22 Till Death Do You Part

Chapter 22 TILL DEATH DO YOU PART Coke and Pep's long nightmare was finally over. Archie Clone was dead, a victim of his own greed and insanity. Dr. Warsaw was dead, a victim of a very high fall from The Infinity Room at The House on the Rock. Mrs. Higgins was, in all probability, in police custody, after foolishly trying to steal the top hat that Abraham Lincoln was wearing on the night he was assassinated. The bowler dudes had flown away in helicopters, but neither of them seemed to have the smarts to mount a serious campaign of terror without the guidance of an inspiring leader. There was nobody left to bother Coke and Pep. When they woke up on the morning of July Fourth, they were both smiling for the first time in a long time. A burden had been lifted. Finally, they could enjoy their summer vacation.

第二十二章至死不渝可乐和佩普漫长的噩梦终于结束了。 阿奇·克隆死了，他是自己贪婪和疯狂的牺牲品。 华沙医生死了，他是从岩石上的房子的无限房间里摔下来的。 希金斯太太很可能被警察拘留了，因为她愚蠢地试图偷走亚伯拉罕·林肯遇刺当晚戴的那顶大礼帽。 那些打保龄球的家伙坐着直升机飞走了，但他们似乎都不具备在没有鼓舞人心的领导人的指导下发动一场严肃的恐怖活动的智慧。 没有人再去打扰可口可乐和佩普了。 当他们在7月4日早上醒来时，他们长时间以来第一次微笑。 一个负担被解除了。最后，他们可以享受他们的暑假。

Everyone rushed to get dressed. Aunt Judy's wedding was scheduled for noon on the grass in front of the Lincoln Memorial. The McDonald family had packed their nicest clothes for this occasion, and had waited the whole trip to wear them. Before this year, Pep had never cared much about clothes or what she looked like. But today she was all decked out in a lovely blue skirt with a ruffled white blouse and a necklace with a butterfly on it. Coke hated to wear a jacket and tie, and put up with them as long as it was just for the occasional wedding or funeral. His pants and sleeves were just a little short, because he had grown a few inches in the last year but had refused to go shopping to get new clothes that fit. Dr. McDonald had on the jacket he wore to work every day, with a red, white, and blue tie. Mrs. McDonald wore a conservative flower print skirt. She didn't want to put on anything that might outshine her sister, the bride and star of the show. Everyone in the McDonald family was used to

每个人都匆忙穿好衣服。 朱迪阿姨的婚礼定于中午在林肯纪念堂前的草地上举行。 麦当劳一家为这个场合准备了他们最好的衣服，一直等着在整个旅行中穿上它们。 在今年之前，佩普从来都不太在意衣服，也不太在意自己的长相。 但是今天她穿了一条可爱的蓝裙子，配了一件有褶边的白衬衫，戴了一条上面有一只蝴蝶的项链。 科克讨厌穿夹克打领带，只要是偶尔参加婚礼或葬礼，他就能忍受。 他的裤子和袖子只是有点短，因为他去年长高了几英寸，但他拒绝去逛街买合身的新衣服。 麦克唐纳医生穿着他每天上班穿的夹克，系着一条红、白、蓝三色的领带。 麦克唐纳夫人穿了一条保守的印花短裙。 她不想穿任何可能比她姐姐——这场秀的新娘和明星——更耀眼的衣服。 麦当劳家族的每个人都习惯了

throwing on a pair of shorts and a T-shirt in the morning. So getting ready took longer this day, fussing with all the ties and buttons and zippers and belts. But in the end, they looked good. The all- American family. People stared at them as they boarded the Metro heading into Washington. The Fourth of July is a special day. It's America's birthday, after all, and everyone wants to go to the party in the nation's capital. People were holding little flags. Red, white, and blue was everywhere. Mrs. McDonald was understandably nervous about the wedding. She had not seen her sister, Judy, in many years. Bridget and Judy had grown up together in California, but after college Judy had moved to Washington to take an entry-level job in the government. For a short time, she worked at the Pentagon. Bridget and Judy had a falling-out when Judy started going out with—and almost married—a boy that Bridget didn't like. He seemed mean and abusive, and she didn't want her sister mixed up with a guy like that. Judy broke up with the boy a

早上穿上一条短裤和一件t恤。 所以今天的准备工作花了更长的时间，忙着准备所有的领带、纽扣、拉链和腰带。 但最后，它们看起来不错。 全美国家庭。当他们登上开往华盛顿的地铁时，人们盯着他们看。 7月4日是个特殊的日子。 毕竟，这是美国的生日，每个人都想参加在美国首都举行的派对。 人们举着小旗帜。 到处都是红色、白色和蓝色。 麦克唐纳太太对婚礼感到紧张是可以理解的。 她已经很多年没见过她的妹妹朱迪了。 布丽吉特和朱迪一起在加利福尼亚长大，但大学毕业后，朱迪搬到了华盛顿，在政府部门做了一份初级工作。 她曾在五角大楼工作过一段时间。 当朱迪开始和一个布丽奇特不喜欢的男孩约会并几乎结婚时，布丽奇特和朱迪闹翻了。 他看起来又刻薄又虐待人，她不想让她妹妹和那样的人混在一起。 朱迪和那个男孩分手了

