Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12 THREE DAYS LATER JANUARY 18, 1919 AROUND 7:00 A.M. BOSTON CITY HOSPITAL "Hello? Are you awake?" Carmen's eyes opened. A woman was holding her hand. Was it Mrs. Grasso?

第十二章三天后1919年1月18日上午7点左右 波士顿城市医院“喂？” 你醒了吗？”卡门睁开了眼睛。 一个女人握着她的手。 是格拉索太太吗？

No. This woman was very young, with red hair and freckles. She was wearing a white cap. A nurse, Carmen realized. "Hello, darling," the nurse said, her Irish accent tickling Carmen's ears. "I knew you were waking up." Carmen looked around. A pink curtain surrounded her bed. She was in a hospital. She tried to sit up, but her leg throbbed in pain. Carmen sucked in her breath. "Don't fuss too much, love," the young nurse said. "You have quite a wound on your leg. Lost yourself quite a lot of blood. Doctors stitched you up, though. You'll be running around soon enough." "How long have I been here?" Carmen asked. Her voice was scratchy. The nurse fluffed Carmen's pillow and straightened her blanket. "Three days."

不。这个女人很年轻，红头发，满脸雀斑。 她戴着一顶白色的帽子。 一个护士，卡门意识到。“你好，亲爱的，”护士说，她的爱尔兰口音使卡门的耳朵发痒。 “我知道你醒了。” 卡门环顾四周。粉红色的帘子围着她的床。 她在医院里。她想坐起来，但她的腿痛得直跳。 卡门吸了口气。 “别大惊小怪的，亲爱的，”年轻的护士说。 “你的腿上受了不少伤。 你流了很多血。 不过医生给你缝针了。 你很快就会到处跑的。” “我在这儿多久了？”卡门问道。 她的声音沙哑。护士把卡门的枕头拍松，把她的毯子弄直。 “三天。”

Three days? How was that possible? Carmen lay back as the nurse took her pulse. "You're in good shape," the nurse said, "compared to some of the others. Who would have ever thought that a molasses tank could explode like that? The whole waterfront is gone, you know. They're going to be cleaning up for months." Carmen's mind was clearing; it was all slowly coming back to her. The shattered tank. The raging river of molasses. The bodies floating by. Carmen sat up and gasped. "Tony!" she blurted out. What had happened to Tony? "Who?" the nurse said. "My friend, my best friend." Just then, someone called from the other side of the room. "Nurse! We need you here!"

三天?这怎么可能呢？ 护士给卡门把脉时，卡门躺了下来。 “和其他一些人相比，”护士说，“你的身体很好。 谁能想到糖蜜罐会爆炸成那样？ 整个滨水区都没了。 他们要清理好几个月。” 卡门的头脑清醒了；一切都慢慢地回到了她的脑海中。 破碎的坦克。汹涌的糖浆河。 尸体漂浮着。卡门坐起来，倒吸了一口气。 “托尼！”她脱口而出。托尼出了什么事？ “谁？”护士问。“我的朋友，我最好的朋友。” 就在这时，有人从房间的另一边叫道。 “护士!我们这里需要你！”

"Don't you worry, love," the nurse said to Carmen. "You rest now. I'll be back." And she disappeared through the curtains, leaving Carmen all alone. But she wasn't alone for long. Carmen heard them before she saw them. "I want to see her first!" "No, me!" "You pushed me!" "Did not!" A stampede of little footsteps clattered across the tile floor. The curtains flew open. And the three littlest Grasso kids swarmed around her bed. They all stared at her, six enormous brown eyes. Frankie broke out into a huge grin. He raised his hands up into the air. "She's alive!" he bellowed. Carmen laughed.

“别担心，亲爱的，”护士对卡门说。 “你现在休息吧。我会回来的。” 她从窗帘后面消失了，留下卡门一个人。 但她并没有孤独太久。 卡门在看到他们之前就听到了。 “我想先看看她！”“不,我!”“你推了我！”“不!”一阵急促的脚步声踏过瓷砖地板。 窗帘突然拉开了。格拉索家三个最小的孩子围着她的床。 他们都盯着她，六只棕色的大眼睛。 弗兰基突然咧嘴一笑。 他把双手举到空中。 “她还活着！” 卡门笑了。

Mrs. Grasso came rushing after them, out of breath. She took one look at Carmen and started crying. But her face lit up with a smile even as the tears poured down. Carmen held her breath, afraid to hope. And then, seconds later, another face appeared. Battered. Scraped. Smiling. Tony.

格拉索太太上气不接下气地追了上来。 她看了卡门一眼，就哭了起来。 但她的脸上却洋溢着微笑，即使眼泪也在不停地流下来。 卡门屏住呼吸，不敢抱有希望。 几秒钟后，另一张脸出现了。 遭受重创。刮。面带微笑。 托尼。