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“Sure, by the lumberyard, so what?” His mind was elsewhere, listening to the dull buzz of a cicada burrowing into one of the nearby elms. He could smell corn, dusty roses, and fertilizer—of course. For the first time they were off the turnpike and in a town. A town in a state he had never been in before (although he had flown over it from time to time in United Airlines 747s) and somehow it felt all wrong but all right. Somewhere up ahead there would be a drugstore with a soda fountain, a movie house named the Bijou, a school named after JFK.
“Burt, the prices said thirty-five-nine for regular and thirty-eight-nine for high octane. Now how long has it been since anyone in this country paid those prices?”
“At least four years (по крайней мере
“We're right in town (мы находимся прямо в городе), Burt, and there's not a car (и тут нет ни одной машины)! Notonecar (ни единой машины)!
“Grand Island is seventy miles away (Грэнд-Айленд находиться в семидесяти милях отсюда). It would look funny if we took him there (будет забавно/странно выглядеть, если мы отвезем его туда).”
“I don't care (мне все равно; tocare— заботиться, беспокоиться).”
“Look, let's just drive up to the courthouse and (послушай, давай просто подъедем к зданию суда и; court— двор; суд) —”
“No!”
There, damn it, there (вот оно, черт побери, вот). Why our marriage is falling apart, in a nutshell (/вот/ почему наш брак разваливается, в двух словах: «в скорлупе ореха»). No I won't (нет, я не буду). No sir (нет уж: «нет, сэр»). And furthermore (и более того), I'll hold my breath till I turn blue (я задержу дыхание /и не буду дышать/, пока не посинею) if you don't let me have my way (если ты не позволишь мне сделать все по своему: «иметь мой путь/способ»).
courthouse ['kLt'haus], furthermore ['fWDq'mL], damn [dxm]
“At least four years,” he admitted. “But, Vicky—”
“We're right in town, Burt, and there's not a car! Not one car!
“Grand Island is seventy miles away. It would look funny if we took him there.”
“I don't care.”
“Look, let's just drive up to the courthouse and —”
“No!”
There, damn it, there. Why our marriage is falling apart, in a nutshell. No I won't. No sir. And furthermore, I'll hold my breath till I turn blue if you don't let me have my way.
“Vicky,” he said.
“I want to get out of here, Burt (я хочу уехать отсюда, Берт).”
“Vicky, listen to me (послушай меня).”
“Turn around (разворачивайся). Let's go (поехали).”
“Vicky, will you stop a minute (ты перестанешь /хоть/ на минуту)?”
“I'll stop when we're driving the other way (я перестану, когда мы поедем обратно: «будем ехать в другую сторону»). Now let's go (а сейчас — поехали).”
“Wehaveadeadchildinthetrunkofourcar (у нас мертвый ребенок в багажнике нашей машины; trunk— ствол /дерева/; сундук, чемодан; багажник /автомобиля/)!” he roared at her (заорал он на нее), and took a distinct pleasure (и получил явное удовольствие; totake— брать, хватать; получать, извлекать; distinct— отдельный, особый; отчетливый; определенный, явный) at the way she flinched (от того, как она вздрогнула), the way her face crumbled (и изменилась в лице: «как ее лицо рассыпалось»; tocrumble— осыпаться; разваливаться на части).
crumble ['krAmbl], distinct [dIs'tINkt], pleasure ['pleZq]
“Vicky,” he said.
“I want to get out of here, Burt.”
“Vicky, listen to me.”
“Turn around. Let's go.”
“Vicky, will you stop a minute?”
“I'll stop when we're driving the other way. Now let's go.”
“We have a dead child in the trunk of our car!” he roared at her, and took a distinct pleasure at the way she flinched, the way her face crumbled.
In a slightly lower voice he went on (немного понизив голос: «слегка более низким/тихим голосом» он продолжал):
“His throat was cut (его горло было перерезано) and he was shoved out into the road (его вытолкнули на
“You bastard (ты ублюдок; bastard— внебрачный ребенок; ублюдок),” she said, crying (плача). “What am I doing with you (что я /тут/ делаю с тобой)?”
“I don't know (я не знаю),” he said. “I don't know any more (я больше не знаю). But the situation can be remedied, Vicky (но ситуация может быть исправлена, Вики; remedy— средство от болезни, лекарство; toremedy— излечивать; исправлять /положение, дело/).”
shove [SAv], bastard ['bxstqd], remedy ['remIdI]
In a slightly lower voice he went on:
“His throat was cut and he was shoved out into the road and Iran him over. Now I'm going to drive up to the courthouse or whatever they have here, and I'm going to report it. If you want to start walking towards the pike, go to it. I'll pick you up. But don't you tell me to turn around and drive seventy miles to Grand Island like we had nothing in the trunk but a bag of garbage. He happens to be some mother's son, and I'm going to report it before whoever killed him gets over the hills and far away.”
“You bastard,” she said, crying. “What am I doing with you?”
“I don't know,” he said. “I don't know any more. But the situation can be remedied, Vicky.”
He pulled away from the curb (он отъехал от бордюра). The dog lifted its head at the brief squeal of the tyres (пес поднял голову, услышав короткий визг шин) and then lowered it to its paws again (и затем снова опустил ее на лапы).
They drove the remaining block to the square (они проехали последний квартал оставшийся до сквера). At the corner of Main and Pleasant (на углу Главной и Радостной; pleasant — приятный, радостный), Main Street split in two (Главная улица разделилась на две; split — раскалывать; расщеплять, разбиватьначасти). There actually was a town square (здесь, в самом деле, была городская площадь), a grassy park with a bandstand in the middle (покрытый травой парк/сквер, с эстрадой для оркестра в центре; grass — трава). On the other end (на другом конце), where Main Street became one again (/там,/ где Главная улица снова соединилась: «становилась одной»), there were two official-looking buildings (стояли два похожих на служебные/казенные: «официально выглядящие» здания). Burt could make out the lettering on one (смог разобрать надпись на одном): GATLIN MUNICIPAL CENTER (“Муниципальный центр Гатлина”).