portable - pragmatic No postmortem

没有验尸

The former architect threw his portfolio into the trash,

前建筑师将他的文件夹 扔进垃圾里，

poured another cup of coffee into a broken piece of pottery

往一个破陶器里 又倒了杯咖啡，

and began to think like the pragmatic he used to be for the first time in months.

然后开始像从前自负的 他一样思考起来，这 可是几个月来的头一次

It wasn't positive.

他这样做并没有多大把 握。

He was now living in abject poverty

现在，他生活 在极度贫困之中，

and the practicalities of getting out were quite difficult.

摆脱困境要做的种种 实际事情又很困难。

First he would have to possess a home or dwelling

首先他得拥有一个家 或者一个住处，

to have a mailing address for potential employers.

这样就有一个通信地址 以便可能的雇主与他联 络。

But that would mean he'd have to prove that he wasn't dead!

但那将意味着他得证明 自己没有死!

He had only realized

他只意识到

that everyone thought he was dead posthumous to his disappearance.

他失踪后大家 都以为他死了。

His friends and family hadn't had a postmortem

他的朋友和家人 没有验尸，

because they never found his body,

因为他们没有 找到他的尸体，

they thought he had fallen off of his boat and drowned.

以为他掉下船淹死了

When the former architect realized that

当前建筑师意识到

this might he a practical chance to start over

这实际上可能是他 重新开始的机会时，

he had postponed telling anyone.

他决定推迟一段时间 再告诉人们他还活着。

When his friends portrayed him as such a good man at his funeral,

朋友们在他的葬礼上将 他描述成一个大好人,

the architect, posing as a former war buddy, knew he was in a potent situation.

冒充成昔日战友的建 筑师知道自己的处境 很好。

He kept quiet.

他保持着沉默。

Later, outside, near the portable toilets,

后来，在外面的 活动厕所旁，

his girlfriend would have recognized him

他的女友也许 就认出他了。

if he had not bent his posture and walked like a cripple.

要不是他改变姿势、 装跛子走路的话，

Then he took a portion of his funeral cake and left.

后来他拿了一份 葬礼蛋糕走了。

He had hidden among the homeless ever since then,

从那以后，他就藏在 无家可归的人群中，

trying to decide what to do.

琢磨自己该做些什么。

When he saw a poster for a resort in Mexico he knew what he could do.

当他看到墨西哥一个旅 游胜地的海报时， 他心里就有了主意。

He cleaned himself up, found a couple of odd jobs that didn't need identification

他把自己收拾干净， 打了几份不需要 证件的零工，

and earned enough cash to move to Mexico.

挣足钱后去了墨西哥。