Simple Translation or a Life-Changing Event?

I am a translator by background. I did actively practice translation for over 20 years. Now, as someone who runs a translation business, I am still deeply involved with every aspect of the translation process, even if i do not actually translate anymore.

There is a great deal I miss about actually translating. The solitude of uninterrupted, focused work, for example. How it feels to be the only one responsible for stringing words together just the right way. Doing research and letting myself go down interesting rabbit trails that would take me away from the issue on hand but still deliver the delicious result of learning something new.

There are things I do not miss as much. Like learning the hard way that words can in fact be loaded weapons, as Jean-Paul Sartre once observed.

I was once contacted by a young lady who was looking for someone to translate a bunch of emails for her. She called and nearly cried on the phone when I told her I was in the middle of a large project and would not be able to take a look for a couple of days. Thinking that maybe I could come up with a shortcut, I asked her if she needed them all typed up or if she just needed to know what’s in them. She said “I only need a simple translation. Just knowing what’s in them will do”.

So I quickly read through them and knew right away. There were two parties to the email conversation. One was the woman’s husband, a native of a European country, the other was his lover in that country. His wife here in the U.S. suspected there was more to his business dealings there than just selling electronics products. So she got a hold of some emails from his account and looked for someone to translate them.

When I finished the last email, I took a few minutes to think. Mostly to see if I could avoid the unavoidable and only to find out that I could not. So I called her back. Yes, there is a woman. Yes, they are planning a future together. He will be moving there this summer. Wait, it gets worse. She is pregnant.

The woman on the other end of the line got quiet and then took a deep breath. “What do I owe you?”