The note was under Joss's door when she came down from the roof. It was written on the back of a receipt, in small, careful letters.
乔斯从屋顶下来时，门缝下塞着一张字条。它写在一张收据的背面，字迹细小而工整。
Your bees are in my flower pot. Please come and see it today. Gil, flat 4B.
你的蜜蜂跑到我的花盆里了。请今天过来看一下。吉尔，4B 室。
Joss read it twice. Then she sat down on the bottom stair with her veil still hanging from her hat. She kept two beehives on the roof of the building. The residents' committee had agreed to them last spring, but only after a long and tense meeting. One man had said that bees and blocks of flats did not belong together. Joss had promised that nobody would ever have a reason to complain.
乔斯读了两遍。然后她在最下面一级楼梯上坐下，面罩还挂在帽子上。她在这栋楼的屋顶上养了两箱蜜蜂。住户委员会去年春天同意了，但那是在一场漫长又紧张的会议之后。有个男人说，蜜蜂和公寓楼不该放在一起。乔斯当时保证，绝不会有人有理由来抱怨。
Now someone had a reason.
现在，有人有理由了。
She did not know Gil. She knew only that flat 4B was on the floor directly below the roof. Its balcony was full of pots. She had seen them from above, a crowded row of green. She had never imagined that her bees might visit them.
她不认识吉尔。她只知道 4B 室就在屋顶正下面那一层。它的阳台上摆满了花盆。她从上面看到过，一排拥挤的绿色。她从来没想到自己的蜜蜂会飞去拜访它们。
"They are not even mine," she muttered. "They belong to the sun and the flowers."
“它们根本不是我的，”她嘟囔道，“它们属于太阳和花。”
It was not a very good argument, and she knew it.
这算不上一个很好的理由，她自己也知道。
She went upstairs and spent half an hour preparing. She found the committee's letter and the minutes of the meeting. She put them in a folder. Then she filled a small jar with honey from her best hive. It is difficult to shout at a person who is holding honey. She checked her reflection in the hallway mirror and took a deep breath. Then she went down two flights to flat 4B.
她回到楼上，花了半个小时做准备。她找出委员会的信和会议记录，装进一个文件夹。然后，她从最好的那箱蜂巢里取了蜂蜜，装满一个小罐子。人手里捧着蜂蜜的时候，是很难对人发火的。她在走廊的镜子里看了看自己，深吸一口气。然后她下了两层楼，来到 4B 室。
Gil opened the door at the first knock. He was a tall man in a faded music shirt, with a pencil behind his ear. He looked tired, and he looked relieved to see her.
吉尔在第一下敲门声后就开了门。他是个高个子男人，穿着一件洗旧的乐队衬衫，耳朵后面夹着一支铅笔。他看上去很疲惫，见到她又明显松了一口气。
"You came," he said. "Thank you. I was afraid you would be too busy."
“你来了，”他说，“谢谢你。我还担心你会太忙。”
"I got your note." Joss held the folder in front of her like a shield. "I want to say, before we start, that I have all the permissions. The committee approved the hives. Everything is legal."
“我看到你的字条了。”乔斯把文件夹举在身前，像举着一面盾牌，“我想先说清楚，开始之前，我手续都是齐全的。委员会批准了这些蜂箱。一切都合法。”
Gil stared at the folder. "I'm sorry?"
吉尔盯着那个文件夹。“对不起，你说什么？”
"The bees are registered, and they are checked every month. I can show you the papers." Her voice sounded sharper than she wanted. "If one of them has stung you, I will pay for the doctor. But I would like to say that bees do not sting unless they feel threatened."
“蜜蜂都登记过，每个月也都有检查。我可以给你看文件。”她的声音比她想的要尖锐，“如果有哪只蜜蜂蜇了你，我来付医药费。不过我想说，蜜蜂只有在觉得受到威胁的时候才会蜇人。”
"Stung me?" Gil shook his head. "No, no. Nobody has stung me. Please, come in."
