But it did.He picked me up a few days later for a movie and dinner.We talked for hours about our lives，our hopes，our separate dreams—mine in New York，his in South Africa.Never had I spoken so freely，so comfortably，with a man.He reached across the table and took my hand.I thought I saw in his eyes the same love I felt swelling in my hear.He said，“I’m just sorry I met you only one week before I leave.”
“We still have seven days，”I said meekly.
“Then let’s make the most of it.”He helped me on with my sweater.Hand in hand，we strolled to the car and made plans for the next day and the next and the next.As he drove me home，Tracy Chapman sang，“Give me one reason to stay，and I’ll turn right back around.”Was his heart singing along like mine？
机遇垂青（2）
我便随着他参观了一下房子，并接受了他的邀请，喝了一杯茶。巴里沉稳而耐心，他专心地听我喋喋不休地谈论着自己。他那银镶边的眼镜使他深色头发中的几缕白发格外醒目。很快，他灿烂、热情的微笑令我放松。在接下来的两个小时里，我们随意地聊着。最后，我决定不租那房间，并依依不舍地和他道别。
之后，我整天忙于搬家的事，几个月飞快地过去了。这段日子里，尽管我常常想到巴里，却不曾想过要打电话给他。
一天，当我和斯泰西离开我的办公室走向饭厅时，我说：“再过三个星期，我就要去纽约了，再见他一面，只会使我的生活变得一团糟。”
“那么，就让它一团糟吧！”斯泰西低语道，朝着门那边点了点头。是巴里，他用那双蔚蓝色的眼睛望着我，脸上带着摄人心魄的微笑，走进了饭店。
“你好，”他温柔地说道，“现在有空喝杯咖啡吗？”
“当然！”我试着不让自己窒息。
我们拐进了一家路边小店，接着上次的话题聊了起来。从他的谈话中，我得知他也正要换一份工作，回到南非去。他的行程先于我一个星期。现在我明白我必须让自己冲动的心冷静一下。很明显，我们俩不会有结果。他问了我的电话号码，说以后会请我吃饭。我强忍着悲痛接受了，因为我知道两个星期后我将离开，这可能是永远都无法实现的约会。
可它竟然实现了！几天后，他来接我，我们一起看电影，吃晚饭。我们聊了几个小时，聊生活，聊希望，聊我们各自的梦想——我的在纽约，而他的在南非。我从不曾和一个男人谈得如此畅快，如此舒服。他握住我的手。从他的眼神里，我想我看到了正在我心中急剧膨胀的爱。他说：“我真的很遗憾，走前的一个星期才遇到你。”
“可我们还有整整七天。”我无限深情地答道。
“那么就让我们充分地享受它们吧，”说着，他帮我穿上外套。我们手牵着手走向汽车，计划着我们的明天以及明天的明天。在他开车送我回家的路上，我心中响起了特蕾西·查普曼的歌：“给我一个留下的理由，我将会回头……”。不知他心里是否也在和我一起歌唱呢？
A Chance of a Lifetime（3）
We spent part of every day together for the next week.I knew I was falling in love，but dared not speak it.I couldn’t upset our chances for a lifetime.
“And I know he loves me，too.”I moaned to Stacy over a cup of coffee in my nearempty restaurant.“We’ve even talked about trying to get together over holidays.He’s meeting me here soon to bring me a gift to remember him by.”
Just then，Bary strolled in.I stood to welcome his arms around me.We sat，sipping our coffee.“I will miss you so much，”he said softly.“But I know you’ll think of me whenever you hear this.”He placed a Tracy Chapman CD on the table in front of me.Then he pointed to the song title，Just Give Me One Reason.“We can listen to the same music and remember each other.”
“Oh，and one more thing to remember me by.”He set a small box on top of the CD.The same awe I felt at our first meeting paralyzed me now.The love I saw in his eyes as we gazed across the table was gift enough for a lifetime.Finally I reached for the box and opened it slowly.A diamond ring！
“Michelle，I have loved you from the first moment I saw you.On our first date，even before we had coffee，I knew you were the woman I was going to marry.I woke up this morning，desperate，thinking，it’s May 3！In three days I’ll lose my angel.Sure，my career in South Africa is a chance in a lifetime，but you，Michelle，are my dream come true.Please marry me.”
