读者文摘:久别重逢姐妹花(1)（在线收听）

I come from a broken family that many would consider dysfunctional at the very least: marriages, divorces, etc.

我来自一个破碎的家庭，很多人至少会认为这个家庭是不正常的：婚姻、离婚等等。

After we grew up, my three siblings and I could go years without speaking. And that is where this story begins.

我们长大后，我的三个姐妹好几年都不说话。这就是故事的开始。

My sister Jeanne and I were born only 14 months apart, but by the time we were teenagers we had lost touch.

我和姐姐珍妮出生只相差14个月，但是在我们是青少年的时候，我们就失去联系了。

By age 19, I had moved away from our home in Wisconsin to live on my father's horse farm in Virginia, where I worked ultimately as a veterinary assistant and a bartender.

19岁时，我就已经离开威斯康辛州的家，搬到了父亲在弗吉尼亚州的马场。我后来在那里做过兽医助理和酒保。

Jeanne got married at 18, moved to Chicago, and became—well, I didn't know what.

珍妮18岁就结婚了，搬到了芝加哥，成为...我不知道。

We lived separate lives in separate states, and our connection somehow ended. Fast-forward about five years.

我们在不同的州过着不同的生活，我们的联系不知怎么的就中断了。时间快进到五年后。

I was 24 and on a trip with my fiancé to New York City, a place I had never been. It was overwhelming.

我24岁，和我的未婚夫一起去纽约旅行，那是一个我从未去过的地方。这令我无法抗拒。

I was used to riding my horse to the corner store where everyone knew everyone and everything going on in the quiet little cowpoke town of Driver, Virginia.

我习惯于骑马去街角的商店，那里的每个人都彼此认识，所有的事情都发生在安静的牛仔小镇弗吉尼亚的德赖弗。

We had gone to New York to visit my fiancé's cousin and see the sights.

我们去纽约拜访我未婚夫的表弟，参观景点。

We went to Little Italy, the Statue of Liberty, Chinatown, and several Manhattan clubs.

我们去了小意大利，自由女神像、唐人街和几个曼哈顿俱乐部。

I had never seen so many taxicabs in one spot in all my life.

我一辈子都没在一个地方见过这么多出租车。

During a day of sightseeing, we were crossing a very busy street loaded with people. Everyone was in a hurry, hustling and bustling.

有一天观光的时候，我们穿过一个非常繁忙的街道，路上都是人。大家都很匆忙，熙熙攘攘。

I had laughed at something my fiancé said, and I suddenly heard my name yelled from somewhere behind me: “Cheryl!” I froze in my steps in the middle of the road.

我刚被我未婚夫说的某个东西逗笑，就突然听到后面有人大喊我的名字：谢丽尔！我的身体就在路中间定住了。