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春节啦,插播一些轻松的呗,祝大家心有所属,身体健康
% j/ P7 E) C2 m$ N$ y$ r* V2024年的时候Leo 30岁了。对,这孽障也是明日黄花了。不过毕竟是个小小的里程碑,感觉我还是得表示表示。只是想了好几天,貌似也找不到什么值得送的。平常该送该买的都做得差不多了,连锦上添花都很难。眼看着日子一天天靠近,实在伤脑筋
& O- z- Z$ I; U/ J" n; {! V' e' h无意间目光聚焦在家里的鱼缸上。这是个10加仑的小缸,里面有几只小虾,几条红绿灯和花鼠。这还是再前一年跟Leo逛Petco的时候被他连哄带骗逼着设好的缸,本来说好一人一缸,结果我这边都弄好大半年了,他那边一点动静也没有,每次问起来都是各种理由推脱,什么房子是租的不方便没有合适的架子blahblahblah。想到这儿豁然开朗,原来答案一直近在眼前,何不趁这个机会将他一军,给他也设一个?先偷偷在我家设好,等他生日那天直接搬到他门口,难道他还能当场拒绝不成?
2 v) ^ _; C) r, T6 ~9 e, r/ L而且毕竟30岁嘛,得有仪式感,不能随随便便是个缸就解决了,得是分量足够的才行。一拍脑袋,那就设个海缸吧
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还好以前在国内的时候也接触过海缸,活石,过滤,恒温,基本知识都有。头像里那条三间火箭就是原本家里养的,漂亮是真漂亮,麻烦也是真麻烦。傻乎乎的,还挑食得不行,下嘴前得对着食物盯半天,长得不好看的都不要。想到Leo将来也有可能会面对这些烦恼,恨不得立刻就给他设好搬过去+ L; I3 L! E% h
当然因为还是要在家里摆一段时间,先跟老婆沟通好,腾出了一个位置。花了一上午时间研究,决定还是从10加仑着手,毕竟再大就不好搬过去了+ I9 P. V% L: r: G
设缸的细节不再赘述,出于对水质的考量,整体过程用了将近两周才基本完成,最后放了一对小丑,一条火鸟,一只清洁虾,一只瓷蟹,还有蜗牛寄居蟹若干。还是给Leo留了情面的,买的都是些见啥都吃的猪,是海缸里最简单的那些了。为了防止他再用没有架子放这种狗屁理由来搪塞,索性连架子也一并给他配齐了。发现海缸在美帝是个相当昂贵的爱好,虽然已经能省则省,最后加起来还是超过了300刀,感觉同样的配置能以大约五分之一的价格在国内解决。Leo的公寓我很熟悉,我甚至都能想象他会怎么摆,摆好后会长什么样。
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5 M6 q9 ~7 q7 B* r8 i5 _; hLeo的生日很快到了。为了防止生日这天他另有安排这种乌龙事发生,早早就跟他约了午饭。但深知这人尿性,一觉醒来还是不放心,赶紧给他发个短信:
7 Z- m* ?) Y2 ]1 T& b2 ~“Leo happy birthday!! We're doing lunch today right? I can pick you up"
; T- `, W1 _( _: r. _) v K0 HLeo有早起看股票的习惯,不一会儿就收到了回复:
3 x r0 |" R! \& d0 a- ?& q( C* h“Thanks. Sure. I'll pick the place"
O, o4 W1 o) z/ ?5 _肉疼。。。算了,待会儿看好戏) v7 a6 E. O6 S6 P" J9 t& A
“Aight. Can I come over a bit early like around 11? Just wanted to hang out"8 ]8 W- [1 j& e! b4 ?: S* U
Leo回了个OK的表情符号,好嘞& N4 l/ j1 L0 O6 x+ n
) @9 r+ o1 c6 `; e: n8 a结果连Leo影子都还没见着呢,报应先落到我头上了。搬鱼缸真的是个浩大的工程,就算是这么小的一个,也动用了一个额外的大水桶装水和石头,两个脸盆装器材。因为是海水的关系,还得提前把车子布置一下以防溅洒。Leo住公寓,停车场离他的单元老远了,思来想去还得带上平板购物车,最后愣是装满了一辆小SUV
% d. V3 m6 o5 M7 I5 H7 }一路上小心翼翼,老干部开车,恨不得每个路口都缓缓划过去,连路上的每个不起眼的小坑都让我心惊肉跳。好不容易到地方了,停好车,怀着忐忑的心情打开后备箱,呼,幸好,只撒了一点点出来而已
# [0 y! p b( N) ]4 J T. A& `我打电话给Leo,打到第二次才接:
, [9 j/ M4 y& g, h# C0 {" I; y6 k“Hey I'm in the parking lot. Wanna come down?"
