評論
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153.A Father Who Stays
153.父親在家
"Well, you might as well help your own son study for his midterm exam tomorrow, Bill,"
"好啦，你可以幫幫你兒子準備明天的期中考試，比爾。"
Carol said as she looked to her husband. "I know you don't think you measure up, but you can do it!"
卡羅爾看著丈夫說。"我知道你認為自己不夠格，可是你真的能做好！"
"Okay，" Bill said. "We can meet each other halfway! And I'll try!
"好的，"比爾說。"我們可以互讓一步！我會試試的！
But I wasn't the one who went to medical school in this family, was I?
可我不是這個家中上過醫學院的人，是嗎？
I'm just a meat packer who always finds a way to mess up whatever good is happening."
我不過是個肉類企業主，我總是有辦法把好事變成壞事。"
"Keep trying," Carol added with a gentle voice. "We love it when you try!
"繼續試試吧。"卡羅爾用溫柔的聲音補充道。"我們就喜歡你試試看！
And that's all this family needs-a father who is there! That will meet all of our needs for now!"
這個家庭就需要這個——一個呆在家里的父親！眼下這會滿足我們所有的要求！"
All of Bill's hesitation melted away when Carol said that.
既然卡羅爾這么說，比爾所有的猶豫都消失了。
He hadn't been around for weeks and he was glad she wasn't punishing him for his mistakes.
他已經幾個星期不在家了，他很高興她沒有因他的過錯而懲罰他。
He hadn't meant to be gone for so long, but alcohol did that to him sometimes-days would merge into weeks!
他本來沒有打算離開這么久，可是酒精有時會使他這樣——幾天可能會變成幾周！
Later that evening, midway between helping his son study for the exam at his media center
那天晚上晚些時候，比爾一邊在媒體中心幫兒子準備考試，
and helping his daughter with her spelling, Bill stood up to get a drink.
一邊幫女兒做拼寫，做到中間的時候，他起身去拿喝的。
Carol and the kids watched to see if he would take a beer!
卡羅爾和孩子們注視著他，看他會不會喝啤酒！
I might at least have one beer! That can't hurt! Bill thought to himself.
我可以至少喝一杯啤酒！這不會有大問題！比爾暗想。
Then he saw the looks on his family's faces.
這時他看到了一家人的表情。
"Do we have any orange juice? I'm thirsty!" he said.
"我們家有橙汁嗎？我渴了！"他說。
"Me too, Dad. Me too!" his son said in relief!
"我也是，爸爸，我也渴了！"兒子寬慰地說。
