Irene was sitting on the floor of her mother's old bedroom when her sister came in. On the bed between them lay the dress, in a worn cardboard box. It was ivory silk with a long lace hem, and it smelled faintly of cedar.
妹妹进来的时候，艾琳正坐在母亲旧卧室的地板上。在她们两人之间的床上，放着一只旧纸板盒，盒子里就是那件裙子。它是象牙白的真丝裙，有长长的蕾丝下摆，闻起来隐隐有一股雪松的香味。
"I know why you asked me here," Vilma said. "We are both going to say it's ours."
“我知道你为什么叫我来，”维尔玛说，“我们俩都会说这是自己的。”
"We are," Irene said. "I wore it in my head when I was twelve. I think you did too."
“没错，”艾琳说，“我十二岁的时候，在脑子里已经穿过它了。我想你也一样。”
Vilma smiled, but her eyes were serious. "I'm getting married in May, and you're getting married in October. If we go by the calendar, I win."
维尔玛笑了笑，眼神却很认真。“我五月结婚，你十月结婚。要是按日历来算，我赢。”
"If we go by who wants it more, nobody wins," Irene said. "That's the problem."
“要是按谁更想要来算，就没有人能赢，”艾琳说，“问题就在这里。”
For a while, neither of them spoke. Irene looked at the old photo on the wall. In it, their mother stood in this dress, laughing, with her hair blowing across her face. Irene was the oldest, and she had always imagined that the dress would pass to her first. She was not sure whether she wanted the dress or only wanted to be chosen.
有一会儿，她们谁也没有说话。艾琳望着墙上的旧照片。照片里，母亲穿着这件裙子站在那里，笑着，头发被风吹得拂过脸庞。艾琳是姐姐，她一直以为这件裙子会先传给她。她不确定自己想要的是这件裙子，还是只想被选中。
"Can I tell you something?" Vilma said at last. "I live so far away now. I see Mom twice a year. When I wear this dress, I think I will feel as if she is standing next to me."
“我能告诉你一件事吗？”维尔玛终于开口说，“我现在住得那么远。一年只能见到妈妈两次。我想，穿上这件裙子的时候，我会觉得她就站在我身边。”
Irene felt her own wish loosen a little. She did not want to give it up, but she saw what the dress meant to her sister. "Then you should wear it," she said slowly. "But I would like a piece of it too."
艾琳觉得自己的愿望松动了一点。她不想放弃，但她明白了这件裙子对妹妹意味着什么。“那你就穿吧，”她慢慢地说，“不过我也想要它的一部分。”
"What do you mean?"
“你是什么意思？”
"The hem is almost two meters of lace. If a seamstress shortens it for you, she could use what's left to make a veil. I could walk down the aisle in the same lace, and you would still have the dress."
“下摆的蕾丝差不多有两米长。如果裁缝帮你把它改短，剩下的就可以做成一块头纱。我可以披着同样的蕾丝走向红毯，而你仍然拥有这件裙子。”
Vilma stared at her. "You would really do that?"
维尔玛盯着她。“你真的愿意这样做吗？”
"I have already started to like the idea," Irene said. "It might even be better. We would both be wearing her."
“我已经开始喜欢这个主意了，”艾琳说，“说不定还会更好。我们两个人都穿着她。”
Vilma picked up the box lid and set it gently on the bed. "Let's call the seamstress tomorrow," she said. "Before one of us changes her mind."
维尔玛拿起盒盖，轻轻地放在床上。“我们明天就给裁缝打电话吧，”她说，“趁我们俩谁都还没改主意。”