; D1 m0 y; z! M) _Leo 听起来显然早上看完股票又去回笼了一下:: @& {9 Z: x$ P* h/ z* e
"Oh is it lunch time now? You can just come up"0 W" q/ b! N* E( r. a% ~3 [
可恶,我忙了这么久,这家伙爽睡到现在。不能放过他,我坚持:% z; Q8 x/ K: E d: }( e
"No Leo get your ass down here. Come on it's almost noon time why are you still on bed"6 E/ g: p: u" P
Leo满不在乎:5 k) L$ ^! o' A) m5 h; I! _, D
"I'll meet up when I'm hungry. You're welcome to take a stroll or something. Later Dustin"
0 {9 A5 ]7 J; B"No no Leo don't go"我咬咬牙,只好使出大绝:7 f$ U; W0 x: p0 U6 L
“I got something for you. I promise it'll be worth it. Please Leo please"
4 l8 q6 D5 k7 k我很少这么郑重其事地求他,料想他一定不会拒绝。果然,沉默了一会儿,好像听到他轻轻叹了一口气:; x# m3 u! E& a5 \, @- g
“Gimme a bit"
/ |5 P/ Q: o1 N挂掉电话,心里笑开了花,期待着待会儿Leo看到这缸鱼的表情。我知道他没那么快,干脆把椅子躺倒,闭目养神一会儿
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不知过了多久,听到了有人敲车窗的声音。我睁开眼睛,Leo穿着睡衣就下来了,头发乱得跟鸡窝一样,哈欠连连。我一跃下车,趁他还没反应过来抱了他一下。哎,跟女朋友处久了,这小子身上的味道也慢慢变了,但还是挺好闻的3 b7 S2 m$ C! ]% L$ m5 f4 x
放开Leo,兴致勃勃地打开行李箱,等着看好戏。Leo过来一瞧,果然下巴掉到了地上:
+ W/ @9 {5 `0 @/ i: N“What the...") [) C# s: y( ^# v/ x
我满意地看着他,还没欣赏够,Leo转过头,眼睛危险地半眯着:
# F; J0 N+ m( \; M' H U“Is this some sort of comeback for last year?"; [) F$ k s% j$ i) P" C
"No no definitely not"我心里偷笑,果然猜到了,但为了人身安全,这嘴上肯定是不能承认的:1 Q% k- @% g# i& U2 a, o
“In Chinese culture, turning 30 is a big thing. So I just wanted to get you something special"; M: `6 R; t% @/ k7 U3 z
不想跟他纠结这些有的没的,我拉着他的胳膊:/ s2 s8 w* |, u+ i1 W" j. _
“Let's get this thing up and running. I can't wait to see how it'll turn out in your apartment"
$ l% O. o# u! g# E& e/ V没想到Leo纹丝不动,脸上换了一副似笑非笑的表情,打掉我的手:
3 N' G& n( ~# C8 w) E' |8 \& G, W* ~“This is supposed to be a gift right?"
% M5 e8 ~, Q7 X2 r不明白他在搞什么名堂:' P9 r& A% h8 ^
“Yes?"
* h2 @" d8 p6 P4 @* HLeo伸了个懒腰:0 R0 {2 _" Y) J! v
“Then you're supposed to deliver it to my door. Keep rolling. I'll wait upstairs"; m% N" v+ f0 g2 d2 Z2 c! m' R' t
说完潇洒地转身就走。这回轮到我下巴掉到地上:7 M; X8 f @ P. |4 A; O3 X
“Wait Leo. It's very heavy"# U; c* `5 l. y# V, b5 o
Leo 头也不回:
! ~7 K. f5 |; d) k% C& n“You've made it here. Shouldn't be that bad"1 \/ N( Y0 S" H$ {
算你狠,我咬咬牙:2 c7 z$ @- U1 D1 ]; P. U7 _8 {
“Leo would you please help me?"
* T: `1 _+ S8 t& h5 c# XLeo摆摆手; h Z3 v" `/ t$ Q- X1 u
“You ran out of that today. Good luck" w) K7 H' f: w6 o1 x
怎么还有这种事。。。想着中间还有好几道防火门,只好最后再挣扎一下:
+ ^0 b8 o; ^$ N4 n5 M; u$ _“Could you at least hold those doors? It would be very difficult for me to get through with a trolley full of containers filled with water. Please?"
