John Cheever's China swimmer, hurry! Have extra points

It was a Sunday in midsummer, and all the idle people were saying, "I drank too much last night." Perhaps you have heard this sentence from parishioners who walked out of the church; Perhaps in the cloakroom of the church, you will find the priest muttering this sentence and struggling to put on the vestment; On golf courses and tennis courts, people are repeating the same sentence; In the wildlife sanctuary, audubon's leaders also muttered this sentence while enduring a headache after drunkenness. "I drank too much." Donald? Xihaizi said. Lucinda. Merrill said, "We're all drunk." Helen? Xihaizi said, "It must be the wine. I drank too much red wine. "

The above conversation took place next to the swimming pool of Xihaizi's house. The water source of this swimming pool comes from an iron-rich artesian well, and the pool water is light green. It's sunny today, and there is a large cumulus cloud in the west. There is a ship approaching the coast in the distance. Seen from the bow, the outline of that cumulus cloud is particularly like a city with a name, which makes people think that it should also have a name: Lisbon, Hackensack? The weather is very hot. Ned. Merrill is sitting by the light green water, with one hand in the water and a glass of gin in the other. This man has a slender figure-he seems to have the unique slimness of young people-although he is no longer young, he can easily slide down the railing of the stairs when jogging to the living room with the smell of coffee in the kitchen that morning. He also patted the bronze back of the statue of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess, as he passed the table in the hall. Or we can compare him to a summer day, especially the last hours of the day, because when he needs a tennis racket or canvas bag, he feels young, energetic and gentle. He had been swimming before, and now he was panting like a snorer, as if he could suck all the ingredients in that moment into his lungs, including the heat of the sun and his intense pleasure, as if everything had flowed into his chest. His own house is located in Brett Park, about eight kilometers south. By this time, his four beautiful daughters should have finished lunch or should be playing tennis. Suddenly an idea jumped into his mind: if he turned sharply to the southwest, maybe he could reach his home by water.

His life is unconstrained, so his interest in this conclusion cannot be interpreted as an escape. Through the eyes of his cartographer, he seems to see this string of swimming pools, and these similar underground rivers meander through the whole county. His discovery should be a contribution to modern geography. He is willing to name the river after his wife Lucinda. He is not a prankster or a fool, but he is definitely an original creator. He has a vague and simple concept of himself: that is, he is a legend. The weather is so good that he thinks that a long swim can make it more beautiful.

He took off his sweater and jumped into the water. He has an unspeakable contempt for people who don't suddenly jump into the water. He swam in different directions for a while, breathing every stroke or four times, and rhythmically counting "one, two, one, two" somewhere in his mind.

This stroke is not suitable for long-distance swimming, but the meekness of swimming makes this sport have some conventions. For him, freestyle is his habit. Light green water surrounded him and made him float. In his view, this is not a kind of enjoyment, but a state of returning to nature. He likes swimming in the swimming pool without trunk lines, but considering his plan, it seems difficult to achieve this.

He supported himself with a fence in the distance-he never used an escalator-and began to cross the lawn. When Lucinda asked him where he was going, he said he would swim home.

He will follow the only route, either he remembers it or he imagines it, but the route is clear enough. First, we will pass Graham's home, Harmo's home, Lear's home, Holland's home and Klaus's home. After that, he will cross Dietmar Street to reach Ke Ben's home. After a short journey by land, he will arrive at Levi's home, Welch's home and Lancaster's public school respectively. After that, we will pass Halloran's home, Saatchi's home, Biswanger's home and Shirley's home respectively. Adams, Gilmartin and Clyde. The pleasant weather, coupled with being in a rich water world, makes him feel that this is a kind. He was in high spirits and trotted across the lawn. Going home in such an unusual way makes him feel like a pilgrim, or an explorer, a person with a specific destiny. He knew that he would meet many friends along the way. They all live on the coast of Lucinda.

