一條牛仔褲和四個(gè)女孩的故事

許世懿

每個(gè)女孩的成長(zhǎng)歲月里，總會(huì)有那么兩三個(gè)親密無(wú)間的女生朋友。在日子的荏苒里，你們一起上課放學(xué)、一起玩耍逛街、一起溫書閑聊、一起偷看鄰班的男生，事事都要一起分享。但終于有一天，你們將難再日日同行，面臨分別。

好萊塢系列電影The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (《牛仔褲的夏天》)就是關(guān)于這樣四個(gè)從小玩到大、情同姐妹的女孩之間的故事。影片中的四位女孩鮮活地詮釋了那些成長(zhǎng)的喜悅與憂傷。

在Lena、Tibby、Carmen、Bridget16歲那年的暑假，四個(gè)女孩面臨第一次分離。盡管只是一個(gè)月的短暫分別，但也難免讓人有些悵然若失。依依不舍的她們?cè)谝患叶值昀?，無(wú)意中買到了一條神奇的牛仔褲，她們四個(gè)人無(wú)論高矮胖瘦，誰(shuí)穿上都恰恰合適。晚上，四個(gè)女孩來(lái)到了她們的母親們相識(shí)的地方——健身教室，一起為這條神奇的牛仔褲制定了十條規(guī)則，并立下了牛仔褲誓言。

于是，這條牛仔褲成了四人分離時(shí)期的聯(lián)系物，每人穿一周然后寄送給另一個(gè)人，希望這條神奇的牛仔褲能給每個(gè)人都帶來(lái)好運(yùn)。

愛琴海畔，收獲愛情

第一個(gè)穿這條牛仔褲的是Lena，她要去位于希臘圣托里尼島的祖父母家度過(guò)這個(gè)暑假。圣托里尼島到處是醉人的旖旎風(fēng)光：碧海藍(lán)天猶如畫布，一幢幢雪白的房子錯(cuò)落在山巒之上。藍(lán)與白交相輝映，繪出最純正的希臘風(fēng)情。這樣的景致，對(duì)酷愛繪畫的Lena再適合不過(guò)了。

Lena穿著白襯衣和神奇牛仔褲，捧著速寫本，盡情地勾勒著這浪漫小島的一隅——愛琴海的一個(gè)海灣。古老的希臘血統(tǒng)給了她深邃的眼窩，海風(fēng)拂動(dòng)她深褐色的頭發(fā)，白皙的肌膚在陽(yáng)光下閃著光。這樣一個(gè)美麗的女孩，在這樣一個(gè)美麗的地方，注定會(huì)邂逅愛情。

Lena不小心跌入愛琴海中，一個(gè)名叫Kostos的希臘男孩救了她。Kostos顯露了希臘人特有的熱情，他讓Lena試著用手抓活魚，并約她周末一起跳舞。但當(dāng)Lena和她的祖母提起Kostos，祖母的表情卻馬上僵硬了，她要Lena發(fā)誓不再見他，不再和這個(gè)家族的人來(lái)往。

Kostos: They told you, didn't they?

Lena: You think this is funny? Our grandparents hate each other. You knew my name. Why didn't you say something the other day?

Kostos: Well, because the arguments of old men have nothing to do with us.

Lena: Well, they're not arguing about nothing. What is... what was the fight about?

Kostos: What everything here is about: money and fish. My grandfather says your grandfather cheated him.Your grandfather says my grandfather sold him fish that made his whole restaurant sick.

Lena: So, what's the truth?

Kostos: The truth is that it's a beautiful day and why should the rest of it matter?

Lena: Because it does.

羞澀的Lena還是被Kostos的熱情與直率所打動(dòng)。他們開始約會(huì)，一起乘船出海捕魚，一起在涼風(fēng)陣陣的露臺(tái)寫生。Lena找到了可以傾訴內(nèi)心的人，而Kostos也讀懂了她的心。

Kostos: Some people show off their beauty because they want the world to see it. Others try to hide their beauty because they want the world to see something else.

Lena: And what do you see?

Kostos: Everything.

