Marco has met plenty of new people before. But meeting a partner's parents for the first time feels different. He and Fiona have been together for eight months. This weekend, he is finally driving with her to her parents' house for Sunday lunch.
马可以前见过很多新朋友。可是第一次见伴侣的父母，感觉就是不一样。他和菲奥娜在一起八个月了。这个周末，他终于要和她一起开车去她父母家吃星期天的午饭。
"They're going to like you," Fiona says in the car. Marco notices, though, that she has checked her phone three times in the last ten minutes.
“他们会喜欢你的，”菲奥娜在车里说。可马可注意到，她在过去十分钟里已经看了三次手机。
"You keep saying that," Marco says. "Are you trying to convince me or yourself?"
“你总是这么说，”马可说，“你是想说服我，还是想说服你自己？”
Fiona laughs, but it doesn't fully hide how nervous she is either. Her father, she explains, has never been an easy person to read. Her mother tends to ask a lot of direct questions.
菲奥娜笑了，可这也没能完全掩饰她有多紧张。她解释说，她父亲一向不是个容易看透的人。她母亲则习惯问很多直截了当的问题。
When they arrive, Fiona's mother opens the door before they've even reached it, already smiling. "So this is the Marco we've heard so much about," she says, pulling him into a quick hug. Marco relaxes slightly, though his hands are still a little unsteady. He hands over the flowers he brought.
他们到的时候，菲奥娜的母亲在他们还没走到门口时就打开了门，已经笑盈盈的。“原来这就是我们听了好多次的马可啊，”她说着，快速地抱了他一下。马可稍微放松了一些，不过手还有点不稳。他把带来的花递了过去。
Lunch starts well enough. Fiona's father asks careful, practical questions about Marco's job and where he grew up. He nods at each answer without giving much away. Marco has prepared answers for most of this, but nothing prepares him for the question that comes next.
午饭开头还不错。菲奥娜的父亲问了一些谨慎而实际的问题，关于马可的工作和他在哪里长大。每听完一个回答，他都点点头，却不怎么流露想法。这些问题，马可大多准备好了答案，可接下来的那个问题，他怎么也没准备过。
"So," her father says, setting down his fork, "what are your plans, exactly? With Fiona, I mean."
“那么，”她父亲放下叉子说，“你到底有什么打算？我是说，跟菲奥娜。”
The table goes quiet. Fiona opens her mouth to interrupt, but Marco speaks first.
桌边安静了下来。菲奥娜张嘴想打断，可马可先开了口。
"Honestly, I don't have a five-year plan I can hand you," he says. "What I have is someone I care about more than I expected to, this early on. And I'd like to see where that actually goes."
“说实话，我没有一个能拿给您看的五年计划，”他说，“我有的，是一个我比预想中更在乎的人，而且才这么早就是这样。我想看看这究竟会走向哪里。”
Her father studies him for a long moment, then nods slowly. It's as if that answer was more honest than he expected.
她父亲打量了他很久，然后慢慢点了点头。仿佛这个回答比他预料的还要坦率。
"Fair enough," he says, and passes the potatoes.
“说得过去，”他说，把土豆递了过来。
After lunch, Fiona's mother pulls Marco aside in the kitchen. "He liked you," she says quietly. "That question means he's already thinking about the future."
午饭后，菲奥娜的母亲在厨房里把马可拉到一边。“他喜欢你，”她轻声说，“那个问题说明他已经在想未来了。”
Marco lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding. Then he helps her carry the dishes to the sink.
马可长长地呼出一口气，他都不知道自己一直憋着。然后他帮她把碗碟端到了水槽边。
