天堂里的红衣服

　　John was waiting for the girl whose heart he knew, but whose face he didn't, the girl with the rose. Thirteen months ago, in a Florida library he took a book off the shelf and found himself intrigued1 with the notes in the margin2. The soft handwriting reflected a thoughtful soul and insightful mind.

　　In front of the book, he discovered the previous owner's name, Miss Hollis Maynell. With time and effort he located her address. He wrote her a letter introducing himself and inviting3 her to correspond.

　　During the next year and one-month the two grew to know each other through the mail. A Romance was budding. John requested a photograph, but she refused. She felt that if he really cared, it wouldn't matter what she looked like. Later they scheduled their first meeting—7:00 pm at Grand Central Station in New York.

　　"You'll recognize me," she wrote, "by the red rose I'll be wearing on my lapel（西服上的翻领）." So at 7:00 he was in the station looking for the girl with the red rose.

　　A young woman in a green suit was coming toward him, her figure long and slim and her eyes were blue as flowers. Almost uncontrollably he made one step closer to her, and just at this moment he saw Hollis Maynell—a woman well past 40. The girl was walking quickly away. He felt as though he split in two, so keen was his desire to follow her, and yet so deep was his longing4 for the woman whose spirit had truly companioned him and upheld his own.

　　He did not hesitate. He squared his shoulders and said, "I'm John, and you must be Miss Maynell. I am so glad you could meet me; may I take you to dinner?"

　　The woman smiled, "I don't know what this is about, son," she answered, "but the young lady in the green suit begged me to wear this rose on my coat. And she said if you were to ask me out to dinner, I should tell you that she is waiting for you in the restaurant across the street. She said it was some kind of test!"

　　It's not difficult to admire Miss Maynell's wisdom. The true nature of a heart is seen in it's response to the unattractive.