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forever
等级:Senior
文章:384
积分:3400
门派:张家港
注册:2008-2-29 21:58:10 |
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 新娘的父亲
Father of the bride
Marrying off your daughter to a stranger can be the most exhilarating and exasperating experience. My story is a simple one and true to the times of this era. The wedding consisted of three sets of parents: my second wife and me, my ex-wife and her spouse, and the groom‘s parents who actually had the stamina to stay married to each other for twenty-four years. When people ask me how long I‘ve been married to my wife, I always say twenty-three years, even though it has only been ten. Why? It‘s easier for me to add both of my marriages together to achieve my ideal number; a number I‘ll remember. I was married for thirteen years to my first wife and ten to my second, therefore, I‘ve been wearing the ball and chain for quite some time.
送女儿出嫁给陌生男人既是最令人喜欢也是让人激怒的事情。我的故事既简单又是这个时代的真实写照。出席婚礼的有三对父母：我与我的第二个妻子，我前妻与她的配偶；还有新郎的父母，他们实际上已结婚都24年了。当人们问我与我的妻子结婚多少年时，我总是说23年，实际上只有10年。为什么呢?很简单，我是将我的婚姻两次生活加在一起算了，取个理想数，那个数字我将能记住。我与我的第一个妻子结婚13年，与第二个妻子10年，因此，在相当长的时期内我一直是有妻室的。
I first met Randy, my son-in-law to be, at the tuxedo rental shop. I was picking up my tux and shoes for the wedding, still unable to figure out why my wife spent over eight hundred dollars on her dress when I‘d be forced to wear a tux and shoes that numerous bodies had been inside, when three young men came in and spoke to the clerk behind the counter. They stated they were there to pick up their " monkey suits" for the Webster wedding. I looked at all three of them and decided, which one I wanted to be my son-in-law. To my dismay, my choice didn‘t correspond with my daughter‘s. My son-in-law was the tall, lanky one with spiked hair and a small goatee. His appearance made me wonder what my grandchildren would look like. He also looked very hungover from his bachelor party the night before. I introduced myself, and he nervously grabbed his tux. The entourage disappeared to the back dressing room. I assumed the cowards would stay there until I‘d left, I assumed correctly.
我第一次遇上我未来的女婿兰迪是在男式晚礼服出租店，当时我正在挑我的晚礼服与婚礼上穿的鞋子，仍然想不出来为什么我妻子要花800美元来买一套衣服，而我则被迫试穿很多人都已穿过的晚礼服和鞋子。这时有3个年轻人走进来与柜台后面的店员说话，他们说他们要挑一些"男式晚礼服"来出席教堂婚礼。我看着这3个年轻人，试着决定是哪一个要当我的女婿。让我不安的是，我的选择与我女儿的并不一致。我的女婿高高的瘦瘦的个子，头发粗短成刺状，留小山羊胡子。他的相貌让我想象不出我的外孙们会像什么样子。他看上去好像酒喝多了正难受，因为昨晚他参加了单身舞会。我介绍我自己，他神经质地抓起他的礼服和他同来的一伙消失到了试衣间里。我猜想那懦夫会呆在试衣间里直到我走开，我的猜想是对的。
My next stop was the wedding hall, where I was expected to pay an enormous sum of money to feed and intoxicate many people. The ever-pleasing office manager, Noelle, asked me if I‘d like to see the wedding room. Once inside, I looked around and informed Noelle that there was something wrong right away. She inquired what that might be. I told her I didn‘t see a broom closet, as there would be many witches attending the wedding, meaning my ex and all my ex-in-laws. Noelle didn‘t laugh at my humor, but I chuckled to myself. If nothing else, I do amuse myself.
我的下一站是婚礼教堂，在那里有人期待我会出大量的钱来请很多人大吃大喝。那位总是讨人欢心的经理诺勒问我是否想先看看婚礼间。到了里面，我打量着四周，告诉诺勒说有些东西不对。她问我是什么，我告诉她我没有看到放扫把的小间，因为将有许多女巫要来出席婚礼，我是指我的前妻与所有前妻家的亲戚。诺勒并没有对我的幽默发笑，但我自己笑了。如果没什么别的，我是自娱自乐。
The day of the wedding, my daughter, Jenny, decided to have both her mother, my ex-wife, and me walk her down the aisle. I was displeased at first, but I was forced to agree that it was Jenny‘s wedding and not mine, even though I paid for everything. That was another dilemma, I did have to pay for everything. I didn‘t plan the wedding, pick out the wedding chapel, the wedding dress, the menu, or even the groom. It seemed that neither my ex-wife nor the groom‘s parents seemed to have any money. I was beginning to feel set up, especially when the smiling Noelle followed me around everywhere I went, probably wondering if I had another credit card that hadn‘t been maxxed out.
婚礼那天，我女儿杰妮决定我与她的母亲(就是我的前妻)一同陪她走过婚礼走道。开头我不高兴，但我被迫同意，因为这是杰妮的婚礼而不是我的，虽然我付一切费用。那真是另一个进退两难的事，我并没有计划办婚礼，定婚礼教堂、婚礼服装、婚宴菜单，或者甚至并没有挑选新郎。好象我的前妻与新郎的父母都没有钱，我开始感到上了当，尤其是当经理诺勒一脸笑意地跟着我到处转时，可能想着我是否还有另一张信用卡，里面的钱还没全部榨光。
Walking your daughter down the aisle toward what you perceive to be is the wrong guy for her is a horrible feeling. I looked over at her face and she was beaming. Up ahead my son-in-law to be was beaming. I smiled brightly for the photographer and found myself thinking I could pull Jenny off of there and bring her back home and find her a real man. My wife must‘ve read my mind because I received some disturbing looks from her.
