雙語(yǔ)讀?。篊all me by ...（一）04:我決定騎單車(chē)帶他過(guò)去。

Instead, he said he wanted to open an account in one of the banks in B., then pay a visit to his Italian translator, whom his Italian publisher had engaged for his book.
I decided to take him there by bike.
The conversation was no better on wheels than on foot. Along the way, we stopped for something to drink. The bartabaccheria was totally dark and empty. The owner was mopping the floor with a powerful ammonia solution. We stepped outside as soon as we could. A lonely blackbird, sitting in a Mediterranean pine, sang a few notes that were immediately drowned out by the rattle of the cicadas.
I took a long swill from a large bottle of mineral water, passed it to him, then drank from it again. I spilled some on my hand and rubbed my face with it, running my wet fingers through my hair. The water was insufficiently cold, not fizzy enough, leaving behind an unslaked likeness of thirst.
 
不過(guò)，他倒說(shuō)想在 B 城的銀行開(kāi)戶，然后去拜訪那位意大利譯者，那是他的意大利出版商為他聘請(qǐng)的。
我決定騎單車(chē)帶他過(guò)去。
騎車(chē)時(shí)的對(duì)話不比步行時(shí)順利。途中，我們停下來(lái)找東西喝。煙草店酒吧里漆黑一片，空蕩蕩的，老板正用氣味強(qiáng)烈的氨水拖地，我們忙不迭地離開(kāi)了。一只寂寞的烏鴉棲息在地中海松上唱出幾個(gè)音符，旋即被喋喋不休的蟬鳴淹沒(méi)。
我大口大口喝著大罐礦泉水，遞給他，然后再拿回來(lái)喝。我灑了一些在手上，擦一把臉，再沾濕手指梳理頭發(fā)。水不夠涼，氣泡太少，留下意猶未盡的那種渴。
 
What did one do around here?
Nothing. Wait for summer to end.
What did one do in the winter, then?
I smiled at the answer I was about to give. He got the gist and said, “Don’t tell me: wait for summer to come, right?”
I liked having my mind read. He’d pick up on dinner drudgery sooner than those before him.
“Actually, in the winter the place gets very gray and dark. We come for Christmas. Otherwise it’s a ghost town.”
“And what else do you do here at Christmas besides roast chestnuts and drink eggnog?”
He was teasing. I offered the same smile as before. He understood, said nothing, we laughed.
He asked what I did. I played tennis. Swam. Went out at night. Jogged. Transcribed music. Read.
He said he jogged too. Early in the morning. Where did one jog around here? Along the promenade, mostly. I could show him if he wanted.
It hit me in the face just when I was starting to like him again: “Later, maybe.”
 
——大家在這里都做些什么？
——不做什么，等夏天結(jié)束。
——那么，冬天做什么？
答案到了嘴邊，我不禁露出微笑。他領(lǐng)會(huì)我的意思，說(shuō)道：“先別告訴我：是等夏天來(lái)，對(duì)不對(duì)？”
我樂(lè)意讓人看穿心思。這個(gè)人會(huì)比他的“前輩”更早意會(huì)到“正餐苦差”。
“其實(shí)，一到冬天，這里變得非?；野?。我們來(lái)這里是為了過(guò)圣誕。否則這里杳無(wú)人煙。”
“除了烤栗子、喝蛋奶酒之外，你們圣誕節(jié)在這里還做什么？”
他在逗我。我露出和之前一樣的微笑。他領(lǐng)悟了，不再說(shuō)什么，于是我們笑起來(lái)。
他問(wèn)我都做些什么。我說(shuō)打網(wǎng)球。游泳。晚上出門(mén)。慢跑。改編樂(lè)曲。讀書(shū)。
他說(shuō)他也慢跑。一大早就出門(mén)。這附近去哪里慢跑？大抵來(lái)說(shuō)，是沿著海濱大道。如果他想看看，我可以帶路。
就在我又有點(diǎn)喜歡他的時(shí)候，他給了我一記當(dāng)頭棒喝：“回頭再說(shuō)。或許吧。”