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Their father had told them not to leave the house, but the porch steps, he decided, were still the house.
父亲告诉他们不要离开房子，但他决认为门廊的台阶仍然在房子内。
At the far end of the street, Jack perched on his own porch railing, chin propped on bent-up knees.
在街的另一端，杰克坐在自家门廊的栏杆上，下巴支在弯曲的膝盖上。
Ever since that day at the pool, Nath had not spoken to Jack, not even hi.
自从那天在游泳池游泳后，纳就没跟杰克说过话，连“嗨”也没说过。
When they got off the school bus together, Nath tugged at the straps of his bookbag, walking home as fast as he could.
他们一起下校车时，纳拽着书包带子，以最快的速度往家走。
At recess, if he saw Jack coming toward him, he ran to the other side of the playground.
课间休息时，如果他看见杰克向他走来，就会跑到操场另一边。
It was starting to be a habit, disliking Jack.
讨厌杰克开始成为一种习惯。
Now, though, as Jack turned his head and spotted him and bounded down the street, Nath stayed put.
现在，杰克转过头看见了纳，顺着街道跳了下去，而纳却纹丝不动。
Talking to anyone—even Jack—was better than more silence.
与其沉默不如与人交谈，即使是杰克。
“Want one?” Jack asked when he reached the steps.
“想要一个吗?”杰克走到台阶上问。
Nestled in his outstretched palm: a half-dozen red candies, fish-shaped, the size of his thumb.
他伸出手掌，拿着半打拇指大小、像鱼一样的红色糖果。
Head to tail, tail to head, they glistened like jewels.
糖果首尾相连，像宝石一样闪闪发光。
Jack grinned, and even the tips of his ears perked up.
杰克咧嘴一笑，连耳尖都竖起来了。
“Got them at the five-and-dime. Ten cents a scoop.”
“五毛钱，一勺十美分。”
Instantly Nath was flooded with intense longing: for the shelves of scissors and paste and crayons, the bins of bouncy balls and wax lips and rubber rats, the foil-wrapped chocolate bars lined up at the front counter, and, by the register, the big glass jar of ruby-colored candy, the cherry scent wafting out the moment you lifted the lid.
纳的脑子里立刻充满了强烈的渴望：他想要一架子剪刀、浆糊和蜡笔，一箱子弹跳球、蜡嘴和橡胶老鼠，排列在柜台前的箔纸包裹的巧克力棒，还有那一大罐红宝石色的糖果，一打开盒盖，樱桃的香味就扑面而来。
Jack bit the head off one of the fish and held out his hand again.
杰克咬掉了一条鱼的头，又伸出手来。
“They’re good.” Close up, Jack’s eyelashes were the same sandy color as his hair, the tips golden where they caught the sunlight.
“很好吃的。”近看，杰克的睫毛和他的头发一样，都是浅棕色的，阳光照到的地方变成了金黄色。
Nath slipped one of the candies into his mouth and let the sweetness seep into him and counted the freckles on Jack’s cheek: nine.
纳把一块糖塞进嘴里，甜味渗进身体，数着杰克脸颊上的九颗雀斑。
“You’ll be okay,” Jack said suddenly.
“你会没事的。”杰克突然说。
He leaned closer to Nath, as if he were telling a secret.
他向纳靠得更近了，好像在说悄悄话。
“My mom says kids only need one parent. She says if my dad doesn’t care enough to see me, it’s his loss, not mine.”
“我妈妈说孩子只需要一个家长。她说如果我爸爸不关心我，那是他的损失，不是我的。”
Nath’s tongue went stiff and thick, like a piece of meat.
纳的舌头变得又硬又厚，就像一块肉。
Suddenly he could not swallow.
突然，他咽不下去了。
A trickle of syrupy spit nearly choked him, and he spat the half-chewed candy into the grass.
一股糖浆似的口水几乎把他呛住了，他把嚼了一半的糖果吐在草地上。
“Shut up,” he hissed.
“闭嘴！”他生气地低声说。
“You—you shut up.” He spat again, for good measure, trying to expel the taste of cherry.
“你闭嘴！”他又吐了一口唾沫，想把樱桃的味道吐出去。
Then he stumbled to his feet and back inside, slamming the door so hard that the screen shook.
然后他踉踉跄跄地站了起来，回到屋里，砰地一声把门关上，震得屏幕都晃了起来。
Behind him, Jack lingered at the bottom of the steps, looking down at the fish trapped inside his fist.
在他身后，杰克待在台阶底部，低头看着攥在拳头里的鱼。
Later on, Nath would forget exactly what Jack had said to make him so angry.
后来，纳完全忘记了杰克的话。
He would remember only the anger itself, which smoldered as if it had always been there.
他只记得愤怒郁结于心，像是一直都在那里。
Then, a few days later, the most wonderful distraction arrived—for Nath, at least.
几天后，最美妙的消遣来了——至少对纳来说是这样。
