恋爱编织梦（1995）

在我的印象中
For as long as I can remember…
外祖母总是和她的朋友聚在一起编织喜被
… my grandmother and her friends
have been part of a quilting bee.
回想起童年的时候，我总爱躲藏在桌下
I remember sitting under the quilting frame
pretending that I was surrounded…
幻想着自己置身于森林中，与树木亲切交融
… by a forest of friendly trees,
and that their stitches…
那些被编织的精美图案
仿佛就是浮现在广阔天际的迷幻景致
… were messages from giants
written across the sky.
我过去总是在加利福尼亚的一个小镇里
I used to spend my summers
with my grandmother and my great-aunt…
同我的祖母和姨婆度过夏天
… who lived in Grasse, California.
每当我的母亲和她的新男友匆匆离开时
她就会把我丢在这里
My mother would dump me there
when she took off with her latest boyfriend.
我父母的婚姻没有持续很长时间
My parents’ marriage didn’t last very long.
他们说，两人只是不再爱对方了
They said they didn’t love each other anymore.
也可能他们只是恐惧彼此之间的关系
Or maybe they were just afraid
that their relationship…
已经变得像周围其他人一样了
… had become just like everyone else’s.
他们终于和平分手了
我也终于不再固执地认为
They eventually parted as friends,
and I eventually stopped thinking…
这些都是由我引起的了
… it was all my fault.
事实上，这无关对错
The truth is, it’s no one’s fault.
只是，在某一特定的节点上，
爱就那样简单地去了
Sometimes love simply dies.
此时此刻，我正在忙于第三次
At this moment in time,
I’m working on my third…
但愿也是最后一次关于硕士毕业论文的努力
… and, I hope, final attempt
at my master’s thesis.
无论何时能够完成
我都决定换一个主题
Whenever I’m about to finish,
I decide to switch topics.
我实在受不了了
I can’t help it.
似乎我了解的越多
It seems the more I know about something…
想要进一步探究的热情就越少
… well, the less I want to know about it.
更糟的是，我的心上人Sam
此时正在屋里施工
On top of that, my sweetheart Sam
is taking our home apart…
他想把屋子复原成一种新的神秘格局
… and putting it back together
in some mysterious new form.
我决定在这个夏天离开一段时间
I’ve decided to go away for the summer.
这让Sam很担心
This makes Sam nervous.
他以为我的离开是由于昨晚他向我求婚的缘故
He thinks I’m leaving
because last night he proposed to me.
Sam人很好，我也真心爱他
Sam’s great and I really love him.
况且我今年26岁，在这个年龄结婚也是无可厚非
And I’m 26. This is not
an unreasonable age to get married.
特别是当你确信他就是你精神伴侣的时候
Especially if you’ve found
your possible soul mate.
但是如何才能在双方坦诚相待的同时
But how do you merge into this thing
called a couple…
依然给自己保留一些空间呢？
… and still keep a little room for yourself?
怎样才能知道我们就是彼此的唯一
And how do we even know
if we’re only supposed to be with one person…
就是共度今生的人呢？
… for the rest of our lives?
当天Sam开车送我到Glady姨婆家
The day Sam drove me
to my Great-aunt Glady’s house…
当年她们就是在这里编织喜被的
现在她们准备做一床新的
… the Grasse Quilting Bee was there,
setting up to make a new quilt.
“我一直不明白为什么我们要搬这个？”
I don’t know why we do this…
她们总是在Glady姨婆家碰面
They’ve always met here at Aunt Glady’s.
外祖母在我外祖父去世后就搬进来住了
My grandmother moved in
after she lost her husband.
从那以后她们就一直吵个不停
They’ve been fighting ever since.
– “Arthur的这些玩意儿可真招人烦”
– “它们以前不就堆在这儿吗”
Arthur’s stuff is junk?
It’s piled up there.
这里的每个人都尊重Anna
因为她是编织喜被的专家
Everyone defers to Anna,
who is the master quilter.
她曾经为Glady姨婆工作
但现在，看起来她们倒像是为她工作
She used to work for my Aunt Glady,
but these days it seems they’re working for her.
我最不喜欢的就是Sophia
My least favorite is Sophia.
当我还是个小姑娘的时候，她总能把我吓哭了
When I was a little girl, she always made me cry.
