读者文摘:因为你与我同在(3)（在线收听）

When I enter Pete's home, he's in the bedroom with Jimmie's body, sitting on the bed stroking her hair.

我走进皮特的家，吉米躺在床上，皮特抚摸着她的头发。

I sit beside him. He's a big, rough-looking man with a crooked nose and muscular, tattooed forearms.

我坐在他旁边，他块头很大，长相粗犷，鹰钩鼻，前臂上有纹身，肌肉发达。

"I let her down," he says. "Spent my time working. Never told her I loved her."

“我让她失望了，”他说。“我一直在工作，从来没有告诉过她我爱她。”

Rather than let him get sucked into a narrative of guilt, I ask what he did do.

为了不让他陷入自责，我问他做过的事。

He describes spending long days at the oncology clinic,

他描述了在肿瘤诊所度过的漫长日子，

building a wheelchair ramp so she could smell her rosebushes,

他做了一个轮椅坡道好让吉米闻到玫瑰花香，

working extra shifts to pay for her medications.

他加班给吉米支付医药费。

Using memories like these, we zero in on how he'd expressed his love—

凭借着这些记忆，我们明白了皮特表达爱意的方式——

not through words but through gestures of affection and acts of loyalty and sacrifice.

不是言语，而是爱意，忠诚和牺牲。

We talk throughout the night.

我们彻夜长谈。

Eventually Pete lets me call his buddy Tank, who shows up just as the funeral home people arrive.

最终皮特让我给他的好友汤克打电话，汤克是和殡仪馆一起来的那个人。

Pete, Tank, and I discuss Pete's threats and what's driving them.

我和皮特、汤克讨论了皮特的危险处境和原因。

I talk about coping strategies and optimizing support.

我提出了应对策略和优化方案。

But these textbook recommendations take a back seat to the simple imperative

但这些建议不及简单地——

to open my heart and be fully present to someone who's hurting.

敞开心扉，全身心抚慰受伤的人。

And that, I've come to believe, is what Claude was talking about:

我开始相信，这就是克劳德所说的：

the power of moving toward another's suffering rather than away.

怀抱而不是远离所带来的力量。

Driving home, exhausted, I reflect on the words Tank left with me.

驱车回家时，我疲惫不堪，想起了汤克留给我的那句话。

"You got him through the night, Scott," he said.

“斯科特，你让他熬过了这一夜，”汤克说。

"Me and my wife'll take it from here. I promise."

“我和我妻子会重新出发，我保证。”

I feel sad for Pete's loss. But I know he'll be surrounded by love.

我为皮特失去所爱之人感到难过，但我知道包围他的是满满的爱。

And in my mind's eye, I see Claude lifting his beer bottle and giving me one of his crooked smiles.

在脑海中，我看到克劳德举起啤酒瓶，向我露出一丝狡黠的微笑。