雙語散文:週日的約定

Sunday Promise

一生勞作的母親作着最後的頑強掙扎，拳拳愛心堅守的最後一點獨立感，在歲月的逼迫下顯得那麼的無奈。

"There can't be two women in the same kitchen." Her poised index finger had just punctuated the Eleventh Commandment.1

"It was Mom on the phone again," my brother announced. "She says it's time to head over there."

Every week was the same. Our families awaited the call from "MawMaw" that gave us two-hour notice of Sunday dinner. She didn't want us there too early ?quot;too much fussing."

We knew mother was failing. There were subtle clues.2 At 90, she stayed visibly exhausted, yet refused all help. Family treasures once kept pristine now had layers of dust like growth rings on a tree.3 She had fallen twice. Even so, there was no precipitous4 event that said she must give up her home. It was a case of slowly wearing out ?nbsp;and everyone conceding that it was risky for her to be there alone. Gently we tried to move the celebratory meals to my house.5 We always met firm resistance.

Then, as if her own idea, she relented to our loving pressure.6 Appropriately, her decision was announced from her place at the old kitchen table. "One last meal," she said, "and it'll be a real special one."

It was special ---- but no more special than they all were. She prepared smothered fried chicken.7 Occupying a third of my plate were her prize-winning purple-hull peas ---- slow simmered with bacon, peppers, and a hint of sugar.8 In MawMaw's house we didn't buy shelled peas. We earned the right to eat peas by shelling them first. When I was a child we shelled them together in family ritual. I remember how she formed a bowl in her lap with her apron.9 The peas were cradled there and the hulls were tossed onto a spread newspaper. Guy Lombardo music paced the activity.10

We crowned our overloaded plates with rice, gravy, and mayonnaise-dredged salad.11

For desert, MawMaw had prepared a showcase coconut cake --- with fresh coconut she grated herself. It was her custom ?nbsp;I never knew its origin ?nbsp;to hide a dime12 somewhere in the cake. Whoever found it would have good luck.

With the first bite of cake we all stopped chewing at once. Large chunks fell from open mouths onto the plates.13 It was the unmistakable taste of soap!

MawMaw first objected, then denied. She got up quietly and went over to the sink, where the coconut husks still lay. Missing was the big bar of Ivory soap from its place on the soap dish above the faucet.14

We tried humor, but her devastation over the mistake was clear.15 She talked about the coconut cake the rest of the afternoon ?nbsp;attributing far more concern thanthe event deserved.16

And, in some kind of cruel finality, nobody found the dime.17

1. 她伸出的食指恰好強調着“第十一誡”。 poised: 擺好姿勢的；index finger: 食指；punctuate: 強調，使突出；the Eleventh Commandment: 猶太教、基督教中有十誡（Ten Commandments），這裏作者戲稱母親的話爲“第十一誡”。

2. 我們知道母親身體越來越不行了，有些細微的跡象說明這一切。subtle: 微妙的。

3. 曾一度收拾得一塵不染的家裏的寶貝物品現在上面集灰厚的像樹幹上的年輪。pristine: 嶄新的，未受損壞的。

4. precipitous: 猛然的，貿然的。

5. 我們婉轉地想把那（每星期的）聚餐轉移到我家進行。celebratory: 慶祝的，歡聚的。

6. 然後，好像是她自己的主意，她在我們充滿愛心的壓力下讓步了。 relent: 變寬容，變溫和。

7. 她準備了燜煮的烤雞。smother: 燜煮，煨。

8. 我盤子上三分之一的地方堆滿了她最拿手的紫殼豌豆—與燻肉、辣椒還有少許糖一起用慢火燉熟的。prize-winning: 獲獎的，可理解爲“最拿手的，做得特別好的”；hull: （豆）莢，殼；simmer: 煨，燉。

9. 我還記得她用圍裙在腿上鋪成碗狀。apron: 圍裙，圍兜。

10. 蓋依·倫巴多樂隊的音樂爲我們（剝豆莢）的活動助興。Guy Lombardo:即蓋依·倫巴多樂隊，是20世紀加拿大最爲有名的樂隊之一，其演奏 《友誼地久天長》 (Auld Lang Syne) 極負盛名。pace: 爲……定速。

11. 我們在已放滿的盤子上又堆上了米飯、肉汁和浸泡在蛋黃醬裏的色拉。gravy: 肉汁，（用作調味的）肉滷； mayonnaise: 蛋黃醬；dredged: 塗滿……, 撒滿……。

12. dime:（美國和加拿大的）10分硬幣。

13. 我們都大張着嘴把大塊蛋糕吐到盤子上。chunk: 大塊。

14. 她默默地站起來走到水槽邊，椰子殼還在那兒，但水龍頭上方肥皂盒裏的那塊“象牙”牌大香皂卻不見了。

15. 我們想開開玩笑，但很明顯這次失誤對她的打擊很大。devastation: 強有力的打擊，破壞。

16. 對這一事件表現出異乎尋常的關注。attribute: 給予，認爲……屬於。

17. 而且，最後的結局有點殘酷——誰也沒有找到那枚10分硬幣。finality: 終結，定局。