■婚礼上的戈里亚
We Are Family
◎Jane Paddock/简·派多克
When I broke up with yet another boyfriend, this time after a three-year relationship, I decided it was time for me to face the facts—I was just not lucky in love. Yet even though I had given up on men, I wasn’t ready to go without love in my life, so I decided to get a dog.
I found the perfect puppy after a careful search, and one hot June day, I brought home the little golden retriever puppy I’d named Cognac.
Like all puppies, Cognac was adorable[35]; immediately, I felt love and sweetness flowing in my life again. Why hadn’t I thought of this sooner?
A few days later, I received a call from a man who’d gotten my name through a computer dating club. I had joined the club before the start of my last relationship and had never cancelled my membership. I hadn’t been very impressed with the people I’d met through the club’s services, but this guy, Brad, seemed nice enough on the phone, so when he asked me to meet him at the lake in a nearby park the next evening, I thought, I’ve got to walk Cognac anyway ... sure, why not?
经典谚语
Every bird likes its own nest.
鸟均爱其巢，人皆爱其家。
当我又与男朋友分手，结束这段为期3年的感情后，我决定是时候面对现实了——我是爱情里的不幸者。然而，尽管我已经放弃男人们，但我还没有准备好过没有爱的生活，所以我决定养条小狗。
经过我的仔细挑选，我找到了完美的小狗；在一个炎热的6月天，我把这条小金毛猎犬带回家，给它起名戈里亚。
像所有的小狗一样，戈里亚非常可爱，随即，我感受到了爱和甜蜜在我的生命里流动起来。为什么我没有早点儿想到这些？
几天后，我接到一个陌生人的电话，他是通过网上约会俱乐部得到我名字的。我是在上次感情开始前加入这个俱乐部的，还没有取消会员资格。我对通过俱乐部认识的人没有很深刻的印象，但这个家伙，布拉德，讲电话时听起来很热情，所以，当他约我第二天晚上在附近一个公园的湖边见面时，我想，我反正也要带着戈里亚去散步……好吧，为什么不去？
Brad had said he was no longer in the service, but that he had been an air force tech sergeant. That wasn’t the kind of guy I usually dated, but I had liked his voice on the phone and decided to keep an open mind. When I got to the park for our date, I looked around for a blond man with a buzz cut and a military bearing. There was no one like that at the park—the only blond man was a gorgeous guy with hair almost to his shoulders. I thought, now why can’t a guy like that ask me out? Then the gorgeous guy walked over to me and said, “Are you Jan?”
I immediately decided to give men another chance.
Cognac’s enthusiastic greeting made our introductions easy. He jumped up on Brad’s legs and ran in circles, wagging his whole body madly while trying to lick every part of Brad he could. We started to walk around the lake, and everybody we met fussed over[36] the puppy. By the time we were halfway around the lake, Brad was holding Cognac’s leash, and he and I were chatting away like old friends.
At the end of our walk, we weren’t ready to say goodbye, so we found a cafe and picked an outdoor table so the puppy could be with us. From the very start, our relationship included Cognac.
Things went from good to better. One evening, three months later, Brad and I went to a restaurant that we liked for dinner. It was one of those places that have paper over the tablecloths and when they bring you the menu, they also bring crayons so that you can draw or write poetry while you’re waiting for your meal. Brad and I always played Hangman while we waited and that night, we were playing our usual game. As I guessed the letters and the words started to form themselves, a sentence emerged: Will you marry me?
I gasped and turned towards Brad, “Are you kidding?”
布拉德表示，他曾经是空军技术军士，但现在已经不服役了。他不是我常约会的那种类型的男人，但我喜欢他在电话里的声音，便决定保持开放的态度。当我到公园赴约时，我环顾四周，寻找剪裁时髦的军装和佩戴勋章的金发男子。可是，公园里没一个那样的人——唯一的金发男子是一个头发几乎到肩膀的英俊男子。我想，为什么这么帅的男人会来找我约会？然后，那帅气的男人向我走来，说：“是你吗？珍？”
我立即决定要再给男性们一个机会。
戈里亚的热烈欢迎使我们的相处变得很容易。它跳上布拉德的腿，围着他转，疯狂地摇摆着整个身体，试图舔遍布拉德的全身。我们开始在湖边散步，每个人见到我们的小狗都大惊小怪。不知不觉，我们已经绕着湖走了大半圈，布拉德拉着戈里亚，和我像是老朋友一样聊个没完。
散步结束后，我们都还没准备好说再见，所以我们找了一家咖啡馆；为了方便与小狗在一起，我们选择了坐在室外。从一开始，我们的关系里就包括了戈里亚。
我们之间进展得非常顺利。3个月后的一天晚上，我和布拉德去一家我们都很喜欢的餐厅吃晚饭。它在这些地方的餐馆中是有桌布纸的，当服务员来点餐时，也会送来蜡笔，以便候餐的时间可以让您画画或写诗。布拉德总在等餐时和我玩游戏，而那一晚我们玩着一贯玩的游戏。当我猜出全部的字母和单词时，一个完整的句子出现了：你愿意嫁给我吗？
我深吸一口气，转向布拉德：“你在开玩笑吧？”
布拉德神情紧张，但眼睛闪闪发光。他对我笑了笑，说：“不，我
Brad looked nervous, but his eyes were shining and he smiled at me.“No, I’m not kidding—what’s your answer?”
