Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16 SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2005 RIVERSIDE PARK, NEW YORK CITY Barry sat on a bench in the shade. Mom and Dad were standing a few feet away, watching Cleo climb up the jungle gym. Cruz was snoozing at Barry's feet. Barry had a sketchbook open on his lap, and he was looking at his new drawing of Akivo. He'd finished that morning, keeping his promise to Jay. It had been Jay's idea that they could still enter the contest. Jay had even called

第十六章2005年9月29日星期六纽约市河滨公园巴里坐在阴凉处的长凳上。 爸爸妈妈站在几英尺远的地方，看着克利奥爬上方格架。 克鲁兹在巴里脚边打盹。 巴里的腿上放着一本速写本，他正在看他新画的阿奇沃。 那天早上，他完成了任务，履行了对杰伊的承诺。 他们仍然可以参加比赛是杰伊的主意。 杰伊甚至打过电话

the Acclaim offices from his grandma's house in Birmingham. "I told them the whole story," he said. "The man said we can still enter. And they want to meet you!" Barry wasn't surprised to hear that. Even four weeks later, Katrina was the biggest story in the country. Every time Barry turned on the TV or got into a taxi with Mom or Dad, another voice was talking about the hurricane. "This is the worst disaster ever to hit America." "This is a national tragedy." "A great American city has been destroyed." And everyone wanted to hear their story. The kids at Barry's new school. The man who made their sandwiches at the deli on the corner. Strangers who overheard Mom talking at the bank. They all wanted to know about Katrina. They listened with wide eyes. And then they all said pretty much the same thing: They said the Tuckers were lucky.

他在伯明翰奶奶家的Acclaim办公室工作。 “我把整个故事都告诉了他们，”他说。 “那个人说我们还是可以进去的。 他们想见你!”巴里听到这个并不感到惊讶。 即使在四周后，卡特里娜飓风仍是全国最大的新闻。 每次巴里打开电视或和爸爸妈妈一起坐出租车时，另一个声音就在谈论飓风。 “这是美国遭受的最严重的灾难。” “这是一场国家悲剧。” “一座伟大的美国城市被毁了。” 每个人都想听他们的故事。 巴里新学校的孩子们。 那个在街角熟食店给他们做三明治的人。 听到妈妈在银行说话的陌生人。 他们都想知道卡特里娜的事。 他们睁大眼睛听着。 然后他们都说了同样的话:他们说塔克一家很幸运。

Barry knew that was true. Mom said it was a miracle that they'd found Barry on the bridge. Some families had been separated for days or weeks. Some still hadn't found each other. And of course there were people who had died — more than a thousand. They were still finding bodies in attics. Barry had nightmares about the storm. He didn't sleep much. Even the sound of Dad turning on the shower in the morning made Barry's heart jump. But yes, he knew he was lucky. Luckier than the tens of thousands of people who'd been stranded for days in the hot and terrifying Superdome. Or the people who'd been stuck on bridges and highways and rooftops. The Tuckers hadn't gone to the Superdome. They had gone to Lightning's. They'd stayed with Dave for two days and then caught a bus to Houston. Dave boarded up the club and went to Baton Rouge. By then even he realized that the city wasn't safe. The cousins in Houston spoiled them rotten for one week. Mom and Dad talked about

巴里知道这是真的。妈妈说他们能在桥上找到巴里真是个奇迹。 一些家庭已经分离了几天或几周。 有些人仍然没有找到彼此。 当然也有人死了——一千多人。 他们还在阁楼里发现尸体。 巴里做了关于暴风雨的噩梦。 他睡得不多。就连早上爸爸开淋浴的声音都能让巴里心跳加速。 但是，是的，他知道他很幸运。 比起被困在又热又恐怖的超级穹顶里好几天的成千上万的人来说，他们要幸运得多。 还有那些被困在桥上、高速公路上和屋顶上的人。 塔克一家没有去超级圆顶体育场。 他们去了闪电酒吧。 他们和戴夫一起住了两天，然后搭上了去休斯顿的巴士。 戴夫把俱乐部用木板封起来，去了巴吞鲁日。 那时连他都意识到这座城市并不安全。 休斯顿的表亲们把他们宠坏了一个星期。 妈妈和爸爸谈论

