The Landlord's Daughter

On the last Friday of every month, Florence's landlord sends his daughter to collect the repairs list. It has been the arrangement since she moved in. A written list is left on the table, and someone who knows which of the old building's problems can wait picks it up.

每个月的最后一个星期五，弗洛伦丝的房东都会派他女儿来取维修清单。自从她搬进来，一直是这样安排的。一份写好的清单留在桌上，由一个清楚这栋老楼哪些毛病可以拖一拖的人来取走。

In the first months, the visits last two minutes. The daughter stands in the doorway, reads the list, nods and writes in a small notebook. She is calm and practical, with paint on her sleeves and a screwdriver in her back pocket.

最初几个月，每次拜访只持续两分钟。女儿站在门口，读完清单，点点头，在一个小本子上记下来。她沉稳又干练，袖子上沾着油漆，后裤兜里插着一把螺丝刀。

Then the visits begin to grow. One month there is tea. The next, there is a long debate about a radiator that knocks all night. In the spring, they sit on the kitchen floor to look at a stuck cupboard hinge and forget to look at it.

后来，拜访开始变长。有一个月，有了茶。下一个月，两人就一个整夜咚咚作响的暖气片展开了一场长长的讨论。到了春天，她们坐在厨房地板上去看一个卡住的橱柜合页，结果忘了去看它。

Florence has also noticed something about her own list. It keeps getting longer, while the problems on it keep getting smaller. Last month, item seven was "a sound in the hallway." The month before, it was "slight squeak, bedroom door."

弗洛伦丝还注意到自己那份清单的一个现象。清单越来越长，而上面的问题却越来越小。上个月，第七项是“走廊里有点声音”。再上个月是“卧室门有轻微的吱呀声”。

She tells herself this is ordinary politeness. But a landlord's family is not an ordinary neighbor. If she said something real and it went badly, she would lose a friend and perhaps her home as well. And if the daughter were only being kind because kindness was part of the family business, Florence would rather not know.

她告诉自己，这只是普通的客气。可房东的家人毕竟不是普通的邻居。如果她说了真心话，结果却很糟，她就会失去一个朋友，也许连住处也保不住。而如果房东女儿只是因为善意是家族生意的一部分才对她好，弗洛伦丝宁愿不知道。

On the day the renewal letter arrives, she sits down at the kitchen table to write the list. Her pen hovers over the line "squeak, bedroom door." She stares at it for a long time. Then she crosses it out.

续租通知寄到的那天，她坐在厨房桌前写清单。她的笔悬在“吱呀声，卧室门”那一行上。她盯着它看了很久。然后，她把它划掉了。

The daughter arrives at four, reads the paper and frowns. "This is the shortest list you have ever written," she says. "One item."

女儿四点钟到了，读了读那张纸，皱起眉头。“这是你写过的最短的一份清单，”她说，“只有一项。”

"I've run out of repairs," says Florence.

“我没有要修的东西了，”弗洛伦丝说。

"That's impossible. The bathroom fan has been rattling since March." The daughter hesitates. "And your bedroom door. I oiled it in April. And in June. And again in August."

“这不可能。浴室的排风扇从三月起就一直嘎嘎响。”女儿犹豫了一下。“还有你的卧室门。我四月给它上过油。六月又上了一次。八月还上了一次。”

"It keeps coming back."

“它总是又响起来。”

"It does." The daughter looks at her notebook rather than at Florence. "I've been using a little less oil each time."

“是啊。”女儿看着自己的本子，没有看弗洛伦丝。“我每次用的油都少一点点。”

Florence stares at her. "You did that on purpose?"

弗洛伦丝盯着她。“你是故意的？”

"A bit. I didn't know how else to keep knocking. My father thinks I'm very dedicated to the building."

“有一点。我不知道还能用什么办法继续来敲门。我父亲觉得我对这栋楼特别尽心。”

Florence laughs, then stops, because the next part is the serious part. She says that the lease is up for renewal and that she wants to sign it. She says she doesn't want to be the kind of tenant who is nice to the owner's daughter to protect her home. The daughter listens and says she has been afraid of the same thing from the other side. She does not want Florence to feel that her apartment depended on an invitation.

弗洛伦丝笑了，然后停住了，因为接下来的才是正经话。她说租约该续了，而她想签。她说她不想做那种为了保住住处而讨好房东女儿的房客。女儿听着，说她也在从另一边害怕着同样的事。她不希望弗洛伦丝觉得，自己的公寓取决于一次邀请。

"Then let's separate the two things," says Florence. "The lease stays with your father. This is something else."

“那我们把这两件事分开吧，”弗洛伦丝说，“租约还是由你父亲管。这是另一回事。”

"I'd like that. I'll tell him tomorrow that someone else can collect the lists."

“我愿意。明天我就告诉他，可以换别人来取清单了。”

Florence takes the paper and writes in the margin, next to the crossed-out line: "Friday, 7 p.m. Dinner. The door may squeak." She hands it back.

弗洛伦丝拿起那张纸，在被划掉的那一行旁边的页边上写道：“星期五，晚上七点。晚饭。门也许会吱呀响。”她把纸递了回去。

The daughter folds it into her notebook. "I'll bring the oil," she says, "and leave it in the bag."

女儿把它折起来，夹进小本子里。“我会带上油，”她说，“放在包里不拿出来。”