亚麻地毡上的玫瑰

萨莉结婚了，像我们知道她会的那样，年纪轻轻还没点准备可照样结婚了。她在一个学校义卖场上遇到一个药蜀葵推销员，就和他到另外一个州结了婚，因为那里在八年级前结婚是合法的。她现在有了丈夫和房子，有了枕套和餐具。她说她在恋爱，可我想她这么做是为了逃避。

萨莉说她喜欢结了婚的生活，因为现在丈夫给她钱，她可以给自己买东西。她很快乐，除了有时她丈夫会发脾气，有次还用脚踢穿了门，可大多数日子他还过得去；除了他不让她在电话上聊天。他不让她朝窗外看。他不喜欢她的朋友们，所以除了他上班去的时候，没人去看她。

她坐在家里，因为她不敢没有他的允许就出门。她看着他们拥有的全部：他们的毛巾、烤面包机、闹钟和窗帘。她喜欢看着墙壁，看墙角的接缝多么整齐，看亚麻地毡上的玫瑰，看平滑如婚礼蛋糕的天花板。

Linoleum Roses

Sally got married like we knew she would, young and not ready but married just the same. She met a marshmallow salesman at a school bazaar, and she married him in another state where it's legal to get married before eighth grade. She has her husband and her house now, her pillowcases and her plates. She says she is in love, but I think she did it to escape.

Sally says she likes being married because now she gets to buy her own things when her husband gives her money. She is happy, except sometimes her husband gets angry and once he broke the door where his foot went through, though most days he is okay. Except he won't let her talk on the telephone. And he doesn't let her look out the window. And he doesn't like her friends, so nobody gets to visit her unless he is working.

She sits at home because she is afraid to go outside without his permission. She looks at all the things they own：the towels and the toaster, the alarm clock and the drapes. She likes looking at the walls, at how neatly their corners meet, the linoleum roses on the floor, the ceiling smooth as wedding cake.