Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2 "Oh my," Dr. Gomez sighed. "That's exactly what Mom said," Michael replied. Dr. Gomez turned to look at his wife. "How long have you known?" "Just since last night," Mrs. Gomez answered. "We had originally planned on telling you after you got home from work today." "Well, this is huge." Dr. Gomez jumped up and started pacing the floor of Michael's bedroom. "There are a lot of people out there who will be interested in Merle and Pearl, and not all of them will have good intentions. We need to make sure the squirrels stay safe." "I like the sound of that," Merle said. "Plus, it's not only people we have to worry about. Your kitty cat's intentions are also not that great." Merle was referring to Mr. Nemesis, the Gomez family's cat, who was not at all happy about having to share his house and people with a couple of ancient rodents. Since Merle and Pearl had arrived, Mr. Nemesis had spent a lot of time shut up in Jane's room. "We'll need to install a security system," Dr. Gomez said. "I'll pick one up on Monday after work."

“哦，天哪，”戈麦斯医生叹了口气。 “妈妈就是这么说的，”迈克尔回答。 戈麦斯医生转过身来看着他的妻子。 “你知道多久了？”“从昨晚开始，”戈麦斯太太回答。 “我们本来打算在你今天下班回家后告诉你的。” “嗯，这是件大事。”戈麦斯医生跳起来，开始在迈克尔卧室的地板上踱来踱去。 “有很多人会对梅尔和珀尔感兴趣，但并不是所有人都是出于好意。 我们需要确保松鼠的安全。” “我喜欢这个说法，”梅尔说。 “另外，我们要担心的不仅仅是人。 你的小猫咪的意图也不那么好。” 梅尔指的是戈麦斯家的猫“克星先生”（Mr. Nemesis），它对不得不与两只古老的啮齿动物分享自己的房子和人一点也不高兴。 自从梅尔和珀尔来了以后，克星先生就把很多时间关在简的房间里。 “我们需要安装一个安全系统。” 戈麦斯说。“我星期一下班后去取一个。”

Michael liked the idea of a security system, but he was worried about the squirrels staying at home by themselves before it got put in. "Maybe I should take Merle and Pearl with me to school on Monday, since Mom and Jane will be at school." Mrs. Gomez taught part-time at Jane's preschool. "Yes!" Merle exclaimed. "Chicken nuggets!" Merle was fond of accompanying Michael to school, where this wonderful and exotic dish (to Merle) was a staple on the lunch menu. It even made up for having to stay crammed inside Michael's backpack most of the day. "That's probably our best option, at least until the security system is up and running," Dr. Gomez said. "I know I can't bring them to work. But be careful, and either Mom or I will need to drive you to school." "We can't do this forever!" Michael said. "What are we going to do in the long run?" Dr. Gomez sighed. "That's what I need to figure out."

迈克尔喜欢安装安全系统的想法，但他担心在安装安全系统之前，松鼠会独自呆在家里。 “也许星期一我应该带莫尔和珀尔一起去学校，因为妈妈和简也在学校。” 戈麦斯夫人在简的幼儿园兼职教书。 “是的!”默尔喊道。“炸鸡块!”梅尔喜欢陪迈克尔去学校，在那里，这道奇妙而充满异国情调的菜肴（对梅尔来说）是午餐菜单上的主食。 这甚至弥补了一天中大部分时间都挤在迈克尔背包里的痛苦。 “这可能是我们最好的选择，至少在安全系统启动并运行之前。” 戈麦斯说。“我知道我不能带他们去工作。 但是你要小心，不是妈妈就是我要开车送你去学校。” “我们不能永远这样做！”迈克尔说。 “从长远来看，我们要做什么？”博士。 戈麦斯叹了口气。“这就是我需要弄清楚的。”