"Later!"The word, the voice, the attitude.
「再說吧！」那個詞，那聲音，那態度。
I'd never heard anyone use "later" to say goodbye before. It sounded harsh, curt, and dismissive, spoken with the veiled indifference of people who may not care to see or hear from you again.
It is the first thing I remember about him, and I can hear it still today. Later!
我從未見過任何人用「再說吧」這個詞來道別。它聽起來刺耳、草率，以及輕蔑，言語中帶著一絲冷漠，仿佛不在乎能否再見到你或者聽到你的消息。這是我對他的第一個印象，如今仍記憶猶新。「再說吧！」
I shut my eyes, say the word, and I'm back in Italy, so many years ago, walking down the tree-lined driveway, watching him step out of the cab, billowy blue shirt, wide-open collar, sunglasses, straw hat, skin everywhere. Suddenly he's shaking my hand, handing me his backpack, removing his suitcase from the trunk of the cab, asking if my father is home.
我閉上眼睛，嘴裡說著這個詞，我的記憶回到了義大利，那是多年前了，走在綠樹成行的車道上，看著他從車裡出來，仿佛波浪般的藍色襯衫，敞開的領口，墨鏡，草帽，以及每一寸皮膚。突然他過來與我握手，把他的背包給我，又一邊從後備箱裡拎出行李箱，一邊問我父親是否在家。
It might have started right there and then: the shirt, the rolled-up sleeves, the rounded balls of his heels slipping in and out of his frayed espadrilles, eager to test the hot gravel path that led to our house, every stride already asking, Which way to the beach?
大概就是從那裡和那時起：那襯衫，捲起的衣袖，圓圓的腳後跟在他那磨損了的帆布鞋裡滑進滑出，急切的試探著那條通往我家的滾燙的碎石路，每跨一步都要問：哪條是通往海邊的路？
This summer's houseguest. Another bore.
今夏的房客。又是個無聊鬼。
Then, almost without thinking, and with his back already turned to the car, he waves the back of his free hand and utters a careless Later! to another passenger in the car who has probably split the fare from the station. No name added, no jest to smooth out the ruffled leave-taking, nothing. His one-word send-off: brisk, bold, and blunted--take your pick, he couldn't be bothered which.
然後，幾乎不假思索地，他背對著車向後招手，對另一個車上的乘客，也許是一起從車站拼車來的，說出一句漫不經心的「再說吧！」連名字都沒有，也沒有那種道別時的玩笑話來緩解氣氛，什麼都沒有。他那一個詞的告別：輕快，大膽又遲鈍——隨便你怎麼說，他不在乎。You watch, I thought, this is how he'll say goodbye to us when the time comes. With a gruff, slapdash Later!
你看，我想到時候他也會用這種方式跟我們告別的。用他那粗魯的，草率的「再說吧！」
Meanwhile, we'd have to put up with him for six long weeks.
而同時，我們還要忍受他六個禮拜。
I was thoroughly intimidated. The unapproachable sort.
我完全被嚇到了，被這種難以相處的方式。
I could grow to like him, though. From rounded chin to rounded heel. Then, within days, I would learn to hate him.
即使我可以試著讓自己喜歡他。從他的圓下巴到圓圓的腳後跟。那麼，用不了幾天，我也可以討厭他。
This, the very person whose photo on the application form months earlier had leapt out with promises of instant affinities.
而這，正是那個幾個月前照片還貼在申請表上，並號稱自己平易近人的人，如今就在眼前。