The back room of the pharmacy is smaller than a parking space. Today it holds two people who do not like each other.
药房的后间比一个停车位还小。今天里面有两个互相看不顺眼的人。
Nils stands by the shelves with a clipboard. He labels everything. Every box of tablets has a neat white sticker with a date, a number and his initials. Adaeze sits at the little desk by the door, and she works in a completely different way. She remembers where things are by feel, and she never writes a thing down.
尼尔斯拿着写字板站在货架旁。他给所有东西都贴标签：每一盒药片上都有一张整齐的白色贴纸，写着日期、编号和他姓名的首字母。阿达埃泽坐在门边的小书桌前，做事方式截然不同。她凭手感记住东西的位置，从来不用笔记。
"You've moved the cough syrup again," Nils says.
“你又把止咳糖浆挪地方了，”尼尔斯说。
"I've put it where people can reach it," Adaeze says. "You hid it behind the vitamins."
“我是放到大家够得着的地方，”阿达埃泽说，“是你把它藏在维生素后面。”
"I filed it behind the vitamins. There's a difference."
“我是把它归档在维生素后面，这两者是有区别的。”
They have worked in the same pharmacy for four years. For three of those years, they have been polite. This year, the owner says that one of them will become the head pharmacist. The politeness has quietly disappeared. Now they count each other's mistakes like points in a game.
他们在同一家药房共事四年了。其中三年里，他们一直客客气气。今年，老板说他们两人中会有一个升任主管药剂师，客气就悄悄消失了。如今，他们像计分一样，数着对方的错误。
On the hook behind the desk hangs a long striped scarf. It is blue and yellow and green, and it is already almost two metres long. Adaeze knits it during her breaks, a few rows at a time. Nobody knows who it is for. Nils has asked about it once, and she only shrugs.
书桌后面的挂钩上，挂着一条长长的条纹围巾，蓝、黄、绿三种颜色，已经快两米长了。阿达埃泽在休息时间织它，一次织几行。没人知道这是给谁的。尼尔斯问过一次，她只是耸了耸肩。
"It's for no one in particular," she says.
“是给不特定的谁的，”她说。
"Nobody knits two metres of scarf for no one," he says.
“没有人会为不特定的谁织两米长的围巾，”他说。
"I do."
“我就会。”
Today is Friday, and the area manager is coming on Monday to inspect the shop. Everyone in the building knows that the back room must be perfect by then. The manager, a tall woman with a very quiet voice, arrives at nine o'clock with a plan.
今天是星期五，区域经理星期一要来检查店里。楼里的每个人都知道，后间到那时必须完美无缺。经理是个个子很高、声音很轻的女人，九点钟带着安排来了。
"The inspection is about the cold storage and the stock list," she says. "Nils, you have the list. Adaeze, you have the keys to the cabinet. Neither of you can finish without the other. So you will work together until it is done."
“这次检查看的是冷藏和库存清单，”她说，“尼尔斯，清单在你手里。阿达埃泽，药柜的钥匙在你手里。你们谁也离不开对方才能完成。所以，你们要一起工作，直到做完为止。”
"Together?" Nils says.
“一起？”尼尔斯说。
"Together," she repeats, and she leaves.
“一起，”她重复了一遍，然后走了。
For the first two hours, they work like two people sharing a very small boat. Nils reads out a name and a number, and Adaeze finds the box and gives it back. Neither of them says anything kind. Once, Nils reads a number wrong, and Adaeze lets him know about it with a very long look.
最初的两个小时，他们像两个挤在一条很小的船上的人那样干活。尼尔斯念一个名称和一个编号，阿达埃泽找出那个盒子递回给他。两人谁也没说过一句好话。有一次，尼尔斯念错了一个数字，阿达埃泽用一个很长的眼神让他知道了。
"That was a seven," she says.
“那是个七，”她说。
"It was a one."
“是个一。”
"It's a seven. Look at the box, not at your handwriting."
