就像那些在纽约的演员一样，我也曾大把时间赋闲在家（失业中），于是我在格林威治村一家小而高档的意大利餐厅做着午餐服务员维生。可我是一个糟糕的服务员，我享受和顾客们待在一起，在工作上总是有所疏忽，我的注意力缺失症总让我无法去完成一个合格的服务员该去注意并协调的那些所有的工作上的细节。

　　I was doing my best and scraping by on a few kind tips before they had the good sense to terminate my employment, but on my final shift something interesting happened. I was waiting on an attractive African American couple, a man and a lady who seemed to be on a "first date." Perhaps it was his intense attention to her and her slight controlled discomfort that made me believe so.

　　我尽力做着这份工，也能靠些许善意的小费勉强维生，当然，在老板决定开除我之前。就在我最后一次当班那天，一件有趣的事发生了。我正服侍着一对非裔美国人，这位男士和女士似乎是第一次约会，也许是他对她的在意和她些许自制着的不安让我这样觉得。

　　When it came time to order, he made certain that her order was exactly, precisely what she wanted. Then for himself he ordered a glass of water and some lemon slices...and asked for more bread. OK...no problem; I'm a starving actor, maybe he is too.

　　到了点餐的时候，他确保了那位女士精确无差地点到了自己想吃的菜，然后他给自己点了一杯水和几片柠檬…然后要了一些面包。好吧……没问题。我是一个挨饿的演员，也许他也是。

　　The lemonade he made for himself and bread was free and he was buying a meal for the lady, that was alright with me. I had to admire his boldness and sympathized with his situation. But as the lunch hour began to wane, and I saw him stacking coins on the table I began to get a little perturbed. He was counting out the exact change for the lunch and it wasn't likely to include a tip.

　　他给自己点的柠檬水和面包都是餐厅免费提供的，而与此同时，他却给这位女士要的付费餐点。对我来说这也没问题。我也十分钦佩他的勇气，也同情他的处境。午餐吃到快结束的时候，我看见他把硬币掏出来叠放在桌上，这让我稍微有些不安起来。他数着支付午餐费的零钱，看上去不太可能包括小费了。

　　As his "date" stood to go to the restroom I walked up to the table to collect the coins. This man then turned his attention to me and saw the look on my face. He said, "What's the problem, all the money is there." "It's customary to include a tip," I said through a slight smirk as I counted the coins into my hand.

　　就在他的“约会对象”站起来去洗手间的工夫，我到桌前收起这些硬币。男人这时才注意到我，也看到了我脸上的表情。他说：“有问题吗？所有该付的钱都在这里了。”“按习惯是要给小费的。”我一边假笑着一边把硬币数到我的手上。

　　Without blinking he replied, "I have a tip for you; shake my hand." I looked at him as though I didn't want trouble and began to dismiss him as though I didn't need his "tip" whatever he intended by it. I turned to head back to the register but he followed me and holding his hand out said again; "Shake my hand."

　　眼都没眨，他回答道：“我有一份给你的小费，来握住我的手。”我看着他，如同我不愿给自己找麻烦，并不打算理会他，就好像无论他如何想要给我都不需要他的“tip”一样。我转身去到签到台，他跟在我身后，伸出他的手又说了一遍：“和我握手。”

　　Reasoning briefly, I decided to just go along with it. I puffed through my nose, and grabbed his hand for a quick shake. To my surprise, he pulled his hand away and said, "That's not a handshake." He had my attention.

　　简单地思索了一下，我决定顺其自然吧，我吸了吸鼻子，抓过他的手迅速握了一下。令人惊讶是，他抽回了自己的手，说到：“这不是握手。”这句话，让我忽然对他另眼相看。

　　In my momentary silence, he spoke again; "You want your tip, hold out your hand." Can you believe I really didn't want to? But his gaze was not threatening, his lady friend had returned to witness this tiny event, and I simply obeyed.

　　在我短暂的沉默中，他又说到：“你想要你的小费，那就伸出你的手。”你能相信我真的不想伸手吗？但他的凝视毫无威胁，他的那位女士朋友也回来了正看着这一切，我就顺从了。

　　"Now this is a handshake," he said as his hand reached for mine. "You see, the webs of our thumbs meet, that's how we know we're touching one another...then we look right into each other's eyes and allow our hands to embrace...not too hard to prove we're macho, just like this, you see?"

　　“这，才是一个真正的握手。”说着，他的手握住了我的手。“你看，我们的大拇指扣住了对方，这样我们才知道我们触到了彼此……然后，我们看去对方的眼睛，再让我们的手掌拥抱在一起。不必太用力似乎要证明我们很有男人力量，就像这样，你看？”

　　A slight smile had come over his face as he noticed; I had gotten the connection! This was the best tip I ever got as a waiter; and one of the best in my life.

　　一丝不易察觉的笑容掠过他的脸，而此时，我真切地感受到了这种真诚的人与人之间的联结。这是我的服务员生涯中收到的最好的小费，也是人生中最好的一笔。