moving there, finding an apartment nearby. But then a call came from the president of that famous music college in New York. There was a job for Dad if he wanted, teaching about New Orleans music. There was an apartment too, with furniture and room for the whole family. A week later, they were here. Cruz too. He was part of the family now. The Red Cross had helped Dad track down Abe and his grandma in Little Rock, Arkansas. Abe and Barry had talked on the phone. And Abe — the old Abe — had asked Barry if he would keep Cruz. "He's not a killer," Abe said. "I figured that out." They had a good laugh. And they cried a little too, when they talked about their neighborhood. Barry hoped he would see Abe again one day. Mom and Dad came over and sat next to Barry on the bench. Cleo waved from the top of the slide. Dad looked at Barry's drawing of Akivo. "That is really something," Dad said.

搬到那里，在附近找个公寓。 但后来纽约那所著名音乐学院的校长打来了电话。 如果爸爸愿意的话，他有一份工作，教新奥尔良音乐。 还有一间公寓，里面有家具和供全家居住的房间。 一周后，他们来到了这里。 克鲁兹。他现在是这个家庭的一员了。 红十字会帮助爸爸找到了住在阿肯色州小石城的亚伯和他的奶奶。 Abe和Barry通过电话。 亚伯，以前的亚伯，问巴里要不要留下克鲁兹。 “他不是杀手，”安倍说。 “我明白了。”他们笑得很开心。 当他们谈到他们的邻居时，他们也哭了。 巴里希望有一天能再见到亚伯。 爸爸妈妈过来坐在巴里旁边的长凳上。 克莱奥在滑梯顶上挥手。 爸爸看着巴里画的阿基沃。 “真是了不起，”爸爸说。

"Thanks," said Barry, who liked this one even better than the original. Akivo had a sidekick now, a mutt with floppy ears. And he had a guardian angel — a beautiful fairy in a yellow rubber raft. "He looks like you," Mom said. "That's right," Dad said. "I see it too." Barry stared at the picture, and he saw what Mom and Dad meant. Akivo's face — it did look something like Barry's. "I guess you feel a little like a superhero yourself," Mom said. "Nah," Barry said, his cheeks heating up. But really, he did. Out there in the flood, Barry had discovered some powers of his own. When it was time to go back to the apartment, Barry went to pluck Cleo off the jungle gym. He heard her singing, "On Blueberry Hill…," and he smiled. Dad told Barry he'd sung that song a million times when they'd been on the roof. Dad had jumped into the floodwater after Barry, but the current had been too strong. He'd fought his way back to Mom and Cleo. The three of them

“谢谢。”巴里说，他比原来更喜欢这个。 阿奇沃现在有了一个伙伴，一只耷拉着耳朵的杂种狗。 他还有一位守护天使——一位坐在黄色橡胶筏上的美丽仙女。 “他长得像你，”妈妈说。 “没错，”爸爸说。“我也看到了。” 巴里盯着照片看，他明白了爸爸妈妈的意思。 阿基沃的脸，确实有点像巴里的脸。 “我猜你觉得自己有点像个超级英雄，”妈妈说。 “不，”巴里说，他的脸颊开始发热。 但实际上，他做到了。在洪水中，巴里发现了自己的超能力。 该回公寓的时候，巴里去把克利奥从攀爬架上拉下来。 他听到她在唱:“在蓝莓山上……”，他笑了。 爸爸告诉巴里，他们在屋顶上的时候，这首歌他已经唱过无数遍了。 爸爸跟着巴里跳进了洪水里，但是水流太猛了。 他奋力回到妈妈和克莱奥身边。 他们三个人