long time ago, but she and Bridget didn't reconnect after that. They had stopped speaking, and neither one wanted to be the first to apologize. Bridget was surprised when she received an invitation to Judy's wedding. Maybe it was a signal that their feud was over. In any case, the sisters hadn't seen each other in ten years. Coke and Pep didn't remember meeting their Aunt Judy when they were very little. The McDonalds were already running late for the wedding, and there was a delay on the Metro that made them even later. They got out at the Foggy Bottom Metro stop and rushed about half a mile toward Potomac Park, where the Lincoln Memorial is located. "I barely remember what Judy looks like anymore," Mrs. McDonald said as they hurried down Twenty-third Street. "She probably looks the same," said Dr. McDonald. "Just a little older and grayer. Like us." "What should I say to her?" "Just say congratulations."

很久以前的事了，但那之后她和布丽奇特就没再联系过了。 他们已经不说话了，谁也不想第一个道歉。 当布里奇特收到朱迪婚礼的请柬时，她很惊讶。 也许这是他们恩怨结束的信号。 无论如何，这对姐妹已经十年没见了。 可口可乐和佩普不记得在他们很小的时候见过他们的朱迪阿姨。 麦当劳的婚礼已经迟到了，而地铁又晚点了，这让他们更晚了。 他们在雾谷地铁站下了车，朝林肯纪念堂所在的波托马克公园（Potomac Park）冲了大约半英里。 “我几乎不记得朱迪长什么样子了，”麦克唐纳太太在他们匆匆走过23街时说。 “她看起来可能和以前一样。” 麦当劳。“只是年纪大了一点，头发也白了一点。 像我们这样的。”“我该对她说什么呢？”“就说恭喜吧。”

"What if she's marrying some jerk?" "That's her business, not yours," Dr. McDonald advised. "Don't judge her. That's what caused all the problems last time. Besides, how bad could he be?" It was a beautiful day, and lots of tourists were out. The McDonalds were looking for people dressed as a bride and groom. "Over there!" Coke said as they crossed Constitution Avenue. Hundreds of folding chairs had been set up in front of the Lincoln Memorial. The McDonalds grabbed the only four consecutive seats that were empty, in the back. They could barely see the big statue of Abraham Lincoln. It looked like they had arrived just in time. The bride had already walked down the aisle, but the ceremony had not started yet. The Elvis Presley song "Love Me Tender" was playing out of a big set of speakers. Dr. McDonald took some coins out of his pocket and handed Coke a penny. "Notice anything familiar?" he asked.

“如果她嫁给了一个混蛋怎么办？”“那是她的事，与你无关。” 麦当劳的建议。“不要评判她。 这就是上次造成问题的原因。 再说，他能坏到什么程度呢？”天气很好，很多游客都出去了。 麦当劳正在寻找打扮成新娘和新郎的人。 “在那边!”他们穿过宪法大道时，科克说。 林肯纪念堂前摆放了数百把折叠椅。 麦当劳占据了后排仅有的连续四个空座位。 他们几乎看不到亚伯拉罕·林肯的大雕像。 看来他们来得正是时候。 新娘已经走上了红毯，但仪式还没有开始。 大喇叭里播放着猫王的歌曲《温柔地爱我》。 麦克唐纳医生从口袋里掏出一些硬币，递给可乐一便士。 “有什么熟悉的吗？”他问。

Coke looked at the penny and turned it over. The image on the back was exactly what he was looking at—the Lincoln Memorial. "You know," Dr. McDonald said, "this is the spot where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his 'I Have a Dream' speech." "I know, I know," Coke said. "Isn't this beautiful?" Mrs. McDonald asked, to nobody in particular, as she fussed with her hair. "I wonder how they were able to get a permit for this space," Dr. McDonald commented. "Somebody must have a lot of dough, or a lot of clout." "Shhhhh, you're spoiling the mood, Ben." "All I'm saying is, you can't just pay somebody a hundred bucks to rent the Lincoln Memorial. Somebody pulled some strings—" "Shhhhhhhhhhh!" "Mom," Pep complained, "I can only see the backs of their heads from here." "Shhhhhhhhhhh! We'll talk to Aunt Judy and her new husband after the ceremony." Mrs. McDonald stood up for a moment to get a

可乐看了看硬币，把它翻过来。 背面的图案正是他所看到的——林肯纪念堂。 “你知道吗，”麦克唐纳博士说，“这是马丁·路德·金（Martin Luther King Jr.）曾在这里演讲的地方。 发表了‘我有一个梦想’的演讲。” “我知道，我知道，”可口可乐说。 “这不是很漂亮吗？”麦克唐纳太太一边揉着头发，一边问，没有特别针对谁。 “我不知道他们是怎么拿到这个地方的许可证的，”他说。 麦克唐纳说。“一定有人很有钱，或者很有影响力。” “嘘，你破坏了气氛，本。” “我想说的是，你不能花100美元租林肯纪念堂。 有人动用了关系——”“嘘——嘘！”“妈妈，”佩普抱怨道，“我从这里只能看到他们的后脑勺。” “Shhhhhhhhhhh !婚礼结束后我们再和朱迪阿姨和她的新婚丈夫谈谈。” 麦克唐纳夫人站了一会儿，拿了杯茶