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I play with his cowlick. When he was born, I could see a whorl of hair onthe crown of his head like a small, stagnant hurricane. Ike also had what thenurse called stork bites on the back of his neck and eyelids.
我玩著他翹起來的頭發(fā)。他出生的時候我就看見他腦袋上有一撮小卷毛像停滯的小臺風。用護士的話說，他脖子和眼皮上還有毛細血管擴張斑。
The things my body has done to him, I think. Cancer genes, hay fever, high blood pressure, perhaps a fear of math-these are my gifts.
我想這些都是我的身體給他造成的。癌癥基因、花粉過敏、高血壓，甚至數(shù)學不好，這些都是他在我身體里的時候我給他的禮物。一美
I have to pee, he says.
我要尿尿，他說。
I release him, let him skip into the fluorescent, germ-infested cave, roomslick with mistakes and full of the type of men I hope he'll never become.
我讓他進去了。那個又黑又充滿細菌，滿地都是尿的地方。我希望他將來永遠不要變成廁所里的那些人。
The first time I met my mother's parrot, he clung to a wrought iron perch on the front porch as we ate breakfast outside. Claiming the house was too quiet, Mom adopted Carnie from a neighbor one month after Dad's funeral, and constructed an extensive cage for him both indoors and out.
第一次看見媽媽的鸚鵡的時候我在屋外吃早餐。他緊緊鉤著門廊前的鐵桿。在爸爸葬禮一個月之后，媽媽抱怨房子太安靜，就從鄰居那收養(yǎng)了卡尼，還在屋里屋外都給他做了大籠子。
Carnie could already imitate the sound of oncoming traffic, an ambulance siren, leaves rustling. He could replicate my mother's voice completely.
卡尼早就已經(jīng)可以模仿過往車輛的聲音、救護車的聲音、葉子沙沙的聲音。很快，他可以完美地復刻我媽媽的聲音了。
The bird moved from his perch to my shoulder without permission.
這只鳥忽然飛到了我的肩膀上。
Mom, I said. Get this damn bird off of me.
媽，趕緊把這只死鳥趕走，我說。
Language! She warned. He's sponge.
別亂說！他會學的，媽媽警告道。
I was still grieving Dad, and it was strange to watch Mom find so much joy in this ebony-beaked wiseass.
我還沒有從失去爸爸的悲傷中走出來，看見媽媽從這個自作聰明的黑漆漆的東西上得到這么大的快樂，我心里總是很不爽。
What are you selling? He said. I already have car insurance. Carnie spoke with perfect inflection, but he addressed his words to the air-a song, not conversation.
你又要推銷什么，我已經(jīng)買汽車保險了。卡尼對著天空又開始模仿了，不過他不是想跟誰對話，而是在自己唱歌。
You can't take anything personally, Mom warned.
什么都不能太較真，媽媽警告道。
The man of the house is not here, Carnie said. He's dead, dead, dead.
你老公已經(jīng)不在了，他死了，死了，死了，卡尼說。
That night he shredded the newspapers in his enclosure, which smelled like a stable. Lights out, Mom said, and tossed a threadbare beach towel over his cage. Carnie belted out the first verse of Patsy Cline's "Walking After Midnight," then fell silent for the evening. His tricks seemed cheap, and I hated the easy way he'd endeared himself to Mom.
那天晚上他把籠子里的報紙都撕碎了，聞著像個馬廄一樣。熄燈了媽媽說。然后在他籠子上蓋了個沙灘巾。卡尼最后大聲唱了佩茜·克萊恩的《午夜漫步》的第一段后就再也沒出聲了。我討厭他用這么低級的方式討好媽媽。
Later that week, Carnie became violently protective of her. Wings clipped, he chased me on foot through the halls. As I tried to shoo him from the kitchen counter, he savagely bit my wrist and fingers.
那周快結(jié)束的時候，卡尼開始極具攻擊性地保護我媽媽。他呼扇著翅膀用腳在走廊追著我跑。我試著把他從廚房的臺面上攆走，他就開始使勁啄我的手腕和手指。
I'll take him to specialist, Mom said mildly apologetic. I knew she wanted a bird she could be proud of. But I think part of her was flattered by Carnie's aggressive loyalty.
我會把他帶去給專家看看，媽媽抱歉地說。我知道她想養(yǎng)一只讓她驕傲的鸚鵡，但是我想她對鸚鵡的這種過激的忠誠還是挺享受的。
Show me how you pet the bird, the behaviorist had said.
讓我看看你是怎么摸鸚鵡的，動物行為專家說。
Carnie, inching left and right on Mom's wrist, cocked his head to one side and shot us the eye. Like a whale, he gave us one side of his face at time.
卡尼在媽媽手臂上來回飛，他把腦袋轉(zhuǎn)向一邊瞪著我們。像個鯊魚一樣，每次都只能看見半張臉。
