9 Perfection

CHAPTER 9 Perfection An hour later, Lia's mother had arrived, and she was seated along with all the other wedding guests. Someone else from the hotel—a man with the name Peter sewn into his uniform— stood out in the hall with us. From inside Ballroom A, I could hear the organ music playing. Mom told me it was called Pachelbel's Canon. (How can grown-ups recognize songs that don't have any words?) Peter told each of us when to walk down

第九章 完美时刻 一小时后，莉娅的妈妈赶到了，她和其他婚宴宾客都坐好了。 酒店里另一位工作人员——制服上绣着名字彼得，和我们一起站在大厅里。 我能听到A宴会厅里传来管风琴的演奏声。 妈妈告诉我这首曲子是帕赫贝尔的卡农。 （大人们怎么能认出没有歌词的歌呀？） 彼得告诉我们每个人该什么时候走上红毯

the aisle. First went Rob and his dad. Penny, Lia, and I peeked through the window on the ballroom door, so we could see Rob get to the front and stand in front of Aoife. His dad sat down in the first row. Then it was time for Mom and Rob's brother, Doug, to walk down—Mom was the matron of honor, and Doug was the best man. Mom gave Penny, Lia, and me each a little kiss, and then Peter opened the door. Everyone was walking SUPER slowly. That's a wedding rule. My heart was thump thump thumping all over again. Even though Mom and Doug were walking, it was going to be our turn soon enough. In fact we were next! Aunt Laura and Grandma and Grandpa would be the last ones. "Okay," Peter said. "Get ready, girls." "Ready!" Penny said.

了。 最先走过去的是罗伯和他爸爸。 佩妮、莉娅和我透过宴会厅门的窗户偷看，看着罗伯走到前方，站在奥伊面前。 他爸爸在第一排坐下了。 接下来轮到妈妈和罗伯的弟弟道格走过去——妈妈是主伴娘，道格是伴郎。 妈妈分别亲了我、佩妮和莉娅，然后彼得推开了门。 所有人都走得超级慢。 这是婚礼的规矩。 我的心又开始咚咚咚狂跳个不停。 虽然现在走的是妈妈和道格，但我们很快就要轮到了。 事实上，下一组就是我们！ 劳拉姑姑、奶奶和爷爷会是最后一组。 “好啦，”彼得说。 “准备好哦，姑娘们。” “准备好啦！” 佩妮说。

"I'm ready too," Lia told him. "Stella?" Peter said. "All set?" I looked down at my shoes, I smoothed down my dress, I gripped my basket, and I took a deep breath. "Yeah," I said. "I am." He opened the door. Everyone in the ballroom turned to look at us, and made the "Awwww" sound. Lia moved in between Penny and me. She hooked her right arm through Penny's left arm, and her left arm through my right arm. We still had our hands free to hold our flowers and throw the petals. "Let's step forward on our right feet first," she said. "On the count of three." One, two, three: step! Right, then pause, left, then pause, then right again. Slowly we made our way down the aisle, sprinkling flower petals as we went.

“我也准备好啦，”莉娅对他说。 “斯特拉？” 彼得说。 “都准备好了吗？” 我低头看了看鞋子，理平裙摆，握紧花篮，深吸了一口气。 “嗯，”我说。 “准备好了。” 他推开了门。 宴会厅里所有人都转头看向我们，发出了“哇——”的赞叹声。 莉娅站到了我和佩妮中间。 她用右臂勾住佩妮的左臂，左臂勾住我的右臂。 我们的手还是空着的，可以拿花、撒花瓣。 “我们先迈右脚，”她说。 “数到三一起走。” 一、二、三，迈步！ 右步，停一下，左步，停一下，再迈右步。 我们慢慢沿着红毯往前走，一边走一边撒下花瓣。

"Aren't they darling?" I heard someone say, but I didn't look up to see who. I just concentrated on walking. Step and throw petals, step with the other foot and throw petals. We finally got to the end, and the music changed to another song without words. But this one I recognized anyway. It was "Here Comes the Bride." Aunt Laura walked down the aisle in between Grandma and Grandpa, walking slower than I've ever seen anyone walk in my whole entire life. Aunt Laura looked so pretty. I felt tears pricking behind my eyes. When they got to the end, Aoife said, "Who gives this woman to be married?" "I do," Grandma said. She nudged Grandpa. "Oh, sorry," he said. "I do, too." Aunt Laura handed Lia her wedding

“她们多可爱呀？” 我听到有人说，但我没抬头看是谁。 我只是专心走路。 迈一步撒花瓣，换脚再撒花瓣。 我们终于走到头，音乐换成了另一首没有歌词的曲子。 但这首我居然认出来了。 就是《新娘来了》呀。 劳拉姑姑走在奶奶和爷爷中间，沿着红毯往前走，她走得比我这辈子见过的任何人都慢。 劳拉姑姑看起来美极了。 我感觉到眼泪在眼眶里打转。 他们走到头之后，奥伊问道：“是谁将这位女士交付给新郎？” “我，”奶奶说。 她碰了碰爷爷。 “哦，抱歉，”爷爷说。 “我也交付。” 劳拉姑姑把她的婚礼捧花交给莉娅

bouquet to hold. "Ladies and gentlemen," Aoife said, "we are gathered here today..." And then the wedding went on, just like a wedding in a movie. To be honest, it got a little bit boring, and my feet started to hurt from standing so long. But then Aoife got to the good part, and it wasn't boring anymore: "Do you, Robert, take Laura to be your lawfully wedded wife, in good times and bad, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, until death do you part?" "I most certainly do," said Rob. In the front row, I could hear Grandma and Mom sniffling. "Do you, Laura, take Robert to be your lawfully wedded husband, in good times and bad, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, until death do you part?" "Yes, I do," Laura said.

帮忙拿着。 “女士们，先生们，”奥伊说，“今天我们聚在这里……” 之后婚礼就顺利进行，和电影里的婚礼一模一样。 说实话，后面有点无聊，站了这么久我的脚都开始疼了。 但很快奥伊说到了精彩的部分，一下子就不无聊了：“罗伯特，你愿意娶劳拉为你的合法妻子吗？无论顺境逆境，疾病健康，贫穷富有，直到死亡将你们分离？” “我当然愿意，”罗伯说。 在第一排，我能听到奶奶和妈妈在抽鼻子哭。 “劳拉，你愿意嫁给罗伯特，做他的合法妻子吗？无论顺境逆境，疾病健康，贫穷富有，直到死亡将你们分离？” “是的，我愿意，”劳拉说。