About a month ago, my friend Richard called me and asked if he could come stay with me for a couple of weeks.
大约一个月前，我的朋友理查德打电话给我，问是否能跟我一起住上几周。
I usually don’t like having house guests, but Richard was a good friend.
通常我不喜欢与人合住，不过理查德是我的好友。
He’s an artist and he was thinking about moving to L.A.
他是个艺术家，正打算搬到洛杉矶来住。
He wanted to see if he could get a job in the area.
他想过来先看看是否能在这找到一个工作。
I told him, yes, of course, and he came down right away.
我告诉他，可以，他就径直搬来了。
As I said, that was a month ago. He’s been living in my guestroom ever since.
我跟你说的是一个月前的事，而从那时起到现在，他一直客居在我的房子中。
I like Richard and we get along, but I just don’t like having a roommate.
我喜欢理查德，与他相处融洽，但我就是不喜欢合居。
Sometimes, he gets in the way when I want to invite someone over, and he’s always hogging the couch.
有时候，因为他的存在妨碍了我请一些别的朋友来，还有他总是一个人霸占着沙发。
One of my pet peeves is a dirty bathroom and Richard is a slob. 最让我忍无可忍的是他总是将卫生间搞得很脏，他不怎么讲卫生。
I finally decided to let him know that he had overstayed his welcome.
我最终决定我要告诉他他已经滥用了我的热情好客。
But, how do you throw out one of your best friends?
但是我又如何开口轰我的朋友出门呢
On the day I was going to talk to Richard, he came home with some big news.
当我正要张口时，他回来告诉我一个重要消息。
He had met some guy at the employment agency and he planned to move in with him.
他在就业机构认识了一个人，他决定搬到他那里去住。
I was bowled over!
我真是太吃惊了。
He had just met him.
他不过是刚认识那个人。
I tried to talk him out of it, but he’d made up his mind. 我想劝他好好想想，但他却决心已下。
Richard has always been a free spirit so who am I to tell him what to do? I just hope he’ll be happy.
理查德一直是一个追求自由的人，我又有什么资格告诉他该做什么不该做什么。随他吧，只要他高兴就行。
