A Question of Rights
Unfortunately , a crime was about to be committed but at that moment Lesley was unaware of the impending(即将发生的,迫近的) event , which would affect her life so drastically(极端地,彻底地) for the next years .
For the moment at least, her holiday at the cottage had been ideal. She had spent many idle hours relaxing on the deck , reading ,eating a sandwich when she was hungry and in the evening watching the sky turn from brilliant orange to peach and finally to pale purple , eventually the light becoming dim . It was about this time that the mist would begin to rise from the cool water hiding in the dense forest that hugged(环绕,拥抱) the shoreline(海岸线). Late evening dew(露水) glistened(闪耀,反光) on every bush and soon the loons' (潜鸟) call would resound (回响) across the water . She decided to take on last dip in the lake. As the cool night air touched her arms. She gave a little shiver and decided it was time to move inside.
This was to be her last evening alone as Jeff, her former mate, would be returning Zac to her early in the morning. As the case in many marriages these days, problems had arisen between Lesley and Jeff, but they did not extend to Zac. He was a good kid, just entering kindergarten. The couple had come to a mutual agreement , as dictated by the legal custody(监管,保管) agreement .It stated that each parent would share Zac's care every second weekend and this had been her weekend to be alone.
Jeff was an architect, with a high-profile reputation, who worked in downtown Toronto, a partner in a private corporation which mostly did consultant work for the university. Lesley’s company had been hired to advertise the new science complex in order to raise corporate(公司的) money for the proposed building. She liked her work and she harbored a secret ambition to manage her division of the company some day.
After a whirlwind(旋风般的) courtship(求爱,热恋) and a fairytale wedding the couple had settled down to an urban lifestyle. However, after three years and one child the dreamlike marriage came smashing down. One disadvantage(不利条件) of being young and ambitious(有抱负的) was that both of them needed to devote untold hours to their busy schedules. As a result of these late hours, Lesley became suspicious(猜疑的) of Jeff’s after hours activities. She accused him of making her part of a love triangle. The whole miserable scene was to set the proceedings(过程,诉讼,诉讼程序) for an ugly(不愉快的) divorce in motion.
Daydreaming(幻想,白日梦) about those earlier days would not help tonight. So with a shrug of her shoulders she tackled the advertising assignment she needed to complete. Tomorrow would be a busy day with Zac arriving home.
The next day, as the morning wore on, Lesley became more and more agitated(烦躁), and her mood became apprehensive(忧虑的,不安的), when Jeff did not appear. When noon hour arrived and he still had not appeared, she started making some phone calls. None of their mutual friends had either seen or talked with Jeff that day. Until today, Jeff had always been very punctual about returning the boy at the appointed time. Lesley felt a knot forming in her stomach as a crazy thought persisted at the back of her mind. She was absolutely sure something was wrong.
Jeff sat with his head bowed. He was undecided what to do. The domestic arrangement with his former wife was proving to be awkward. He was frustrated at being able to see his son only on weekends and felt he was always making concessions to accommodate(适应,迁就) Lesley’s work schedule. Every meeting was turning into a competition for the boy’s affection. His one desire was to take Zac away for good. The enormous decision to undertake this plan appeared to be presenting itself. Today he would depart for a conference in California. This appeared to be a marvelous opportunity to take the boy and leave the country for good. He bet that he could pack sufficient baggage into his vehicle and then disappears across the border, gaining entry the U.S.A. He gave little thought to whatsoever of the fact this act could lead to his conviction if he was tracked down by the cops.
Meanwhile, for Lesley the nightmare continued to unfold(展现,显露) as the reality of the situation deepened. After 48 hours, the spokesman for the district police department assured her they would investigate Zac’s disappearance. Her faith that justice would be realized was faint. The shock of the past two days’ events made her realize that possibly her son would become one more statistic in the missing children file. The police completed a preliminary survey after asking hundreds of detailed(详细的) questions. Hot lines proved fruitless(无结果的).