“蜇我？”吉尔摇摇头，“不不不。没有人蜇我。请进。”
Joss followed him through a small, bright flat full of books and half-finished drawings. A guitar leaned against the wall. A door at the far end opened onto the balcony, and Gil walked straight out. Joss hesitated, then followed.
乔斯跟着他穿过一间明亮的小屋，里面到处是书和画了一半的画。一把吉他斜靠在墙边。尽头有一扇门通向阳台，吉尔径直走了出去。乔斯犹豫了一下，也跟了出去。
The balcony was small, and it was full of plants. Lavender grew in a long box. Mint and thyme spilled out of old tins. In the corner stood a large clay flower pot. A crack ran down its side, from the rim to the base. A thin line of dark soil showed through the gap.
阳台不大，摆满了植物。薰衣草长在一个长条花箱里。薄荷和百里香从旧铁罐里漫溢出来。角落里放着一个大陶土花盆。一道裂缝从盆沿一直裂到盆底。一条细细的深色泥土从缝隙里露出来。
Around the pot, a dozen bees moved slowly in the afternoon light.
在花盆周围，十来只蜜蜂在午后的光线里缓缓移动。
"There," Gil said quietly. "That is what I wanted to show you."
“看，”吉尔轻声说，“我就是想让你看这个。”
Joss looked. The bees were not on the lavender. They were crawling along the crack, one after another, drinking from the damp earth.
乔斯望过去。蜜蜂并没有落在薰衣草上。它们沿着那道裂缝爬行，一只接着一只，吮吸着潮湿的泥土。
"I water that pot every morning," Gil said. "The water leaks out through the crack and makes a little wet line. Your bees found it last week. Now they come all day long." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm worried, because I made a mistake. Ten days ago I sprayed the lavender, because it had small green insects on it. I didn't know about the bees then. I read the label afterwards, and it said nothing about them, one way or the other."
“我每天早上都给那个盆浇水，”吉尔说，“水从裂缝里漏出来，形成一条湿湿的线。你的蜜蜂上个星期发现了它。现在它们整天都来。”他揉了揉后颈，“我很担心，因为我犯了个错误。十天前，我给薰衣草喷了药，因为上面有小小的绿色虫子。那时候我还不知道有蜜蜂。我是事后才读的标签，上面对蜜蜂一个字也没提，说有害没害都没说。”
Joss turned to look at him. "You sprayed the lavender?"
乔斯转过头看着他。“你给薰衣草喷了药？”
"Yes. And I have been awake at night, thinking that I poisoned your hives. I haven't seen any dead bees, but I wouldn't know what to look for." He looked at the folder in her hands. "I'm sorry. I thought you ought to know as soon as possible."
“对。我一直夜里睡不着，想着是不是毒到了你的蜂箱。我没看到死蜜蜂，但我也不知道该看什么。”他看了看她手里的文件夹，“对不起。我觉得你应该尽快知道。”
For a moment, Joss did not say anything. She looked at the folder. She looked at the jar of honey in her other hand. Then she began to laugh. She had to lean on the balcony rail, because her legs felt weak.
乔斯一时什么也没说。她看看文件夹，又看看另一只手里的蜂蜜罐。然后她笑了起来。她不得不靠在阳台栏杆上，因为她的腿都软了。
"What is funny?" Gil asked.
“有什么好笑的？”吉尔问。
"Nothing. Everything." She wiped her eyes. "I thought you wanted to complain. I spent half an hour finding my papers. I even brought a bribe."
“没什么。什么都好笑。”她擦了擦眼睛，“我还以为你是要投诉。我花了半个小时找我的文件。我甚至还带了一份贿赂。”
"A bribe?"
“贿赂？”
She held out the jar. "Honey. For emergencies."
她把罐子递过去。“蜂蜜。应急用的。”
Gil started to laugh as well. It was a low, surprised laugh, like someone who had not laughed in a few days. They stood together on the narrow balcony, laughing, while the bees went on drinking from the crack.