/ H& G8 F/ d* _) G# h兴许是良心发现,Leo回过头来,若有所思地看着我:. u! N0 b/ v5 B& a! u! m
“That one probably"
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6 [8 S$ |; Y8 K* Z看着满满当当的后备箱,叹了口气,我为什么要给自己找这么多事。。。看到身边Leo这混蛋,又憋了一口气,妈的,自己来就自己来,撸起袖子干就是了
' ]3 e" m9 C3 o7 l打开平板车,再一样一样小心翼翼地把剩下的装备拿出来,很快就把小车装满了。不知道是不是巧合,经过一番调整,小车居然完美地装下了所有零零散散的东西。Leo果然铁石心肠,说到做到,真的一丁点忙也不帮,全程就在一旁双手插兜,乐呵呵地看着
+ l {: ~; n8 @还好这混蛋最后有帮我把门。我数了数,Leo这破公寓从停车场到他的单元之间竟然有五道防火门。每一道都挺重的,平常问题不大,现下是真的没他不行。。。8 C& c' K$ g$ I* a$ v; d
终于来到了他的门口,我两手一摊:
* ]. L( u$ X- c0 `“Ok it's now at your door. You can do the rest right? Good luck..."2 M- e7 L- ^$ s
还没说完脑袋上就挨了一记,Leo指着来路: R: P7 v4 d' y
“Unless you wanna haul all of these back on your own, you're gonna help me"
2 ~/ t- a2 U; B7 n没等我抱怨,又接着说:
8 Z+ b0 t2 q- `, H; z5 c% {9 K“Now let's start off with the stand. I think i have an idea of where to put it, but we'll see"
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一个鱼缸架两个人一起抬并不重,看走的方向,果然,Leo计划摆放的地方跟我预想的差不多。放下之后Leo再比划了一阵,确认没什么大问题后,我们便把剩下的东西都搬了进来。又折腾了一阵,总算是大致把鱼缸复原了。还好,小动物们看起来有些受到惊吓,但状态都似乎没什么大问题
# T; g9 h% w' G# X因为考虑到需要搬运和Leo公寓空间的限制,鱼缸架高度较矮,基本上蹲下来才能跟鱼缸平视。蹲了一会儿腿有些麻,想着这块儿反正也是地毯,便索性跪坐下来。Leo站在我后面,越过我和鱼缸整理电源线。低下头的时候可以看到Leo的拖鞋还有白色的袜子,后脑勺正对着Leo的胯下,头发甚至偶尔能感受到跟睡裤间轻微的摩擦
, z) Y" d9 d b9 L$ |7 _Leo就这样弯腰操作了一会儿,也许是这个姿势有些累,Leo拍拍我的脑袋:! l' {1 l# X& f6 q) b n6 M
“Hang in there"
2 @, ?$ F, W( U) q- q正想问他指的是什么,只听Leo踢掉一只拖鞋,右边肩膀压力陡增,一个软软暖暖的东西压在了上面。我转头,一抹白色近在咫尺,原来如此
* z5 n" v: [" w' T X4 s0 p我尽量挺直腰板撑着Leo,这个姿势多少还是有些羞辱。我抬头看了看,Leo正全神贯注地理线,没有丝毫的分心,仿佛这是一件再自然不过的事。我低下头,默默地靠近Leo的白袜脚,偷偷吸了吸鼻子。刚起床的Leo根本没什么味道,但是自从我跟他不再住在一起之后便鲜少有机会能接触到这些了,下半身还是又有要抬头的趋势3 G2 @8 j; A1 }
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乱七八糟的想法还没发酵完,肩膀上突然一轻,Leo拍拍手:
$ b( P$ h% N3 {+ @! u6 {; o5 B) L“Done. Lunch?”
# @) u. H6 |3 `我点点头,完了抬起头看Leo,他正在看着鱼缸,我忍不住问道:6 }3 v! T7 _ r3 M, q9 n
“Did you...like my gift?"
( e+ R+ k0 U$ w T9 cLeo看着我,咧着嘴坏笑:
* M* ~5 ]5 B# \3 F! ?"I would say yes if it was a McLaren"7 D3 Y8 r! n' e S3 L- ?; b' g7 d
我抓抓头:3 {+ S0 p3 S: |2 i
“Sorry I can't afford that. My kids are serious money sinks you know"* {, U) y" @2 [7 g2 O5 G. n( k
明明知道是胡搅蛮缠,却仍然忍不住想要解释,也不知道为什么。Leo还是那个欠揍的表情:
( u% r9 r, z u- X, o1 S“Easy. Just put them up for adoption”. F5 J, @6 D1 z+ i9 t: F- o" E
我哑然。可能也是觉得胡话说够了,Leo伸出手,摸摸我的头,笑着说:) X" `2 U+ q7 S0 c
“Kidding. I like the tank. It looks amazing. I can see you've put in a lot of thoughts and efforts. This is a truly special gift, one of the best I've ever had. Thank you Dustin. I really appreciate it. There's only one problem, though"
7 Y1 S0 I- G9 { Z5 ]) LLeo 停下来,看着我,难得露出一丝为难的表情:
1 G% |" q+ v* l$ \- u“I have zero experience with saltwater. I had freshwater back in Chicago and that's about it. I assume you've already picked the hardy ones and I'll try my best. But still, I wanted to preemptively apologize if anyone there doesn't want to work with me"
& e9 D. O" I" U4 h- v嘿嘿,难得Leo也有不自信的时候,不能放过这个机会,想了想,对Leo说道: G* j* r% `& d( z1 n# d' E+ i
“I can help. Wanna treat me to lunch instead?"0 ~7 E, N. I! j( v. Z8 t8 f5 X- k
Leo意味深长地看了我一眼,指了指身后的鱼缸:5 u ~5 T/ s& ^
“How does seafood sound? Small portion due to supply"
' V6 |, A W& @我撇撇嘴,得,午饭还是我请吧
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