但家族間的糾葛與仇恨阻撓了他們的交往，祖父母強(qiáng)烈的反對(duì)讓Lena非常矛盾。最終，Lena鼓起勇氣，向祖父說(shuō)出了內(nèi)心最真摯的想法。

Lena: Papou (希臘語(yǔ)，意為“爺爺”), I need to say something to you. You can pretend that you don't understand me, but I know you do. People have always said to me that I...that I take after Yia Yia (希臘語(yǔ)，意為“奶奶”), that I have her face and her smile, but what no one ever sees is that there's this whole other part of me—that is just like you—quiet and... and stubborn and afraid of showing too much. And then I met someone who changed everything and he showed me that I can take a chance, even if it's only for a moment. You had that same moment once when you met Yia Yia, and you risked everything for it. That was your chance, Papou. And I'm asking now to have mine.

Grandfather: Go.

Lena的真誠(chéng)和執(zhí)著打動(dòng)了祖父?？僧?dāng)Lena可以放心與Kostos交往時(shí)，Kostos要回雅典繼續(xù)大學(xué)學(xué)業(yè)，Lena也將結(jié)束希臘之旅，兩人刻骨銘心的愛情面臨分離的考驗(yàn)。幾年之后，已經(jīng)分手的兩人在Lena祖父的葬禮上再次相見，Lena卻得知Kostos已經(jīng)訂婚的消息。這讓Lena深深地受了傷，即使她有了新的戀情，依然無(wú)法忘懷對(duì)Kostos的感情。當(dāng)Kostos的婚姻宣告無(wú)效，他第一時(shí)間跑到Lena的校園來(lái)告訴她時(shí)，她嘴上強(qiáng)硬，但內(nèi)心卻百轉(zhuǎn)千回。

姐妹們知道這個(gè)消息后決定一起出發(fā)，去希臘小島幫助Lena和Kostos解開心結(jié)。在小小的圣托里尼島，她們找到了Kostos，并把Lena帶到了他面前。

生命的離別

Tibby是一個(gè)特別的女孩子。在很多人眼中，她的鼻環(huán)、她的朋克風(fēng)挑染都是壞孩子的標(biāo)志，但其實(shí)叛逆的Tibby是一個(gè)充滿理想的女孩：她決心利用暑假自己拍紀(jì)錄片。

這個(gè)暑假，Tibby在一家超市打工，為拍片掙錢。在超市，她救了一個(gè)昏倒在地的小女孩，從而讓這個(gè)假期變得非同尋常。這個(gè)12歲的金發(fā)女孩名叫Belly，她有著早熟的“小大人”氣質(zhì)，口齒伶俐，能言善辯。Belly經(jīng)常打斷Tibby的話，這讓Tibby滿腹怨言。但她對(duì)Tibby的紀(jì)錄片拍攝很感興趣，主動(dòng)要求擔(dān)任助手角色，還找來(lái)了采訪對(duì)象。在采訪過(guò)程中，Belly比Tibby問(wèn)問(wèn)題更多更犀利，更知道如何引導(dǎo)受訪者敞開心扉。

但Tibby后來(lái)得知，Belly兩年前患了白血病?；叵肫養(yǎng)elly每次都微笑出現(xiàn)，她的堅(jiān)強(qiáng)和對(duì)生命的態(tài)度讓Tibby心中百感交集。Belly并不害怕死亡，她只是害怕時(shí)間的逝去。

Belly: You know what I like most about the stars? You look at them, at all of them up there and you just know there's gotta be something more than...

Tibby: Life?

Belly: There has to be.

Tibby: Are you scared?

Belly: Not of dying, really. It's more that I'm afraid of... time. And not having enough of time to figure out who I'm supposed to be, to find my place in the world before I have to leave it. I'm afraid of what I'll miss.

這一刻，Tibby哭了，Belly也哭了。Belly住院了，即將走到生命的盡頭。Tibby似乎缺乏勇氣面對(duì)這一切，不敢去看望她。但最終，她還是來(lái)到了Belly的病床前，帶著神奇的牛仔褲，希望它能給Belly帶來(lái)奇跡。

Tibby: I brought something for you.

Belly: The traveling pants？

Tibby: I was thinking, maybe you could have them for a while.

Belly: They didn't fit me, remember?

