The pool sat behind the sports hall near Eliot's home. People walked down a long hall. At the end, a glass door opened to the sun.
泳池坐落在埃利奥特家附近的体育馆后面。人们要沿着一条长长的走廊走过去。走廊尽头，一扇玻璃门通向阳光。
Eliot loved the pool. He went there almost every Saturday. The tiles were warm under his feet. A lifeguard sat on a high chair by the shallow end.
埃利奥特爱这个泳池。他几乎每个星期六都去。瓷砖在脚下暖暖的。一名救生员坐在浅水区旁的高椅上。
This Saturday, a boy from his class had a birthday party there. Fifteen kids came. They shouted, laughed and jumped into the water one by one.
这个星期六，他班上的一个男孩在那里办生日会。来了十五个孩子。他们大喊大叫，嘻嘻哈哈，一个接一个跳进水里。
Eliot jumped in too. The water felt cold for a second. Then it felt perfect. He swam to the deep end and back. He felt like the king of the pool.
埃利奥特也跳了进去。水起初冷了一下，然后就变得恰到好处。他游到深水区，又游回来。他觉得自己是泳池之王。
When he climbed out, he saw a girl by the door. She stood alone with her bag. Her name was Gwen. She was new in his class.
爬上岸时，他看到门边有个女孩。她独自站着，拎着包。她叫格温。她是他们班的新同学。
Gwen moved to town in the autumn. She did not talk much. She sat at the back and drew small pictures in her book. Eliot never knew what to say to her.
格温是秋天搬到镇上的。她话不多。坐在最后一排，在本子上画小小的图画。埃利奥特从来不知道该对她说什么。
Today, Gwen wore a long gray jacket. It was zipped up to her chin. A blue strap showed at her neck. Eliot guessed it was a swimsuit.
今天，格温穿着一件长长的灰色外套。拉链一直拉到下巴。脖子处露出一根蓝色的带子。埃利奥特猜那是泳衣。
"Gwen! Come in!" shouted the birthday boy.
“格温！下来呀！”寿星喊道。
"In a minute," Gwen said. She smiled and sat on a plastic chair. She put her hands in her pockets.
“等一下。”格温说。她笑了笑，坐在一把塑料椅上，把手插进口袋里。
The minute became ten minutes. Ten minutes became an hour. The kids played a game with a big yellow ball. Gwen watched them from her chair.
一分钟变成了十分钟。十分钟变成了一个小时。孩子们玩起了一个大黄球的游戏。格温坐在椅子上看着他们。
Eliot noticed. He saw that the others noticed too. A girl said, "Come on, the water is great!" Another boy said, "Take off your jacket!"
埃利奥特注意到了。他看到别人也注意到了。一个女孩说：“来嘛，水可棒了！”另一个男孩说：“把外套脱了吧！”
Gwen only smiled. Each time, she said the same words. "In a minute."
格温只是笑笑。每一次，她说的都是同一句话。“等一下。”
Nobody asked her the real question. Eliot knew what it was. It sat in his head like a small stone. Everybody seemed to know it, and nobody said it.
没有人问她那个真正的问题。埃利奥特知道那是什么。它像一块小石头压在他脑子里。人人似乎都知道，却没有人说出口。
Why not? Eliot thought about that for a long time. Maybe it was too simple. Maybe people were afraid of the answer.
为什么呢？埃利奥特想了很久。也许它太简单了。也许大家是害怕听到答案。
After a while, he climbed out again and dried his hands. He took a cup of juice from the long table. Then he walked over and sat on the next chair.
过了一会儿，他又爬上岸，擦干了手。他从长桌上拿了一杯果汁。然后走过去，在旁边的椅子上坐下。
"Hi," he said.
“嗨。”他说。
"Hi," said Gwen. She did not look at him.
“嗨。”格温说。她没有看他。
"Do you want some juice?"
“你要喝点果汁吗？”
"No, thanks."
“不用了，谢谢。”
They sat there for a while. The yellow ball flew over their heads. Someone screamed with joy in the water.
他们在那儿坐了一会儿。黄球从他们头顶飞过。水里有人欢叫着尖声大喊。
Then Eliot saw Gwen's hand. She held the zipper of her jacket and pulled. It did not move. She pulled again, harder. A small piece of cloth stuck in the teeth.
接着，埃利奥特看到了格温的手。她抓着外套的拉链往下拉。拉链纹丝不动。她又用力拉了一下。一小块布料卡在了齿里。
"Your zipper is stuck," Eliot said.
“你的拉链卡住了。”埃利奥特说。
"I know." Gwen's voice was very small. "It was stuck when I put it on this morning."
“我知道。”格温的声音很小。“今天早上我穿的时候它就卡住了。”
"Do you want help?"
“要我帮忙吗？”
She waited. Then she nodded. Eliot put down his cup. He took the little metal tab in two fingers. He pulled it up and down. The cloth did not come out.
她等了一会儿。然后点了点头。埃利奥特放下杯子。他用两根手指捏住那个小小的金属拉头。上下拉动。布料没有出来。
"I think the zipper is broken," he said.
“我觉得拉链坏了。”他说。
"I think so too."
“我也这么觉得。”
"There is soap in the changing room. Soap can help."
“更衣室里有肥皂。肥皂也许有用。”
He ran across the warm tiles. He came back with a small white bar. He rubbed it on the zipper. Then he pulled again. The tab moved a little, one finger down, and then it stopped.
他跑过温暖的瓷砖。拿着一小块白色的肥皂回来了。他把它擦在拉链上。然后又拉了一下。拉头动了一点点，往下一根手指的距离，然后又停住了。
"It moved!" Gwen said.
