As I searched for the words, I could see him getting impatient; frustrated by my silence, he started to scowl. 当我搜肠刮肚地想着合适的话的时候，我看得出，他开始不耐烦了。他被我的沉默挫败着，开始沉下脸来。

I lifted my hand from my neck, and held up one finger. 我把手从脖子下移开，向他竖起一根手指。

"Let me think," I insisted. “让我想想。”我坚持着。

His expression cleared, now that he was satisfied that I was planning to answer. 他的脸立刻明朗起来，他很满意，因为我正计划着回答他的问题。

I dropped my hand to the table, moving my left hand so that my palms were pressed together. 我把手放到桌子上，伸出左手，然后掌心相抵着。

I stared at my hands, twisting and untwisting my fingers, as I finally spoke. 我看着自己的双手，十指时伸时屈。最终，我说话了。

"Well, aside from the obvious, sometimes..." I hesitated. “嗯，除去那些显而易见的表现，有时候……”我迟疑着。

"I can't be sure—I don't know how to read minds— “我不能肯定——我可不会读心术——

but sometimes it seems like you're trying to say goodbye when you're saying something else." 可有时候当你在说别的事时，你像是努力要说再见一样。”

That was the best I could sum up the sensation of anguish that his words triggered in me at times. 这是我对他的话时不时在我心里引起的那些痛苦的感觉的最好的总结。

"Perceptive," he whispered. And there was the anguish again, surfacing as he confirmed my fear. “非常敏锐。”他耳语道。又一阵痛苦袭来，表面上看他似乎证实了我的恐惧。

"That's exactly why you're wrong, though," he began to explain, but then his eyes narrowed. "What do you mean, 'the obvious'?" “但是，那确实是你错了的原因。”他正要开始解释，但随即，他的眼睛眯缝起来。“你是什么意思，‘那些显而易见的表现’？”

"Well, look at me," I said, unnecessarily as he was already staring. “好吧，看着我。”我说道，但这毫无必要，因为他已经在注视着我了。

"I'm absolutely ordinary— “我无比平凡

well, except for bad things like all the near-death experiences and being so clumsy that I'm almost disabled. And look at you." 嗯，除了一些不好的事，比方说所有这些与死神擦肩而过的经历，还有笨拙得像个残障人士一样。而看看你。”

I waved my hand toward him and all his bewildering perfection. 我挥手示意着他，还有他所有的让人迷乱的极致之处。