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Epilogue
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Jeremy and Lexie were sitting together, cuddled beneath a blanket, staring down at the town below. It was Thursday evening, three days after Jeremy’s return to Boone Creek1. The white and yellow lights of the town, interspersed2 with occasional reds and greens, seemed to be flickering, and Jeremy could see plumes3 of smoke rising from chimneys. The river flowed black like liquid coal, mirroring the sky above. Beyond it, the lights from the paper mill spread in all directions, illuminating4 the railroad trestle.
Over the past couple of days, he and Lexie had spent a lot of time talking. She apologized for lying about Rodney and confessed that driving away as Jeremy stood on the gravel5 road at Greenleaf had been the hardest thing she’d ever done. She described the misery6 of the week that they’d been apart, a sentiment that Jeremy echoed. For his part, he told her that while Nate wasn’t thrilled with his move, his editor at Scientific American was willing to let him work from Boone Creek, provided he made it back to New York regularly.
Jeremy didn’t mention that Doris had come to visit him in New York, however; on his second evening back in town, Lexie had brought him over to Doris’s for dinner, and Doris had pulled him aside and asked him not to say anything.
“I don’t want her thinking that I was interfering7 in her life,” she said, her eyes shining. “Believe it or not, she thinks I’m pushy8.”
Sometimes he found it hard to believe that he was really here with her; on the other hand, it was hard to believe that he’d ever left in the first place. Being with Lexie felt natural, as if she were the home he’d been seeking. Although Lexie seemed to feel the same way, she wouldn’t let him stay at her house, insisting, “I wouldn’t want to give the folks around here something to gossip about.” Nevertheless, he felt reasonably comfortable at Greenleaf, even if Jed still hadn’t cracked a smile.
“So you think it’s serious between Rodney and Rachel?” Jerremy asked.
“It seems that way,” Lexie said. “They’ve been spending a lot of time together lately. She beams every time he shows up at Herbs, and I swear he blushes. I think they’ll be really good for each other.”
“I still can’t believe you told me you were going to marry him.”
She nudged her shoulder against his. “I don’t want to go into that again. I’ve already apologized. And I’d rather you not remind me about it for the rest of my life, thank you very much.”
“But it’s such a good story.”
“You think so because it makes you look good by making me look bad.”
“I was good.”
She kissed him on the cheek. “Yes, you were.”
He pulled her closer, watching as a shooting star skimmed the sky. They sat in silence for a moment.
“Are you busy tomorrow?” he asked.
“That depends,” she said. “What did you have in mind?”
“I called Mrs. Reynolds, and I’m going to check out some houses. I’d like it if you came along. In a place like this, I wouldn’t want to find myself in the wrong sort of neighborhood.”
She hugged him tighter. “I’d love to come.”
“And I’d like to bring you to New York, too. Some time in the next couple of weeks. My mom’s insisting that she have a chance to meet you.”
“I’d like to meet her, too. Besides, I’ve always loved that city. Some of the nicest people I’ve ever met live there.” Jeremy rolled his eyes.
Above them, thin strands9 of clouds floated past the moon, and on the horizon, Jeremy could see a storm approaching. In a few hours, the rains would come, but by then, he and Lexie would be sipping10 wine in her living room, listening as the raindrops pelted11 the rooftop.
In time, she turned toward him. “Thank you for coming back. For moving here . . . for everything.”
“I had no choice. Love does funny things to people.”
She smiled. “I love you, too, you know.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“What? You’re not going to say it?”
“Do I have to?”
“You bet you do. And use the right tone, too. You have to say it like you mean it.”
He grinned, wondering if she would guide his “tone” forever. “I love you, Lexie.”
In the distance, a train whistle sounded, and Jeremy saw a pinprick of light in the darkened landscape. Had it been a foggy night, the lights would soon be appearing in the cemetery12. Lexie seemed to follow his thoughts.
“So tell me, Mr. Science Journalist, do you still doubt the existence of miracles?”
“I just told you. You’re my miracle.”
She rested her head on his shoulder for a moment before reaching for his hand. “I’m talking about real miracles. When something happens that you never believed possible.”
“No,” he said. “I think there is always an explanation if one digs deep enough.”
“Even if a miracle were to happen to us?”
Her voice was soft, almost a whisper, and he looked at her. He could see the reflection of the town lights flickering in her eyes.
“What are you talking about?”
She took a deep breath. “Doris shared some news with me earlier today.”
Jeremy watched her face, unable to grasp what she was saying, even as her expression shifted from hesitant to animated13 to expectant. She gazed at him, waiting for him to say something, and still his mind refused to register her words.