“是七。看盒子，别看你自己的字迹。”
He looks. It is a seven. He says nothing. He writes the number again with great care, and she hides a smile behind her coffee cup.
他看了，确实是七。他什么也没说，非常仔细地把数字重写了一遍，而她躲在咖啡杯后面藏起一抹笑。
At eleven o'clock, a thin, high alarm begins to sound from the corner of the room. Both of them freeze. The noise is coming from the big fridge where the pharmacy keeps its vaccines and insulin. A small orange light flashes on the door.
十一点，屋角传来一阵尖细高亢的警报声。两个人都僵住了。声音来自那台大冰箱，药房用它存放疫苗和胰岛素，冰箱门上亮着一盏闪烁的橙色小灯。
"The cooling has stopped," Nils says. His voice is suddenly very calm. "We have about twenty minutes before the temperature gets too high."
“制冷停了，”尼尔斯说，他的声音忽然变得很平静，“温度升得太高之前，我们大概还有二十分钟。”
"Then we move everything. Now."
“那就把东西都搬走，马上。”
"Where to? The second fridge is in the shop, and it's full of customers' orders."
“搬到哪儿去？第二台冰箱在店里，而且塞满了顾客预订的药品。”
Adaeze is already on her feet. "Then we empty the orders onto the counter and put the vaccines in the second fridge. The orders can sit on the shelf for an hour. They don't need cold."
阿达埃泽已经站起身来。“那就把预订的药拿出来放到柜台上，把疫苗放进第二台冰箱。预订的药在货架上放一个小时没事，不用冷藏。”
"That breaks three rules."
“这违反了三条规定。”
"Which is better, breaking three rules or throwing away a whole shelf of medicine?"
“违反三条规定，和扔掉整整一层药品，哪个更好？”
Nils opens his mouth. Then he closes it and nods. "You take the orders out. I'll carry the vaccines. We need ice packs for the walk through the shop."
尼尔斯张开嘴，又闭上，点了点头。“你去把预订的药拿出来，我来搬疫苗。穿过店里需要冰袋。”
"The ice packs are in the freezer on the left."
“冰袋在左边的冷冻柜里。”
"There's a problem with that too," Nils says, and he points. The freezer's door is stuck. The cold has made the rubber seal swell. It will not open without a pull from two hands.
“这也有问题，”尼尔斯说着，伸手指了指。冷冻柜的门卡住了，寒气让橡胶密封条胀了起来，不用两只手使劲拉是打不开的。
They each take a handle. "On three," Adaeze says. "One, two, three."
两人各抓住一个把手。“数到三，”阿达埃泽说，“一、二、三。”
The door opens with a loud crack. A cloud of white air rolls out. A pile of ice packs falls onto the floor like cold bricks. They scoop them up and carry them to the big fridge. Inside, the vaccines sit in neat white rows, each with Nils's sticker on top.
门“啪”的一声开了，一团白气滚了出来，一堆冰袋像冷冰冰的砖头一样掉到地上。他们把冰袋捞起来，搬到大冰箱前。冰箱里，疫苗一排排整整齐齐地摆着，每一盒上面都贴着尼尔斯的标签。
"Your labels help," Adaeze admits, while she lifts a tray. "I can see the dates at once."
“你的标签真帮了忙，”阿达埃泽端起一个托盘，承认道，“我一眼就能看清日期。”
"Your memory helps," he says. "I would never find the second fridge's key in this mess."
“你的记性也帮了忙，”他说，“这么乱，我永远找不到第二台冰箱的钥匙。”
"The key is on the hook. Behind the scarf."
“钥匙在挂钩上，围巾后面。”
He reaches behind the scarf and finds it. It takes less than a minute. They have an idea at the same moment, and they both say it together: "The scarf."
他伸手到围巾后面，找到了钥匙，用了不到一分钟。他们同时冒出了一个主意，又同时说了出来：“围巾。”
"It's thick wool," Nils says. "It keeps the cold in."
