客廳有長長的窗戶和深深的、軟軟的椅子，是為了營造歡快和隨意的舒適感而設計的。但在傑克看來，它就像霧中的一片孤獨的沼澤地一樣沉悶。一月薄薄的灰色雨絲順著窗戶滑落，把房間籠罩在一片陰暗的半明半暗之中。椅子和桌子似乎都放錯了地方。每張桌子上都有一小堆令人厭惡的雜物，有空火柴盒、小紙片、皺巴巴的香菸盒和滿得溢位來的菸灰缸。傑克的領帶無精打采地掛在一盞橋燈下，他的大衣扔在沙發的一端。到處都是沒讀過的雜誌，最大的椅子旁邊的地板上有一瓶喝了一半的蘇格蘭威士忌，書架上放著一瓶滿滿的杜松子酒。

，！

the livg roo, with its long dows and deep, chiony chairs, had been designed for cheerfulness and ral fort to jake it looked about as cheerful as a lonely stretch of swapnd a fog a th, gray january ra slid down the dows, curtag the roo to a glooy half-darkness chairs and tables all seed to be the wrong pces on every table was a revoltg little litter of epty atch folders, ty scraps of waste-paper, crupled cigarette packas, and overflog ash trays jake’s tie hung liply over a brid p, his overat was fng over one end of the fa there were unread agazes everywhere, a half-epty bottle of stch was on the floor beside the bigst chair, and a full bottle of g stood on the bookcase

傑克站在這片荒蕪的中央，回憶起來。海倫，在這個房間裡舉行的派對上，他們結婚的那天。就是在那個派對上，莫娜?麥克萊恩下了那個該死的賭注。海倫，在靠窗的大藍色椅子上。海倫在小廚房裡調酒。海倫在門邊的鏡子前整理帽子。海倫無處不在。傑克決定不打掃公寓了。去他的。

jake stood the iddle of the detion and rebered helene, at the party here this roo, the day of their arria it had been at that party ona ne had ade her daned bet helene, the big be chair by the dow helene ixg a drk the kitchete helene adjtg her hat by the irror near the door helene everywhere jake decided not to clean up the apartnt the hell with it

他感覺糟透了。

he felt terrible

他們倆本可以在這個公寓裡度過一段美好的