A goodbye kiss 永别之吻
(博主:翻译不当之处,欢迎指正,加强学习)
The BoardMeeting had come to an end. Bob started to stand up and jostled thetable, spilling his coffee over his notes. "How embarrassing.I amgetting so clumsy in my old age."
董事会结束了,鲍勃站起身时撞了一下桌子,把咖啡弄撒在笔记本上,“真是令人尴尬。年纪大了,我越来越笨拙了。”
Everyone hada good laugh, and soon we were all telling stories of our mostembarrassing moments. It came around to Frank who sat quietlylistening to the others. Someone said, "Come on, Frank. Tell usyour most embarrassing moment."
每个人都善意地笑了笑,接着大家就开始讲自己尴尬的事情。最后轮到弗兰克讲了,他一直安静地坐在那里听别人讲。“快点,到你了,讲讲你的故事。”
Franklaughed and began to tell us of his childhood. "I grew up in SanPedro. My Dad was a fisherman, and he loved the sea. He had his ownboat, but it was hard making a living on the sea.He worked hard andwould stay out until he caught enough to feed the family. Not justenough for our family, but also for his Mom and Dad and the otherkids that were still at home."
弗兰克笑了笑,开始讲自己童年时的事。“我在SanPedro长大。那时我爸爸是渔民,他非常喜欢大海。他有一条小船,靠他谋生非常艰难。他非常辛苦地劳作。总是漂在海上,直到捕到够一家人吃的食物才回来。不仅仅是够我们吃,还要供爷爷奶奶以及家里的其他成员吃。
He looked atus and said, "I wish you could have met my Dad. He was a big man,and he was strong from pulling the nets and fighting the seas forhis catch. When you got close to him, he smelled like the ocean. Hewould wear his old canvas, foul-weather coat and his bibbedoveralls. His rain hat would be pulled down over his brow. Nomatter how much my Mother washed them, they would still smell ofthe sea and of fish."
弗兰克看着大家继续说:“我真希望你们能够遇到我爸爸。他高大,因为常年拉网捕鱼,变得很强壮,身上充满海腥味。他穿着散发难闻气味的帆布外套和工作围裙。他的雨帽总是遮挡到他的眉毛。无论我妈妈怎么清洗这些衣服,也去不掉那海腥味。
Frank'svoice dropped a bit. "When the weather was bad he would drive me toschool. He had this old truck that he used in his fishing business.That truck was older than he was. It would wheeze and rattle downthe road. You could hear it coming for blocks. As he would drivetoward the school,I would shrink down into the seat hoping todisappear. Half the time, he would slam to a stop and the old truckwould belch a cloud of smoke. He would pull right up in front, andit seemed like everybody would be standing around and watching.Then he would lean over and give me a big kiss on the cheek andtell me to be a good boy. It was so embarrassing for me. Here, Iwas12 years old, and my Dad would lean over andkiss me goodbye!"
弗兰克的语调降了一点儿。“当遇到不好的天气,他就开车送我上学。他有一辆用来捕鱼用的破旧卡车。这卡车比他年龄还大,跑在路上喘着粗气,还嘎嘎作响。几个街区外你就能听见。当他送我上学时,我极力萎缩在座位上,生怕别人看见。行驶到一半的时候,他会把车停下来,破卡车也会喘着粗气,冒一阵黑烟。他从前边下来,像别人一样站在旁边看一会儿。接着他会倾下身来在我的脸颊上给我一个大大的吻,并告诉我做一个好孩子。对于我来说非常尴尬。我那时十二岁,我爸爸俯身亲我和我说再见。”
He pausedand then went on, "I remember the day I decided I was too old for agoodbye kiss. When we got to the school and came to a stop, he hadhis usual big smile. He started to lean toward me, but I put myhand up and said, 'No,Dad.'他停了一下,接着说,“有一天我意识到我大了,不想再让他用吻的形式说再见。当我们到学校,停下来,他仍然笑着俯下身来准备吻我时,我举起手挡住,说:‘不,爸爸。’
It was thefirst time I had ever talked to him that way, and he had thissurprised look on his face.那是第一次我用这种方式和他讲话,惊讶写在他的脸上。
I said,'Dad, I'm too old for a goodbye kiss. I'm too old for any kind ofkiss.'
我说,‘爸爸,我长大了,不要用吻告别,不要任何形式的亲吻。’
My Dadlooked at me for the longest time, and his eyes started to tear up.I had never seen him cry. He turned and looked out the windshield.'You're right,' he said. 'You are a big boy....a man. I won't kissyou anymore.'"
爸爸看了我许久,眼里充满了泪水。我从没有看见他哭过。他转过头冲着风挡玻璃。‘你说的对。’他说‘你是一个大男孩了……男人。我不再亲你了。”
Frank got afunny look on his face, and the tears began to well up in his eyes,as he spoke. "It wasn't long after that when my Dad went to sea andnever came back. It was a day when most of the fleet stayed in, butnot Dad. He had a big family to feed. They found his boat adriftwith its nets half in and half out. He must have gotten into a galeand was trying to save the nets and the floats."
一种莫名的笑在弗兰克的脸上,泪水从他的眼里流出。“没过多久我爸爸出海再也没有回来。那天,除了爸爸,船队都没有出海,他要养活一大家人。人们发现他的船漂泊在海上,一半渔网在水里,一半在船上。他一定是在大风浪中努力去收回他的渔网和鱼漂。
I looked atFrank and saw that tears were running down his cheeks. Frank spokeagain. "Guys, you don't know what I would give to have my Dad giveme just one more kiss on the cheek....to feel his rough oldface....to smell the ocean on him....to feel his arm around myneck. I wish I had been a man then. If I had been a man, I wouldnever have told my Dad I was too old for a goodbye kiss."
我看到眼泪顺着弗兰克的脸颊流下来。弗兰克说道:“兄弟们,你们不知道我多想让我的爸爸再吻我的脸颊一次,去感受他粗糙的脸,闻他身上的海腥味,去感受他的手臂搂着我的脖子。我希望那时我是一个真正的男人。如果那时我已经是一个男人,我就再不会告诉爸爸说我大了不需要一个吻别。”