He crossed the fence separating Xihaizi's home from Graham's, walked past several flowering apple trees, passed their hut with water pump and filter, and came to Graham's swimming pool. "Oh, Ned!" Mrs. Graham said, "What a surprise! I have been calling you all morning. Come and have a drink. " Like any explorer, he realized that in order to finally reach his destination, he could only use clever diplomatic means to deal with the customs and traditions of the local people's hospitality. He doesn't want to confuse the Graham family or think he is rude, but he really doesn't have time to stay here. He swam around their swimming pool and then went ashore to enjoy the sunshine with them for a while. Fortunately, he had a chance to escape in a few minutes. Two cars from Connecticut brought Graham's friends. He slipped away quietly when the crowd was immersed in the noise of reunion. He walked along Graham's front yard, crossed a fence full of thorns, and crossed a clearing before reaching Mohism. Mrs. Hemmer was in her rose garden. When she looked up, she happened to see him swimming, although she was not sure who it was. Lear's living room was open, and they heard Ned walk through their window. There is no one in Haurand and Klaus Karp's family. After leaving Holland's swimming pool, he crossed dietmar Street and walked towards Ke Ben's house. Far away, he heard the sound of a party in their house.

Water refracts people's voices and laughter, and seems to suspend them in mid-air. The water in this swimming pool has risen a little. He climbed several steps and came to a balcony. About 25 to 30 men and women drink here. Is the only person in the pool rusty? Tarvos, he is lying on a floating rubber raft. How beautiful and prosperous the area along the Lucinda River is! Rich men and women gathered by the sapphire water, and the banquet organizer in white dress handed the guests iced gin. On the highland, the horse trainer in haviland, Red Germany, is running in circles. He is as happy as a child on a swing. Looking at this scene, Ned felt a kind of lovelorn; In the face of this kind of party, his heart is full of cordial feelings, as if it were a feeling he could touch. He heard thunder in the distance. When is Enid? When Ben saw him, she screamed at once: "Oh, look! Who is here? What a surprise! You know, I was really sad when Lucinda said you couldn't come. " She walked through the crowd towards him. After kissing each other, she took him to the bar. This process dragged on for a long time, because he had to stop halfway to kiss and greet eight or nine other women and shake hands with other men as much as possible.

A bartender handed him a gin and a soft drink. The smile on the bartender's face is the same as that he saw at the previous party. He stayed in front of the bar for a while, worried that he couldn't concentrate on any conversation because he didn't want to delay the trip any more. Seeing that more and more people seemed to come around, he jumped into the water and got as close to the edge of the pool as possible to avoid touching Laxiti's rubber raft. At the other end of the pool, he gave Tomlinson a big smile and then bypassed them and ran all the way up the garden path. The gravel is licking its own feet, but it's just discomfort. The people attending the party are all concentrated by the swimming pool. When he walked to the house in the bunker, he heard the different voices at the party fade away. The sound of the radio came from Ke Ben's kitchen. It seemed that someone was listening to the ball game. It's a Sunday afternoon. He walked through the parked vehicles and along the driveway leading to the Hutong, the hostess of the beer shop. The sides of the driveway are covered with green grass. He doesn't want people to see him wearing swimming trunks in the street, but there are no cars and pedestrians on the road. He took a shortcut to Levi's home. A private property sign stood beside the driveway, and a green mailbox was used to hold The New York Times. All the doors and windows of this big house are open, but it is quiet all around. There seems to be no sign of life, even a dog barking can't be heard. He walked along the side of the house to their swimming pool and found that the Levi family had just left. On the other side of the swimming pool is a public bathroom or balcony with Japanese lanterns hanging on it. There is also a table on the open space, with some wine glasses and bottles on it, and some plates of nuts. After swimming in the swimming pool, he found himself a cup and poured some wine. This is his fourth or fifth glass of wine. He swam almost halfway across the Lucinda River. He felt a little tired, but being alone at this moment made him feel pure and comfortable. He is very happy, and everything around him makes him happy.

