21. The First Job 第一份工 It wasn't as if I didn't want to work. 我才不是不想工作呢。 I did. 我想的。 I had even gone to the social security office the month before to get my social security number. 甚至，我上個(gè)月已經(jīng)去社會(huì)安全司拿了我的社會(huì)安全號(hào)。 I needed money. 我需要錢(qián)。 The Catholic high school cost a lot,?and Papa said nobody went to public school unless you wanted to turn out bad. 天主教會(huì)高中收費(fèi)很高，爸爸說(shuō)沒(méi)人會(huì)去公立學(xué)校，除非你想變壞。 I thought I'd find an easy job, the kind other kids had,?working in the dime store or maybe a hotdog stand. 我想我會(huì)找到一個(gè)輕松的工作，那種和別的小孩干的一樣的，在一個(gè)零售小店或者熱狗攤上打工。 And though I hadn't started looking yet, I thought I might the week after next. 雖然還沒(méi)開(kāi)始找，我想我下下個(gè)星期就會(huì)找到的。 But when I came home that afternoon,?all wet because Tito had pushed me into the open water hydrant—only I had sort of let him—Mama called me in the kitchen before I could even go and change, and Aunt Lala was sitting there drinking her coffee with a spoon. 那天下午我回家時(shí)，全身都濕透了，因?yàn)樘嵬影盐彝七M(jìn)了敞口的消防水栓里——是我自己惹得他這么做的——還沒(méi)來(lái)得及換衣服，媽媽就把我叫進(jìn)了廚房，娜拉阿姨坐在那里用小勺喝咖啡。 Aunt Lala said she had found a job for me at the Peter Pan Photo Finishers on North Broadway where she worked, and how old was I,?and to show up tomorrow saying I was one year older, and that was that. 娜拉阿姨說(shuō)，她在她工作的北百老匯大道上的彼得·潘照片沖印店里幫我找了份工。又問(wèn)我多大，說(shuō)明天去的時(shí)候要把自己說(shuō)大一歲，如此這般。 So the next morning I put on the navy blue dress that made me look older and borrowed money for lunch and bus fare because Aunt Lala said I wouldn't get paid till the next Friday,?and I went in and saw the boss of the Peter Pan Photo Finishers on North Broadway where Aunt Lala worked and lied about my age like she told me to and sure enough, I started that same day. 于是第二天我穿上那件讓我看上去顯大的海軍藍(lán)的裙子，又借了午餐和公交車(chē)錢(qián)，因?yàn)槟壤⒁陶f(shuō)要到下個(gè)星期五我才能拿到錢(qián)。然后，我就進(jìn)去了，見(jiàn)到了娜拉阿姨工作的北百老匯大道上的彼得·潘照片沖印店的老板，照她說(shuō)的謊報(bào)了年齡，果然，我從那天就開(kāi)始干了。 In my job I had to wear white gloves. 我做事時(shí)要戴上白手套。 I was supposed to match negatives with their prints,?just look at the picture and look for the same one on the negative strip, put it in the envelope, and do the next one. 他們讓我做的是把底片和相片配好，就是對(duì)著相片在底片條上找到那張的底片，把它放進(jìn)信封里，然后再配下一張。 That's all. 就這些。 I didn't know where these envelopes were coming from or where they were going. 我不知道那些信封從哪里來(lái)，要到哪里去。 I just did what I was told. 我只是按吩咐的去做。 It was real easy,?and I guess I wouldn't have minded it except that you got tired after a while and I didn't know if I could sit down or not, and then I started sitting down only when the two ladies next to me did. 真的好容易。我想我本來(lái)不會(huì)介意的，可干了一會(huì)我有點(diǎn)累，不知道是否可以坐，于是就看著旁邊的兩位女士，她們坐下來(lái)的時(shí)候我才坐。 After a while they started to laugh and came up to me and said I could sit when I wanted to, and I said I knew. 過(guò)了一會(huì)她們笑起來(lái)，走過(guò)來(lái)跟我說(shuō)可以想坐就坐的，我說(shuō)我知道。 When lunchtime came,?I was scared to eat alone in the company lunchroom with all those men and ladies looking,?so I ate real fast standing in one of the washroom stalls and had lots of time left over, so I went back to work early. 午餐時(shí)間到了，我不敢一個(gè)人跑到有那么多先生和女士們看著你的公司餐廳里去吃，就站在一間盥洗室里很快地吃完了，結(jié)果剩下很多時(shí)間，就早早地回去干活了。 But then break time came, and not knowing where else to go,?I went into the coatroom because there was a bench there. 然后又到了休息時(shí)間，不知道去哪里好，我就走進(jìn)了衣帽間，因?yàn)槟抢镉袟l長(zhǎng)凳。 I guess it was the time for the night shift or middle shift to arrive because a few people came in and punched the time clock,?and an older Oriental man said hello and we talked for a while about my just starting,?and he said we could be friends and next time to go in the lunchroom and sit with him, and I felt better. 我想那時(shí)是上晚班或者中班的人來(lái)接班的時(shí)候，因?yàn)橛袔讉€(gè)人進(jìn)來(lái)打卡。一個(gè)上了年紀(jì)的東方人跟我打招呼，我們聊了一會(huì)我剛開(kāi)始上班的事情，他說(shuō)我們會(huì)成為朋友，下次去餐廳可以和他坐一起。我感覺(jué)好點(diǎn)了。 He had nice eyes and I didn't feel so nervous anymore. 他的眼睛很和善，我沒(méi)那么緊張了。 Then he asked if I knew what day it was,?and when I said I didn't, he said it was his birthday and would I please give him a birthday kiss. 接著他問(wèn)我，知道今天是什么日子嗎？我說(shuō)我不知道。他就說(shuō)是他的生日，問(wèn)我愿不愿意給他一個(gè)生日吻。 I thought I would because he was so old and just as I was about to put my lips on his cheek, he grabs my face with both hands and kisses me hard on the mouth and doesn't let go. 我想我愿意，因?yàn)樗芾狭?，正在我想要把嘴唇貼到他臉頰上時(shí)，他雙手捧過(guò)我的臉，重重地親我的嘴，不放開(kāi)。