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A gaggle of Radcliffe girls came down the stairs, one hovering nearby to wait for the phone,[qh]
一群拉德克里夫的女孩走下楼梯，一个在附近徘徊等电话，[qh]
the others crowding around the hall mirror to apply powder to their noses.[qh]
其他人围着穿衣镜往鼻子上抹粉。[qh]
One of them, just a week before, had heard about Marilyn’s marriage and came by her room “to see if it was really true.”[qh]
其中一位，就在一周前，听说了玛丽琳的婚姻，来到她的房间“看看是不是真的”。[qh]
Marilyn squeezed the receiver and pressed one palm to her belly and kept her voice sweet.[qh]
玛丽琳紧紧地握着听筒，把一只手掌按在肚子上，保持着甜美的声音。[qh]
“I don’t know, Mother,” she said. “Why don’t you ask him when you meet him?”[qh]
“我不知道，妈妈，”她说。“你见到他时，为什么不问问他呢?”[qh]
So her mother came in from Virginia, the first time she’d ever left the state.[qh]
所以她的母亲从弗吉尼亚来，这是她第一次离开这个州。[qh]
Standing at the station with James hours after his graduation, waiting for her mother’s train, Marilyn told herself:[qh]
毕业几个小时后，她和詹姆斯一起站在火车站，等着母亲的火车。[qh]
she would have come anyway, even if I’d told her.[qh]
即使我告诉她，她也会来的。[qh]
Her mother stepped onto the platform and spotted Marilyn and a smile flashed across her face—spontaneous, proud—[qh]
她的母亲走上讲台，看到了玛丽琳，脸上闪过一丝微笑——自然的、自豪的——[qh]
and for that instant, Marilyn believed it completely.[qh]
就在那一刻，玛丽琳完全相信了。[qh]
Of course she would have. Then the smile flickered just for a moment, like a flash of static.[qh]
她当然会的。然后，她的微笑像一阵静电一样，闪了一下。[qh]
Her gaze darted back and forth between the stout blond woman standing on her daughter’s left and the skinny Oriental man on her right,[qh]
她的目光在站在女儿左边的胖金发女人和站在她右边的瘦东方男人之间来回移动，[qh]
looking for the advertised James, not finding him.[qh]
在找宣传上的詹姆斯，但没找到。[qh]
Finally understanding.[qh]
终于理解了。[qh]
A few seconds passed before she shook James’s hand, told him she was very, very happy to meet him, and allowed him to take her bag.[qh]
过了几秒钟，她握了握詹姆斯的手，告诉他她非常非常高兴见到他，并允许他拿走她的包。[qh]
Marilyn and her mother had dinner alone that night, and her mother did not mention James until dessert.[qh]
那天晚上，玛丽琳和她母亲单独吃晚饭，直到吃完甜点她母亲才提到詹姆斯。[qh]
She knew what her mother would ask—Why do you love him?—and steeled herself for the question.[qh]
她知道她妈妈会问什么——你为什么爱他?——她鼓起勇气应对这个问题。[qh]
But her mother didn’t ask this at all, didn’t mention the word love.[qh]
但是她妈妈根本没有问这个，也没有提到爱这个词。[qh]
Instead she swallowed a bite of cake and studied her daughter from across the table.[qh]
相反，她咬了一口蛋糕，隔着桌子端详着她的女儿。[qh]
“You’re sure,” she said, “that he doesn’t just want a green card?”[qh]
“你确定，”她说，“他不只是想要一张绿卡?”[qh]
