The Jeweler's Touch
爱的抚摸
Oh，Mom，it's even my birthstone！Isn't it just beautiful？"My daughter had swooned when she spotted the ring in the jeweler's window.Her blue-green eyes danced with delight.She was clearly enchanted with the ring.Smiling，she said coyly，"Buying it for me sure would be a nice touch，Mom！"
Since her fairly recent move out of state，I missed her so much.Though we spoke on the phone regularly，I longed for her presence.Thoughts of her tugging at my heart，I decided to send a gift as a token of my love.Bandying about ideas of just what the right gift might be，I recalled her delight as she gazed at the ring.It seemed the perfect gift.After all，rings are a symbol of union and connection.A ring for her would be，in her own words，a "nice touch."
I stood at the jewelry counter carefully scrutinizing the glittering stones and creative settings in the brilliantly polished glass case.When I pointed to the setting my daughter had admired，the dark-haired，dark-eyed jeweler smiled demurely，opened the case and retrieved the ring.He held the beautiful gleaming ring up in the air，eyeing it from a distance.Then he examined the stone closely with his loupe.Next，strangely enough，he blew a little puff of air on it，as though it were dusty.His final act of preparing the piece of jewelry for my inspection was to meticulously shine it with the chamois cloth he carried in his back pocket.Finally pleased with the ring，he smiled，handed it to me and explained，"The scintillation of this ring is superb！"
As I examined the scintillation of the ring，a young girl-perhaps seven or eight years of age-walked in.Steps behind the girl，a woman followed.I presumed she was the girl's mother.Upon seeing them，the jeweler's serene demeanor changed instantly.His solemn yet friendly face lit up with a beaming smile.His dark tranquil eyes suddenly transformed，radiating joy，shining with an extraordinary sparkle far surpassing any of the stones in the case.
With a customer to his right and the mother with daughter to his left，the professional jeweler had no trouble deciding who should wait for his attention."Please，"he begged humbly."You must please excuse me for a moment."Raising his hand，he motioned me to wait and reiterated courteously，"Please excuse me."
The little girl，whose dark shoulder-length hair was held back from her face with a brown barrette，stood in front of him.With eyes glimmering like a Fourth of July sparkler，the jeweler looked lovingly into the little girl's dark eyes-ones the exact shade of brown as his own.Placing his right hand knowingly on her shoulder，the jeweler then reached out to touch her small face with his left hand，his eyes never leaving hers as he smiled sincerely and deeply into them.He continued to look at her，his smile lingering.
As if there was yet more love of which he was capable，without letting go of the small girl's face he then turned to the woman next to her，obviously his wife.Gently lifting his right hand from the small girl's shoulder，the jeweler reached out his hand and held the woman's arm，now shifting his loving gaze to her eyes.Though he spoke no words，he might as well have shouted out loud，"Thank you for this child，"or maybe something even more seductive，for these moments revealed an absolute and reverent love story.
It was a stunningly precious moment，one in which this family escaped to a world of their own.Such a tender enchantment of love.
Oh，to love-and be loved-in such a way！
After viewing and comparing several rings，I decided to buy my daughter the exquisite little stone in the setting she so desired，the one she thought would be a"nice touch."But it was the jeweler's touch that made sending it to her incomplete.So I made arrangements to fly out to visit her because I wanted to give her more than the connection of a symbolic gift of love.I wanted to give her a gift as profound as the one the jeweler had given his family that day-the gift of his loving gaze and touch.
To honor love is a simple yet profound gift-and a taste berry available to us all.