吉尔也笑了起来。那是一声低低的、带着惊讶的笑，像是好几天没笑过的人发出的。他们并肩站在狭窄的阳台上笑着，蜜蜂则继续从裂缝里喝水。
"I had no idea you were worried about them," Joss said at last. "Most people only worry about being stung."
“我完全不知道你在担心它们，”乔斯终于说，“大多数人只担心被蜇。”
"I like them. They are very polite." Gil looked at the pot with a fond expression. "I painted a picture of them yesterday, but I couldn't finish it. I kept thinking about the spray."
“我喜欢它们。它们非常有礼貌。”吉尔带着喜爱的神情看着花盆，“我昨天画了它们，可是没画完。我一直在想那个喷雾。”
"What was it?"
“是什么药？”
He fetched the bottle from under the sink. Joss read the label slowly. It was a mild soap spray, safe for most insects once it dried. The bottle was nearly full.
他从水槽下面拿出那个瓶子。乔斯慢慢读着标签。那是一种温和的肥皂喷雾，干了以后对大多数昆虫都是安全的。瓶子差不多还是满的。
"It's all right," she said. "It dried days ago, and soap spray washes off in a few hours. I checked my hives this morning, and the bees look healthy. If anything had been wrong, I would have seen it by now."
“没事的，”她说，“它几天前就干了，而且肥皂喷雾几个小时就会被冲掉。我今天早上查看过蜂箱，蜜蜂看起来都很健康。如果真有什么问题，我现在早就看出来了。”
Gil let out a long breath. "I am very glad to hear that. I'm sorry about the note. I wrote it quickly, and I think I frightened you."
吉尔长长地呼出一口气。“听你这么说我太高兴了。字条的事对不起。我写得很匆忙，我想我吓到你了。”
"You did. But it was my mistake. I read what I expected to read." Joss put the folder under her arm. "You know, bees can drink from a lot of places, but a damp crack is perfect. They land on the edge and do not fall in. That pot is better than the bowl I put on the roof."
“是吓到了。不过也是我自己的错。我读到的是我预想中的内容。”乔斯把文件夹夹在腋下，“你知道吗，蜜蜂能从很多地方喝水，但潮湿的裂缝是最理想的。它们落在边上，不会掉进去。那个花盆比我放在屋顶上的碗还好用。”
"Then I should not fix it."
“那我就不该修它。”
"You should not. But you could move it." She pointed upward. "On my roof, they would not have to fly down to your balcony for every drink. And you would not have to worry about your lavender."
“不该修。不过你可以把它搬走。”她指了指上面，“在我的屋顶上，它们就不用每喝一口水都飞下来到你的阳台。你也不用再担心你的薰衣草了。”
Gil thought about this. "Could I come and visit?"
吉尔想了想。“我能上去看看吗？”
"Whenever you like. I will lend you a veil. It's an excellent one, with a very small hole."
“随时欢迎。我借你一个面罩。很棒的一个，只有一个很小的洞。”
"A hole?"
“洞？”
"It's a joke," Joss said. "Mostly."
“开玩笑的，”乔斯说，“大部分是。”
They picked up the pot together, one hand each on the rim. They carried it carefully through the flat. It was heavy and cold, and it left a thin trail of soil on the floor. On the stairs, a bee followed them all the way up. She seemed to want to be sure of the route.
他们一起抬起花盆，每人一只手扶着盆沿。他们小心翼翼地把它抬过屋子。它又重又凉，在地板上留下一道细细的泥土痕迹。在楼梯上，有一只蜜蜂一路跟着他们上去。她似乎想确认一下路线。
On the roof, Joss cleared a space beside the hives. Gil set the pot down in it. Then he filled the small jug at the roof tap and tipped it slowly over the soil. Water ran into the crack, and the first bee landed.
在屋顶上，乔斯在蜂箱旁边清出一块地方。吉尔把花盆放了进去。然后他用屋顶水龙头把小水壶装满，慢慢地倒在泥土上。水流进了裂缝，第一只蜜蜂落了下来。
