Coming of Age成长

LilyM. 张宁

Lucy stuck the last candle into the cake and stepped back with a sigh1. She looked at the kitchen， completely decked2 out for her dads 60th birthday surprise party. Shiny party hats were neatly stacked3 on the table， and there were so many colorful streamers that it was difficult to see the ceiling. A huge banner hung from the wall read “Happy 60th， Dad！” and the house was filled with the sweet aroma4 of chocolate cake just out of the oven. Everything looked perfect. So why didnt Lucy feel satisfied？

露西把最后一支蠟烛插进蛋糕里，叹了口气退了回去。她看着为了她父亲60岁生日惊喜派对而装饰得漂漂亮亮的厨房。桌上整齐地堆放着闪亮的派对帽子，五颜六色的彩带几乎遮住了天花板。墙上挂着一面巨大的横幅，上面写着“60岁快乐，爸爸！”，屋子里充满了刚出炉的巧克力蛋糕的香气。一切看起来都很完美。那么露西为什么感到不满意呢？

Since the age of six， Lucy had begun to realize that her parents were much older than most of her friends parents. When classmates heard the ages of her mom and dad， they gave her looks of confusion. Now， she was 14， her dad 60. When she was 34， hed be 80. When she was 54， hed be 100. Sometimes she wondered， would her parents be alive to meet her future husband？ Would they get to know her children？ “I dont want dad to turn 60，” she thought. For Lucy， 60 was the age a person became old， growing closer to death. So the beginning of the end of her fathers life didnt seem like something to celebrate; rather it was something she wanted to ignore.

从六岁起，露西就开始意识到她的父母比她大多数朋友的父母年龄大得多。当同学们听到她父母的年龄时，都显得很困惑。现在，她14岁，她父亲60岁。她34岁时，他就80岁了。她54岁时，他就100岁了。有时她会想，她的父母会活到见到她未来丈夫的时候吗？他们会知道她的孩子吗？“我不想爸爸变成60岁。”她想。对露西来说，60岁是一个人开始变老，越来越接近死亡的年龄。因此，她父亲生命终结的开始这件事似乎并不值得庆祝，她甚至想要忽略掉它。

What she couldnt ignore， though， were memories of her with her father. Looking around the kitchen， she remembered his warm hands enveloping her little hands as they mixed pancake batter5 together. She thought of him sitting with her at the kitchen table explaining a math problem. And she couldnt count the number of times theyd stood by the sink after dinner， her dad washing the dishes， she drying， both of them laughing at some silly joke. “Why cant I celebrate dad on his birthday， when I love him so much？” Lucy thought.

不过，她不能忽视的是她和父亲在一起的回忆。她环顾厨房，想起了他曾用温暖的双手把她的小手包在一起，一起搅拌面糊。她想起了他曾坐在厨房的桌子旁给她解释一道数学题。她数不清有多少次晚饭后他们站在水池边，她父亲洗盘子，她擦干，他们俩都因为一个愚蠢的笑话而开心大笑。“既然我这么爱爸爸，为什么我不在他生日那天为他庆祝呢？”露西想。

“Wow！It looks amazing.” Her mom walked into the room with an armful of gifts. “Hes going to love it！”

“哇！”她母亲抱着一大堆礼物走进房间。“他会喜欢的！”

Lucy smiled and said， “Thanks， mom.”

露西微笑着说：“谢谢，妈妈。”

“Everything okay， honey？” Her mother walked over， giving her shoulder a squeeze6.

“一切都还好吗，亲爱的？”她母亲走过来，挤了挤她的肩膀。……