Tibby: Yeah, I know. But that doesn't really matter. None of it really matters. Listen, you have to take them, Belly. Okay? You have to let them help you. Please. I know that you're tired, okay, but you can't give up. These pants will give you a miracle. You just... you have to believe.

Belly: But, Tibby...the pants have already worked their magic on me. They brought me to you.

Belly還是離開了，Tibby因此而變得更加珍惜生活、敬畏生命。

自信就會(huì)美麗

Carmen承襲了母親拉美血統(tǒng)中的熱情和小麥膚色。即使父親在她童年時(shí)離家而去，她依然成長(zhǎng)為一個(gè)樂(lè)天的女生，但身材過(guò)度的豐腴始終讓她缺乏足夠的自信。

這個(gè)暑假Carmen要去南卡羅來(lái)納州與父親一起度過(guò)。Carmen本以為這將是她和父親重聚的愉快假期，但她沒有想到家中除了父親，還有父親將要再婚的對(duì)象Lydia和她的兩個(gè)孩子，有了新家庭的父親變得陌生起來(lái)。雖然大家對(duì)她都很友好，但Carmen還是覺得被忽略了。更重要的是，父親將在不久后和Lydia舉行婚禮，地點(diǎn)就選在家中的后花園。這一點(diǎn)讓Carmen無(wú)法接受。在試穿婚禮禮服的時(shí)候，不合身的禮服讓她的自尊再度受挫。

Carmen: Just forget about the dress, okay? We can tell everybody that Carmen's Puerto Rican, and it never occurred to you that she might be built differently. Or better yet, just tell everyone there is no Carmen. Carmen doesn't exist.

Carmen一氣之下，跑回了自己的家。她找到Tibby，向她傾訴了自己的不快與苦悶。Tibby鼓勵(lì)她向父親說(shuō)出感受，并輕輕地把電話推向她。Carmen終于拿起了電話，跟父親說(shuō)了內(nèi)心最深處的想法。

Carmen: I'm angry with you, dad. This entire thing, about you and Lydia. Yeah, you should've warned me, but it's more than that. It's the fact that you've found yourself this new family and I feel like some outsider who doesn't even belong to you anymore. I wanna know why? Are you ashamed of me? Are you embarrassed? Just tell me, dad, what did I do wrong? Why did you leave? Why did you have to go? And then tell me that we were gonna be closer?

敞開心扉永遠(yuǎn)是最好的關(guān)系軟化劑。Carmen在朋友們的鼓勵(lì)下，最終還是選擇了出席父親的婚禮，身穿那條神奇的牛仔褲。她站在新娘和新郎的身后，開心地笑了。

天真的笑容也為Carmen贏得了愛情以及話劇舞臺(tái)上的成功。上大學(xué)后的她開始獨(dú)立生活，并等待著生活中熟悉和真實(shí)的相遇。大一暑假，她和話劇團(tuán)的同事一起去佛蒙特州參加當(dāng)?shù)氐乃囆g(shù)節(jié)。

一直在劇團(tuán)做著幕后工作的Carmen從沒有想過(guò)，有一天她會(huì)走上舞臺(tái)，走到聚光燈下。藝術(shù)節(jié)正在排演莎士比亞的《冬天的故事》。選角試演會(huì)上一次莽撞的錯(cuò)失，讓她和Ian相識(shí)了。Ian一眼看到Carmen身上的話劇天賦，建議Carmen也參加選角試演。

Ian: Have you thought about auditioning?

Carmen: No. No. I'm pretty sure I'm right where I belong.

Ian: Belong? According to...?

Carmen: Right. Um, okay, bye.

Ian: Sorry, I don't even know your name.

Carmen: Carmen.

Ian: That's definitely not a backstage name.