Meanwhile, over the next year there were countless visits and interviews at the police station and her home. The police appeared to be making no progress in tracking Zac’s whereabouts(行踪). As the days passed, Lesley’s frustration(挫败) mounted and she felt a sense of alarm. Eventually, she decided to take the initiative in continuing the search and she began to use well-established child find agencies. At times, boosted by hopes, she appeared to be on the right trail with a sense of disgust, but her hopes were dashed at the final moment. These obstacles hope. After Zac’s picture was circulated nationwide, telephone calls followed from strangers reporting sightings(被看见的人或事物) of a Zac look alike. Month by month her plan evolved into a campaign equal to a full-scale battle plan. She paid an exceedingly high fee for specialized help, such as the services of an attorney. Lesley became determined to target every major city where Jeff normally contracted business. As the months slopped by, Lesley’s exhaustion became noticeable in her eyes. Her cheeks became hollow pits. Most days she felt as though she did not have an ounce of energy left because proof of Zac’s existence seemed impossible to find.
Another year passed and her hopes dimmed. Unexpectedly, late in August a promising lead brought her to Los Angeles.
The interior of the bar was dark. Her quest to locate Jeff and Zac had taken two years. She had paid private investigators in American currency to help her locate her ex-husband. In her handbag she carried the necessary proof that would identify her to the authorities if she was successful in being able to bring Zac home again, to Canada. She had been impatient for this moment to arrive for so long and yet now she just wanted to secure her son with a minimum of fuss. Now, right on cue, a tall stranger slipped into the bar and sat down. One glimpse told her it was Jeff. He looked weary(疲劳的) and older but definitely familiar. A chill ran up her spine(脊椎,脊柱). Close to success, she refused to concede defeat. It was the time to remedy the enormous sadness. This time she wanted a guarantee of success. She stared straight ahead with a vacant look, trying to grasp the important moment. Vivid scenes, from the pass two years’ search, flashed(思想等的闪现) through her mind.
The following day, happily for Lesley, the headline of the local paper read, “Father turns over child, Mother slams system.”