I took a crayon and wrote a huge YES across the paper.
We sat grinning at each other for a few minutes and then began to plan our wedding.
From the start, we were sure about two things: We wanted an outdoor wedding and we wanted Cognac to be a part of the ceremony.
The day of the wedding dawned perfect and clear. Our families and friends gathered near the natural spring that we’d chosen as the spot where we would say our vows. My bridesmaids were dressed in rich purple gowns. I had on my wedding dress, and my heart felt as if it were over flowing with love and joy. Yet I was slightly apprehensive, wondering if we had lost our minds expecting Cognac, now ten months old and goofy in the way that only young dogs can be, to handle his responsibilities as ring bearer without creating chaos.
Cognac wore a white collar and a purple satin bow tie. My bridesmaids, who knew we had lost our minds having a dog at the ceremony, ran around with lint rollers, trying to keep their dark gowns free of golden hair—an almost impossible task.
Cognac’s job was to carry a heart-shaped basket containing our rings to Brad. The basket held a heart-shaped pillow to which Brad had secured our rings with pieces of wire. This would prevent a disaster, in case Cognac decided to go for a swim in the spring, basket and all, instead of delivering it to Brad as we’d planned. As I began to walk to the aisle, in preparation for following the bridesmaids, I panicked[37]. I realized I needed another hand! I held my bouquet in one hand, Cognac on his leash in the other, but I needed to
不是在开玩笑——你的答案呢？”
我拿起蜡笔，在纸上写了巨大的三个字：我愿意。
我们坐在那里，望着彼此微笑，然后开始计划我们的婚礼。
从一开始，我们就确定了两件事情：我们想在户外举行婚礼，我们想让戈里亚也作为结婚典礼上的嘉宾。
婚礼的那天清早，准备完善后，我们的家人和朋友聚集在附近的天然温泉，我们会在那个地方宣读誓言。伴娘们身着紫色衣服，而我穿着婚纱，压抑不住幸福和喜悦。然而，我有点担心，不知道我们让10个月大的戈里亚拿戒指的方式是不是愚蠢——年轻的狗可都是制造混乱的高手啊。
戈里亚戴着白色衣领和一条紫缎领结。我的伴娘知道我们带条狗来婚礼简直是失去了理智，她们拿着粘毛刷四处奔忙，想方设法要将她们礼服上的金色毛发刷下来——这几乎不可能。
戈里亚的任务是将装着戒指的心形花篮交给布拉德。篮子里装着一个心形枕头，布拉德用线把戒指稳妥地固定在枕头上。这样就能阻止意外发生，一旦戈里亚决定去温泉游泳，篮子和所有的东西都会弄丢，我们预想的把戒指交给布拉德就会泡汤。当我准备随着伴娘走上走道时，我害怕了。我意识到，我需要帮忙！我一只手拿着花束，一只手牵着戈
hold the basket as well. If I gave the basket to Cognac to carry, he would take it as the signal to run to Brad, just as he’d been trained and I’d be dragged after him—spoiling the effect I’d had in my mind for my appearance on the scene.
Somehow I managed to get to the aisle, unhook Cognac’s leash and put the basket in his mouth. He was off like a shot, racing toward Brad with his beautiful golden ears streaming behind him, as if he was hot on the trail of a speeding rabbit. There was a swell of laughter as our guests appreciated the dedication of our furry ring-bearer.
When Cognac reached Brad, he dropped the basket at feet and, panting, looked up at Brad. As Brad reached down to pick up the rings, a suddenly quiet Cognac solemnly raised his paw to meet my almost-husband’s hand—a canine “Way to go, Brad.”
Our guests, dog-lovers and non-dog-lovers alike, were completely undone and to this day, when anyone talks about our wedding they may not remember what year it was or what I was wearing, but they always mention the dog’s pawshake.
For me, it was the perfect start to our new life together. Just the way I always dreamed it would be—Brad and me ... and Cognac.
里亚，同时还必须抓好篮子。如果我把篮子交给戈里亚，它将以为这是把篮子送给布拉德的指令，就像训练时一样；所以我得拽好戈里亚，不能让我想象中的坏情境发生。
不知道为什么，我还是走上了过道，解开戈里亚的皮带，把篮子送到它嘴里。戈里亚像听到发令声一样挣脱了绳索，叼着花篮朝布拉德跑去，漂亮的金色耳朵甩在身后，仿佛在热火朝天地追赶一只超速兔子。客人们都笑出了声，赞赏着我们这位毛茸茸的戒童。
当戈里亚跑到布拉德面前，它放下篮子，气喘吁吁地看着布拉德。布拉德弯腰拿起戒指时，戈里亚突然安静下来，庄严地举起爪子碰了碰我这位准丈夫的手——就像是在说“去吧，布拉德”。
我们的客人，不管是爱狗或不爱狗的都一样，那天已经完全混乱了；而只要有人谈起我们的婚礼，他们可能不记得那是哪一年或者我穿的是什么，但他们总是提到戈里亚的爪子。
对我来说，这是我们一家的新生活一个完美的开始。就像我总是魂牵梦绕的一样——布拉德和我……还有戈里亚的生活。