“Yes，Barry，yes，I cried.”
“I know what moving to New York means to you，but will you come with me to South Africa？I believe with all my heart，Michelle，that we were brought together on purpose.Nothing in my life is going as I planned it，but I know it’s all a part of a bigger plan.”Barry chuckled.“God has a great sense of humor，but a poor sense of timing.”
Exactly one year later，on May 3，we were married under an African sky.Our dream come true.Our chance of a lifetime.
机遇垂青（3）
在之后的一个星期里，我们每天都会抽时间在一起。我深知自己已坠入了爱河，可却没有胆量说出来。我不愿因此而破坏我们各自生活中的良机。
“我知道，他也爱我。”当我和斯泰西在我那已快人去楼空的餐厅里喝咖啡时，我轻声说。“我们甚至已经在计划假期如何一起度过。他很快就要上这儿来，送我一件礼物做纪念。”
正说着，巴里走了进来。我站起来，投入他的怀抱。坐下后，我们各自抿着杯中的咖啡。“我会想你的，”他无限温存地说道。“不过，我想当你听它的时候一定会想起我。”他拿出那张特蕾西·查普曼的CD放在我的面前，他指着那首主打歌《我只要一个理由》，说道：“当我们听同一首歌时，我们都正在思念着对方。”
“对了，还有一样东西。”他拿出一个小盒子放在CD上。我好像第一次见他那样完全怔住了。我们彼此凝望，他眼中的爱意是我一生都受用不尽的礼物。最后，我拿起那只盒子，慢慢地打开了它。一枚钻石戒指！
“米歇尔，我见到你的第一眼便深深地爱上了你。在我们第一次约会之前，不，甚至在我们一起喝咖啡之前，我已经知道你是我要娶的女人。今天早上，我睁开眼睛，一想到已经是5月3号，我绝望极了，再过三天，我将失去我的天使。的确，在非洲的事业是我生命中的一个转机。可是你，米歇尔，让我的梦想成真。请嫁给我吧，亲爱的米歇尔。”
“噢，是的，巴里，是的，我同意！”我流着泪答道。
“我知道到纽约对你意味着什么，可是你能到南非和我一同生活吗？我深深地感到，米歇尔，我们的相遇是上天的安排。我生活中的许多事都与计划背道而驰。可我相信那都是一个更大计划的组成部分？”巴里笑言：“上帝的确够幽默，可却不太会安排时间。”
一年后的5月3号，我和巴里在南非的天空下举行了婚礼。我们都梦想成真，也不曾错过我们生命中的机遇。
年华似水
Attitude Is Everything
Michael is the kind of guy you love to hate.He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say.When someone would ask him how he was doing，he would reply，“If I were any better，I’d be twins！”He was a natural motivator.
If an employee was having a bad day，Michael was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.Seeing this style really made me curious，so one day I went up to Michael and asked him，“I don’t get it.You can’t be positive all the time.How do you do it？”
Michael replied，“each morning I wake up and say to myself ‘Mike，you have two choices today.You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood.’I choose to be in a good mood.Each time something bad happens，I can choose to be a victim or choose to learn from it.I choose to learn from it.Every time someone comes to me complaining I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life.I choose the positive side of life.”
“Yeah，right.It isn’t that easy.”I protested.
“Yes，it is.”Michael said.“Life is all about choices.When you cut away all the junk，every situation is a choice.You choose how you react to situations.You choose how people will affect your mood.You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood.The bottom line is：It’s your choice how you live life.”I reflected on what Michael said.
Soon thereafter，I left the big enterprise that I had worked in for years to start my own business.We lost touch，but I often though about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.Several years later，I heard Michael was involved in a serious accident，falling off 60feet from a communications tower.
After 18hours of surgery，and weeks of intensive care，Michael was released from the hospital with rods placed in his back.I saw Michael about six months after the accident.When I asked him how he was，he replied，“If I were any better，I’d be twins.Wanna see my scars？”I declined to see his wounds，but did ask him what had gone through his mind as the accident took place.