喔！妈妈，这是我的诞生石！是不是很漂亮呢？女儿瞥见珠宝店橱窗里的一枚戒指时，欣喜若狂。她蓝绿色的眼睛里满是喜悦。很明显，那枚戒指让她陶醉不已。她笑着，娇羞地说：“妈妈，为我买下这枚戒指吧，我相信这会是一份很不错的礼物。”
女儿最近刚刚搬离我所在的州，我很想念她。虽然我们定期会通通电话，但我还是很想见到她本人。我心里一直挂念着她，于是我决定送一份象征着爱的礼物给她。正左思右想送什么礼物最合适时，我想起她在珠宝店橱窗前凝视那枚戒指时的那股高兴劲儿。似乎那枚戒指是份完美的礼物。毕竟，戒指是团聚和联结的象征。而且送那枚戒指给她，正如她所说的，会是一份“很不错的礼物”。
我站在珠宝店柜台前仔细欣赏着闪光夺目的珠宝以及明亮的磨光玻璃柜里独具匠心的宝石镶座。当我用手指着女儿喜欢的那枚戒指时，一个黑发黑眼睛的珠宝商微微笑了笑，打开玻璃柜，取出了那枚戒指。他先把那枚漂亮的闪闪发亮的戒指托在空中，隔着一定距离观赏它。然后他拿起专业的小型放大镜近距离地鉴赏镶在上面的宝石。接着，说也奇怪，他对着宝石轻轻吹了一口气，好像上面沾了灰尘似的。在让那枚戒指接受我的检验之前，他做的最后动作是从裤袋里取出一块软皮布料小心翼翼地擦拭它。最后，他很满意自己的“杰作”，一边微笑着把戒指递给我一边说：“这枚戒指拥有上等的光泽！”
正当我查验那枚戒指的光泽时，一个大约七、八岁的小女孩走进了珠宝店。小女孩身后跟着一位女士。我猜想她应该是小女孩的母亲。珠宝商一看见这对母女，马上变得兴奋起来——严肃但却友善的脸上浮现出欣喜的笑容，原本深邃而平静的眼睛也顿时发生变化——流露出无尽的喜悦，放射出特别的光芒，那光芒使玻璃柜里的珠宝都黯然失色。
虽然他右手边有一位客人等着，左手边是那对母女，但那位专业的珠宝商对于谁该优先得到服务这个问题并不感到为难。“不好意思，”他谦恭地请求道，“麻烦您稍等一下。”他一边扬起手示意我等一会儿，一边有礼貌地反复说着：“请原谅。”
小女孩站在珠宝商的面前，齐肩的黑发用一个棕色的发夹向后夹着。珠宝商的眼里闪烁着灿烂的光芒，如同国庆日的烟花一般，他充满爱意地注视着小女孩深色的双眼——那褐色的双眸和他的如出一辙。珠宝商把右手自然地放在小女孩的肩膀上，然后伸出左手抚摸她的小脸蛋。他真诚地笑着，深情地望着小女孩的眼睛，一刻都没转移过视线。他就这样看着她，脸上一直挂着微笑。
他似乎还有更深情的爱意要表达，他转向小女孩身边的那位女士，显然那是他的妻子。他的左手仍然抚摸着小女孩的脸蛋，同时，他轻轻抬起放在小女孩肩膀上的右手，握住那位女士的手臂，然后温柔地凝视着她的双眼。虽然他一言未发，但却似乎是在大声宣告：“谢谢你带给我这个可爱的孩子。”抑或是一些更加温情的言语——此刻正在上演一幕绝对虔诚的爱的故事。
这是一个弥足珍贵的时刻——此刻，这一家人完全沉浸在自己的世界里。此刻，爱是如此温柔而令人陶醉。
爱和被爱是如此动人心魄。
鉴别比较了其它几款戒指后，我决定买下我女儿喜欢的那只精巧的戒指——她说过那会是一份“很不错的礼物”。但是，那位珠宝商对他家人的那些爱的抚摸让我意识到仅仅送给女儿一枚戒指是远远不够的。我想送给女儿比那份象征爱的礼物更多的东西，于是我计划飞去看她。我想送给她一份意义深远的礼物，如同那天那位珠宝商送给他家人的一般——一份爱的凝视和抚摸。
表达爱意看似简单，却意义非凡，而且，它对于我们所有人而言都是一个唾手可得的美味浆果。
