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153.A Father Who Stays
153.父亲在家
"Well, you might as well help your own son study for his midterm exam tomorrow, Bill,"
"好啦，你可以帮帮你儿子准备明天的期中考试，比尔。"
Carol said as she looked to her husband. "I know you don't think you measure up, but you can do it!"
卡罗尔看着丈夫说。"我知道你认为自己不够格，可是你真的能做好！"
"Okay，" Bill said. "We can meet each other halfway! And I'll try!
"好的，"比尔说。"我们可以互让一步！我会试试的！
But I wasn't the one who went to medical school in this family, was I?
可我不是这个家中上过医学院的人，是吗？
I'm just a meat packer who always finds a way to mess up whatever good is happening."
我不过是个肉类企业主，我总是有办法把好事变成坏事。"
"Keep trying," Carol added with a gentle voice. "We love it when you try!
"继续试试吧。"卡罗尔用温柔的声音补充道。"我们就喜欢你试试看！
And that's all this family needs-a father who is there! That will meet all of our needs for now!"
这个家庭就需要这个——一个呆在家里的父亲！眼下这会满足我们所有的要求！"
All of Bill's hesitation melted away when Carol said that.
既然卡罗尔这么说，比尔所有的犹豫都消失了。
He hadn't been around for weeks and he was glad she wasn't punishing him for his mistakes.
他已经几个星期不在家了，他很高兴她没有因他的过错而惩罚他。
He hadn't meant to be gone for so long, but alcohol did that to him sometimes-days would merge into weeks!
他本来没有打算离开这么久，可是酒精有时会使他这样——几天可能会变成几周！
Later that evening, midway between helping his son study for the exam at his media center
那天晚上晚些时候，比尔一边在媒体中心帮儿子准备考试，
and helping his daughter with her spelling, Bill stood up to get a drink.
一边帮女儿做拼写，做到中间的时候，他起身去拿喝的。
Carol and the kids watched to see if he would take a beer!
卡罗尔和孩子们注视着他，看他会不会喝啤酒！
I might at least have one beer! That can't hurt! Bill thought to himself.
我可以至少喝一杯啤酒！这不会有大问题！比尔暗想。
Then he saw the looks on his family's faces.
这时他看到了一家人的表情。
"Do we have any orange juice? I'm thirsty!" he said.
"我们家有橙汁吗？我渴了！"他说。
"Me too, Dad. Me too!" his son said in relief!
"我也是，爸爸，我也渴了！"儿子宽慰地说。
