2-62

 

62.

I phoned my friend Thomas one evening. Thomas, brother of my beloved mate Henners. Thomas,so funny and witty¹. Thomas, with the infectious² laugh.

Thomas, living reminder³ of better days.

I was at Clarence House, sitting on the floor of the TV room. Probably watching Friends.

Hey, Boose, what’re you up to?

He laughed. No one else called him Boose.

Harr-eese! Hello!

I smiled. No one else called me Harr-eese.

He said he was just leaving a business dinner. He was pleased to have someone to chat withwhile he was making his way home.

His voice, so much like his brother’s, was an instant comfort. It made me happy, even thoughThomas wasn’t happy. He, too, was struggling, he said. Going through a divorce, other challenges.

The conversation went inexorably to that original challenge, the wellspring of all challenges,Henners. Thomas missed his brother so much. Me too, I said. Man, me too.

He thanked me for speaking at an event to raise money for Henners’s charity.

Wouldn’t miss it. That’s what friends are for.

I thought of the event. And the pre-event panic attack.

Then we reminisced, randomly⁴. Thomas and Henners, Willy and me, Saturday mornings,lounging around with Mummy, watching telly—having burping contests.

She was like a teenage boy!

She was, mate.

Going with Mummy to see Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Me and Henners mooning the security cameras at Ludgrove.

We both started laughing.

He reminded me that Henners and I were so close, people called us Jack⁵ and Russell. Maybethat was because Willy and I had Jack Russells? Oh I wondered where Henners might be. Was hewith Mummy? Was he with the dead from Afghanistan? Was Gan-Gan there too? I was joltedfrom this train of thought by the sound of Thomas screaming.

Boose, mate, you OK?

Angry voices, a scuffle, a struggle. I put the phone on speaker, shot down the corridor, up thestairs, burst into the police room. I shouted that my mate was in trouble. We leaned over thephone, listening, but the line had already gone dead.

It was obvious: Thomas was being mugged. Luckily he’d just happened to mention the nameof the restaurant where he’d had dinner. It was in Battersea. Plus, I knew where he lived. Wechecked a map: there was only one logical route between those two points. Several bodyguardsand I raced there and found Thomas on the side of the road. Near Albert Bridge. Beaten, shaken.

We took him to the nearest police station, where he signed a statement. Then we drove him home.

Along the way he kept thanking me for coming to his rescue.

I hugged him tightly⁶. What friends are for.

 

1 witty   

adj.机智的，风趣的

参考例句：

• Her witty remarks added a little salt to the conversation.她的妙语使谈话增添了一些风趣。
• He scored a bull's-eye in their argument with that witty retort.在他们的辩论中他那一句机智的反驳击中了要害。

2 infectious   

adj.传染的，有传染性的，有感染力的

参考例句：

• Influenza is an infectious disease.流感是一种传染病。
• What an infectious laugh she has!她的笑声多么具有感染力啊！

3 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

4 randomly   

adv.随便地，未加计划地

参考例句：

• Within the hot gas chamber, molecules are moving randomly in all directions. 在灼热的气体燃烧室内，分子在各个方向上作无规运动。 来自辞典例句
• Transformed cells are loosely attached, rounded and randomly oriented. 转化细胞则不大贴壁、圆缩并呈杂乱分布。 来自辞典例句

5 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

6 tightly   

adv.紧紧地，坚固地，牢固地

参考例句：

• My child holds onto my hand tightly while we cross the street.横穿马路时，孩子紧拉着我的手不放。
• The crowd pressed together so tightly that we could hardly breathe.人群挤在一起，我们几乎喘不过气来。