮在它最喜歡的地方。它看起來(lái)還不錯(cuò)，所以我決定留它自己在家呆三、四個(gè)小時(shí)，努力擠出時(shí)間賣點(diǎn)雜志。我別無(wú)選擇。

當(dāng)我到達(dá)考文特花園后，大家都問(wèn)我：“鮑勃去哪兒了？”我告訴他們它生病了，他們都很擔(dān)心。

就在這時(shí)，我想到了一個(gè)主意。我遇到過(guò)一位叫露絲瑪麗的動(dòng)物護(hù)士。我和鮑勃有時(shí)候會(huì)在她男朋友斯蒂夫工作的漫畫(huà)書(shū)店附近擺攤。我和鮑勃時(shí)不時(shí)會(huì)出現(xiàn)在那里，所以我們成為了朋友。

我決定探頭進(jìn)去看看他們?cè)诓辉凇：苄疫\(yùn)，史蒂夫在那里，他給了我露絲瑪麗的電話號(hào)碼。

我給露絲瑪麗打了電話，她問(wèn)了我許多問(wèn)題。

“它都吃些什么？它有在外面吃過(guò)其他東西嗎？”

“嗯，它會(huì)在垃圾箱周圍翻找，”我說(shuō)道。

我聽(tīng)到她的聲音透出一種了然于心的感覺(jué)，仿佛燈泡點(diǎn)亮了。

“嗯，”她說(shuō)道?！澳蔷褪窃蛩诹??！?/p>

她給我開(kāi)了一些益生素、抗生素和專門(mén)平胃的藥水。

“你的地址是？”她說(shuō)道?！拔因T車給你送過(guò)去?！?/p>

我感到很驚訝。

“噢，我不知道夠不夠錢(qián)付藥費(fèi)，露絲瑪麗，”我說(shuō)道。

“不，別擔(dān)心，這不要錢(qián)的?！彼f(shuō)道?！敖裢砜梢詥幔俊?/p>

“可以，太好了，”我說(shuō)道。

我受到了震撼。在過(guò)去幾年的生活中，我從未受到過(guò)別人這種發(fā)自內(nèi)心的慷慨相助。任意的暴力行為，有;善意，沒(méi)有。這是鮑勃給我?guī)?lái)的最大改變之一。多虧它，我重新發(fā)現(xiàn)了人性美好的一面。

露絲瑪麗信守諾言。我對(duì)此沒(méi)有一絲懷疑。她那天晚上很早就騎車過(guò)來(lái)了。我馬上就給鮑勃服下第一劑藥。

藥物的效果立竿見(jiàn)影。那天晚上它睡得很安穩(wěn)，第二天早上精神了很多。

鮑勃生病對(duì)我造成了很大的影響。之前，它似乎是一只堅(jiān)不可摧的貓。我從未想過(guò)它會(huì)生病。發(fā)現(xiàn)原來(lái)它也是會(huì)生病的，這讓我受到了很大的沖擊。

這加深了我之前抱有的一個(gè)想法。是時(shí)候徹底戒除毒癮了。

我受夠了自己的生活方式。我受夠了每隔兩個(gè)星期就要去一次戒毒所，每天都要去藥店。我受夠了那種隨時(shí)可能再沾上毒癮的感覺(jué)。

因此，當(dāng)我再次見(jiàn)到我的咨詢師時(shí)，我問(wèn)了他關(guān)于停用美沙酮，踏出徹底戒毒的最后一步的相關(guān)事宜。我們之前就討論過(guò)了，但我覺(jué)得他沒(méi)有把我的話放在心上。但今天，他可以看出來(lái)我是認(rèn)真的。

“這不容易，詹姆斯，”他說(shuō)道。

“是的，我知道。“

“你需要服用一種叫丁丙諾啡的藥物。然后我們可以慢慢地減少劑量直到你不再需要服用任何藥物，”他說(shuō)。

“好的，”我說(shuō)。

“這個(gè)過(guò)程會(huì)很困難，你可能會(huì)出現(xiàn)一些很嚴(yán)重的脫癮癥狀，”他傾身向前說(shuō)道。

“這是我的問(wèn)題，”我說(shuō)。“但我想這樣做，為了我自己和鮑勃?！?/p>

“好的，我會(huì)著手準(zhǔn)備，考慮在幾周后開(kāi)始進(jìn)行?！?/p>

這么多年來(lái)，我第一次感到在黑暗的隧道盡頭看到一絲微光。