【时间旅行者的妻子】21

 I sat on the landing and hatched the light come up. A family of ducks came swimming by, and a raccoon appeared on the landing across the river and looked at me curiously¹ before washing its breakfast and eating it. I may have fallen asleep. I heard Mom calling and I ran back up the stairs, which were slippery with dew, careful not to drop the butterfly. She was annoyed with me for going down to the landing by myself, but she didn’t make a big deal about it, it being my birthday and all.

　Neither of them were working that night, so they took their time getting dressed and out the door. I was ready long before either of them. I sat on their bed and pretended to read a score. This was around the time my musician parents recognized that their one and only offspring was not musically gifted. It wasn’t that I wasn’t trying; I just could not hear whatever it was they heard in a piece of music. I enjoyed music, but I could hardly carry a tune². And though I could read a newspaper when I was four, scores were only pretty black squiggles. But my parents were still hoping I might have some hidden musical aptitude³, so when I picked up the score Mom sat down next to me and tried to help me with it. Pretty soon Mom was singing and I was chiming in with horrible yowling noises and snapping my fingers and we were giggling⁴ and she was tickling⁵ me. Dad came out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist and joined in and for a few glorious minutes they were singing together and Dad picked me up and they were dancing around the bedroom with me pressed between them. Then the phone rang, and the scene dissolved. Mom went to answer it, and Dad set me on the bed and got dressed.

　Finally, they were ready. My mom wore a red sleeveless dress and sandals; she had painted her toenails and fingernails so they matched her dress. Dad was resplendent in dark blue pants and a white short-sleeved shirt, providing a quiet background for Mom’s flamboyance⁶. We all piled into the car. As always, I had the whole backseat to myself, so I lay down and watched the tall buildings along Lake Shore Drive flicking⁷ past the window.

　“Sit up, Henry” said Mom. “We’re here.”

　I sat up and looked at the museum.

 

我翻身，脸朝上仰卧，亨利撑着后脑勺，往下注视我。我们的脸大概相距十多厘米，这样说话很怪，就像我们过去的那些对话一样，而且身体的接近让我难以思想集中。 

        

      　　"我告诉过你什么吗？"他问。   

      　　"有时，当你想告诉我，或不得不告诉我的时候。"   

      　　"比如说？"   

      　　"看到没有？你还是想知道的，可我偏不告诉你。"   

      　　亨利笑了，"那我真是活该，嘿，我饿了，我们出去吃早饭吧。"   

      　　外面很冷。迪尔布恩大街上，汽车和自行车穿梭而过，一双双男女在人行道上漫步，我们也置身其中，在清晨的阳光下，手牵手，终于可以迎接任何人的目光，走到一起。我心中有丝微微的遗憾，好像一个秘密终于被揭穿了，但随后又涌动起一阵喜悦：现在，一切开始了。 

          

      　　一切的第一次   

      　　······························   

      　　一九六八年六月十六日   

      　　亨利：我的第一次很神奇，至今我还想不出其中的奥秘。那天是我的五岁生日，我们去了斐尔特自然史博物馆（Field Museum of Natural History）,在博物馆学这一范畴，堪称世界第一。恐龙的骸骨、古代埃及的木乃伊、玛雅帝国的出土文物等，均极其珍贵。。我想我在此以前从没去过那里，整整一周，父母一直在向我描绘那里是多么有趣：大厅里立着不少大象标本、恐龙骨架化石、始前洞穴人的立体模型。妈妈当时刚从悉尼回来，她带给我一只巨大的、蓝得刺眼的蝴蝶，学名天堂凤蝶，它被固定在一个充满棉花的框子里。我时常把标本框贴近脸庞，贴得很近，直到只能看见一片蓝色，直到产生一种奇特的感觉。为了回味它，我曾在酒精里寻找徘徊，最终我遇到克莱尔时，才真正找回了它，那种完美的天人合一、浑然忘我的感觉。父母带我去博物馆之前，早已向我描绘了一盒又一盒的蝴蝶、蜂鸟和甲壳虫。那天，我激动得天没亮就醒了。穿上运动鞋，带上天堂凤蝶，我披着睡衣来到后院，走下台阶跑到河边。我坐在岸上注视东方泛起的亮光，游来一群鸭子，接着一只浣熊出现在河对面，好奇地打量我，然后它在那儿洗干净它的早餐，享用起来……我也许就这样睡着了，突然听见妈妈喊我，被露水沾过的台阶滑溜溜的，我小心翼翼地，生怕手中的蝴蝶滑落。我一个人跑出去让她有点生气，可她也没有怎么怪我，毕竟那天是我的生日。 

