Eddie is wearing his birthday gift, a red cowboy hat and a toy holster. He gets up and runs from one group to the next, pulling out the toy gun and going, "Bang, bang!"
爱迪头戴一顶红色的牛仔帽，别着一把带皮套的玩具手枪，这些都是他的生日礼物。他站起身，从一伙人附近跑到另一伙人身边，拔出手枪，“砰，砰！”地叫着。
He is five years old. It is a Sunday afternoon at Ruby Pier. Picnic tables are set along the boardwalk, which overlooks the long white beach. There is a vanilla cake with blue wax candles. There is a bowl of orange juice. The pier workers are milling about, the barkers, the sideshow acts, the animal trainers, some men from the fishery. Eddie's father, as usual, is in a card game. Eddie plays at his feet. His older brother, Joe, is doing push-ups in front of a group of elderly women, who feign interest and clap politely.
他今天五岁。这是一个星期天下午，在“红宝石码头”上。海滨走道俯瞰着绵延的白色沙滩，走道旁边竖起了野餐桌。一个香草蛋糕上插着蓝色的蜡烛。一碗橘子汁。人们在附近转来转去，有杂耍戏喊场人、杂耍演员、驯兽员，还有一些从渔场来的人。爱迪的父亲一如既往在玩纸牌。爱迪在他的脚边玩耍着。爱迪的哥哥乔正在一群老年妇女面前做俯卧撑，她们佯装兴致，礼貌地拍着手。
"C'mere boy," Mickey Shea beckons from a bench.
“小家伙，过来。”米基·希坐在一条长凳上招呼他。
"Bang, bang," goesEddie.
“砰，砰！”爱迪叫道。
Suddenly, Mickey's large hands are under Eddie's he is hoisted up, then flipped over and dangled by the feet. Eddie's hat falls off.
突然，米基的两只大手伸到爱迪的腋下，把他举了起来，然后，他被翻转过来，头朝下倒挂在脚上。爱迪的帽子掉了。
Mickey Shea works with Eddie's dad, fixing the rides. He is fat and wears suspenders and is always singing Irish songs. To Eddie, he smells funny, like cough medicine.
米基·希同他的父亲一起干活，修游乐车。他身体肥胖，戴着吊带，总是唱爱尔兰歌曲。爱迪觉得他身上有一种怪味，像止咳糖浆。
"C'mere. Lemme do your birthday bumps," he says. "Like we do in Ireland."
“过来，我给你来个‘生日碰头’，”他说道。“就像我们在爱尔兰时做的那样。”
"Careful, Mickey!" Eddie's mother yells. Eddie s father looks up, smirks, then returns to his card game.
“米基，小心！”爱迪的母亲叫道。爱迪的父亲抬起头，假装一笑，又回头打牌了。
"I saw," she says.
“我看到了，”她说。
"I was upside down," he tells her.
“我给倒过来了，”他告诉她。
Mickey lowers Eddie gently, until his head brushes the floor.
米基小心地将爱迪放下，直到他的头擦到了地面。
"Are you all right, my darling birthday boy?" She is only inches from his face. He sees her deep red lipstick and her plump, soft cheeks and the wave of her auburn hair.
“你没事吧，我亲爱的生日男孩？”母亲近在眼前，他看到了她涂着暗红唇膏的嘴唇，柔软丰满的面颊和红褐色的鬈发。
Upside down, Eddie is not sure who is who. His head is getting heavy.
大头朝下，爱迪分不清谁是谁。他的头沉重起来。
"Ho, ho. I got 'im," Mickey says. "Now. One birthday bump for every year."
“嘿，嘿，我抓住他了，”米基说道。“来啦，一年一碰头。”
"Ho-ho! What was that for, little man?" Mickey says. Everyone laughs. Eddie turns and runs away, three steps, before being swept into his mothers arms.
“嘿—嘿！这是什么意思，小家伙？”米基说道。大家都笑起来。爱迪扭头跑开，刚跑两步，就被搂进了母亲的怀里。
She puts his hat back on his head. Later, she will walk him along the pier, perhaps take him on an elephant ride, or watch the fishermen pull in their evening nets, the fish flipping like shiny, wet coins. She will hold his hand and tell him God is proud of him for being a good boy on his birthday, and that will make the world feel right-side up again.
她把帽子戴回到他的头上。过一会儿，她会带他到码头上散步，兴许还会带他去坐大象，或者去看打鱼人傍晚收网，那些鱼会像湿润闪亮的硬币一样翻腾跳跃。她会拉着他的手，告诉他，他生日这天真乖，让上帝都替他骄傲，这样，他就会觉得世界又正过来了。
"One!"
“一！”
Eddie is flipped right-side up and put down. Everybody claps. Eddie reaches for his hat, then stumbles over. He gets up, wobbles to Mickey Shea, and punches him in the arm.
爱迪被翻过身来，放到地上。大家都鼓起掌来。爱迪伸手去捡帽子，踉跄一下，摔倒了。他从地上爬起来，摇摇摆摆地走到米基面前，朝他的胳膊上砸了几拳。
Mickey lifts Eddie back up. The others join in, laughing. They yell, "Two!… Three!"
米基又把爱迪拉起来。大家哄笑着来凑热闹。他们喊着，“二！…三！”
"Four!…" they shout. "Five!"
“四！…”他们喊着。“五！”