Surrounded by Brothers (4)

　　My wife and I didn't head back home immediately, stopping instead at a coffee shop to treat Sam to hot chocolate. We even let him eat the whipped cream with his fingers. Sam was still quiet, so I asked him if he missed his brother already.

　　 He didn't answer. Instead he asked, "Daddy, is Tonio going to be gone forever?"

　　"No, Sammy," I said, brightening at the sweetness of his question.“Not forever, just until three o'clock."

　　Sam licked [1] more whipped cream from his fingers, looking puzzled. Then he asked, "Is that forever?"

　　On that day, at least, forever lasted only till 1 p.m, when Tonio was sent home with a fever. Sam wanted to play, but Tonio was too sick. The next morning, after a listless [2] breakfast, he was tired and went upstairs to his room. He didn't go to school.

　　 When I poked my head into their room to check on Tonio, he was asleep. And there playing with a toy to pass the time was Sam, snuggled [3] under the covers next to him. Sam was waiting for his big brother to wake up, probably relieved at how tolerable forever turned out to be.
　　
　　 I sometimes think that the greatest thing I have ever done is to help create these brothers. And I didn't stop with them. We had another child, and for the third time in a row, it was a boy. It wasn't long before the bottom of his crib [4] cracked from the weight of his older brothers, who climbed in to play with him. I am surrounded by "brothers".

　　It is better than I ever imagined.

与兄弟相处（4）

　　我和妻子没有立即回家，而是去一家咖啡馆给山姆买热巧克力。我们甚至让他用手指蘸着泡沫生奶吃。山姆仍然很安静，于是我问他是不是已经在想哥哥了。

　　他没有回答，而是问了一句：“爸爸，托尼奥永远也不回来了吗？”

　　“不是的，萨米，”我说，被他可爱的问题逗乐了。“不是永远，只是三点以前不回来。”

　　山姆又舔了舔手指上的泡沫生奶，一脸的迷惑。随后他又问：“三点以前是永远吗？”

　　那天一点钟，托尼奥因发烧被送了回来，所以山姆所谓的“永远”也提前结束了。山姆想玩，可是托尼病的太厉害了。第二天早晨，托尼无精打采地吃了点早饭，就到楼上自己的房间了。没有去上学。

　　我把头探进去看托尼奥怎么样，他正在睡觉。山姆紧裹在旁边的被子里玩玩具以打发时间。他在等哥哥醒来，可能因发现“永远”并不是太难忍受而轻松了许多。

　　我有时侯觉得自己做的最了不起的一件事就是生了他们兄弟俩。并且没有到此为止。我们后来又生了一个孩子，也是个男孩，这样我们就一连生了三个男孩。不久，婴儿的小床就被他的哥哥们压塌了底，他们常爬进去和他玩。我被“兄弟们”包围了。

　　这一切，比我想象的要好的多。