It seems that a storm is coming. That cumulus cloud-that city-rose and turned black. While he was sitting there, he heard the sound of lightning strike again. On the highland, the horse trainer in haviland, Red Germany, is still running in circles. Ned felt as if he heard the cheerful laughter of the driver rippling in the afternoon, but there was rumbling thunder. Ned got up to go home. The whistle of a train passed, and he wanted to know what time it was. Four o'clock? Five o'clock? At that moment, he remembered the provincial TV station. A waiter, with a raincoat on his evening dress; A dwarf wrapped some flowers in a newspaper; A woman who has been crying has been waiting for the arrival of the local train. It suddenly got dark, and it seemed that until that moment, the stupid birds stopped singing, and instead, they called in a hurry, as if to announce that they already knew the storm was coming. Then, at the top of an oak tree behind him, there was a sound of water rushing down, as if the tap had been turned on. Then there was a sound like a fountain from the top of all the towering trees. Why does he love storms so much? When the door was blown open by the wind and the wind mixed with rain roared up the stairs, what did he mean by excitement? Why does a simple task like closing the window of an old house make him feel so appropriate and urgent? Why must the first sign of a storm mean good news for him? Then there was an explosion, which smelled of smokeless gunpowder. Did the rain fall on the lantern Mrs. Levy bought in Kyoto, Japan the year before last, or the year before last?

He stayed on Mrs. levy's balcony until the storm passed. The rain cooled the air, and he trembled unconsciously. The strong wind blew off the red leaves and yellow leaves on the maple tree and scattered them on the lawn and water. It is midsummer now, and after this destruction, the trees will undoubtedly wither slowly. Facing the coming autumn, he can't help feeling a special sadness. He tightened his shoulders, drank the wine in his glass and began to walk to Welch's swimming pool. This meant that he had to go through the circus in Lindley. He was surprised to find that there were so many weeds here that even the hurdles were removed. He wanted to know whether the Lindley family had sold all their horses, or whether they had gone somewhere for their holiday, so they put them in someone else's house. He seems to remember what he heard about the Lindleys and horses, but his memory is vague. He walked barefoot through the wet grass and came to Welch's home. He found their swimming pool dry.

He was disappointed that the series of waters he planned to explore were absurdly interrupted by this gap. He felt like an explorer, looking for the source of the torrent, only to find that it was a dead stream. He felt disappointed and confused. It is normal to go out in summer, but it is not enough to drain all the water in the pool. Mr. and Mrs. Welch must have left. The swimming pool equipment has been folded and covered with tarpaulins. The dressing room was also locked, and all the windows of the house were closed. When he walked to the driveway in front, he found a sign nailed to the tree there, which said "for sale". When was the last time he got a call from Welch's family-when he and Lucinda regretted not inviting their family to dinner? It seems like a week ago. Did his memory drop? Or has he been suppressing unpleasant things in his memory, so even his discrimination against the truth has been destroyed? He heard the sound of a tennis match in the distance, which made him a little excited, and his worries were immediately eliminated. He no longer cared about the gloomy sky and the cold air. Is this Ned? The day when muriel swam in the county seat. This is the day! He began to move to the most difficult areas on land and water.

If you went out to ride a bike that Sunday afternoon, maybe you could see him: standing on the shoulder of Line 424, wearing a swimming trunks alone, waiting for the chance to cross the road. You may guess that he is probably the victim of unfair competition, or that there is something wrong with his car, or that he is really a fool. Standing barefoot in the mud beside the highway-beer cans, scraps of paper, broken tires-it seems that all this is mocking him, as if he is somewhat pitiful. Before he started this journey, he knew it would be part of his journey-it was always on his map-but facing the rows of cars crawling on the highway in summer, he found that he was not ready for all this. Someone around him was laughing at him, and a beer can hit him. He has neither dignity nor enough sense of humor to deal with the present situation. He could have turned around and gone back to Xihaizi's house. Maybe Lucinda is still there basking in the sun. He didn't sign anything, didn't swear anything, and didn't even promise himself anything. Although he believes that people's stubbornness and stubbornness are easily influenced by common sense, why can't he go back? Why did he decide to finish the journey when he knew he was risking his life? At what moment did this prank or joke become serious? He can't go back. He can't even clearly recall the green pool water in Xihaizi's house, the feeling of inhaling all the ingredients in the air that day, and the relaxed and friendly tone of everyone saying that they had drunk too much. In an hour, he has walked a distance more or less, and it is impossible to go back.

