美丽英文（故事卷）

    蝶吻（1）

    佚名

    “你今天真漂亮。”每天早晨，新婚的丈夫都会对我说这句话。

    只要照一下镜子就知道这句话与事实有多大差距。

    镜中笑吟吟的我瘦瘦的，头发杂乱，没有化妆；而且我还感到自己早晨的口气很不好。

    “骗人。”我大声地喊道，笑了。

    我通常都是这样的反应。母亲的第一个丈夫不是个好人，他常常伤害、虐待母亲。最终，家庭暴力使母亲和她的两个孩子不得不离开，去寻找一个安全的地方。一天，这个男人拿着玫瑰花来到母亲家门前。进门后，却用玫瑰花殴打她，并占了她的便宜。9个月后，母亲生下一个重9英镑13盎司的女婴，那就是我。

    从小到大，听到的那些刻薄言语在我心中扎了根，因此我很难把自己看成是一个有用的人。结婚两年后，我感到很意外，丈夫拥抱着我，说我很漂亮。

    我说：“谢谢你。”

    镜中的我同样是那个瘦瘦的、有着黑褐色头发的女孩，但不管怎样，最终那句温暖的话语在我心中开了花。

    多年过去了，丈夫的头发已变得灰白，我也不再那么瘦弱。上星期的一个早晨，醒来时我发现丈夫的脸离我很近，不过几英寸。

    我问道：“你在干什么？”

    我把嘴捂住，不想对着他呼吸，因为早晨口气很重。他低下头吻了我的脸。

    “做我每天都做的事。”他回答说。

    每天早晨我还在睡觉的时候，丈夫就要离开家，所以我们早晨没有时间交谈。我从不知道他每天早晨都告诉我他爱我，即使当时我在睡觉也会如此。他走后，我打了个滚儿，抱着枕头，想象着自己张着嘴轻轻打鼾的样子，忍不住笑了。

    这样一个男人！他了解我的过去，并一直陪在我身边，看着我从一个自卑的女孩成长为一个自信的女人、一位母亲，同时也是一位成功的演说家和作家。

    我不知道他是否清楚在我一系列的蜕变中，他所起的作用。从小到大，那些刻薄的话曾深深刺痛我的灵魂，而他的话对我的触动更大。

    我打算今年的结婚纪念日早点起床，告诉理查德我有多爱他。他可能会在照镜子时，发现自己又重了一磅或两磅，或是希望某天他的头发又可以变黑变卷；而我所看到的他，永远是那个能看出连我自己都无法看到自身优点的人，是那个甚至在结婚23年后每天依然给我蝶吻的人。

    ■ 心灵小语 心灵小语

    相爱的两个人要懂得珍惜，不仅是珍惜两人之间的爱情，更要珍惜彼此拥有的生活。爱一个人，就是要接受她的全部。即便她并不美丽，并不优秀，但是她成为了你生命中的另一半，你就要悉心地发现她的美，发现她的独特之处。只有彼此发现优点，相互珍惜，生活才会幸福，爱情才会更美好。

    Butterfly Kisses

    Anonymous

    My newlywed husband said the same thing every morning， “You’re beautiful today.”

    One glance in the mirror revealed1 that it was far from the truth.

    A skinny girl with mashed hair on one side of her head and no makeup smiled back at me. I could feel my sticky2 morning breath.

    “Liar,” I shot back with a grin.

    It was my usual response. My mother’s first husband was not a kind man and his verbal3 and physical abuse forced her and her two children to find a safe place. He showed up on her doorstep one day with roses. She let him in and he beat her with those roses and took advantage of her. Nine months later she gave birth to a 9 lb. 13 oz. baby girl—me.

    The harsh4 words we heard growing up took root. I had trouble seeing myself as someone of value. I had been married two years when I surprised myself. My husband wrapped his arms around me and told me I was beautiful.

    蝶吻（2）

    “Thank you,” I said.

    The same thin girl with the mousy5 brown hair still stared back at me in the mirror, but somehow the words had finally blossomed in my heart.

    A lot of years have passed. My husband has grey in his hair. I’m no longer skinny. Last week I woke up and my husband’s face was inches from mine.

    “What are you doing？” I asked.

    I covered my mouth, trying to hide my morning breath. He reached down and kissed my face.

    “What I do every morning,” he said.

    He leaves in the early hours of the morning while I sleep. I miss our morning conversations, but I had not realized that he continued to tell me that he loved me even while I slept. When he left, I rolled over and hugged my pillow. I envisioned6 the picture of me lightly snoring with my mouth open and giggled.

    What a man！ My husband understands my past. He’s been beside me as I’ve grown from an unsure young girl to a confident woman, mother, speaker and author.

    But I’m not sure that he understands the part he played in that transition. The words I heard growing up pierced my soul, yet his words pierced7 even deeper.

    This Anniversary Day I plan to wake early. I wants to tell Richard how much I love him. He may look in the mirror and see an extra pound or two, or wish for the day when his hair was dark and curly, but all I’ll see is the man who saw something in me when I couldn’t see it myself, and who leaves butterfly kisses, even after twenty-three years of marriage.