“动了！”格温说。
"A little," said Eliot. "Not enough."
“只动了一点点，”埃利奥特说，“不够。”
He tried five more times. Each time, the zipper moved a tiny bit and then stopped. At last he stopped and put the soap on the chair.
他又试了五次。每一次，拉链都动一点点，然后停住。最后他不再试了，把肥皂放在椅子上。
Gwen looked at the zipper. Then she looked at the pool. Her eyes were bright and shiny.
格温看着拉链。然后又看着泳池。她的眼睛亮晶晶的。
"Can I ask you something?" Eliot said.
“我能问你一件事吗？”埃利奥特说。
"Okay."
“好。”
"Can you swim?"
“你会游泳吗？”
Gwen closed her eyes. For a moment, she did not breathe. Then the words came out fast, like water from a faucet.
格温闭上了眼睛。有那么一会儿，她屏住了呼吸。然后话像水龙头里的水一样，快快地涌了出来。
"No. I cannot. Not at all."
“不会。我不会。一点也不会。”
"Okay," said Eliot.
“好的。”埃利奥特说。
"I wanted to tell everyone at the door. I could not say it." Gwen looked at her hands. "At my old school, everybody swam. I was the only one who did not. So I wore my jacket and said I was cold."
“我本来想在门口就告诉大家。可我说不出口。”格温低头看着自己的手。“在我以前的学校，大家都会游。只有我不会。所以我穿着外套，说自己冷。”
"Is that why you did not take it off?"
“所以你才不脱外套吗？”
"Yes. And now the zipper is stuck, and I feel silly." She laughed, but it was a sad little laugh. "A stuck zipper and a stuck girl."
“对。现在拉链卡住了，我觉得自己好傻。”她笑了，但那是一个悲伤的小小的笑。“一条卡住的拉链，和一个卡住的女孩。”
Eliot did not laugh. He thought for a moment.
埃利奥特没有笑。他想了一会儿。
"I learned last year," he said. "I was thirteen. I was the oldest kid in my swimming class."
“我是去年学会的，”他说，“那年我十三岁。我是游泳班里年纪最大的孩子。”
Gwen looked up. "Really?"
格温抬起头。“真的吗？”
"Really. I stood in the shallow end for a whole month. I held the wall with both hands."
“真的。我在浅水区站了整整一个月。我双手扒着池壁。”
"Did anyone laugh at you?"
“有人笑话你吗？”
"My brother did, for a day. Then he stopped." Eliot smiled. "Nobody laughs at the shallow end. It is the quietest part of the pool."
“我弟弟笑了一天。后来他就不笑了。”埃利奥特笑了笑。“没人会笑话浅水区。那是泳池里最安静的地方。”
Gwen looked over at the steps. They were at the far side of the pool. The loud kids were far away. Three wide steps went down into water as clear as glass.
格温朝台阶那边望去。台阶在泳池的另一头。吵闹的孩子们离得很远。三级宽宽的台阶通向清澈如玻璃的水里。
"Nobody asked me," she said slowly. "All day, they only said, 'Come in.' Nobody asked if I could."
“没有人问过我，”她慢慢地说，“一整天，他们只说‘下来呀’。没有人问我会不会。”
"I know. I think they were afraid of the answer. I was afraid too. I am sorry."
“我知道。我想他们是怕听到答案。我也怕过。对不起。”
"Why?"
“为什么说对不起？”
"I do not know. Maybe they thought it was a rude question."
“我不知道。也许他们觉得这是个失礼的问题。”
"It was not rude," Gwen said. "It was kind. It was the first kind thing anyone said all day."
“这不失礼，”格温说，“这很友善。这是今天一整天里，别人对我说的第一句友善的话。”
Eliot felt his chest get warm. He did not know what to say, so he said nothing.
埃利奥特觉得胸口暖了起来。他不知道该说什么，所以什么也没说。
Gwen stood up. She pushed her sleeves up to her wrists. The zipper stayed stuck just under her chin. The jacket stayed on.
格温站了起来。她把袖子推到手腕上。拉链还卡在下巴下面。外套依然穿在身上。
"I cannot take it off," she said.
“我脱不下来。”她说。
"You cannot swim in it," said Eliot. "But you can stand on the steps. The lifeguard is right there."
“你不能穿着它游泳，”埃利奥特说，“但你可以站在台阶上。救生员就在那边。”
"In a wet jacket?"
“穿着湿外套？”
"Why not? It is only a jacket."
“为什么不行？它不过是一件外套。”
Gwen laughed, and this time it was a real laugh. She picked up her bag and put it under the chair. Then she walked to the far side of the pool. Eliot walked next to her.
格温笑了，这一次是真正的笑。她拿起包，放到椅子下面。然后她走向泳池的另一边。埃利奥特和她并肩走着。
The lifeguard waved to them. The water at the steps was only up to her knees.
救生员朝他们挥了挥手。台阶处的水只到她的膝盖。
At the top of the steps, she stopped. The water moved a little. The light made bright lines on the bottom.
走到台阶顶上，她停住了。水轻轻晃动。光在池底投下明亮的线条。
"Are you going to leave?" she asked.
“你会走开吗？”她问。
"No. I will sit right here."
“不会。我就坐在这儿。”
Eliot sat on the edge, with his feet in the water. Behind them, someone shouted Gwen's name. She did not turn around.
埃利奥特坐在池边，把脚浸在水里。他们身后，有人喊着格温的名字。她没有回头。
She looked at the zipper, still stuck under her chin. Then she looked at the water. She put one foot on the first step. The cold touched her toes.
她看着仍然卡在下巴下的拉链。然后又看着水。她把一只脚放到第一级台阶上。凉意触到了她的脚趾。
