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These are the things with which she made a home. Her contributions to our sense of place were humble and put forth with great intent, crafts which took weeks of stitching and unstitching, measuring, cutting, gathering. I realize how much in the home was done by hand and sweat. My father had laid the carpeting and linoleum. Mom had painted the same dinner chairs twice, sewed all the window treatments. My parents were quick-fix-averse, always in for the long haul. When the country road in front of their house had been widened to a highway, they complained but never entertained the idea of moving.
这些都是她用来使这房子有个家的样子的东西。她对给我们产生这种感觉的贡献虽然朴素简单，没有一点富丽堂皇的东西，但是她却为此付出极大的努力，那些手工制品都要花上她几个星期的缝缝拆拆、裁裁剪剪，然后再在布上打褶。我才发现家里有多少用手和汗水弄的东西。爸爸铺好的地毯，妈妈一个餐椅漆了两遍，所有的窗帘都是她缝的。我的父母都讨厌凑合，凡事都要做下去直到圆满完成。虽然他们抱怨门前路因为公路扩宽了，但是从没想过要搬家。
I scan the kitchen and picture Mom paying bills, her perfect script, the way she always listed her occupation with pride: homemaker.
我看着厨房。想象着妈妈付账单时候的样子，她漂亮的字体，骄傲地在填表的时候把职业一栏填上家庭主妇。
I pull scraps of peeling wallpaper from unglued seams and corners. It comes off slow and steady like skin after a sunburn.
我把墙角掉下来的墙纸都撕下来了。它们就像晒伤后掉落的皮肤，慢慢地落下来。
Mementos, I tell Ike, close my eyes. Now can hear my mother everywhere—in the kitchen, in my bedroom, on the front porch.
纪念，我告诉艾克。我闭上了眼睛。现在我能在厨房，在我的卧室，在门廊听见妈妈的声音。
Turn off the television.
关掉电视！
Warm up the stove.
把炉子点着！
Brush your hair.
梳头！
Put your father's shoes where I can't see them. In the trash.
把你爸爸的鞋放到我看不见的地方。放垃圾堆里！
On Sunday, as promised, my realtor arrives a half-hour before the potential buyers and their home inspector. Your house should look as perfect as possible, he'd said before I left for the weekend.
和约好的一样，星期日，房屋经理人比买家和房屋鉴定人早到了半个小时。在我这周走之前他跟我说，你的房子看上去越完美越好。
Ike and I had come home to a spare house; some of our chairs, photographs, and Ike's art had been relocated, as the realtor had suggested, to "let the place breathe."
艾克和我回来之后又收拾了一遍房子。椅子、照片、艾克的画都重新摆放了。像经纪人说的，我们得让这个房子呼吸。
I see the realtor's convertible in the driveway.
我看见了经纪人的车。
Sorry I'm late, our realtor says. He rushes to the kitchen, as if he has immediately sensed disorder. He strokes the valance over the kitchen window.
对不起，我迟到了，经纪人说。他一下子冲到厨房，好像马上就知道哪不行一样。他弄了一下厨房窗户的窗帘。
Is this velvet? He says. Are these cobwebs?
这个是天鹅绒的吗？这些……是蜘蛛网吗？他说。
I have placed scraps of rogue wallpaper next to my stove and another in the bathroom.
我已经把罗刹女墙纸的碎片放到火炉旁边和卧室了。
These must come down, the realtor says. Now.
这些必须拿下来，现在，经纪人说。
He pinches the curling shreds with his thumb and forefinger.
他用手指把卷起来的碎片都夹起来。
Leave it, I say. They add charm.
留着它们吧，能增加魅力，我说。
You'll never sell this house, he says, shaking his head in despail.
你永远也卖不出去这个房子，他说，绝望地摇摇头。
A couple in a minivan pulls up in front of the house, followed by the home inspector in a pickup truck. They come to the door, their faces already twisted with scrutiny. She is small and blond and he is thick like an old football player.
一对开着迷你面包车的夫妇把车停进了院子。后面跟着房屋检查员的卡车。他们走到门口的时候就已经开始到处审查了。那个女的个头很小而且很瘦，男的很结实，像退役的足球运动员。
Hi, I say. Welcome. We're about to head out; the house is all yours.
你好，欢迎。我们正要出去呢，房子是你们的了，我说。