这是Em，她嫁给了一个艺术家
出于某些原因
And then there’s Em, who’s married to an artist,
and for some reason…
我们都为她感到不幸
… that makes everyone feel sorry for her.
我总是很崇拜Anna的女儿Marianna
I always idolized Anna’s daughter Marianna.
“我们必须得搬这些东西”
We have to move this.
她在巴黎生活的经历
对我来说异常神秘
She had lived in Paris
which made her very mysterious to me…
当我还是个孩子的时候
… when I was a kid.
她教给我法语，教我如何冲调法式咖啡
She taught me French, made caf?au laits.
甚至在我痛经的那年，她还给了我一杯红酒
And the year I got my period,
she gave me a glass of red wine.
– Sam, 我见到你太高兴了.
– 谢谢.
Sam, I’m so happy to see you.
Thank you.
– 跟我一起搬些家具吧.
– 没问题.
Let’s move some furniture together.
Sure.
– 我现在不能抬任何东西了.
– 我做什么都行，就是不再抬家具了.
Now I’m not lifting anything else.
I’ll do whatever, but no lifting.
– 你不是应该用电脑吗?
– 我不太信得过电脑.
Shouldn’t you be using a computer?
I don’t trust computers.
– 它们总是容易丢东西.
– 如果你清楚自己在干什么，那就不会有问题.
– They lose things.
– Not if you know what you’re doing.
– Sophia!
– 怎么了?
– Sophia!
– What?
我给你录了盘磁带.
I made you a tape.
– 都是些适合开车听的公路音乐.
– 太好了，谢谢.
– All the songs have “road” in the title.
– Great. Thanks.
对于这件事你不会介意吧？
没关系。
Are you gonna be okay with this?
Yeah, I’m fine.
我有很多事要做, 所以, 还好.
I got lots to do, so, I’m fine.
那你会在九月的时候回来接我吧？
So you’ll come pick me up in September?
可能会.
Maybe.
– 也可能不会.
– 你最好乖乖的来.
– Maybe not.
– You better.
– 拜拜.
– 拜.
‘Bye.
‘Bye.
编织喜被的最大挑战在于
The challenge with a quilt like this is…
这些方方正正的布块出自在座所有人之手.
…each of these squares
is made by different hands.
所以，我不得不把这些不同图案的布块拼接到一起
So I have to bring
all these different squares together…
赋予其一种平衡自然的…
…in a balanced and harmonious…
设计理念.
…design.
首先，我们需要给”喜被”定一个主题.
First, we have to find a theme.
现在,对于这条特别的喜被来说
它的主题就是“爱栖居之地”
Now, for this particular quilt,
the theme is “Where Love Resides.”
你往冰茶里加太多糖了.
You put too much sugar in the iced tea.
我没有，只是一勺半的量.
I did not. It’s got like a teaspoon and a half.
你放了一整杯的糖，我能尝出来.
You put in a whole cup. I can taste it.
别再提了，好吗?
Give it a rest, will you?
吵、吵、吵，姑娘们都变老。
Bicker, bicker, bicker, makes a gal age quicker.
您刚才所说的，用一种自然的方式拼接各部分
What you’re saying is,
by harmonizing all different elements…
是想说 你想在各部分之间建立一种什么样的联♥系♥吗?
… you’re creating kind of
a continuity in the piece?
不，我的意思是…
No. What I’m saying is…
我不想用那该死的丑陋缝法给喜被收线.
…I don’t want to end up
with some damn ugly quilt.
亲爱的, 再给我们说说你正在写的那本书
Sweetie, explain to us again
what kind of a book this is you’re writing.
那不是本书，是篇论文.
It’s not a book. It’s a thesis.
我正研究一些在各种不同部落文化中的妇女手工艺
I’m looking at women’s handiwork
in various tribal cultures…
我在证明她们如何…
…and I’m showing that how…
如何做一个篮子, 或者一个毯子,
再或者一个挖掘用的木棍之类的
… making a basket, or a blanket,
or a digging stick, or whatever…
这些器具大都是为了一种仪式所打造的.
… it’s all done with a sense of ritual.
我以为你一直在写有关维多利亚女王时代的文章.
I thought you were writing
something about the Victorians.
不，还是另外一篇论文.
No, that was a different thesis.
– 那篇怎么了?
– 我只是对这个题材更感兴趣.
– What happened to that one?
– I just became more interested in this subject.
– 你没写完那篇?
– 是的.
– You didn’t finish it?