I walk into the coffee shop and breathe in deep, savoring that familiar aroma. The smell of coffee, with a hint of hazelnut, vanilla, mocha, and just a touch of cinnamon. There’s only one place in the world other than a coffee shop that smells like that—Grandmother’s house.
我走进咖啡馆，深深地吸了一口气，又闻到了那股熟知的芳香。那股咖啡的香味，夹杂着丝丝榛子、香草、摩卡和一丁点肉桂的气息，除去咖啡馆以外，在这个世界上只有一个地方弥漫着如此的气息——那就是在奶奶的家。
Grandmother didn’t just like her coffee, and it wouldn’t really do her justice to say she loved her coffee. Grandmother was to coffee what a sommelier is to wine. She knew the intricacies of coffee, the different tastes and even the textures. And only the best would do for her. No instant coffee, or coffee bought at the grocery store. She had to have fresh coffee, from a respectable coffee shop. “The morning cup of coffee sets the tone for the whole day,” she used to say.
奶奶不止是喜欢咖啡这么容易，说句公道话，咖啡是她的挚爱。咖啡对于奶奶而言，就好似美酒对于斟酒酒保通常要紧。她对于咖啡的纷繁学问，其不一样的口味，甚至其结构特点都了如指掌。而她只喝最好的咖啡，既不要速溶的，也不喜欢从杂货店买的。她必须要喝有名望的咖啡馆供应的新鲜咖啡。“清晨的一杯咖啡决定了一整天的基调。”她常这么说。
I used to go to Grandmother’s every Sunday morning. Her routine was always the same. She would kiss me once on each cheek, hang up my coat and lead me into the kitchen, slice a piece of banana bread right out of the oven , and pour a cup of freshly brewed coffee.
以前每一个星期天的早上，我都会去奶奶家，而她也总会用同样的程序来迎接我。她会在我的两边脸颊上各亲一下，挂起我的外套，然后把我带进厨房，切一片刚出炉的香蕉面包（有时是蔓越橘口味的），并倒一杯新煮的咖啡给我。
“Alexa,” she said to me one day. “Did you know that every person’s personality is like a flavor of coffee?”
“阿丽夏，”一天，她对我说，“你知不知道，每一个人的性格特点就像是一种口味的咖啡。”
“Really?” I said, amused at how Grandmotherrelished her coffee so much that she related everything to it.
“是吗？”我说。见到奶奶这样钟爱她的咖啡，以致于将每一件事物都与之扯上关系，感觉挺逗的。
“Ye” she said. “You, my dear, are French vanilla. You are sweet, almost sickeningly so at times to the discerning coffee drinker.” I slightly recoiled at Grandmother’s assessment of me. You expect your grandmother to call you sweet, but never sickeningly sweet.
“是的，”她说。“你，我亲爱的，是法国香草味的。你非常甜美，对于那些有品味的咖啡客来讲，有时甜得都有的发腻了。”听了奶奶对我的评价后，我感觉有点不爽。你当然会期望奶奶说你非常甜美，但绝对不期望是甜得发腻。
“Your father is espresso,” she continued. “He comes on strong. There are many people who don’t like him, but others can’t live without that high feeling that he gives them. He has an addictive personality that many people can’t let go of.”
“你父亲是杯浓缩咖啡，”她接着说，“他能给人以强烈的印象。有不少人不喜欢他，但也有人离开了他带来的那种开心感就活不下去。他有一种让很多人没办法放下的致命的吸引力。”
“Let me guess Grandmother. You’re hazelnut.”
“让我猜猜，奶奶，那你就是榛子口味的。”
“Hazelnut? Why on earth would you say that?”
“榛子口味？你到底为何会这么说？”
“Because I find your coffee talk a bit nutty.”
“由于我发现你的咖啡论挺狂热的。”（双关语，nutty既指带坚果口味，也指对某事狂热。）
I smiled at Grandmother, but I could tell she was not amused. “Alexa dear, I am trying to teach you a lesson about life here. I do not need you poking fun at me.”
我冲着奶奶笑了起来，不过我能看得出她并不感觉这非常不错笑。“亲爱的阿丽夏，我是想在这里告诉你一个生活的道理，而不是叫你拿我开玩笑的。”
A lesson about life? Is she kidding? “Grandmother, you can’t dissect a person’s personality by comparing them to a cup of coffee. People are more complex than that. Everyone has nuances personality quirk things that make them different. You just can’t go around saying, ‘She’s a dark roast, he’s an instant, he’s a mocha almond.”
一个生活的道理？她在开玩笑吧？“奶奶，你不能用一杯咖啡去剖析一个人的性格特点。人要比咖啡复杂得多。每一个人都有差别，性格爱好相异，很多方面各不相同。你不可能四处晃晃，然后说：‘她是杯深焙咖啡，他是杯速溶咖啡，他是杯摩卡杏仁咖啡……’”
Grandmother looked at me, almost a blank, dull stare. “Then you just don’t understand coffee,” she snapped, clearing my plate and coffee cup from the table. “I guess not,” I sighed, exasperated at my hazelnut grandmother.
奶奶用一种几乎是茫然而沮丧的眼神看着我。“这么说，你根本就不懂咖啡，”她厉声说，从桌上清走了我的盘子和咖啡杯。“我想是的，”我叹了口气，对我这个“榛子口味”的奶奶感到有的恼火。
I went to Grandmother’s house many more times after that, and she always kept her same routine. It was a welcome routine, one that I enjoyed every week. Grandmother didn’t talk to me after that about the “coffee catastrophe” as I called it, but eventually, she did start to make more ridiculous claims concerning her favorite drink.