An old man drove at a speed of 15 km per hour, which gave him a chance to get to the isolation belt in the middle of the road first, but there he was caught in the northbound traffic. Fortunately, after about 10 to 15 minutes, he had a chance to cross again. After a short walk, he can reach the entertainment center on the edge of Lancaster village. There are some handball courts and a public swimming pool.

Just like in a house in Ke Ben, you can hear all kinds of sounds refracted by water here, even the illusion of brilliance and suspense is the same, but the sound here is louder, harsher and stronger. As soon as he joined the crowd, he had to accept the jurisdiction here "All swimmers must take a bath before entering the pool, and all swimmers must wear ID cards." He took a bath, washed his feet with a bottle of turbid and slightly irritating solution, and then walked to the pool. The pool smells of chlorine. In his view, it is simply a sewage pool. Two lifeguards with tall and straight figures solemnly blew sirens and shouted to the swimmers through loudspeakers. Ned remembered Ke Ben's sapphire water, not only nostalgic, but also thought that swimming in this muddy pool water might dirty himself-which would damage his success and charm, but he reminded himself that he was an explorer and pilgrim, and this was just a small turn in the depression of Lucinda River. He frowned in disgust and jumped into the water full of chlorine. In order to avoid meeting others, he can only keep his head out of the water when swimming. Nevertheless, he was beaten by others from time to time, or splashed by water brought by others, or even pushed aside by others. When he reached the shallow edge of the pool, two lifeguards shouted to him in unison, "Hey, you! You didn't show your papers, come on up! " He went ashore, but the two men didn't follow him any more. He passed through the smell of sunscreen and chlorine, through the hurricane fence and through the handball court. After crossing the road, he came to the wooded Halloran Manor. The path in the forest was not cleaned, so he carefully crossed the uneven ground and finally reached the swimming pool surrounded by lawns and beech trees.

The Halloran family are his good friends. They are a very rich old couple. People suspect that they may be * * * industrialists, and everyone seems to enjoy this speculation. They are enthusiastic reformers, but they are not producers. However, when someone accused them of this (they did encounter this situation several times), they seemed to feel very happy and even a little excited. The beech trees near their swimming pool have turned yellow, and Ned guessed that these trees should be looted by the storm like levi's maple trees. He called "Hello" twice, hoping to remind the old couple in Halloran that he was coming, in case they thought he had invaded their privacy. Harold and his wife never explained to him why they didn't wear swimsuits. In fact, there was really no suitable reason. Their nudity can be seen as a detail of their enthusiasm for reform. He walked carefully through the gate of their fence with his legs in swimming trunks.

Ha madame roland is a stout woman with white hair and a quiet face. She is reading The Times at the moment, while Mr. Halloran is using a shovel to salvage the beech leaves that fell on the surface of the swimming pool. They didn't seem surprised or unhappy when they saw Ned. Their swimming pool is probably the oldest in the whole county. It is made up of rectangular pebbles, and the water comes from a stream. Without filters and filter pumps, the water in the swimming pool appears opaque golden yellow.

"I want to swim across the county," Ned said.

"Are you? I don't know if anyone can really do it! " Ha madame roland shouted.

"Oh, I started from Xihaizi's house," Ned replied. "It's about four kilometers here."

Ned took off his swimming trunks on the other side of the pool, walked to the shallower side, and then swam for some distance. When he poked his head out of the pool, he heard madame roland say, "We are deeply sorry for your misfortune, Ned."

"My misfortune?" Ned asked, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Are you? We heard that you sold your house and your poor child ... "

"I don't remember selling my house," Ned said. "The girls are at home now."

"Oh, yes," madame roland sighed and said, "Yes ..." Her voice was full of untimely melancholy. Ned said briskly, "Thank you for letting me swim here."

