I know now that the man who sat with me on the old wooden stairs that hot summer night over thirty-five years ago was not a tall man. But to a five-year-old, he was a giant. We sat side by side, watching the sun go down behind the old Texaco service station across the busy street. A street that I was never allowed to cross unless accompanied by an adult or at the very least, an older sibling¹.

现在，我知道三十五年多前那个炎热的夏夜和我坐在旧木楼梯上的那个男人个子并不高，但是对于一个五岁的孩子来说，他就是个巨人。我们肩并肩坐着，一起看太阳在繁忙的街对面那个老德克萨克加油站后面落下。我不能独自穿过那条街，除非跟着一个成人，或者很少的时候能跟着一个大点的兄弟姐妹。

Cherry-scented smoke from Grampy's pipe kept the hungry mosquitoes at bay while gray, wispy² swirls³ danced around our heads. Now and again, he blew a smoke ring and laughed as I tried to target the hole with my finger. I, clad in a cool summer nightie, and Grampy, his sleeveless T-shirt, sat watching the traffic. We counted cars and tried to guess the color of the next one to turn the corner.

从祖父烟斗里喷出的散发着樱桃香味的灰白色烟雾在我们脑袋周围飘荡，使饥饿的蚊子不敢靠近。时不时的，他吹出一个烟圈，当我试图把手指穿过烟圈是他笑了。穿着凉爽夏日睡衣的我和穿着无袖T-恤的祖父坐着一起看着路上的交通。我们数着汽车，并猜下一辆要从街角拐过来的汽车的颜色。

Once again, I was caught in the middle of circumstances. The fourth born of six children, it was not uncommon⁴ that I was either too young or too old for something. This night I was both. While my two baby brothers slept inside the house, my three older siblings⁵ played with friends around the corner, where I was not allowed to go. I stayed with Grampy, and that was okay with me. I was where I wanted to be. My grandfather was baby-sitting while my mother, father and grandmother went out.

又一次，我陷入了两难的境地。作为对于很多事我的年龄不是太小就是太大，这是很寻常的。那天晚上我两者都是，当我的两个小弟弟在屋里睡觉的时候，我的三个哥哥姐姐和朋友们在街角玩耍，而我是不可以去的。我和祖父呆在一起，这是可以的，我在自己想呆的地方。在母亲，父亲和祖母都外出的时候，祖父就充当保姆的角色。

“Thirsty?" Grampy asked, never removing the pipe from his mouth.

“渴吗？”祖父问道，嘴里依旧含着烟斗。

“Yes," was my reply.

“是的，”我答道。

" How would you like to run over to the gas station there and get yourself a bottle of coke?"

“想跑到加油站那里给自己买罐可乐吗？”

I couldn't believe my ears. Had I heard right? Was he talking to me? On my family's modest income, coke was not a part of our budget or diet. A few tantalizing⁶ sips⁷ was all I had ever had, and certainly never my own bottle.

我不敢相信自己的耳朵，我没听错么？他在和我说话么？以我家那微薄的收入，可乐不在预算或食物内。我有的只是偶尔一次干着急的吸一口，从没有过一罐。

"Okay," I replied shyly, already wondering how I would get across the street. Surely Grampy was going to come with me.

“好，”我羞怯的回答，并且疑惑怎么能穿过马路，当然，祖父要和我一起去。

Grampy stretched his long leg out straight and reached his huge hand deep into the pocket. I could hear the familiar jangling of the loose change he always carried. Opening his fist, he exposed a mound⁸ of silver coins. There must have been a million dollars there. He instructed me to pick out a dime⁹. After he deposited the rest of the change back into his pocket, he stood up.

祖父伸开他那长长的腿，他的大手深深的伸入口袋，我可以听到他经常装的那些很零的零钱那熟悉的吵闹声。他展开拳头，一堆银币露了出来，估计有一百万，然后他让我拿出一个一角的硬币。他在将剩下的放进口袋后站了起来。

"Okay," he said, helping¹⁰ me down the stairs and to the curb¹¹, " I'm going to stay here and keep an ear out for the babies. I'll tell you when it's safe to cross. You go over to the coke machine, get your coke and come back out. Wait for me to tell you when it's safe to cross back."