在那之后，我又多次去过奶奶家，而她依旧以同样的程序来迎接我。我非常喜欢这套程序，每一个星期都要去享受一次。在那之后，奶奶再也没跟我谈论过我所称的“咖啡大灾难”，不过最后，就她最喜欢的饮品，她还是开始发表了愈加荒谬的言论。
“I knew your grandfather was the right man for me because we loved our coffee the same way,” she said. “Cream with just a touch of sugar.”
“我了解你爷爷就是那个比较适合我的人，由于大家都爱相同味道的咖啡，”她说，“奶油里加上一丁点糖。”
I rolled my eyes. “Grandmother, many people like it that way.”
我转了转眼珠，说：“奶奶，不少人都爱那种口味。”
“I disagree,” she said. “For most people, if they prefer cream, they like a lot of sugar, or at least a moderate amount. Those who drink it with just a touch of sugar usually put milk in it, or drink it black.”
“我不认可，”她说，“对于大部分人来讲，假如他们喜欢奶油，他们就喜欢加不少糖，或至少是中等量的糖。而那些喝咖啡时只加一丁点糖的人，一般会加入牛奶，或者干脆就喝黑咖啡。”
“So what if Papa preferred his coffee black? Or with milk and sweetener? Does that mean that you would have never married? That I wouldn’t be here today?”
“那样，假如爷爷更喜欢喝黑咖啡呢？或者是牛奶加甜味料呢？那是否说你就不嫁给他了？那样今天就没我在这里了？”
“Oh don’t be silly,” Grandmother said. “I won’t think about your grandfather preferring his coffee any differently. I don’t know what would have become of us. But you, my dear Alexa, belong to me. You would be here no matter what.”
“噢，别傻了，”奶奶说，“我从来没想过你爷爷会喜欢什么不同的咖啡。我不了解大家之间会有哪些不一样的结果，但你，我亲爱的阿丽夏，是是我的。无论如何你都会在这里的。”
The last time I saw Grandmother was a Sunday just like all the others. I sat down at the table with Grandmother and she looked at me with a very intense look in her eyes.
我最后一次见到奶奶也是在一个星期天，和其他星期天没什么不同。我和奶奶一块坐在桌边，她看着我，眼中闪烁着一种热情的光芒。
“Do you ever think about heaven?” she asked me.
“你有没想过天堂是个什么样子的？”她问我。
I stared at Grandmother and sTOPped chewing for a moment.
我凝视着奶奶，暂时停止了咀嚼。
“Well, do you?” she asked again.
“嗯，你想过了么？”她又问了一遍。
“Umm, not really,” I said, growing increasingly uncomfortable with this line of conversation.
“唔……没如何想过，”我说，对于这类的对话感到愈加不舒服。
“Well, I’ve been thinking about it lately,” Grandmother said. “I mean, I am getting to that age where I realize that I don’t have much more time here on earth. And I’ve just been thinking lately about heaven—and what’s there and what’s not. And I just hope that when it’s my time to leave this world, the next one has everything that I love here.”
“嗯，我近期一直在想这个问题，”奶奶说，“我的意思是，我也快到那个年龄了，所以我意识到我在这个世上的时间已经不多了。近期我一直在考虑天堂是个什么样子的——那里有哪些，没什么。而我只期望当我离开这个世界的时候，另一个世界里也有我在这边所深爱的所有。”
“And what’s that, Grandmother?”
“那是些什么，奶奶？”
“Good food, good people, and good coffee.”
“美味的食物，好相处的人，还有上好的咖啡。”
I smiled at Grandmother’s simplicity and love for the good things in life. And I hoped that she would find exactly what she would be looking for in the next world.
我对奶奶的纯朴，与对生命中美好事物的热爱报以微笑，也期望她真能在另一个世界找到她所想要的所有。
Grandmother passed away later that week. They found her sitting in her favorite rocker in the living room, half a cup of freshly brewed coffee by her side. And somehow, I knew that it was a sign that everything would be all right for Grandmother.
奶奶在那周末过世了。他们发现她坐在客厅里她最喜欢的摇椅上，身旁还有半杯新煮的咖啡。不了解为何，我了解这是一个预兆，表明了奶奶会所有都好。
Now, years later, I’m frequently reminded of my Grandmother. The scent of freshly baked banana bread, or the way someone will kiss me on my cheek will bring a quick flashback of her. But my memories are always most vivid when I step foot into a coffee shop, the aroma of freshly roasted beans and brewed coffee livening my senses.
目前，多年过去了，我不时还会想起奶奶。新出炉的香蕉面包的香气，或某人亲吻我脸颊的方法，都会让我脑海中忽然闪现出她的身影。不过每当我迈进一间咖啡店时，我的记忆一直特别鲜明，那新烤的咖啡豆和新煮咖啡的香气总能让我的感觉活跃起来。
“What would you like?” the person at the counter asks me.
“你想要素什么？”柜台上的人问我。
“A medium hazelnut,” I say. “Cream with just a touch of sugar.”
“一杯中杯的榛子咖啡，”我说，“加奶油和一丁点糖。”