雖然Carmen自己不夠自信，但I(xiàn)an還是把她推向了舞臺(tái)，使她成功獲得了出演女主角的機(jī)會(huì)。Carmen在舞臺(tái)上充分發(fā)揮了她的天賦，綻放出自信的光芒，顯得無(wú)比美麗動(dòng)人。

和悲傷說(shuō)再見

Bridget是四個(gè)女孩中最早出生的，也是常常沖在最前面的一個(gè)。她留著一頭金色長(zhǎng)發(fā)，是個(gè)高挑瘦削的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)美女，還是足球隊(duì)的前鋒。

Bridget的母親早早離開人世，Bridget在葬禮上卻沒有哭，她甚至笑了笑，脫了高跟鞋就跑回家。跑步一直是她宣泄情感的方式，暑假參加足球訓(xùn)練營(yíng)的時(shí)候，她和她心儀的帥哥教練Eric也分享了這種感覺。面對(duì)喜歡的人，她大膽、無(wú)拘無(wú)束，如她跑步般一路向前。但這樣的陣勢(shì)似乎讓Eric招架不來(lái)。

Bridget: Saw you watch me play today. What did you think?

Eric: I don't know if I've ever seen anyone with that much intensity, ever.

Bridget: Well, I think I might've been showing off for you just a little bit.

Eric: Just a little bit?

Bridget: Yeah.

Eric: No. You know, it's... it's more than that. You scare the hell out of me.

Bridget: "Single-minded to the point of recklessness."

Eric: What?

Bridget: It's what the school shrink called me. After my mom died, a few of the teachers thought that, I don't know, I needed to be evaluated or something. So I met with a guy. I talked and he wrote. I've never told anyone that before.

牛仔褲的魔力或許在于，它讓你相信穿著它就會(huì)有好運(yùn)。但Bridget的內(nèi)心卻是空洞洞的，她似乎沒有真正獲得快樂(lè)。她一直沒能從媽媽去世的傷痛中走出來(lái)，朋友們都努力開導(dǎo)她。

Bridget: I remember thinking that maybe there won't be any more bad spells. Maybe she'll just be happy like this forever.

Carmen: It's okay to miss her, Bee, I mean, as hard as it is to be sad about it. Don't you think maybe it's harder not to be?

Bridget: You don't understand. It hurts too much. I just want to feel good and happy and alive. Because if I feel alive then it doesn't seem like she's dead. And if I'm not sad then it proves that I'm not like her.

Carmen: Bee, you don't have to prove that to anybody. I mean, you have a strength in you that your mom never had. As much as she wanted to, she couldn't find it.

Tibby: Yeah, and you have something else, too. You have us. And we're not gonna let you go anywhere, okay?

不過(guò)，朋友的勸導(dǎo)似乎沒有讓Bridget真正走出悲傷，或許這一切需要她自己去領(lǐng)悟。

這就是四個(gè)女孩的青春與成長(zhǎng)故事，和許多青春期孩子所要經(jīng)歷的事情大同小異。但不同的是，她們擁有一條神奇的牛仔褲。這條牛仔褲就像一位魔法師：它給人以自信，讓她們相信自己是世上最美麗動(dòng)人的女孩；它給人以信念，當(dāng)她們信任的一切都悄然變化時(shí)，是這條牛仔褲賦予她們信念去堅(jiān)持；它給人以勇氣，讓她們戰(zhàn)勝膽怯的自己。

這條牛仔褲也是一本交換日記?？p在它上面的小圖案，記載著四個(gè)女孩發(fā)生的一切：愛情、收獲和改變。當(dāng)大家一起看著這條牛仔褲，回憶那些相關(guān)的往事，一定會(huì)覺得收獲的永遠(yuǎn)比失去的多。正如Belly所說(shuō)，快樂(lè)并非萬(wàn)事美好，只要在這瑣碎的生活點(diǎn)滴里找到屬于你的快樂(lè)源泉，你便將擁有幸福的感覺。

Maybe the truth is there's a little bit of loser in all of us, you know. Being happy isn't having everything in your life be perfect. Maybe it's about stringing together all the little things there. Make those notes count for more than the bad stuff. Maybe we just get through it, and that's all we can ask for.

更重要的是，這條牛仔褲是這四個(gè)女孩之間的紐帶。在郵件包裹的一次次傳遞中，她們關(guān)心著彼此，愛著彼此。故事的結(jié)局，這條神奇牛仔褲不見了，但換來(lái)了四個(gè)人的重逢。牛仔褲已化作她們之間隱形的線，見證著她們的情誼，見證著她們的青春，見證著她們的勇氣。