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Say Yes
说“是”
Tobias Wolff
托拜厄斯·沃尔夫
They were doing the dishes, his wife washing while he dried. Unlike most men he knew, he really pitched in on the housework. A few months earlier he'd overheard a friend of his wife's congratulating her on having such a considerate husband.
他们在一起洗盘子，妻子洗，他擦干。与他认识的大多数男人不同，他确实主动地帮助做家务。几个月前，他无意间听到他妻子的一个朋友祝贺她有这样一个体贴的丈夫。
They talked about different things and somehow got onto the subject of whether white people should marry black people. He said that all things considered, he thought it was a bad idea.
他们闲聊着各种各样的话题，不知不觉地就谈到了白人是否应该和黑人结婚这一话题。他说，综合各方面考虑，这不是一个好主意。
"Why?" she asked.
“为什么？”她问。
Sometimes his wife got this look where she pinched her brows together and bit her lower lip. When he saw her like this he knew he should keep his mouth shut, but he never did. Actually it made him talk more. She had that look now.
有时他妻子会做出这样的表情：紧锁双眉，咬住下唇。当他看到妻子这种表情的时候，他知道他应该闭嘴了，但他从来都做不到；相反他说得更多了，现在她就是那种表情。
"Why?" she asked again, and stood there with her hand inside a bowl, just holding it above the water.
她站在那儿，一只手拿着碗，还没放进水里，又问道：“为什么？”
"Listen," he said, "I went to school with blacks, and I've worked with blacks and we've always gotten along just fine. I don't need you coming along now and implying that I'm a racist."
“听着，”他说，“我和黑人一起上学，一起工作，我们一直都相处得很好，我不需要你现在来暗示我是一个种族主义者。”
"I didn't imply anything," she said, "I just don't see what's wrong with a white person marrying a black person, that's all."
“我没有暗示什么，”她说，“我只是不理解白人和黑人结婚有什么不对，仅此而已。”