There was science and then there was the unexplainable, and Jeremy had spent his life trying to reconcile the two. He dwelt in reality, scoffed14 at magic, and felt pity for the true believers. But as he gazed at Lexie, trying to make sense of what she was telling him, he found his old sense of surety slipping.
No, he couldn’t explain it, and in the future, he never would. It defied the laws of biology, it shattered his assumptions about the man he knew himself to be. Quite simply, it was impossible, but when she gently placed his hand on her stomach, he believed with sudden, euphoric certainty the words he never thought he would hear.
“Here’s our miracle,” she whispered. “It’s a girl.”

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 creek 3orzL     
n.小溪,小河,小湾
参考例句:
  • He sprang through the creek.他跳过小河。
  • People sunbathe in the nude on the rocks above the creek.人们在露出小溪的岩石上裸体晒日光浴。
2 interspersed c7b23dadfc0bbd920c645320dfc91f93     
adj.[医]散开的;点缀的v.intersperse的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
  • The grass was interspersed with beds of flowers. 草地上点缀着许多花坛。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
3 plumes 15625acbfa4517aa1374a6f1f44be446     
羽毛( plume的名词复数 ); 羽毛饰; 羽毛状物; 升上空中的羽状物
参考例句:
  • The dancer wore a headdress of pink ostrich plumes. 那位舞蹈演员戴着粉色鸵鸟毛制作的头饰。
  • The plumes on her bonnet barely moved as she nodded. 她点点头,那帽子的羽毛在一个劲儿颤动。
4 illuminating IqWzgS     
a.富于启发性的,有助阐明的
参考例句:
  • We didn't find the examples he used particularly illuminating. 我们觉得他采用的那些例证启发性不是特别大。
  • I found his talk most illuminating. 我觉得他的话很有启发性。
5 gravel s6hyT     
n.砂跞;砂砾层;结石
参考例句:
  • We bought six bags of gravel for the garden path.我们购买了六袋碎石用来铺花园的小路。
  • More gravel is needed to fill the hollow in the drive.需要更多的砾石来填平车道上的坑洼。
6 misery G10yi     
n.痛苦,苦恼,苦难;悲惨的境遇,贫苦
参考例句:
  • Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
  • He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。
7 interfering interfering     
adj. 妨碍的 动词interfere的现在分词
参考例句:
  • He's an interfering old busybody! 他老爱管闲事!
  • I wish my mother would stop interfering and let me make my own decisions. 我希望我母亲不再干预,让我自己拿主意。
8 pushy tSix8     
adj.固执己见的,一意孤行的
参考例句:
  • But she insisted and was very pushy.但她一直坚持,而且很急于求成。
  • He made himself unpopular by being so pushy.他特别喜欢出风头,所以人缘不好。
9 strands d184598ceee8e1af7dbf43b53087d58b     
n.(线、绳、金属线、毛发等的)股( strand的名词复数 );缕;海洋、湖或河的)岸;(观点、计划、故事等的)部份v.使滞留,使搁浅( strand的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • Twist a length of rope from strands of hemp. 用几股麻搓成了一段绳子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • She laced strands into a braid. 她把几股线编织成一根穗带。 来自《简明英汉词典》
10 sipping e7d80fb5edc3b51045def1311858d0ae     
v.小口喝,呷,抿( sip的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • She sat in the sun, idly sipping a cool drink. 她坐在阳光下懒洋洋地抿着冷饮。
  • She sat there, sipping at her tea. 她坐在那儿抿着茶。
11 pelted 06668f3db8b57fcc7cffd5559df5ec21     
(连续地)投掷( pelt的过去式和过去分词 ); 连续抨击; 攻击; 剥去…的皮
参考例句:
  • The children pelted him with snowballs. 孩子们向他投掷雪球。
  • The rain pelted down. 天下着大雨。
12 cemetery ur9z7     
n.坟墓,墓地,坟场
参考例句:
  • He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。
  • His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。
13 animated Cz7zMa     
adj.生气勃勃的,活跃的,愉快的
参考例句:
  • His observations gave rise to an animated and lively discussion.他的言论引起了一场气氛热烈而活跃的讨论。
  • We had an animated discussion over current events last evening.昨天晚上我们热烈地讨论时事。
14 scoffed b366539caba659eacba33b0867b6de2f     
嘲笑,嘲弄( scoff的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He scoffed at our amateurish attempts. 他对我们不在行的尝试嗤之以鼻。
  • A hundred years ago people scoffed at the idea. 一百年前人们曾嘲笑过这种想法。


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