The Envelope信封

A co-worker invited my husband andme to his son’s wedding reception1. We’dworked in the same office with thegentleman for several years. Althoughneither of us had met his son， we felt likewe knew him from listening to his dad talkabout him so often.

We arrived at the banquet2 center andwalked into a gorgeously3 decorated4ballroom. I glanced around for fellow co -workers， hoping they’d saved us a seat， butdidn’trecognizeasoul.

Scanning the room again， I noticed thegift table， its beautifully decorated boxes，and a white trunk5 for wedding cards. Iwalked over and put my envelope in thetrunk before joining my husband at the openbar. We enjoyed cocktails and helpedourselves to mouth-watering appetizers6.

一位同事邀請我和丈夫參加他兒子的婚宴。我們和這位先生在同一間辦公室工作了好幾年。雖然我們都沒有見過他的兒子，但聽他父親經(jīng)常談論他，我們感覺好像認識他。

我們到達宴會中心，走進一個裝飾華麗的宴會廳。我環(huán)顧四周尋找同事，希望他們能給我們留一個座位，但我一個人也沒認出來。

我再次掃視了一下宴會廳，注意到了禮品桌，上面擺放著包裝精美的盒子和一個裝結(jié)婚賀卡的白色箱子。我走過去，把信封放進箱子里，然后和丈夫一起去了露天酒吧。我們一邊享用雞尾酒，一邊品嘗令人垂涎的開胃菜。

The wedding party waltzed7 in， andthe beaming8 couple greeted guests asthey made their way to the head table. Thegroom9 shook hands with us and thankedus both for sharing their special day.

My husband said， “You sure looklike your dad.”

I nodded in agreement and added，“Same personality， too.”

The bride10 smiled knowingly.“That’swhat they all say.”

We found two seats at an empty tableand then joined the long buffet11 line thatstretched past an open doorway. I lookedup just as a woman from our office andher husband walked by. Stepping out ofline， I craned12 my neck and watchedthem enter the ballroom down the hall.

In a slight panic13， I tugged14 on myhusband’s sleeve. “Honey，”I whispered，“we’re at the wrong reception！ ”

He shook his head and laughed.“Inever thought of you as a weddingcrasher.”

“How was I supposed to know therewere two banquet rooms？ Follow me.”

婚禮隊伍輕快地走了進來，這對喜氣洋洋的新人在走向主桌時向客人們致意。新郎和我們握手，并感謝我們分享他們的特殊日子。

我丈夫說：“你長得真像你爸爸。”

我點頭表示同意，并補充道：“性格也一樣?！?/p>

新娘會心一笑?！八麄兌歼@么說?！?/p>

我們在一張空桌子旁找到了兩個座位，然后加入了長長的自助餐隊伍，隊伍一直延伸到一個敞開的門口。我抬起頭，正好看到我們辦公室的一位女士和她的丈夫走過。我走出隊伍，伸長脖子看著他們進入了走廊那頭的宴會廳。

我有點驚慌，扯了扯丈夫的袖子?！坝H愛的，”我低聲說，“我們走錯了婚宴！”

他搖搖頭，笑了?！拔覐臎]想過你是個婚禮的不速之客。”

“我怎么知道這里有兩個宴會廳？跟我來?！?/p>

As we moved silently toward theexit15， he asked，“What about the card？”

“Shhh！ Someone might hear you，”Iwarned before sheepishly16 making myway to the gift table. I looked left andright， waiting for the coast to clear. Handsshaking， I tried to lift the metal clasp17 onthe white trunk but failed. I moved closerand hit a tall， thin box， causing it totopple18 forward. From out of nowhere， aman with a good head of salt-and-pepperhair appeared by my side and caught thebox before it hit the floor.

Raising an eyebrow， he asked，“Isthere something I can help you with？”

Busted19！ When all else fails， tellthe truth. I pulled the invitation from mypurse. By the time I finished explainingthat I’d already placed my card in thetrunk before I realized we were at thewrong reception，the man’s icystare had slowlydisappeared.

當我們悄悄移向出口時，他問道：“那張賀卡呢？”

“噓！有人可能會聽到的?！蔽揖娴?，然后不好意思地走向禮品桌。我左顧右盼，等待著無人靠近再行動。我的手顫抖著，我試著撥開白色箱子上的金屬扣，但是撥不動。我移得更近，撞到了一個又高又薄的盒子，導致它向前傾倒。不知從哪里冒出來的一位頭發(fā)斑白的男士出現(xiàn)在我身邊，在盒子落地之前抓住了它。

他揚起眉毛問道：“有什么我能幫你的嗎？”

被抓了個現(xiàn)行！怎么也搞不定的話，就說實話。我從錢包里掏出了邀請函。當我解釋完我已經(jīng)把賀卡放進箱子里后才意識到走錯了婚宴時，這位男士冰冷的凝視已經(jīng)慢慢消失了。

He unlocked the trunk and laughed.“My son and his new wife will get a kickout of this.”

Heat crept from my neck to my cheeksas I dug through the pile looking for theone with the wrong “Mr. amp; Mrs.”scrawled20 across the top. After whatseemed like forever， I found the envelopeand held it up for inspection21. Then Irushed over to join my partner-in-crimewho’d hidden his six-foot-five body behinda column. I took his hand and said，“Comeon， Clyde. Let’s make our getaway.”

“Right behind you， Bonnie. I justhope we make it in time for the maincourse.”

他打開箱蓋并且笑了?！斑@件事會給我兒子和他的新婚妻子帶來極大的樂趣?！?/p>

當我在成堆的東西中翻找著上面潦草地寫著錯誤的“先生和夫人”的時候，熱量從我的脖子蔓延到我的臉頰。似乎過了很久之后，我找到了信封，并把它拿起來檢查。然后我沖向我的“犯罪伙伴”，他把他六英尺五英寸的身體藏在了一根柱子后面。我拉住了他的手說：“來吧，克萊德。我們逃走吧?！?/p>

“就在你身后，邦妮。我只希望我們能趕得上主菜?！?/p>

（英語原文選自：chickensoup.com）