The Shared Apartment Decision

Dev and Anika have been together for three years. They've finally decided it's time to move in together. The hard part isn't the decision itself. It's choosing between the two apartments they both like.

德夫和阿妮卡在一起三年了。他们终于决定，是时候住到一起了。难的不是这个决定本身，而是在他们俩都喜欢的两套公寓之间做选择。

The first apartment is smaller, but it's five minutes from Anika's office. She could walk to work every morning. The second one is bigger, with a real kitchen and a small balcony. But it's a thirty-minute train ride for her, and a shorter one for Dev.

第一套公寓小一些，不过离阿妮卡的办公室只有五分钟。她每天早上可以走路去上班。第二套大一些，有一个像样的厨房和一个小阳台。可是她坐火车要三十分钟，德夫则要短一些。

"I keep going back and forth," Anika says, spreading photos of both places across the kitchen table. "The commute matters, but so does having space that doesn't feel cramped."

“我一直拿不定主意，”阿妮卡一边说，一边把两处住所的照片摊在厨房的桌子上，“通勤很重要，可是有不觉得局促的空间也很重要。”

Dev studies the photos for a long moment. "What if we made a list? Not of the apartments, but of what actually matters to us once we're living there."

德夫盯着照片看了很久。“要不我们列个清单？不是列公寓，而是列真正住进去以后，对我们来说什么才重要。”

They write two lists side by side. Anika's list starts with commute time and natural light. Dev's starts with space to cook and a place for his bike. Halfway through, they notice something: neither list mentions square footage or the balcony at all.

他们并排写下了两张清单。阿妮卡的清单从通勤时间和自然采光开始。德夫的则从做饭的空间和放自行车的地方开始。写到一半，他们发现了一件事：两张清单里，根本没有一个字提到面积或者阳台。

"We've been comparing the wrong things," Dev says, laughing at himself.

“我们一直在比较错误的东西，”德夫笑着自嘲道。

They talk it through slowly, taking turns instead of arguing over each other. If Anika loses forty minutes a day to a longer commute, she'll be tired and short-tempered by evening. They both know it. That single fact decides it more than anything else on either list.

他们慢慢地把事情谈开，轮流发言，而不是互相打断着争论。如果阿妮卡每天要因为更长的通勤损失四十分钟，到了晚上她就会很累，脾气也会变差。他们两个都清楚这一点。这一个事实，比两张清单上的任何别的东西都更能决定结果。

They choose the smaller apartment near her office. It isn't the one with the balcony, and Dev admits he'll miss the idea of it. But he also knows a short commute matters more than a view they might rarely use.

他们选了靠近她办公室的那套小公寓。它不是带阳台的那一套，德夫承认，他会怀念那个阳台的想象。可是他也知道，通勤短一些，比一个可能很少用到的风景更重要。

On moving day, they carry boxes up two flights of stairs together, stopping halfway to catch their breath. Anika sets down her box and looks around the empty living room.

搬家那天，他们一起把箱子搬上了两层楼梯，中途停下来喘口气。阿妮卡放下箱子，环顾空荡荡的客厅。

"We picked the right one," she says.

“我们选对了，”她说。

"We'll see," Dev says, grinning, "once we've actually unpacked the boxes."

“等我们真的把箱子都拆完了再看吧，”德夫咧嘴笑着说。