When Mom and Dad received the news from the doctor that his heart was deteriorating rapidly, they took it hand in hand, side by side, all the way.
　　當(dāng)父母親從醫(yī)生那里得知父親的心臟正在快速衰竭的時(shí)候，他們始終手牽手，肩并肩地一起面對(duì)疾病。

　　After Dad’s death, we had the most unpleasant task of going through his things. I have never liked this task and opted to 9)run errands so I did not have to be there while most of the things were divided and boxed up.
　　父親逝世后，我們開始整理他的遺物，這是最為難受的任務(wù)。我從來(lái)不喜歡做這活兒，而選擇了做跑腿，因此大部分遺物被分類和裝箱的時(shí)候，我都不必在場(chǎng)。

　　When I got back from my errand, my brother said, “Kristi, Mom said to give this to you. She said you would know what it meant.”
　　當(dāng)我辦完事回家的時(shí)候，我的哥哥說(shuō)：“克莉絲汀，這是媽媽讓我給你的。她說(shuō)你會(huì)明白其中的含義。”

　　As I looked down into his outstretched hand, it was then that I knew the impact of my letter that day so long ago. In my brother’s hand was my picture that I had given my dad that day. My unsentimental dad, who never let his emotions get the best of him; my dad, who almost never outwardly showed his love for me, had kept the one thing that meant so much to him and me. I sat down and the tears began to flow, tears that I thought had dried up from the grief of his death but that had now found new life as I realized what I had meant to him. Mom told me that Dad kept both the picture and that letter his whole life. I have a box in my home that I call the “Dad box”. In it are so many things that remind me of my dad. I pull that picture out every once in a while and remember. I remember a promise that was made many years ago between a young man and his bride on their wedding day, and I remember the unspoken promise that was made between a father and his daughter.
　　我低頭看他伸出的手，那時(shí)我才明白到我那封信在多年前那天所產(chǎn)生的影響。我哥哥手中拿的是那天我給父親的那張照片。我那不善表露感情的父親，從來(lái)不讓內(nèi)心的情緒左右自己；我的父親，幾乎從來(lái)沒(méi)有大方地表達(dá)對(duì)我的愛(ài)，卻一直保存著這張對(duì)他和我都極為重要的照片。我坐下來(lái)，眼淚開始滴落，我曾以為我的眼淚在他去世的時(shí)候就流干了，而現(xiàn)在當(dāng)我意識(shí)到我對(duì)他是多么重要的時(shí)候，眼淚又開始“復(fù)蘇”。母親告訴我說(shuō)，父親始終珍藏著這張照片和那封信。我家里有一個(gè)我稱之為“爸爸盒子”的盒子。里面放了許多可以讓我回憶起父親的東西。我不時(shí)從這個(gè)盒子里拿出這張照片，回憶往日。我記得許多年前一名年輕男子與他的新娘在結(jié)婚那天許下的誓言，我記得一個(gè)父親和他女兒之間無(wú)言的承諾。

　　A promise kept.
　　一個(gè)恪守一生的承諾。