当我在俄勒冈州的波特兰机场等待接一位友人时，我有了一次足以改变人生的经历，就像你听到别人谈起的那样，那种出人意料地悄悄接近你的事，它就发生在离我两尺开外的地方。

　　Straining to locate my friend among the passengers deplaning through the jet way, I noticed a man coming toward me carrying two light bags. He stopped right next to me to greet his family.

　　当我紧张地盯着下飞机的出口在人群中找寻朋友的身影时，我注意到一个男人向我走来，手里提着两个轻提包。他正好在我身旁停了下来，问候他的家人。

　　First he motioned to his youngest son (maybe six years old) as he laid down his bags. They gave each other a long, loving hug. As they separated enough to look in each other's face, I heard the father say, "It's so good to see you, son. I missed you so much!" His son smiled somewhat shyly, averted his eyes and replied softly, "Me, too, Dad!"

　　当他放下包裹时，他首先向最小那个孩子示意者（大概6岁），他们给了彼此一个长长的，充满爱意的拥抱。当他们分开后打量彼此的脸庞时，我听见父亲说：见到你真好，儿子，我真是太想念你了。孩子竟有些害羞地笑了笑，移开视线温柔地回复到：我也一样，爸爸。

　　Then the man stood up, gazed in the eyes of his oldest son (maybe nine or ten) and while cupping his son's face in his hands said, "You're already quite the young man. I love you very much, Zach!" They too hugged a most loving, tender hug.

　　男人站起身来，凝视着大儿子（大约九、十岁），把他的脸捧在手心，说：“你已经是个大人了，我非常地爱你，扎克。” 他俩又来了一个温柔的、充满爱意的拥抱。

　　While this was happening, a baby girl (perhaps one or one-and-a-half) was squirming excitedly in her mother's arms, never once taking her little eyes off the wonderful sight of her returning father. The man said, "Hi, baby girl!" as he gently took the child from her mother. He quickly kissed her face all over and then held her close to his chest while rocking her from side to side. The little girl instantly relaxed and simply laid her head on his shoulder, motionless in pure contentment.

　　就在此时，一个女婴（也许一岁或一岁半的样子）在母亲的臂弯里兴奋地扭动着身体，眼神一刻也没有从她归来的父亲身上离开。男人说道：“嗨，我的小宝贝！” 说着他轻轻地从母亲手中接过孩子，飞快地亲吻了她的脸庞，把她抱在胸前轻轻地摇晃起来。婴儿立即放松下来，把头枕在他的肩上，安静而满足的模样。

　　After several moments, he handed his daughter to his oldest son and declared, "I've saved the best for last!" and proceeded to give his wife the longest, most passionate kiss I ever remember seeing. He gazed into her eyes for several seconds and then silently mouthed. "I love you so much!" They stared at each other's eyes, beaming big smiles at one another, while holding both hands.

　　过了一会儿，他把小女儿交给了大儿子，然后宣布：“瞧我把最好的留到了最后！”只见他径直走到妻子身边给了她一个我所见过的最长的，最有感情的吻。他凝视着爱人的眼眸足足有好几秒，然后轻轻地耳语道：“我非常爱你。”只见他们互相凝视着彼此，手牵着手，为对方送上会心的微笑。

　　For an instant they reminded me of newlyweds, but I knew by the age of their kids that they couldn't possibly be. I puzzled about it for a moment then realized how totally engrossed I was in the wonderful display of unconditional love not more than an arm's length away from me. I suddenly felt uncomfortable, as if I was invading something sacred, but was amazed to hear my own voice nervously ask, "Wow! How long have you two been married?"

　　在某个瞬间他们让我想起了新婚夫妇，但从孩子的年龄来看他们显然不是。我疑惑了一些时候，这才发现我已经深深地沉醉在这一臂之外，他们展示着的对彼此无条件的这份爱意中了。我觉得有些尴尬，好像自己入侵了某个神圣之地，但也意外地听见我用紧张的声音问道：“呀，你们结婚多长时间了？”

　　"Been together fourteen years total, married twelve of those." he replied, without breaking his gaze from his lovely wife's face. "Well then, how long have you been away?" I asked. The man finally turned and looked at me, still beaming his joyous smile. "Two whole days!"

　　“我们在一起十四年了，结婚十二年了。” 男人回答道，此时他的眼睛都没有从爱妻身上挪开。“那么，您这是离开多久了？”我问。男人终于转过头来看着我，仍然带着他那快乐的微笑：“整整两天了！”

　　Two days? I was stunned. By the intensity of the greeting, I had assumed he'd been gone for at least several weeks—if not months. I know my expression betrayed me. I said almost offhandedly, hoping to end my intrusion with some semblance of grace (and to get back to searching for my friend), "I hope my marriage is still that passionate after twelve years!"

　　两天？我有些震惊。从他见到家人的这份激动来判断，我本猜着他离家没有几个月的话至少也是数周了。我知道我的表达出卖了我，当我还是迅速地，希望尽量带着几分优雅来结束对他们的打扰（顺便继续在人群中寻找我的朋友），我说：“我多希望我的婚姻也在十二年后保鲜如常啊！”

　　The man suddenly stopped smiling. He looked me straight in the eye, and with forcefulness that burned right into my soul, he told me something that left me a different person. He told me, "Don't hope, friend... decide!" Then he flashed me his wonderful smile again, shook my hand and said, "God bless!"

　　男人忽然收起了笑容，直直地看着我的眼睛，带着一种力量仿佛要燃烧到我的灵魂深处，他告诉我的那番话从此以后改变了我：“不要总是希望，我的朋友，行动吧！”随后，他又换上了他那迷人的微笑，握了握我的手：“那么，祝福你！”