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"Marilyn," James whispered when the doctor had gone.
医生走后，詹姆斯低声说：“玛丽琳。”
His tone made her name a question that she could not yet bring herself to answer.
他叫她名字的语气令玛丽琳无法回答。
"We've missed you so much."
“我们很想你。”
Marilyn touched her unwounded hand to her belly for a long time.
玛丽琳用没受伤的手摸了很久肚子。
She could not take classes pregnant. She could not start medical school. All she could do was go home.
她不能怀着孕上课。她不能上医学院。她只能回家。
And once she was home, she would see her children's faces, and there would be a new baby, and—she admitted it to herself slowly, with an ache more painful than her hand—she would never have the strength to leave them again.
一旦她回到家，她就会看到孩子们的脸，还会有一个新婴儿，她慢慢承认了这点，她心里比手更疼，她再也没有力气离开他们了。
There was James, kneeling on the floor beside her chair as if in prayer.
詹姆斯就在那儿，跪在她椅子旁边的地板上，好像在祈祷。
There was her old life, soft and warm and smothering, pulling her into its lap.
过去柔软、温暖、令人窒息的生活把她卷入怀中。
Nine weeks. Her grand plan had lasted nine weeks.
九个星期。她宏伟的计划持续了九个星期。
Everything she had dreamed for herself faded away, like fine mist on a breeze.
她梦想的一切都消失了，就像微风中的薄雾。
She could not remember now why she thought it had all been possible.
她现在记不起为什么她认为这一切都是可能的了。
This is it, Marilyn told herself. Let it go. This is what you have. Accept it.
玛丽琳告诉自己，到此为止了，随它去吧。这就是你所拥有的。接受它吧。
"I was so foolish," she said. "I made such a terrible mistake."
她说：“我太傻了，我犯了一个可怕的错误。”
She leaned into James, breathing in the heavy sweet smell of his neck.
她靠在詹姆斯身上，呼吸着他脖子上浓浓的香味。
It smelled like home. "Forgive me," she whispered.
这里有家的味道。“原谅我，”她低声说。
James guided Marilyn to the car—his car—with his arm around her waist and helped her into the front seat as if she were a child.
詹姆斯用胳膊搂着玛丽琳的腰，把她领到车里，并把她扶到前排座位上，仿佛她是个孩子。
The next day, he would take a taxi from Middlewood back to Toledo and make the hour-long drive again in Marilyn’s car, warm and aglow at knowing his wife would be there when he got home.
第二天，他会从米德尔伍德坐出租车回托莱多，再次带着玛丽琳开一个小时的车，一想到妻子会在他回家时出现，他就感到温暖和兴奋。
For now, though, he drove carefully, scrupulously obeying the speed limit, reaching over every few miles to pat Marilyn’s knee, as if reassuring himself that she was still there.
不过现在，他小心谨慎地开车，一丝不苟地遵守限速，每隔几英里就去拍一下玛丽琳的膝盖，仿佛在安慰自己，她还在那里。
"Are you too cold? Are you too warm? Are you thirsty?" he asked again and again.
“你是不是太冷了?”你是不是太热了?你渴吗?”他一遍又一遍地问。
I’m not an invalid, Marilyn wanted to say, but her mind and tongue seemed to move in slow motion: they were already home, he had already gone to get her a cold drink and a pillow for the small of her back.
玛丽琳想说我不是病人，但她的思想和舌头似乎放慢了：他们已经回家了，詹姆斯去给她拿了一杯冷饮和一个小枕头。
He was so happy, she thought; look at that little bounce at the end of each step, look at how he tucked the blanket so carefully around her feet.
她想，他是那么开心；看看每一步结束时那小小的弹跳，看看他是如何小心翼翼地把毯子裹在她的脚上。
When he came back, she said only, "Where are the children?" and James said he had left them across the street with Vivian Allen, not to worry, he would take care of everything.
他回来时，她只问：“孩子们在哪儿?”詹姆斯说他们在街对面的薇薇安·艾伦那里，不用担心，他会照顾好一切的。
Marilyn leaned back against the couch cushions and woke to the sound of the doorbell.
玛丽琳靠在沙发靠垫上，听到门铃的声音就醒了。
It was almost dinnertime;
快到吃晚饭的时间了。
James had retrieved the children from Mrs. Allen's and a pizza deliveryman stood at the door with a stack of boxes.
詹姆斯把孩子们从艾伦太太家接了回来，一个披萨送货员站在门口，手里拿着一摞盒子。
By the time Marilyn wiped the sleep from her eyes, James had already counted out the tip and taken the boxes and shut the door.
玛丽琳睡意退去时，詹姆斯已经数出了小费，拿起了盒子，关上了门。
She followed him, dozily, into the kitchen, where he put the pizza down right in the center of the table, between Lydia and Nath.
她跟着他，迷迷糊糊走进厨房，他把披萨放在桌子正中央，放在莉迪亚和纳之间。
"Your mother's home," he said, as if they couldn’t see her standing there in the doorway behind him.
“你妈妈在家，”他说，仿佛他们没看见她站在他身后的门口。