"Oh, nothing. Have a nice trip. " Ha madame roland said.

Ned walked out of the fence, put on his swimming trunks again and fastened his belt. The swimming trunks are a little loose, and he is thinking, will the weight really drop after an afternoon? He was cold and tired, and Halloran people without swimsuits and their dark pool water made him feel depressed. He was a little tired from swimming, but that morning he slipped down from the stair railing and sat in the sunshine of Xihaizi's house. How did he think of this? His arm is already stiff. He felt his legs like rubber and his joints ached faintly. Worst of all, the biting cold made him feel as if he would never feel warm again. Leaves were falling around him, and he smelled the smoke of wood in the wind. Who lights the fireplace at this time of year?

He needs a drink. Drinking some whisky can warm him up and cheer him up, so that he can survive the last leg of the journey and he can re-believe that swimming around the city is a novel and brave move. People who swim around the channel drink brandy. He needs a little excitement. Cross the lawn in front of Halloran's house and walk down a path. You will find that Mr. and Mrs. Halloran are working for their only daughter Helen and her husband Eric? In front of the house that Saatchi built. Saatchi's swimming pool is not big, and Ned finds Helen and her husband nearby.

"Ah, Ned," Helen said, "did you eat at my mother's house?"

"Actually, no," Ned replied. "I really just met your parents." This should be enough to explain. "I'm sorry to bother you like this. I'm a little cold. I wonder if you can let me have a drink."

"I'd love to," Helen said, "but we haven't had a drink in this house since Eric had an operation. That was three years ago. "

Has he lost his memory? Or did his gift of hiding misfortune make him forget that he had sold his house and that his children were in trouble? And forgot the fact that his friend was ill? His eyes moved from Eric's face to his abdomen, and Ned noticed three pale suture scars, two of which were a foot long. His navel is missing, Ned thought. What does it feel like to touch such a belly without navel and life at three o'clock in the morning, such a gap of reincarnation?

"I promise you can have a drink at Biswanger's house," Helen said. "They are binge drinking now. You can hear it here. Listen! "

She looked up and listened. Ned heard a loud noise, which came across roads, lawns, gardens, forests and fields. "Gee, I'm getting soaked," he said, knowing that his way of traveling left him no choice. He jumped into Saatchi's cold pool and swam from one end to the other. He gasped and felt that he was suffocating. "Lucinda and I are very eager to meet you," he shouted as he swam to Biswanger's home. "We're sorry we haven't visited for so long. We will call you as soon as possible. "

He crossed several fields and came to Biswanger's house, walking towards the sound of carnival there. They should feel honored and happy. Let him have a drink. In fact, they should feel lucky. The Biswanger family invited him and Lucinda to dinner four times a year, with six weeks' notice for each invitation. Their invitations are often rejected, but they still send them as usual, as if unwilling to admit the rigid and undemocratic reality of their social circle. They are the kind of people who will discuss the prices of various things at cocktail parties, exchange marketing strategies at dinner parties, and tell pornographic stories to a variety of people after dinner. They're not to Ned's taste-they won't even appear on Lucinda's Christmas card list. It's getting dark. It's the longest day in a year. He walked towards their swimming pool with a feeling of disdain, charity and unhappiness. When he joined the crowd, the party was in full swing and there was noise everywhere. Grace. Biswanger is the kind of hostess who will invite optometrists, veterinarians, real estate developers and dentists to a banquet. No one swims, and the light at dusk is refracted by the water, which makes people feel colder. He walked to a bar. When grace. When Biswanger saw him, she came to him, not as kindly as he imagined, but with a somewhat provocative style.

"Oh, everyone really came to this party," she said loudly, "including the uninvited guests."

Socially, she can't beat Ned-there is no doubt that Ned didn't flinch. "As an unexpected guest, should I have a drink?"

"Help yourself," she said. "You don't seem to care much about other people's invitations!"