陪你的女儿走过婚礼的走道，而你又知道她嫁了个错误的男人，那种感觉真是可怕。我看着她的脸，她却一脸的灿烂，我前面未来的女婿也是一脸光彩。我对着摄影师愉快地微笑着，发现自己心却在想着如何能把杰妮拉出去，把她送回家，为她找到一个真正的男人。我的妻子必定是猜透了我的心思，因为我不断地看到她令人不安的眼光。
The ceremony wasn‘t what I‘d wanted, either. I wanted a priest and I got Reverend Goodvibes. Reverend Goodvibes‘s answering machine holds a greeting from his dogs. This should‘ve been a red flag, but it was not my wedding as I was reminded yet again. Reverend Goodvibes performed what started out to be a nice service until he went into his sermon. He compared my daughter‘s wedding to the ritual that the Queen of England held at Princess Diana‘s funeral. He went on to say that the funeral was a ritual because the Queen disliked Diana. What did this have to do with my daughter‘s wedding? Again I held my tongues as my wife squeezed my hand, tears flowing down her face. She was crying for joy. If I could‘ve mustered up a tear or two, they wouldn‘t have been tears of joy.
这婚礼仪式也并不是我要的那样。我要请一位神父，可我却得到了一位牧师。牧师的录音电话上是一片狗叫的欢迎声，这本来应该停下来，但有人再次提醒我这不是我的婚礼。古德维伯牧师主持的仪式开始还挺不错，但到他宣道时就出了问题。他将我女儿的婚礼比作英国黛安娜王妃的葬礼，他继续说那葬礼只是礼节上走走过场，因为女王不喜欢黛安娜。这跟我女儿的婚礼有什么关系?再一次我管住了自己的舌头，因为我的妻子紧紧抓住了我的手，眼泪从她的脸上流了下来。她因欢乐而泣。如果我能挤出一两滴眼泪，那肯定不是欢乐的眼泪。
The reception following went well, and no fist fights ensued as I‘d expected. People drank and drank, and Noelle continued to ask me if I was pleased with everything． I always nodded approvingly because my wife‘s stare was embedded into the back of my head by now. I tried to make contact with my new son-in-law, Randy. I wanted to give him the old " you-better-her-right speech" but no one seemed to let me get that close. I also wanted to hug and kiss my daughter before she left for her honey-moon, but she was swept out to the limousine I paid for and sped off to the hotel for a night off -- well, I didn‘t want to think about that.
接下来的招待会进行得很好，并没有我期待着出现的打斗场面。人们喝呀喝呀，诺勒继续问我是否对一切都满意。我总是点头称是，因为我的妻子眼光深深地嵌入了我的脑海里。我试着与我的新女婿兰迪接触，我要给他一套老式的"你要好好待她"的讲话，但好象没有人让我得到这个机会。在她离去度她的蜜月之前，我也想要拥抱与亲吻我的女儿，但她早就一阵风似地被送到了我付费的大轿车里，跟着新婚丈夫跑到旅馆里过夜去了。噢，我不要想这件事
After handshakes and hugs from all around, I found my other daughter, Deanna, peering up at me. I‘ve always considered Deanna to be the successful daughter. My wife accuses me of thinking this only because Deanna attends a Catholic college. I‘d just given Jenny to a man I didn‘t know and there stood Deanna, asking me for a designer wedding dress and a London honeymoon.
跟周围的人握手拥抱后，我发现我的另一个女儿蒂娜正窥视着我。我总是认为蒂娜是个成功的女儿，我的妻子总是指责说我以为蒂娜有出息不过是因为她上了天主教学院而已。我刚刚把杰妮嫁给了一个我不了解的男人，这里又来了另一个女儿蒂娜，要求我为她置办一件出自名牌设计师之手的婚纱和为她支付一次去伦敦的蜜月旅行。
The next thing I remembered was someone slapping my face and pulling me up from the floor. I realized I didn‘t think I could go through another one of these things, so, like any good dad, I offered Deanna cash if she‘d reconsider. I also mentioned that becoming a nun might be a good choice.
我记得的下一个事情是什么人给了我脸上一耳光，然后把我从地上拖起来。我意识到我再不能经历另一次这样的事情了，因此就像一个好爸爸一样，说如果蒂娜能重新考虑，我会付给她现钱。我也提到当一个嬷嬷也许是一个好选择.
Jenny and her new husband called me after their honeymoon to thank me and let me know how happy they were. Even though I‘m a little poorer, I‘m glad she‘s happy. I also received an e-mail from Deanna today. She indicated that her usher at the wedding was " fine" and she planned to meet him again for dinner " real soon."
蜜月过后女儿杰妮与她的新婚丈夫打来电话感谢我，让我知道他们是多么幸福。虽然我是穷了一点，我高兴她得到了幸福。今天我也收到了蒂娜发来的电子邮件，她委婉地表示在婚礼上那招待很好"，她计划要"尽快"再一次见到他一块吃晚饭。
That night I dreamed of designer dresses and London. Throughout the restless night I think I finally realized that I was no longer responsible for Jenny, which brought a smile to my face the next morning when I woke up. Then my wife mentioned the old saying that you‘ll " always be responsible for your children until you die, then you get to rest."
那天夜里我梦见了一件又一件出自名牌设计师之手的婚纱以及伦敦，过了那不眠的一夜，最后我意识到我不再为杰妮负责了。当我早上醒来时，这让我脸上露出了笑容。然而我妻子却提到一句老话："永远要对你的孩子们负责，至死方休。"于晓明 译自 The Bride Journal |
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君子之过也，如日月之食也，过也，人皆见之；更也，人皆仰之！ |
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