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朋友永远在一起 a friend n the le（第1页）

金尼斯迈克尔·比奇

JenningsMichaelBirch

Lifewithoutafriendisdeathwithoutawitness。

—Sanishroverb

EvenbeforeIfinisheddialing，IsomehowknewIdmadeamistake。Thehonerangonce，twice—thensomeoneickeditu。

“Yougotthewrongnumber!”ahuskymalevoicesnaedbeforethelinewentdead。Mystified，Idialedagain。

“Isaidyougotthewrongnumber!”camethevoice。Oncemorethehoneclickedinmyear。

HowcouldheossiblyknowIhadawrongnumber?Atthattime，IworkedfortheNewYorkCityPoliceDeartment。Acoistrainedtobecurious—andconcerned。SoIdialedathirdtime。

“Hey，demon，”themansaid。“Isthisyouagain?”

“Yeah，itsme，”Ianswered。“IwaswonderinghowyouknewIhadthewrongnumberbeforeIevensaidanything?”

“Youfigureitout!”Thehonedslammeddown。

Isatthereawhile，thereceiverhanginglooselyinmyfingers。Icalledthemanback。

“Didyoufigureitoutyet?”heasked。

“TheonlythingIcanthinkofis。。。nobodyevercallsyou。”

“Yougotit!”Thehonewentdeadforthefourthtime。Chuckling，Idialedthemanback。

“Whatdoyouwantnow?”heasked。

“IthoughtIdcall。。。justtosayhello。”

“Hello?Why?”

“Well，ifnobodyevercallsyou，IthoughtmaybeIshould。”

“Okay。Hello。Whoisthis?”

Atlast，Ihadgotthrough。Nowhewascurious。ItoldhimwhoIwasandaskedwhohewas。

“MynameisAdolfMeth。Im88yearsold，andIhaventhadthismanywrongnumbersinonedayin20years!”Webothlaughed。

Wetalkedfor10minutes。Adolfhadnofamily，nofriends。Everyonehehadbeenclosetohaddied。Thenwediscoveredwehadsomethingincommon:hedworkedfortheNewYorkCityPoliceDeartmentfornearly40years。Tellingmeabouthisdaysthereasanelevatoroerator，heseemedinteresting，evenfriendly。IaskedifIcouldcallhimagain。

“Whywouldyouwannadothat?”heasked，surrised。

“Well，maybewecouldbehonefriends。Youknow，likeenals。”

Hehesitated。“Iwouldntmind。。。havingafriendagain。”Hisvoicesoundedalittletentative。

IcalledAdolfthefollowingafternoonandseveraldayslater。Easytotalkwith，herelatedhismemoriesofWorldWarIandII，theHindenburgdisasterandotherhistoricalevents。Hewasfascinating。Igavehimmyhomeandofficenumberssohecouldcallus。Hedid—almosteveryday。

Iwasnotjustbeingkindtoalonelyman。TalkingtoAdolfwasimortanttome，becauseI，too，hadabiggainmylife。Raisedinorhanagesandfosterhomes，Ineverhadafather。Gradually，Adolftookonakindoffatherlyimortancetome。Italkedaboutmyjobandcollegecourses，whichIattendedatnight。

Adolfwarmedtotheroleofcounselor。WhilediscussingadisagreementIdhadwithasuervisor，Itoldmynewfriend，“IthinkIvehaditwithhim。”

“Whatstherush?”Adolfcautioned。“Letthingscooldown。WhenyougetasoldasIam，youfindoutthattimetakescareofalot。Ifthingsgetworse，thenyoucantalktohim。”

Therewasalongsilence。“Youknow，”hesaidsoftly，“IamtalkingtoyoujustthewayIdtalktoaboyofmyown。Ialwayswantedafamily—andchildren。Youretooyoungtoknowhowthatfeels。”

No，Iwasnt。Idalwayswantedafamily—andafather。ButIdidntsayanything，afraidIwouldntbeabletoholdbackthehurtIdfeltforsolong。

Oneevening，Adolfmentionedhis89thbirthdaywascomingu。Afterbuyingaieceoffiberboard，Idesignedabiggreetingcardwithacakeand89candlesonit。IaskedallthecosandmyOfficeCommissionertosignit。Igatherednearlyahundredsignatures。Adolfwouldgetakickoutofthis，Iknew。

Wedbeentalkingonthehoneforfourmonthsnow，andIthoughtthiswouldbeagoodtimetomeetfacetoface。SoIdecidedtodeliverthecardbyhand。

IdidnttellAdolfIwascoming。Ijustdrovetohisaddressonemorningandarkedthecaruthestreetfromhisaartmenthouse。AostmanwassortingmailinthehallwaywhenIenteredthebuilding。HenoddedasIcheckedthemailboxesforAdolfsname。Thereitwas。Aartment1H，some20feetfromwhereIstood。

Myheartoundedwithexcitement。Wouldwehavethesamechemistryinersonthatwehadonthehone?Ifeltthefirststabofdoubt。Maybehewouldrejectmethewaymyfatherrejectedmewhenhewentoutofmylife。ItaedonAdolfsdoor。Whentherewasnoanswer，Iknockedharder。

Theostmanlookedufromhissorting。“Noonesthere，”hesaid。

“Yeah，”Isaid，feelingalittlefoolish。“Ifheansweredhisdoorthewayheanswershishone，thismaytakeallday。”

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