She turned around and joined the conversation of several other guests. He went to the bar and asked for a whisky. The bartender brought him wine, but his attitude was a bit rude. In his world, the waiter who prepares the banquet should maintain a certain social standard, and being left out by an amateur bartender means losing some social dignity for him. Or this person is a novice and doesn't know the situation yet. He heard Grace say behind him, "They went bankrupt overnight-they had nothing but their existing income-and one Sunday, he got drunk, found us and borrowed $5,000 from us ..." Her topic was always inseparable from money. This is worse than taking a knife and eating your peas. He jumped into the swimming pool, swam around and left.

The next swimming pool on his list, the third from the bottom, belongs to his ex-mistress Shirley? Adams. In the past, if he suffered any injustice in Biswanger's house, he would surely find comfort here. Love-in fact, sex play-is the supreme panacea and painkiller. This bright pill can make his pace full of elasticity again, and it can also re-inject the happiness of life into his heart. Last week, last month and last year all had sex, and he can't remember clearly. He was the first to break up, so he had an advantage. When he walked into the wall door around Adams swimming pool, he thought confidently. There is no other shield around the pool except this wall. To some extent, this swimming pool seems to belong to him. Because as a mistress's lover, especially an illegal lover, he also shares her property, although this right is not given to him by the sacred marriage law. There she was, bronzed hair and her silhouette set off in the bright blue water, but it didn't arouse any good memories in his heart. He thought the affair between them was casual, although she shed tears when they broke up. Seeing him, Adams seemed a little confused, and Ned wondered if she still felt a little hurt. I wish she would stop crying!

"What do you want?" She asked.

"I am swimming around the city."

"Oh, my God! Do you really never grow up? "

"What's the matter?"

"If you come for money," she said, "I won't give you another penny."

"But you can let me have a drink."

"I can, but I won't. I don't feel lonely. "

"Well, I'm just passing by."

He jumped into the swimming pool and swam in it, but when he put himself on the fence, he found that his arms and shoulders had lost strength. He rowed to the escalator and climbed onto the shore. He looked back and saw the light in the dressing room was on, and there was a young man inside. Walking on the dark lawn, he smelled chrysanthemums or marigolds-the fragrance of autumn remained stubbornly in the night sky, as thick as gas. Looking up, the stars have come out, but why does he seem to see Andromeda, Cepheus and Cassiopeia? Where are the constellations in the midsummer night sky? He began to cry.

This may be the first time he cried after he entered middle age, and it must be the first time in his life that he felt so painful, cold, tired and confused. He can't understand the rudeness of the bartender, and he can't understand why his mistress, who once knelt before him and cried her pants wet, is so cold to him now. He has been swimming and soaking in the water for too long, and his nose and throat hurt. All he needs at this time is a glass of wine, just someone to accompany him and give him some clean and dry clothes. He could have taken a shortcut home, but he continued his journey and came to the swimming pool in Gilmartin. Here, for the first time in his life, he did not jump into the pool, but walked step by step into the cold water along the steps. He swims sideways, which he may have learned when he was young. He staggered wearily and walked towards Clyde's swimming pool again. He paddled along the swimming pool and stopped to rest against the railing from time to time. He climbed the escalator, wondering if he still had the strength to go home. He has finished what he wants to do and traveled all over the county, but because of fatigue, he has felt numb and the feeling of success seems to be at a loss. He bent down, grabbed the doorpost to support himself, and turned into his driveway.

It's dark everywhere. Is it too late? They all went to bed. Or will Lucinda stay at Xihaizi's house for dinner? Did the girls go there to look for her, too, or did they go somewhere else? Didn't they quit the invitation they received and stay at home like last Sunday? He twisted the garage door to see which cars were still there, but the door was locked and the rust on the door handle was scattered in his hand. He walked towards the house and found that the drain pipe on the roof was a little loose after the storm. It hangs on the front door and looks like an umbrella rib, but it should be repaired in one morning. The house is also locked. He guessed that some stupid cook or maid had locked it, and then he remembered that they hadn't hired a cook or maid for a long time. He shouted and slammed the door with his fist, hoping to open it with the strength of his shoulder. Through the glass, he looked into the room, only to find that everything was empty.