        

      　　当天晚上，父母都没有演出，他们不慌不忙地穿衣服，打扮。我早在他们之前就准备好了，我坐在他们的大床上，装模作样地看着乐谱。就在那段时间，我的音乐家父母终于意识到他们惟一的儿子没有一点音乐天赋。其实，并不是我不努力，我怎么也听不出他们耳中所谓的美妙音乐。我喜欢听音乐，但几乎什么调子都会哼走音。我四岁就能读报了，但乐谱对我来说只是些古怪的黑色花体字而已。可父母还是奢望我潜在的天分，我一拿起乐谱，妈妈便立即坐到我身边，帮助我理解，不一会，她就照着谱子唱起来，然后就听见我嚎叫般在一旁伴唱，还咬着手指头，两个人咯咯地笑个不停，妈妈又开始挠我痒痒。爸爸从浴室出来，腰里围着浴巾，也加入我们，在那个辉煌的时刻，爸爸妈妈一起唱起歌，爸爸把我抱在他们中间，三个人在卧室里翩翩起舞，直到突然响起的电话铃终止了这一切，于是，妈妈走过去接电话，爸爸把我抱回床上，开始穿衣服。 

    

        

      　　终于，他们准备就绪了，妈妈一袭红色的无袖裙、凉鞋，之前她已把脚趾甲和手指甲涂成与衣服一样的颜色；爸爸神采奕奕的，深藏青的裤子配白色短袖衬衫，完美地衬托出妈妈的艳丽。我们钻进汽车，和以往一样，我占领了整个后排座，我躺下，看着窗外湖滨大道旁的座座高楼接连不断地闪过。 

        

      　　"亨利，坐好，"妈妈说，"我们到了。"   

      　　我坐起来，看着这座博物馆。

1 curiously   

adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地

参考例句：

• He looked curiously at the people.他好奇地看着那些人。
• He took long stealthy strides. His hands were curiously cold.他迈着悄没声息的大步。他的双手出奇地冷。

2 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

3 aptitude   

n.(学习方面的)才能，资质，天资

参考例句：

• That student has an aptitude for mathematics.那个学生有数学方面的天赋。
• As a child,he showed an aptitude for the piano.在孩提时代，他显露出对于钢琴的天赋。

4 giggling   

v.咯咯地笑( giggle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• We just sat there giggling like naughty schoolchildren. 我们只是坐在那儿像调皮的小学生一样的咯咯地傻笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I can't stand her giggling, she's so silly. 她吃吃地笑，叫我真受不了，那样子傻透了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

5 tickling   

反馈，回授，自旋挠痒法

参考例句：

• Was It'spring tickling her senses? 是不是春意撩人呢？
• Its origin is in tickling and rough-and-tumble play, he says. 他说，笑的起源来自于挠痒痒以及杂乱无章的游戏。

6 flamboyance   

n.火红；艳丽；炫耀

参考例句：

• She allows herself no flamboyance in her clothes. 她不穿华丽的衣服。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• His flamboyance earned him instant media attention. 他的浮夸招摇立即引起了舆论界的注意。 来自辞典例句

7 flicking   

（尤指用手指或手快速地）轻击( flick的现在分词 )； （用…）轻挥； （快速地）按开关； 向…笑了一下（或瞥了一眼等）

参考例句：

• He helped her up before flicking the reins. 他帮她上马，之后挥动了缰绳。
• There's something flicking around my toes. 有什么东西老在叮我的脚指头。