英文欣赏：幸运的礼服
编者按：
我的夏季婚礼最终成为现实，只不过是一年以后。站在Tim身旁，我终于穿上了我梦中的结婚礼服。在随后的十八年里，我们相亲相爱，相濡以沫。如果不是因为这件特殊的礼服，我们永远不会相遇。
The Blessed Dress
I got an engagement ring for Christmas. My boyfriend and I had been dating for almost a year and both felt the time was right to join our lives together in holy matrimony.
The month of January was spent planning our perfect Alabama June wedding. My mother, two sisters and I went to Huntsville, the closest town with a selection of bridal shops, to buy the gown that would play the leading role on my special occasion.
We had a wonderful time just being together and sharing silly jokes, but the day soon turned serious by afternoon: still no sign of the dress of my dreams. Both sisters were ready to give up and try another day in another town, but I coerced them into one more boutique.
I had a good feeling as we entered the quaint little shop filled with the scent of fresh flowers. The elderly clerk showed us several beautiful gowns in my size and price range, but none were right. As I opened the door to leave, the desperate shop owner announced she had one more dress in the back that was expensive and not even my size, but perhaps I might want to look at it anyway. When she brought it out, I squealed in delight.
This was it!
I rushed to the dressing room and slipped it on. Even though it was at least two sizes too large and more costly than I had anticipated, I talked Mom into buying it. The shop was so small it didn’t offer alterations, but my excitement assured me I would be able to get it resized in my hometown.
Excitement wasn’t enough. On Monday morning, my world crumbled when the local sewing shop informed me the dress simply could not be altered because of numerous hand-sewn pearls and sequins on the bodice. I called the boutique for suggestions but only got their answering machine.
A friend gave me the number of a lady across town who worked at home doing alterations. I was desperate and willing to try anything, so I decided to give her a call.
When I arrived at her modest white house on the outskirts of town, she carefully inspected my dress and asked me to try it on. She put a handful of pins into the shoulders and sides of my gown and told me to pick it up in two days. She was the answer to my prayers.
When the time came to pick it up, however, I grew skeptical. How could I have been so foolish as to just leave a $1,200 wedding dress in the hands of someone I barely knew? What if she made a mess out of it? I had no idea if she could even sew on a button.
Thank goodness my fears were all for naught. The dress still looked exactly the same, but it now fit as if it had been made especially for me. I thanked the cheerful lady and paid her modest fee.
One small problem solved just in time for a bigger one to emerge. On Valentine’s Day, my fiance called.
“Sandy, I’ve come to the decision that I’m not ready to get married,” he announced, none too gently. “I want to travel and experience life for a few years before settling down.”
He apologized for the inconvenience of leaving all the wedding cancellations to me and then quickly left town.
My world turned upside down. I was angry and heartbroken and had no idea how to recover. But days flew into weeks and weeks blended into months. I survived.
One day in the fall of the same year, while standing in line at the supermarket, I heard someone calling my name. I turned around to see the alterations lady. She politely inquired about my wedding, and was shocked to discover it had been called off, but agreed it was probably for the best.
I thanked her again for adjusting my wedding gown, and assured her it was safely bagged and awaiting the day I would wear it down the aisle on the arm of my real ”Mister Right.“ With a sparkle in her eye, she began telling me about her single son, Tim. Even though I wasn’t interested in dating again, I let her talk me into meeting him.
I did have my summer wedding after all, only a year later. And I did get to wear the dress of my dreams – standing beside Tim, the man I have shared the last eighteen years of my life with, whom I would never have met without that special wedding gown.
