A Walk to Remember 精彩片段：
Chapter 6
The first thing we did was talk to Miss Garber about our plans for the orphans, and she thought it was a marvelous idea. That was her favorite word, by the way-marvelous-after shed greeted you with "Hellooooo." On Monday, when she realized that I knew all my lines, she said, "Marvelous!" and for the next two hours whenever Id finish up a scene, shed say it again. By the end of the rehearsal, Id heard it about four zillion times.
But Miss Garber actually went our idea one better. She told the class what we were doing, and she asked if other members of the cast would be willing to do their parts as well, so that the orphans could really enjoy the whole thing. The way she asked meant that they really didnt have a choice, and she looked around the class, waiting for someone to nod so she could make it official. No one moved a muscle, except for Eddie. Somehow hed inhaled a bug up his nose at that exact moment, and he sneezed violently. The bug flew out his nose, shot across his desk, and landed on the floor right by Norma Jeans leg. She jumped out of her chair and screamed out loud, and the people on either side of her shouted, "Eww . . . gross!" The rest of the class started looking around and craning their necks, trying to see what happened, and for the next ten seconds there was total pandemonium in the classroom. For Miss Garber, that was as good of an answer as she needed.
"Marvelous," she said, closing the discussion.
Jamie, meanwhile, was getting really excited about performing for the orphans. During a break in rehearsals she pulled me aside and thanked me for thinking of them. "Theres no way you would know," she said almost conspiratorially, "but Ive been wondering what to do for the orphanage this year. Ive been praying about it for months now because I want this Christmas to be the most special one of all."
"Why is this Christmas so important?" I asked her, and she smiled patiently, as if Id asked a question that didnt really matter.
"It just is," she said simply.
The next step was to talk it over with Mr. Jenkins, the director of the orphanage. Now Id never met Mr. Jenkins before, being that the orphanage was in Morehead City, which was across the bridge from Beaufort, and Id never had any reason to go there. When Jamie surprised me with the news the following day that wed be meeting him later that evening, I was sort of worried that I wasnt dressed nice enough. I know it was an orphanage, but a guy wants to make a good impression. Even though I wasnt as excited about it as Jamie was (no one was as excited as Jamie), I didnt want to be regarded as the Grinch who ruined Christmas for the orphans, either.
Before we went to the orphanage for our meeting, we had to walk to my house to pick up my moms car, and while there, I planned on changing into something a little nicer. The walk took about ten minutes or so, and Jamie didnt say much along the way, at least until we got to my neighborhood. The homes around mine were all large and well kept, and she asked who lived where and how old the houses were. I answered her questions without much thought, but when I opened the front door to my house, I suddenly realized how different this world was compared with her own. She had a shocked expression on her face as she looked around the living room, taking in her surroundings.
No doubt it was the fanciest home shed ever been in. A moment later I saw her eyes travel to the paintings that lined the walls. My ancestors, so to speak. As with many southern families, my entire lineage could be traced in the dozen faces that lined the walls. She stared at them, looking for a resemblance, I think, then turned her attention to the furnishings, which still looked practically new, even after twenty years. The furniture had been handmade, assembled or carved from mahogany and cherry, and designed specifically for each room. It was nice, I had to admit, but it wasnt something I really thought about. To me, it was just a house. My favorite part of it was the window in my room that led to the porch on the upper level. That was my escape hatch.
I showed her around, though, giving her a quick tour of the sitting room, the library, the den, and the family room, Jamies eyes growing wider with each new room. My mom was out on the sun porch, sipping a mint julep and reading, and heard us poking around. She came back inside to say hello.
I think I told you that every adult in town adored Jamie, and that included my mom. Even though Hegbert was always giving the kinds of sermons that had our familys name written all over them, my mom never held it against Jamie, because of how sweet she was. So they talked while I was upstairs rifling through my closet for a clean shirt and a tie.
Back then boys wore ties a lot, especially when they were meeting someone in a position of authority. When I came back down the stairs fully dressed, Jamie had already told my mom about the plan.
"Its a wonderful idea," Jamie said, beaming at me. "Landons really got a special heart."
My mom-after making sure shed heard Jamie correctly-faced me with her eyebrows raised. She stared at me like I was an alien.