“好，”他说着，帮我下了楼梯然后一起走向路边。“我会呆在这儿并留意睡着的孩子，我会告诉你什么时候过去是安全的，你走到可乐机，拿到你的可乐然后站在外面，等着我告诉你什么时候回来是安全的。

”

My heart pounded. I clutched my dime tightly in my sweaty palm. Excitement took my breath away.

我的心快跳出来了，我将我那一角硬币紧紧地攥在出汗的手里，兴奋地快喘不上气了。

Grampy held my hand tightly. Together we looked up the street and down, and back up again. He stepped off the curb and told me it was safe to cross. He let go of my hand and I ran. I ran faster than I had ever run before. The street seemed wide. I wondered if I would make it to the other side. Reaching the other side, I turned to find Grampy. There he was, standing¹² exactly where I had left him, smiling proudly. I waved.

祖父紧紧地拉着我的手，我们一起看着马路，上上下下的看了个遍，又退了回去，他走下路边告诉我可以过去了。他松开我的手，我就跑过去了，比以前任何时候跑的都快。马路看起来很宽，我怀疑自己是否可以穿过。一到路对面我就回头看祖父，他就站在我离开他的那个地方，骄傲的笑着，我冲他招了招手。

"Go on, hurry up," he yelled..

“继续，快点，”他喊道。

My heart pounded wildly as I walked inside the dark garage.I had been inside the garage before with my father. My surroundings were familiar. I heard the Coca-Cola machine motor humming even before I saw it. I walked directly to the big old red-and-white dispenser. I knew where to insert my dime. I had seen it done before and had fantasized about this moment many times.

我走进漆黑的车库是心激烈的跳着，以前和父亲来过，周围是熟悉的，甚至在我看到可口可乐机之前我就能听见它发动机嗡嗡的声音。我直接走向那大大的，红白相间的旧自动售货机，我知道要把我的银币塞进哪里，我以前见过，并且很多次想象那个瞬间。

The big old monster greedily accepted my dime, and I heard the bottles shift. On tiptoes I reached up and opened the heavy door. There they were: one neat row of thick green bottles, necks staring directly at me, and ice cold from the refrigeration. I held the door open with my shoulder and grabbed one. With a quick yank, I pulled it free from its bondage¹³. Another one immediately took its place. The bottle was cold in my sweaty hands. I will never forget the feeling of the cool glass on my skin. With two hands, I positioned the bottleneck¹⁴ under the heavy brass¹⁵ opener that was bolted to the wall. The cap dropped into an old wooden box, and I reached in to retrieve¹⁶ it. It was cold and bent¹⁷ in the middle, but I knew I needed to have this souvenir. Coke in hand, I proudly marched back out into the early evening dusk. Grampy was waiting patiently. He smiled.

那个老巨人贪婪的吞下了我的硬币，然后我听到可乐罐子移动的声音，我踮起脚尖，打开那沉重的门，它们就在那儿：粗粗的绿色罐子整齐的排成一排，齐齐的盯着我看，冰箱里的凉气也出来了。我用肩膀抵着门，抓着一罐，猛地一拉，就把它从束缚中救出来了，而另一罐马上占据了它的位置。我那汗湿的手里的罐子很凉，我不会忘记那那凉凉的玻璃瓶在我皮肤上的感觉。两手抓着瓶子，我把瓶颈放在拴在墙上的黄铜起子的下面，瓶盖儿落在一个木头盒子里，我伸手把它捡了出来。它凉凉的，并且中间弯曲了，但我知道我要留着这个纪念品。把可乐拿在手里，我骄傲的走出去，并走进黄昏的夜色里，祖父耐心的笑着等着我。

"Stop right there," he yelled. One or two cars sped by me, and once again, Grampy stepped off the curb.” Come on, now," he said, "Run." I did. Cool brown foam¹⁸ sprayed my hands.” Don’t ever do that alone," he warned. I held the coke bottle tightly; fearful he would make me pour it into a cup, ruining this dream come true. He didn't. One long swallow of the cold beverage¹⁹ cooled my sweating body. I don't think I ever felt so proud.

“停在那儿，”他喊道。一两辆车从我身边驶过，再一次，祖父走到路边。“现在，过来，”他说道，“跑。”我那样做了，凉凉的棕色泡沫溅到了我的手上。“千万不能自己这样做，”他警告我。我紧紧的抓着瓶子，怕他让我将它倒入杯子，破坏我这实现的梦，他没有那样做。长长的喝了一大口饮料，我出汗的身体凉快了很多。我从没感到这样骄傲过。