Hints:

Kate

Chris

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Then conversation would turn to a discussion of the couple's love and devotion, and what would happen when one of them died. We knew Chris was the strong one, and Kate was dependent upon him. How would Kate function if Chris were to die first? We often wondered. Bedtime followed a ritual. When I brought the evening medication, Kate would be sitting in her chair, in nightgown and slippers, awaiting my arrival. Under the watchful eyes of Chris and myself, Kate would take her pill, then carefully Chris would help her from the chair to the bed and tuck the covers in around her frail body. Observing this act of love, I would think for the thousandth time, good heavens, why don't nursing homes have double beds for married couples? All their lives they have slept together, but in a nursing home, they 're expected to sleep in single beds. Overnight they're deprived of a comfort of a lifetime. How very foolish such policies are, I would think as I watched Chris reach up and turn off the light above Kate's bed. Then tenderly he would bend, and they would kiss gently. Chris would pat her cheek, and both would smile. He would pull up the side rail on her bed, and only then would he turn and accept his own medication.
這時話題就會轉向對這一對老夫婦的討論，關于他們的愛和忠誠執(zhí)著，以及他們之一去世了另一個會怎么樣。我們知道克里斯是強者，凱特總是依靠著他。 如果克里斯先去世，凱特會怎么過生活？我們常常在想這一問題。 像往常一樣，到了上床睡覺的時候，我就把晚上的藥拿給凱特，她就坐在她的椅子里，穿著睡衣和拖鞋，等著我的到來。在我和克里斯的注視下，凱特吃下藥，然后克里斯幫她從椅子上扶到床上，給她那瘦弱的身上蓋好被子。看到這一愛的舉動，我又一次地想（盡管已經(jīng)想過上千次了），天哪，養(yǎng)老院為什么不給那些老年夫婦提供雙人床？整個一生中他們都睡在一起，但是到了養(yǎng)老院，卻要他們睡單人床。一夜之間他們就被剝奪了一生的安慰。 這種政策真愚蠢，當我看著克里斯手伸上去，關上凱特床頭的電燈時常常會這樣想。然后克里斯彎下腰，兩人輕輕親吻。他拍拍她的臉頰，他們微笑著。他總是把她床邊上的橫檔拉上以后，然后才轉過身去拿自己的藥。 ——譯文來自: bx3214740