“No,” I said. “If we’re going to do it, we shouldn’t have any doubts at all about it, and we should both be in agreement. It wouldn’t be fair to the baby otherwise.”

“不，”我说，“如果我们打算那么做，我们根本就不应该有任何动摇，并且，我们的意见必须一致。要不然对孩子不公平。”

She rested her head on the window and said nothing else the rest of the way.

她把头靠在车窗上，在剩下的路程中一言不发。

Now the general sat beside her. “Bachem, this adoption¹... thing, I’m not so sure it’s for us Afghans.” Soraya looked at me tiredly and sighed. 当时将军坐在她身旁：“我的孩子，关于收养……这件事，我不知道对我们阿富汗人来说是否合适。”索拉雅疲惫地看着我，幽幽叹气。

“For one thing, they grow up and want to know who their natural parents are,” he said. “Nor can you blame them. Sometimes, they leave the home in which you labored² for years to provide for them so they can find the people who gave them life. Blood is a powerful thing, bachem, never forget that.”

“首先，他们长大成人，想要知道亲生父母是谁，”他说，“你们对此不能抱怨。你们操劳多年，所做全为了他们，有时候，他们会离家出走，去寻找给他们生命的人。血缘是最重要的，我的孩子，千万不能忘记。”

“I don’t want to talk about this anymore,” Soraya said. “我不想再谈论这个话题了。”索拉雅说。

“I’ll say one more thing,” he said. I could tell he was getting revved³ up; we were about to get one of the general’s little speeches. “Take Amir jan, here. We all knew his father, I know who his grandfather was in Kabul and his great-grandfather before him, I could sit here and trace generations of his ancestors for you if you asked. That’s why when his father--God give him peace--came khastegari, I didn’t hesitate. And believe me, his father wouldn’t have agreed to ask for your hand if he didn’t know whose descendant you were. Blood is a powerful thing, bachem, and when you adopt, you don’t know whose blood you’re bringing into your house. “我再说一件事。”他说。我察觉到他激动起来了，我们听到将军的一番高谈阔论：“这里就拿亲爱的阿米尔来说吧。我们都认得他的父亲，我在喀布尔之时，便认得他的祖父是什么人，还认得他的曾祖父。如果你们问起，我可以坐下来，细数他好几代祖先。这就是为什么他的爸爸——真主保佑他安息——前来提亲，我不假思索就应承的原因。而且，相信我，如果他的爸爸不了解你祖上的历史，也不会要你当他的媳妇。血缘是最重要的，我的孩子，你们收养别人的时候，根本不知道将谁的血带进家门。”

“Now, if you were American, it wouldn’t matter. People here marry for love, family name and ancestry⁴ never even come into the equation. They adopt that way too, as long as the baby is healthy, everyone is happy. But we are Afghans, bachem.”

“现在，如果你们是美国人，这不成问题。这里的人们为了爱情结合，家族和祖辈根本不起作用。他们收养孩子也是这样的，只要婴儿健康，每个人都很高兴。但我们是阿富汗人，我的孩子。”

“Is the fish almost ready?” Soraya said. General Taheri’s eyes lingered on her. He patted her knee.

“鱼烤好了吗？”索拉雅说。塔赫里将军眼睛盯着她，他拍拍她的膝盖。

“Just be happy you have your health and a good husband.”

“高兴点吧，就为你身体健康，还有个好丈夫。”

“What do you think, Amir jan?” Khala Jamila said.

“你怎么想呢，亲爱的阿米尔？”雅米拉阿姨问。