The builder of our home lived in the same street as our house and he allowed us to move in and pay rent until our loan came through. The rent was one pound and ten shillings per week, which we thought fair. As we got to know our neighbors, several told us to watch our landlord as he was “sharp” and may cheat us in some way. We always replied that he had given us no cause for complaint.
The loan money came through shortly before Christmas. Our finances were strained but we were happy to have our own home. One night, two weeks before Christmas, there was a knock at our door. It was our landlord and his wife. We invited them in and our landlord said, “As you know, your loan has come through and you do not have to pay me rent any more. I did not set that rent, the estate agent did, and I thought it was a bit high. Every time you paid me I put ten shillings away in a box. It came to 11 pounds.”
We were stunned and delighted. To us, it was a small fortune just in time for Christmas. We were able to buy gifts for our entire family. It was the nicest thing anyone had ever done for us and we vowed that we would never judge anyone on hearsay.
50年前的二战期间，我嫁给了当时身为军人的恋人。6个星期后，他离开我去了韩国参战。这是我们结婚第1年，他走后我和我的母亲一起生活。为了攒够买第一所房子的钱，我拼命工作。约翰回来后，我们找了所房子，并申请了需要大约6个月时间审批的战争服役房屋贷款。
屋主和我们住在同一条街道上，他同意我们搬进去并支付租金，直到我们的贷款批下来。租金是每周1英镑10先令，我们觉得很公平。和邻居们渐渐认识后，有人告诉我们说要当心我们的房东，因为他很“精明”，可能会在某些地方欺骗我们。我们总是回答说，他没有什么可让我们抱怨的。
圣诞节前不久，贷款终于批了下来。尽管经济拮据，我们仍然很高兴拥有了自己的房子。圣诞节前两周的一个晚上，我们家传来了敲门声，原来是房东和他的太太。我们邀请他们进屋，房东说道：“如你所知，你们的贷款已经获得批准，不需要再付给我房租了。房租不是我定的，是地产代理商定的，我认为是高了一点。每次你付给我房租的时候，我都把其中的10先令用一个盒子存起来。现在有11英镑了。”
我们吃了一惊，但很高兴。对我们来说，这是及时到来的一笔圣诞节小财富，用它我们能够给全家买礼物。这是他人为我们做过的最好的事情，我们发誓绝不会凭传言来评判任何人。
It fit Rose perfectly
绝配
It was early December in Suriname, South America, just after the wet season had begun. Rain splashed against the roof as I helped Rose, my six-year-old daughter, get ready for bed. But something was on her mind. She looked at me with a grave expression in her dark eyes, even more serious than when my husband, Terry, and I first met her in the local orphanage three months earlier.
“I don"t want to be an angel in the school pageant,”she said pleadingly.
“You"ll be wonderful,”I said, smoothing out her cotton blanket.
“All the other angels in the play are white,” she said. “I have brown skin.”
I was taken aback. “Angels come in all colors,” I told her, and kissed her good night. Still, I had a feeling this conversation wasn"t over.
Terry and I were thrilled to adopt Rose. At the orphanage, I had seen the brightness and determination behind her apprehension. We enrolled her in the American Missionary School, figuring the sooner she adjusted to being with American children, the easier it would be for her when we returned home to the United States to live.
Rose was speaking fluent English within two months. Still, she didn"t feel like she fit in at school. The prospect of the Christmas play had sharpened her sense that she was different.
“I think I"ll just stand in the back row,” she told me one day, as though she"d solved the problem.
“Then Daddy and I won"t be able to see our pretty angel,” I said. I didn"t want to push too hard.
A few weeks before the play, her teacher called a meeting with some of the mothers to discuss costumes.“Would you make Rose"s costume?”her teacher asked me.
“Costume? I can barely sew on a button!” I laughed.
“If you bring me some fabric,” she said, “I"ll be happy to make it.”Relieved that was settled, I headed home to help Rose practice for the program.
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace, goodwill to men,” Rose said timidly. “Did that sound okay to you, Mom?”
“Just perfect. Now try a little louder.” If Rose got confident enough about her line, I decided, she might get more confident about her sense of belonging.
On the big night, Terry and I settled into our seats and waited. Let this be a special time for Rose, Lord. Something was holding up the show.
One of the teachers emerged from backstage. She scanned the audience and made a beeline to me.“Mrs. Reznicsek,”she whispered,“we can"t find Rose"s costume.”
Rose"s costume! We"d been so busy rehearsing her lines I had forgotten to supply the material! All our hard work.... Now Rose really wouldn"t feel like she fit in.“I"m so sorry,” I told her.
“The principal"s rummaging around. He"ll find something we can use,” she said.“Sit tight, and pray hard!”
“Rose is a strong girl,”Terry said.“And she has two parents who love her to get her through the rough patches.”
The children filed onto the stage. I tried to concentrate on the pageant, but I counted the minutes till the angels—and my Rose—appeared. I clapped my hands to my mouth. There stood Rose, front and center, standing tall in the most beautiful costume of all: a billowing, white gown, cinched at the waist with a shimmering gold satin sash.
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace, goodwill to men!” my daughter jubilantly announced with the rest of the angels. I could hear her voice above them all. It was the best Christmas pageant I"d ever seen.
“Mom, I did it! I was an angel!”Rose called breathlessly as she came running toward me after the play. “When they couldn"t find my costume I didn"t want to go on,” she said, “but then the other angels said they needed me!”
I hugged her tight. “I am so proud of you, Rose. All you angels should stick together from now on.”
Still I wondered: where had that costume come from? As Rose celebrated with her classmates, her teacher took me aside. “The principal was at a loss,” she explained. “Then he just happened to spot some fabric on top of the cupboard. When he reached up and tugged on it, the costume fell into his hands. It fit Rose perfectly!”
I understood. The costume was just for her, from God"s angels to mine.
南美洲苏里南的12月初，雨季才刚刚开始不久。雨点溅落在屋顶，我哄着6岁的女儿罗斯准备入睡。但她好像有什么心事似的，那双乌黑的眼睛非常严肃地看着我，比我和丈夫特里三个月前在当地的孤儿院里初次见到她时更加严肃。
“我不想在学校的庆典演出中扮演天使。”她用祈求的口吻说道。
“你会很出色的。” 我一边铺平她身上的棉被一边说道。
“剧里所有其他的天使都是白皮肤，”她说，“而我却是棕色皮肤。”
我吃了一惊，告诉她说“天使拥有所有的肤色”，然后亲吻她道晚安。然而，我有种感觉，这次谈话并未就此结束。
收养罗斯令我和特里感到兴奋。在孤儿院的时候，我就从她忧虑的表情下看到了她的聪明和坚毅。我们替她报名进了美国教会学校读书，希望她尽快习惯与美国孩子们在一起，这样当我们返回美国居住时，一切对她来说就会容易很多。
两个月不到，罗斯就能说一口流利的英语了。但是，她仍然觉得自己不适合在学校上学。圣诞节表演的前景已经让她清晰地意识到她与别人不同。
“我想我站在后排就行了。”一天她告诉我，仿佛已经解决了问题。
“那样的话，爸爸和我就看不到我们漂亮的天使了。”我说道，不想给她太多压力。
演出前几个星期，她的老师召集几个孩子的母亲开会讨论演出服装的事情。“你会给罗斯做演出服吗？”老师问我。
“演出服？我连缝纽扣都不会！”我笑道。