“是厚羊毛的，”尼尔斯说，“能锁住冷气。”
"It's two metres long. We can wrap the ice packs in it and lay the vaccines on top."
“它有两米长。我们可以用它把冰袋包起来，再把疫苗放在上面。”
"But it's for no one in particular."
“可这是给不特定的谁织的。”
"Then it's for this," Adaeze says, and she takes it from the hook without a second thought.
“那它现在就是给这个用的，”阿达埃泽说着，想都没想就把它从挂钩上取了下来。
They wrap the ice packs in the soft wool. They line a plastic box with them and fit the vaccines in carefully. Nils carries the box through the shop like a precious cake. Adaeze runs ahead and moves the customers' orders from the second fridge to the counter. Then she holds the door open with her foot. A man waiting to pay for his shampoo watches them with open interest.
他们用柔软的羊毛把冰袋裹起来，在一只塑料盒里垫上，再小心地把疫苗放进去。尼尔斯捧着盒子穿过店堂，像捧着一块珍贵的蛋糕。阿达埃泽跑在前面，把第二台冰箱里顾客预订的药品挪到柜台上，然后用脚抵住门。一个等着付洗发水钱的男人饶有兴致地看着他们。
"Is this normal?" he asks.
“这是常规操作吗？”他问。
"Perfectly normal," Adaeze says. "We do it every Friday."
“再正常不过了，”阿达埃泽说，“我们每个星期五都这么干。”
In under twelve minutes, every box is safely in the second fridge. Nils checks the temperature three times. It stays at exactly the right number. Adaeze sits down heavily on the stool behind the counter and laughs. He laughs too, and for a moment they look like two old friends.
不到十二分钟，所有的药盒都安全放进了第二台冰箱。尼尔斯查了三遍温度，一直稳稳停在正确的数字上。阿达埃泽重重地坐到柜台后的凳子上，笑了起来。他也笑了，那一刻，他们看起来像一对老朋友。
The repair man arrives at noon. He fixes the big fridge in twenty minutes. The cooling hum returns to the back room like a very old song.
修理工中午到了，二十分钟就修好了大冰箱。制冷的嗡嗡声回到后间，像一首非常老的歌。
On Monday, the area manager walks in at nine o'clock sharp. She inspects the shelves, the labels, the fridge and the stock list. She asks a lot of questions, and Nils and Adaeze answer them together, one finishing the other's sentence. When she finishes, she writes a long note on her form.
星期一，区域经理九点整走了进来。她检查了货架、标签、冰箱和库存清单。她问了很多问题，尼尔斯和阿达埃泽一起回答，一个人接着另一个人的话说完。检查结束，她在表格上写了很长一段备注。
"Excellent," she says at last. "You two have the cleanest back room in the region. And the owner has asked me to tell you something. There is no single head pharmacist this year. There are two."
“太棒了，”她最后说，“你们俩的后间是整个地区最干净的。老板还让我转告你们一件事：今年没有唯一的主管药剂师，而是有两位。”
Nils turns to Adaeze, and for the first time in months, he does not see a rival.
尼尔斯转向阿达埃泽，几个月来第一次，他看到的不是对手。
"Co-heads," he says. "I suppose I can share a desk."
“共同主管，”他说，“我想我可以跟你共用一张桌子。”
"You can share more than that," Adaeze says. She holds up the scarf, still a little damp from the ice packs. It is nearly three metres long now.
“能共用的可不止这个，”阿达埃泽说。她举起那条围巾，上面还有些被冰袋弄得潮潮的。它现在快有三米长了。
"So it is for someone in particular now?" Nils asks.
“那么，它现在是给特定的某个人的了？”尼尔斯问。
"It's for whoever stops moving my cough syrup," she says.
“它是给那个不再挪我的止咳糖浆的人的，”她说。
