Surrounded by Brothers (2)

Tonio has stopped playing with boys his age who don't want Sam tagging [1] along, explaining, "They called Sam a baby." I cannot punish one without angering the other. "Leave Sam alone," Tonio insolently [2] tells me when I yell at his brother. "You made Tonio cry," Sam scolds me when I get after [3] Tonio.

They go to bed, one in the top bunk [4], the other in the bottom. By morning they are in one bed, curled up around each other like puppies in a box. When one comes into our bed after a nightmare, my wife and I know that before morning his brother will follow.

When Sam used to take long afternoon naps, Tonio would mope around [5] the house until Sam awoke.

Once, I caught him standing by the bed, poking [6] his finger into Sam, whispering, "Sammy, Sammy" trying to wake him up.

I don't know what kind of relationship they will have when they grow up. Parents always want their children to have what they never could. I want them always to have each other. So I imagine them going to the same college, marrying sisters and living on the same block.

与兄弟同处（2）

托尼奥拒绝再和同龄的几个男孩子玩了，因为他们不愿意让山姆跟在后边。他解释说：“他们管山姆叫婴儿。”我惩罚其中一个定会惹恼另一个。“别管山姆，”当我向山姆发火时，托尼奥会毫不客气地对我讲。 “你把托尼奥弄哭了，”当我责备托尼奥时，山姆这样责备我。

他们上床睡觉时一个在上铺，另一个在下铺。早晨却发现他们睡在一张床上，蜷缩在一起就象装在盒子里的两只小动物。当一个孩子做噩梦后爬上我们的床，我和妻子就知道天亮前另一个也会来。

山姆过去常睡很长的午觉，托尼奥就闷闷不乐地在屋里转来转去，直到山姆醒来。

有一次，我发现托尼奥站在床边，用手指捅山姆，低声叫着：“萨米，萨米”想把他弄醒。

上幼儿园时，托尼奥会拉着山姆的手把他送进教室，然后再跑回自己的教室。托尼奥的同学排队去操场时，山姆会咧着嘴对他们笑，而男孩子们会向他招手。

我不知道他们长大后会发展成怎样的一种关系。但父母总是希望儿女得到他们自己没法得到的东西。我则希望他们老是在一起。于是我便想象着他们上了同一所大学，和一对姐妹接了婚并住在同一个街区。

坐在一边看着他们，我常常会想，如果我有兄弟的话会是怎么样的一种情形。我觉得自己很傻，渐进中年了，还在给自己虚构玩伴，但是我的儿子们向我展示了这些可能出现的情形。这肯定就是我害怕某一天我会失去什么的原因。