"I'm glad you like it. Welcome to the Moore family."(你喜欢就好,欢迎加入我们摩尔家)
“Thank you, Da... oh, I mean, thank you, Mr. Moore."(谢谢爸......哦,我是说谢谢摩尔先生。)冰冰估计也明白发生什么了,她紧张得差点把罗伯特喊成爸了,更他妈奇怪的是,听到她这个明显是口误的称呼,我的鸡巴却翘得更高了。
罗伯特才不会放过这个机会,肆无忌惮地开起了玩笑:"Ha, I wouldn't mind having an extra Asian daughter."(哈哈,多一个亚洲女儿我可不介意)
妈妈闻言回头看了他一眼,强作镇定地打起圆场:“冰冰,你们饿了吧,阿姨这就给你们做饭去。” 她边走向中岛边扯了扯衣摆,试图遮掩自己微微发颤的手,却又因为慌乱显得越发笨拙。
“好啊,妈,我们来帮你。”我赶紧接茬。冰冰也应了一声,走过来开始帮忙,罗伯特则慢悠悠地走回楼上当他的大爷去了,这场小小的尴尬总算是得以化解。
这顿欢迎我们回家的晚餐很丰盛,桌上摆满了中式和美式的混搭菜肴。我妈是上海人,中式菜肴自然以沪菜为主,有清蒸鲥鱼,油爆虾,蟹粉豆腐,糖醋排骨甚至还有腌笃鲜和生煎包,美式的主菜是由我们自家农场出品的牛肉煎成的爱荷华布尔格式牛排,配上土豆泥喝玉米浓汤,甜品则是经典的苹果派。罗伯特的食量和酒量本就惊人,已经蛮长一段时间没怎么享用正经中餐的我和冰冰也吃得很开心,冰冰对生煎包赞不绝口,还和我妈说想学着做,我们四个人几乎要把一桌子美食一扫而空。
酒足饭饱,罗伯特就拿着他啤酒杯,一边喝一边吹牛。吹他在海湾战争的时候有多么英勇,冰冰随口问了他一句,他那时候是不是军士长,这下他可来劲了,开始滔滔不绝起来。
“That wasn’t the case back then,” ( 那时候我还不是军士长呢)罗伯特抿了一口啤酒,晃了晃手中的啤酒杯,眯着眼睛向椅背一靠,“But after Khafji? That’s when I got promoted.”(但是卡夫吉那一仗之后不久,我就被提拔了)
“卡夫吉?”(Khafji)冰冰抬起头好奇地问,“Where’s that?” (那是哪里?)
“Khafji,”罗伯特像是品味这个名字一般,顿了一下,才慢悠悠地用一种略显戏剧化的语调说道,“A small town near the Kuwaiti Saudi border. We were with the 3rd Cavalry Regiment Regiment. When the Iraqis decided to push into Khafji, it was chaos. My unit was right there, on the front line. We held them off, and let me tell you, it was no picnic.”(一个靠近科威特和沙特边界的小镇。我在第三骑兵团服役。当伊拉克人决定推进到卡夫吉时,场面一片混乱。我的单位就在前线。我们挡住了他们,而且我可以告诉你,那可不是什么像野餐一样轻松的活计)
妈妈抬起头,停下了手中的汤勺,一脸崇拜地看着罗伯特。 “He's always telling me how tough things were back then.”(他经常跟我那时候有多难)
罗伯特放下杯子,眯着眼笑道:“I'll show you something. Honey, can you grab my medals from the cabinet upstairs?”( 让我给你看点东西。亲爱的,你能去楼上柜子里拿我的勋章吗?)
我妈起身朝楼上走去。罗伯特则一边继续喝着他的啤酒,一边继续吹牛:“It wasn’t some ‘movie war.’ It was real bullets flying, shells dropping. The Iraqis had tanks rolling through, thinking they’d crush us. But they didn’t count on American precision firepower.” (那可不是电影里的那种‘打仗’,是真枪实弹的战场——子弹乱飞,炮弹轰炸。伊拉克人派着坦克冲过来,还以为能轻松碾压我们。但他们没想到美国的精准火力有多可怕)
“How close were you to the front lines?”冰冰好奇地问道。(你离前线有多近)
“Close enough to feel the heat from an Iraqi tank shell. We were tasked with recapturing the outskirts of Khafji and holding the line for the Saudi National Guard. My Abrams got a direct hit on an enemy T-72. Let me tell you, the explosion shook the ground. You wouldn’t forget something like that even if you tried.” ( 近到能感受到伊拉克坦克炮弹的热浪。我们负责夺回卡夫吉郊区,并协助沙特国民警卫队守住防线。我开的艾布拉姆斯直接击中了敌人的一辆T-72坦克,那场爆炸震得地面都在颤动。这种场面,你一辈子都忘不掉。)