1. engagement n.订婚，婚约；约会
2. matrimony n.婚姻，结婚，婚姻生活
3. bridal adj. 新娘的, 婚礼的 n. 婚礼
4. coerce vt. 强制, 迫使, 威胁
5. boutique n.（女士）时装店
6. quaint adj. 古雅的, 离奇有趣的, 奇怪的
7. squeal n. 长而尖的叫声 v. 发出长声尖叫
8. alteration n.改变，变更
9. skeptical adj. 怀疑的
10. sequin n. 作衣服饰物用之小金属片, (古威尼斯)金币
11. mess n. 乱七八糟, 一堆食物, 集体用膳, 人员, 大量
12. fiance n. 未婚夫
13. cancellation n.取消
幸运的礼服
圣诞节的时候我戴上了订婚戒指。我和男友交往已快一年，我们都感到是携手步入神圣的婚姻殿堂的时候了。
整个一月份我都忙于计划我们将于六月份在阿拉巴马州举行的美丽婚礼。我和母亲，连同两个姐姐前往最近的城市汉斯维尔的一些新娘服装店去挑选结婚礼服－这可是婚礼中至关重要的一个环节。
我们母女四个高高兴兴，互相开着玩笑。但是等到了下午气氛就变得严肃起来：仍然没有我梦想中的结婚礼服的丝毫影子。我的两个姐姐都已经准备就此打道回府，改天再到其它的城镇去买，但是我迫使她们陪我再多看一家小店。
当我们进入这家满是新鲜花香的精致小店时，我有一种很好的预感。上年纪的店员让我们看了几件适合我穿的美丽的礼服，价格也都在我的预算之内，但是都不是我想要的。正当我打开店门准备离开之即，孤注一掷的老板娘喊道，在后面库里还有一件礼服，这件礼服很贵，甚至没有我穿的号码，但是也许我还是想看一眼。当她拿出来时，我欣喜的叫出声来。
就是这一件了！
我冲进试衣间把身体滑进去。尽管它至少要大上两码，价格也比我预想的要高很多，我仍说服了母亲买下了它。这家店很小，连改衣服的服务都不提供，但是在激动之余，我确信能在家乡把它改好。
然而盲目的激动是无济于事的。礼拜一早上，当我们那儿的裁缝店告诉我礼服上手缝的珠子和饰片太多因而没法改动时我傻眼了。我打电话给那家服装店寻求建议，听到的却只是机器的自动应答。
一个朋友给我镇上一个裁缝的电话，这个裁缝在家里做活。在绝望之余，我愿意进行任何尝试。于是我决定给她打个电话。
当我赶到她在城镇郊区的简陋的白色房子里时，她仔细的察看了我的礼服，并让我穿上。她用别针将礼服的肩膀处和两侧别上，让我两天后来取衣服。她正是我祈祷的福音。
该去取衣服了，我却忐忑不安起来。我怎么这么愚蠢，将一件价值1200美元的礼服交到一个一点儿也不了解的人手里？如果她改坏了怎么办？我甚至不知道她会不会缝扣子。
谢天谢地，我的担心都是多余的。礼服仍跟以前一样，不过现在我穿上正合适，仿佛它是为我度身定造的一样。我谢过那个高兴的女裁缝，并付了钱。
然而这只是解决了一个小问题，更大的问题在后面。情人节那天，未婚夫打来电话。
“Sandy，我决定了，我还没有对婚姻做好准备，”他宣布，语气一点也不温柔。“在成家之前，我要到各处走走，享受几年生活。
他对把取消婚礼的所有麻烦留给我表示歉意，然后很快离开了这个城镇。
我的世界被颠覆了。我愤怒，心碎，不知道如何撑过去。然而随着日子一天天，一月月流走，我熬过去了。
这个秋季的一天，在超市排队结帐的时候，我听见有人叫我的名字。一扭头，看到那个女裁缝。她很有礼貌的问起我的婚礼，得知被取消她十分吃惊，但随后同意未知的也许是最好的。
我再一次感谢她成功修改了我的结婚礼服，并向她保证，礼服被我安全的放起来了，等待我穿上它挽着我真正的”白马王子“走上红地毯的一天。她眼睛里闪过亮光，开始跟我谈起她的单身的儿子Tim。尽管我对重新约会没有兴趣，我还是听任她给我安排跟她儿子的约会。
我的夏季婚礼最终成为现实，只不过是一年以后。站在Tim身旁，我终于穿上了我梦中的结婚礼服。在随后的十八年里，我们相亲相爱，相濡以沫。如果不是因为这件特殊的礼服，我们永远不会相遇。
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