ACT III

Hi, big guy. 嗨,好小子。

That must be Rita Mae. 那一定是Rita Mae。

She sure got here quickly. 她来得真快。

That’s a good sign. 这是个好兆头。

She must like you and your work, Marilyn. 她一定是喜欢你和你的工作,Marilyn。

I think she’s just anxious to see Max. 我觉得她只是急着想看看Max。

She loves children. 她喜欢孩子。

Hi, Marilyn. 嗨, Marilyn。

Welcome. 欢迎。

It’s so nice of you to come. 你能来真好。

Oh, I just wanted to see your baby, Max. 噢,我只是想看看你的宝贝,Max。

Hello, Rita Mae. 哈, Rita Mae。

I haven’t seen you since the hospital. 自从医院相遇之后再也没有见到你。

I’m Ellen Stewart, Marilyn’s mother-in-law. 我叫Ellen Stewart, Marilyn的婆婆。

We met at the hospital. 我们在医院见过。

Hello. 哈。

How are you? 好吗?

I remember. 我记起来啦。

How are you? 好吗?

Oh, and there is Max! 噢 ,Max在那儿!

Oh! My, how he’s grown! 噢 !天啊 ,他长这么大 !

A little present for Max. 给Max的一件小礼物。

Oh, it’s beautiful, Rita Mae! 噢,太漂亮了, Rita Mae !

You shouldn’t have. 不该这样破费的。

It’s nothing. 没什么。

It’s just a little present for Max. 这仅仅是给Max的一件小礼物。

Can I get you some coffee or tea or a cold drink, Rita Mae? 要咖啡,茶或者冷饮吗,Rita Mae?

Oh, nothing, thank you. 噢,什么也不要, 谢谢你。

Well, I will leave you two to talk. 嗯,我走开你们谈谈吧。

Come on, you big guy. 过来, 你这个好小子。

Yes, come on. 是的, 过来。

That’s it. 就这样。

It’s nice seeing you. 非常高兴见到你。

Let me know if you need anything. 假如你需要什么就通知我。

Thanks, Ellen. 谢谢, Ellen。

Thanks, Ellen. 谢谢, Ellen。

OK, Marilyn. 好了, Marilyn。

You sounded like you’ve made a decision 你好像已经作了决定

when you called me. 当你打电话给我的时候。

I’m all ears. 我洗耳恭听。

I have made a decision, Rita Mae. 我已经做了决定，Rita Mae。

I’ve decided to stay at home and be a full-time mother. 我决定留在家里做一个专职母亲。

I’m disappointed, but I respect your decision. 我很失望, 但我尊重你的决定。

If I had a child as cute as Max, 假如我有一个像Max这样可爱的孩子,

I might do the same thing. 我也可能会做同样的决定。

But I haven’t finished telling you 但我还没有对你说完

the other half of my decision. 我这个决定的另一半。

The other half? 另一半?

Yes. 是的。

I think I can stay at home 我觉得我可以呆在家里

and take care of Max and continue my career. 一面照顾孩子, 同时继续我的事业。

Sounds interesting. 听起来很有趣。

Let me hear it. 说给我听听。

Do you remember 你记得

our talks about custom-designed dresses for the boutique? 我们曾经谈过为时装店设计订制的服装?

I sure do. 我当然记得。

Why can’t I design dresses for you here at home? 为什么我不能在家里为你设计服装呢?

And make them here. 在这儿缝制。

Have the fittings here, too. 也在这儿试穿。

And I could do the selling and the pricing at the boutique. 而我在时装店负责销售和标价。

Exactly. 就是这样。

Oh! 噢!

What kind of dresses would you design? 打算设计哪种服装?

I’ve thought about that for some time. 我已经想过一阵子了。

Yes? 真的?

Wedding dresses. 结婚礼服。

Brilliant idea! 这个主意真棒!

There’s a big market today in wedding dresses. 结婚礼服在目前有很大的市场。

That’s what I thought. 我也是这样想的。

I like the idea very much. 我很喜欢这个主意。

And if it’s successful, 假如成功的话，

we can expand to all kinds of dresses. 我们可以扩展到所有种类的服装。

That’s what I thought. 我也正这样想。

As a matter of fact, 事实上,

I have a customer for your first wedding dress. 我已经有了你的第一套结婚礼服的顾客。

My niece is getting married, 我侄女即将结婚,

and I’ve been trying to find just the right thing for her. 而我一直在为她找件合适的东西。

Marilyn, you’re going to design my niece’s dress. Marilyn,现在就靠你设计我侄女的结婚礼服。

That’ll be our first one, 这将成为我们的第一件,

and then we’ll use it to sell others. 然后我们再利用它来销售其他的顾客。

Do you really mean it? 说的可是当真?

I really mean it. 当然是真的。

It’s a simple idea, and it will work. 这主意很简单,而且一定可行。

You can certainly design dresses. 你确实很能设计服装。

I know that. 我知道。

And there’s no reason why you can’t do it from your home. 而且也没有理由不可以在家里做事。

I’m so excited! 我好兴奋!

I can’t wait to tell Richard! 我简直迫不及待想告诉Richard!

If I had a baby like Max, 假如我有一个像Max这样的宝贝,

I’d want to stay home and be near him all the time, too. 我也要整天都在他身边。

You’re making the right decision 你做了一个正确的决定。

for Max and for yourself too, Marilyn. 为Max,也为你自己, Marilyn。

It all sounds so easy. 一切听起来竟是如此简单。

Now the hard work begins. 艰苦的工作现在开始了。

Would you like 你想不想

to see some of my designs that I’ve been working on? 看我正在设计的一些服装?

I’d love to. 我想看。

Ooh! Oh, that’s wonderful! 噢!噢,太好了!

Ooh ... 噢……

You can certainly design dresses,

I know that.

And there’s no reason why you can’t do it from your home.

It’s true.

I can design wedding dresses and continue my career.

And I can take care of Max right here at home.

She can do it right here at home.

I want to stay at home while Max is still a baby.

If I went back to work at the boutique now,

Max would be on my mind all of the time.

She would only think about Max.

But the truth is, I need to work.

Richard and I want to buy a house but we can’t afford it.

Like most families we need two incomes

in order to afford a house someday.

With the yard and trees and a swing for Max.

More an more families have working mothers.

In the U.S., more than half of all mothers

with preschool children are working at a career.

Mothers like me.

They have to work and be a mother too.

And about three fourths of all mothers

with school age children are working.

In lots of families,

relatives like grandparents offer to take care of children

while the parents are working.

And some families bring their children to day-care centers

where other people take care of them.

They stay in day-care centers while their mothers work.

But for now Max will stay here and I will take care of him.

Marilyn and Max will both be at home.

Marilyn will work and Max won’t be alone.