Lesley and Zac’s subsequent life could now resume some form of normalcy(正常状态), however, the stress and strain of the past two years would always remain as a part of this renewed relationship in the memory.
一项权力问题
一项犯罪就要得逞了。而不幸的是，就在那时，莱斯利对即将发生的事毫无察觉。这件事将彻底改变她此后两年的生活。
至少在那个时候，她在小别墅的假期还是很惬意的。她在平台上度过了很多闲适轻松的时光，读书、饿了吃块三明治;晚上，看着天空由鲜橙色变为桃红色，然后变为淡紫色，最后光线终于黯淡下来。就在这时，薄雾开始从隐藏在环绕岸边的密林里的冷水中升起;再晚些，灌木上的露珠开始闪烁，不久，潜水鸟的叫声就会在水面上回荡起来。她决定在湖里最后再泡一会儿。当她的手臂触到夜晚凉爽的空气时，不禁有些发抖，于是她决定该是回到屋里去的时候了。
这是她在家中独处的最后一个晚上，因为她的前夫杰夫会在早上把扎克送回来。与当时许多婚姻情况一样，莱斯利和杰夫之间出现了许多问题，但并未影响到扎克。他是个好孩子，刚刚上幼儿园。他们达成了一个依法监护的协议，协议规定双亲每两个周末轮换照顾孩子，这是她独处的周末。
杰夫是个建筑师，名声很大，在多伦多市区工作，是一家私人公司的合伙人，该公司主要为大学做咨询工作。莱斯利的公司已经接下了为新的科学综合大楼做广告的工作，以便为计划中的大楼筹集合作基金。她喜欢她的工作，并且心怀抱负：有一天她要管理这个部门。
在一段旋风般的热恋和一个童话式的婚礼之后，夫妻俩定居下来，过起了都市生活。然而，在过了三年并有了孩子之后，这段梦幻般的婚姻开始破裂了。年轻而又雄心勃勃的不利之处，就是两个人都要把数不清的时间花在忙不完的事业上。由于经常工作到很晚，莱斯利开始怀疑杰夫工作之余的活动，她指责他让她成了三角爱情的一部分。事情发展到最痛苦的场面就是提出不愉快的离婚诉讼。
那些对最初美好时光的回忆，对今夜也无济于事。于是，她耸了耸肩，着手处理她必须完成的广告业务。明天扎克到家后将会非常忙碌。
第二天，随着上午的时间慢慢逝去，莱斯利越来越感到不安。杰夫没有出现，她变得焦躁起来。到了中午，他还没出现，于是她开始打电话。他们共同的朋友都说那天没看见他，也没和他通过电话。以前，杰夫总是非常准时地将孩子送回来。一种不祥的想法在下意识地困扰着她，莱斯利感到恐惧。她绝对肯定是出事了。
杰夫低头坐着，他不知该做些什么。和前妻商定的对家庭的安排看来是蠢笨的，只能在周末看看儿子令他沮丧极了。为了莱斯利的工作安排，他觉得一直在迁就。每次相见都变成一场争夺“孩子到底爱谁”的竞争。他有一个心愿就是把扎克永远带走，现在就应做出实施这个计划的重大决定了。今天，他要前往加利福尼亚参加一个会议，这显然是一个带走孩子，永远离开这个国家的绝好机会。他确信他能够把足够多的行李装上车，然后跨过边境，进入美国后就消失掉。如果被警察抓住，这种行为是可以构成犯罪的，可他不再多想了。
与此同时，对于莱斯利，随着事件真相的不断深入，噩梦也在继续显现。48小时后，地区警察部门发言人向她保证，他们将对扎克的失踪展开调查。她对正义会得到伸张的信心减弱了。最近两天发生的事使她认识到，他的儿子很可能成为失踪儿童名单中增加的又一个新数字。在询问了许许多多的细节问题之后，警察完成了初步调查。热线电话丝毫没有结果。
在接下来的一年多时间里，她在警察局和家中接受了无数次的访问和会见。在寻找礼物的下落上，警察似乎并没有取得什么进展。时间一天天地过去，莱斯利感到日益失望，她有一种恐慌的感觉。终于，她决定要争取主动，继续找寻，她开始求助于专门的儿童寻找机构。有时，尽管感到有些厌烦，由于希望的驱使，她还是加入到搜寻线索的行列，但她的希望都在最后时刻破灭了。这些挫折只会令她更坚定不放弃寻找或不丧失希望的决心。扎克的照片在全国传阅，不断有陌生人打来电话，报告说看见了像扎克模样了人。一月又一月，她参与活动的计划安排相当于一场大规模的战役部署。她出高薪请专家帮忙，例如聘请代理人为她服务。莱斯利开始决定在杰夫平日联系生意的每一个主要城市去寻找目标。几个月过去了，从莱斯利的眼里，可以明显感觉到她的确精疲力竭了。她的脸颊深深地凹了下去。大多数日子里，她觉得好像一点儿精力也没有了，因为证明扎克还在的证据看来是不可能找到了。
又一年过去了，她的希望变得更加渺茫。但出乎意料，八月底，一个很有希望的线索把她带到了洛杉矶。
酒吧里面很暗。追寻杰夫和扎克和下落已经花了她现年时间。她付费给在美国的私家侦察机构，帮她查找前夫的下落。在她的手提包里，有可以向当局证明的必要材料，一旦成功，她就可以将扎克带回家，回到加拿大。她焦急地等待着这一刻的到来已经很久了，而现在她只想找回她的儿子，发行量不要出什么乱子。就在这个时候，一个高个的陌生人溜进酒吧坐下来。她一眼就认出那是杰夫。他看起来很疲惫，显得更苍老了，但还是相当熟悉。一阵寒气掠过她的背脊。马上就要成功了!她拒绝承认失败，这正是治疗巨大伤痛的时刻。这次，她要确保成功。她带着迷茫的神情凝视着前方，努力要抓住这重要的时刻。过去两年的搜寻情景，一幕幕清晰地在她的脑海中闪现。
翌日，使莱斯利感到高兴的是当地报纸的头条新闻：“父亲将孩子送回，母亲猛烈抨击体制”。
至于莱斯利和扎克后来的生活，现在可能恢复到某种正常状态了。然而，过去两年的压力和紧张将成为这种重新恢复起来的关系中的一部分，永远留在记忆里。
