The air had chilled slightly, and Adrienne had lit a few candles around the kitchen to warm and light the space. Sitting at the table, she had put Mark’s letter back in the box with the note and the photograph. Amanda watched her soberly, her hands in her lap.

“I’m sorry, Mom,” she said quietly. “For everything. For losing Paul, for having to live through that alone. I can’t imagine what it must have been like to keep all of that in-side.”

“Neither can I,” Adrienne said. “There’s no way I could have made it without help.”

Amanda shook her head. “But you did,” she whispered.

“No,” Adrienne said. “I survived, but I didn’t do it alone.”

Amanda looked puzzled. Adrienne offered her a melan-choly smile.

“Grampa,” she finally said. “My daddy. That’s who I

cried with. And I cried with him every day for weeks. Without him, I don’t know what I would have done.”

“But.. .“ Amanda trailed off, and Adrienne went on for her.

“But he couldn’t say anything?” Adrienne paused. “He didn’t have to, He listened, and that was what I needed. Besides, I knew there wasn’t anything he could have said that would have made the pain go away, even if he could speak.” She lifted her gaze. “You know that as well as I do.”

Amanda pressed her lips together. “I wish you’d told me,” she said. “Before now, I mean.”

“Because of Brent?”

Amanda nodded.

“I know you do, but you weren’t ready to hear it until now. You needed time to work through your grief in your own way, on your own terms.”

For a long moment, Amanda said nothing.

“It isn’t fair. You and Paul, me and Brent,” she whis-pered.

“No, it isn’t.”

“How were you able to go on after losing him like that?” Adrienne smiled wistfully. “I took things one day at a time. Isn’t that what they tell you to do? I know it sounds trite¹, but I used to wake up in the mornings and tell my-self that I only had to be strong for one day. Just one day. I did that over and over.”

“You make it sound so simple,” Amanda whispered.

“It wasn’t. It was the hardest time I ever went through.”

“Even more than when Daddy left?”

“That was hard, too, but this was different.” Adrienne

flashed a quick smile. “You were the one who told me that, remember ?“

Amanda looked away. Yes, she thought, I do. “I wish I’d had the chance to meet him.”

点击收听单词发音  

1 trite
adj.陈腐的
参考例句：
The movie is teeming with obvious and trite ideas.这部电影充斥着平铺直叙的陈腐观点。 Yesterday,in the restaurant,Lorraine had seemed trite,blurred,worn away.昨天在饭店里，洛兰显得庸俗、堕落、衰老了。

2 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。

3 devastated
v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的
参考例句：
The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。 His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

4 shrugged
vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）
参考例句：
Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。 She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 dubious
adj.怀疑的，无把握的；有问题的，靠不住的
参考例句：
What he said yesterday was dubious.他昨天说的话很含糊。 He uses some dubious shifts to get money.他用一些可疑的手段去赚钱。

6 eyebrow
n.眉毛，眉
参考例句：
Her eyebrow is well penciled.她的眉毛画得很好。 With an eyebrow raised,he seemed divided between surprise and amusement.他一只眉毛扬了扬，似乎既感到吃惊，又觉有趣。

7 haphazardly
adv.偶然地，随意地，杂乱地
参考例句：
The books were placed haphazardly on the shelf. 书籍乱七八糟地堆放在书架上。 来自《简明英汉词典》 It is foolish to haphazardly adventure. 随便冒险是愚蠢的。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

8 doorway
n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径
参考例句：
They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。 Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。

9 peeking
v.很快地看( peek的现在分词 )；偷看；窥视；微露出
参考例句：
I couldn't resist peeking in the drawer. 我不由得偷看了一下抽屉里面。 They caught him peeking in through the keyhole. 他们发现他从钥匙孔里向里窥视。 来自辞典例句

10 dinosaurs
n.恐龙( dinosaur的名词复数 )；守旧落伍的人，过时落后的东西
参考例句：
The brontosaurus was one of the largest of all dinosaurs. 雷龙是所有恐龙中最大的一种。 来自《简明英汉词典》 Dinosaurs have been extinct for millions of years. 恐龙绝种已有几百万年了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 scattered
adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的
参考例句：
Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

12 outlet
n.出口/路；销路；批发商店；通风口；发泄
参考例句：
The outlet of a water pipe was blocked.水管的出水口堵住了。 Running is a good outlet for his energy.跑步是他发泄过剩精力的好方法。

13 squeaked
v.短促地尖叫( squeak的过去式和过去分词 )；吱吱叫；告密；充当告密者
参考例句：
The radio squeaked five. 收音机里嘟嘟地发出五点钟报时讯号。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》 Amy's shoes squeaked on the tiles as she walked down the corridor. 埃米走过走廊时，鞋子踩在地砖上嘎吱作响。 来自辞典例句

14 peeked
v.很快地看( peek的过去式和过去分词 )；偷看；窥视；微露出
参考例句：
She peeked over the top of her menu. 她从菜单上往外偷看。 来自《简明英汉词典》 On two occasions she had peeked at him through a crack in the wall. 她曾两次透过墙缝窥视他。 来自辞典例句

15 eyelids
n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 )；眼睛也不眨一下；不露声色；面不改色
参考例句：
She was so tired, her eyelids were beginning to droop. 她太疲倦了，眼睑开始往下垂。 Her eyelids drooped as if she were on the verge of sleep. 她眼睑低垂好像快要睡着的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》