Ferdinand had been looking forward to the end of the trip for nine days. The contract was signed, the hotel bill was paid, and his flight home was due to board at six. The baby was not supposed to arrive for another five weeks.
费迪南德盼着这趟出差结束，已经盼了九天。合同签好了，酒店账结清了，他回家的航班六点登机。宝宝本来还要五个星期才会出生。
At half past four, his phone buzzed in the departure hall. It was a message from Leonie's mother: "Her water broke. We are at the hospital. Don't panic."
四点半，他的手机在候机大厅里震了一下。是莱奥妮的妈妈发来的消息：“她羊水破了。我们在医院。别慌。”
Ferdinand read it three times. Then he looked up at the board, where the word DELAYED glowed beside his flight in amber. A storm over the mountains had closed the airspace, and nobody could say for how long.
费迪南德读了三遍。然后他抬头看向显示屏，他那班航班旁边亮着琥珀色的“延误”二字。山区上空有风暴，空域被封闭了，没有人说得清要封多久。
He ran to the desk and was told, kindly and firmly, that no seats were available on any other flight before morning. He would have walked home if walking had been possible.
他跑到柜台前，工作人员亲切而坚决地告诉他，天亮之前任何别的航班都没有座位了。要是走路能到家，他真想一路走回去。
At six, Leonie's phone called him. First came the midwife's voice, then a shaky picture: a ceiling, a lamp, a hand holding the phone too close. "Leonie wants you here, so here you are," the midwife said. "I'll hold you up. You can be our guest."
六点，莱奥妮的手机打了过来。先是助产士的声音，然后是一幅晃动的画面：一块天花板，一盏灯，一只把手机举得太近的手。“莱奥妮想要你在这儿，那你就来了，”助产士说，“我会把你举高。你就当是我们的客人吧。”
Ferdinand sat on the floor of the gate area with his back against a pillar, because his battery showed nine percent. A cleaner passing with her cart said nothing. She simply pulled a long cable from a box on the cart and plugged it in beside him.
费迪南德坐在登机口区域的地板上，背靠一根柱子，因为他的电量只剩百分之九。一位推着小车路过的清洁工什么也没说。她只是从车上的一个箱子里拉出一根长长的电线，插在他旁边。
The video was unsteady, and the sound kept cutting out. He saw pieces of the room: a curtain, a blue sleeve, Leonie's hair stuck to her forehead. He heard her breathing, slow and deliberate, and he found himself breathing along with her. Around him, strangers stepped politely over his legs.
视频很不稳，声音也总是断断续续。他看到房间的一些碎片：一道帘子，一截蓝色的袖子，莱奥妮粘在额头上的头发。他听到她的呼吸，缓慢而刻意，他发现自己也跟着她一起呼吸。周围，陌生人礼貌地从他的腿上跨过去。
The midwife told him to talk to her, because she had been asking for his voice. "I'm here," he said, feeling ridiculous. "Leonie, I'm here. You're doing it. I should have been there. I'm sorry."
助产士让他跟她说话，因为她一直在要他的声音。“我在，”他说，觉得自己很可笑，“莱奥妮，我在。你做得到的。我本该在那儿的。对不起。”
"Stop apologizing," Leonie managed, "and count with me."
“别道歉了，”莱奥妮勉强说道，“跟我一起数。”
So he counted. It felt like hours and was in fact forty minutes. His coffee went cold on the floor. An announcement in four languages said that another flight had been delayed, and he did not hear a word of it.
于是他数了起来。感觉像过了好几个钟头，实际上是四十分钟。他的咖啡在地板上凉透了。一则用四种语言播报的广播说另一趟航班被延误了，他一个字也没听见。
Then the screen swung toward the ceiling, and the room filled with voices. Someone laughed. Someone said, "Almost." Ferdinand pressed his palm flat against the glass, as though he could reach through it.
然后画面转向天花板，房间里响起许多声音。有人笑了。有人说：“快了。”费迪南德把手掌平平地按在屏幕上，仿佛能伸手穿过去。
And then he heard it: thin, furious and unmistakably alive. A single cry, then another.
接着他听见了：细细的，愤怒的，千真万确是活着的声音。一声哭，又一声。
He realized that he was crying too. A few steps away, the cleaner stood with a hand on her cart, looking tactfully at the floor.
他发现自己也哭了。几步之外，清洁工一只手扶着小车站着，体贴地看着地板。
The midwife turned the screen. A small red face, a clenched fist, a striped blanket. "Say hello," she said.
助产士把画面转过来。一张小小的红脸，一只攥紧的拳头，一条条纹毯子。“打个招呼吧，”她说。
Ferdinand wiped his eyes with his sleeve. "Hello," he said. "It's your father. I'm the one who's late."
费迪南德用袖子擦了擦眼睛。“你好，”他说，“我是你爸爸。迟到的那个就是我。”
