諾貝爾文學經典:《寵兒》第5章Part 5

She led Sethe to the keeping room and, by the light of a spirit lamp, bathed her in sections, startingwith her face. Then, while waiting for another pan of heated water, she sat next to her and stitchedgray cotton. Sethe dozed and woke to the washing of her hands and arms. After each bathing, Babycovered her with a quilt and put another pan on in the kitchen. Tearing sheets, stitching the graycotton, she supervised the woman in the bonnet who tended the baby and cried into her Sethe's legs were done, Baby looked at her feet and wiped them lightly. She cleanedbetween Sethe's legs with two separate pans of hot water and then tied her stomach and vaginawith sheets. Finally she attacked the unrecognizable feet.
"You feel this?"
"Feel what?" asked Sethe.
"Nothing. Heave up." She helped Sethe to a rocker and lowered her feet into a bucket of salt waterand juniper. The rest of the night Sethe sat soaking. The crust from her nipples Baby softened withlard and then washed away. By dawn the silent baby woke and took her mother's milk.
"Pray God it ain't turned bad," said Baby. "And when you through, call me." As she turned to go,Baby Suggs caught a glimpse of something dark on the bed sheet. She frowned and looked at herdaughter-in-law bending toward the baby. Roses of blood blossomed in the blanket coveringSethe's shoulders. Baby Suggs hid her mouth with her hand. When the nursing was over and thenewborn was asleep — its eyes half open, its tongue dream-sucking — wordlessly the olderwoman greased the flowering back and pinned a double thickness of cloth to the inside of thenewly stitched dress.
It was not real yet. Not yet. But when her sleepy boys and crawl ing-already? girl were brought in,it didn't matter whether it was real or not. Sethe lay in bed under, around, over, among butespecially with them all. The little girl dribbled clear spit into her face, and Sethe's laugh of delightwas so loud the crawling-already? baby blinked. Buglar and Howard played with her ugly feet,after daring each other to be the first to touch them. She kept kissing them. She kissed the backs oftheir necks, the tops of their heads and the centers of their palms, and it was the boys who decidedenough was enough whenshe liked their shirts to kiss their tight round bellies. She stopped when and because they said,"Pappie come?"
She didn't cry. She said "soon" and smiled so they would think the brightness in her eyes was lovealone. It was some time before she let Baby Suggs shoo the boys away so Sethe could put on thegray cotton dress her mother-in-law had started stitching together the night before. Finally she layback and cradled the crawling already ? girl in her arms. She enclosed her left nipple with twofingers of her right hand and the child opened her mouth. They hit home together.

她把塞絲領進起居室，在酒精燈下一部分一部分地清洗她，先從臉開始洗起。然後，她坐在塞絲身旁，一邊等着下一鍋水燒熱，一邊縫着一條灰棉布裙子。塞絲睡着了，直到洗胳膊和手的時候才醒過來。每洗過一處，貝比就用被子蓋上她，到廚房裏再燒上一鍋水。她一面撕開牀單，一面縫綴着灰棉布，同時還監督那個邊哭邊做飯的戴軟帽女人照料嬰兒。塞絲的腿洗淨之後，貝比看着她的腳，輕輕地擦乾腿。她總共用了兩鍋熱水來擦洗塞絲的兩腿之間，然後用牀單裹住她的肚子和陰部。最後她纔來對付那雙難以辨認的腳。
"你覺出來了嗎？"
"覺出什麼？"塞絲問。
"沒事兒。起來吧。"她把塞絲扶到搖椅上，把她的腳放進一桶杜鬆鹽水裏。她就這樣坐着泡了一夜。貝比用豬油弄軟她乳頭上的硬殼，然後再衝洗掉。黎明時分，安靜的嬰兒醒過來，喝到了媽媽的乳汁。
"上帝保佑，沒出什麼問題。"貝比道，"你奶完孩子就叫我。"貝比·薩格斯正要轉身走開，突然瞥見牀單上有塊黑漬。她皺起眉頭，看着正彎下身子給嬰兒餵奶的兒媳婦。鮮血的玫瑰盛開在蓋着塞絲肩膀的毯子上。貝比·薩格斯用手捂住嘴。新生兒吃完奶，睡着了——眼睛半睜，在夢裏吧嗒着舌頭——老太太一聲不吭地往開遍鮮花的後背上塗油，又往新縫的裙子裏墊了雙層的布。
這還不是真的。還不是。可是當她的兩個睡眼惺忪的兒子和那個"都會爬了？"的女兒被帶進來時，是不是真的都無關緊要了。塞絲躺在牀上，他們上上下下、左左右右地繞着她，尤其難得的是一個不缺。小女兒透明的口水滴在塞絲臉上，她開心地大笑着，笑得太響了，搞得那"都會爬了？"的小寶貝直眨巴眼睛。巴格勒和霍華德先是互激對方第一個去摸她的難看的腳丫，接着就一起玩起它們來。她不停地親吻他們。她親吻他們的脖梗子、腦袋頂和手掌心，當她又掀起他們的襯衫去親吻那圓鼓鼓的小肚皮時，兒子們認爲可以到此爲止了。她停了下來，因爲他們問道："爸爸來啦？"
她沒有哭。她說"快了"，而且笑着，這樣他們就會以爲她眼裏的淚光僅僅是愛。過了好一會兒，塞絲讓貝比·薩格斯把男孩們轟走，於是，她才能穿上婆婆在頭天晚上縫起來的那條灰棉布裙子。最後，她躺下來，懷裏搖着"都會爬了？"的女兒。她用右手的兩個指頭捏起左乳頭，孩子張開了嘴。她和奶水一塊兒到家了。