New wedding game新婚博弈

肖瑶

Some say that competition between spouses is like dragging a fork across a balloon. Before long， the whole thing explodes. But for me， gaining a lifelong， live-in opponent was the icing on the wedding cake.

有人说伴侣间的争执就像叉子划过气球，很快就会爆发。但是，对于我来说，找到一个能够携手一生、白头偕老的对手就像是婚礼蛋糕上的糖衣一样甜蜜。

Like most people， when it came to finding a soul mate， I searched for that elusive combination of spontaneous romance and day-to-day compatibility. But I was also looking for someone who would challenge me. Having played sports since the peewee level， Ive always had a competitive streak. The way I see it， when someone competes with me， theyre saying， “I consider you a worthy match” in wit， sport or whatever the contest. A dozen roses from a suitor may be flattering， but they cant compare to the tacit admission that we are in the same league.

在寻找灵魂伴侣的过程中，我也同大多数人一样，想找个既能随时浪漫，又能共享粗茶淡饭的他，与此同时，我希望我的另一半喜欢和我较量。从小对体育竞技的热爱让我有很强的竞争意识。当有人跟我竞争的时候，无论是智力还是体育竞争，我都觉得他们在跟我说，“我觉得你还值得一比”。像一个追求者送了你十二朵玫瑰，这听起来足够彰显追求你的诚意了，但是你还是要说，“对不起我们不是同类人”。

So， when I met my future husband， he had me at “I bet you.” I was a member of my college track team， and his chosen flirtation was challenging me to four laps. We graduated， went on to pursue careers thousands of miles apart， but soon enough we reunited in the same city and reverted to our sporting ways. He and I ran a marathon. We biked 471 miles across the state of Iowa. And when all signs were pointing to our riding off into the sunset together， we were in full agreement that it wouldnt be on a bicycle built for two.

That spirit saw us through the torturous process of planning the wedding—where disagreements over china patterns and seating charts have ended more than a few.

正因如此，我的未来丈夫以一句“我跟你打赌。”就成功俘获了我的芳心。大学时，我是校田径队的一员，而他选择跟我搭讪的方式是向我挑战四圈田径赛跑。我们毕业后为了追求事业，开始了相隔千里的异地恋，好在时隔不久我们又回到了同一座城市，重温那时我们比赛运动的日子。他与我进行了一场马拉松赛。骑行471英里穿过爱荷华州，当所有的迹象都表明我们已经比到日落西山的时候了，我们俩达成了一个共识，以后绝不会骑双人自行车，因为我们二人对这样的比赛乐在其中。

Mind you， our rivalry is playful. We compare Scrabble scores， not salaries. When “Jeopardy！” is on， we throw answers out like darts. For the Oscars， we fill out ballots， and come March， its college basketball brackets. The stakes Usually， loser cooks dinner.

注意啊，我们的比赛只是闹着玩的。我们比玩拼字游戏获得的分数，而不比谁工资高；《危险边缘》（Jeopardy）知识竞答节目中的比赛一开始，我俩就像扔飞镖一样快速地抢答；奥斯卡奖颁奖时，我们填写选票，猜测花落谁家。接着到来的可以比赛的项目就是三月份的大学篮球联赛了。通常，赌注是谁输了，谁做饭。

All the while， I think back to our marriage vows. Before our family and friends， we promised to honor each other in good times and bad， in joy and sorrow and in sickness and health.

記得说结婚誓言那会。我们在亲朋好友面前，向对方做出承诺，不论逆境或顺境，富裕或贫穷，健康或疾病，都将携手一生。

The way that last vow echoed in the church， though， I could have sworn I heard “in quickness and in stealth.”

但是，那最后几句余音绕梁的誓言，我敢发誓我听到的是“无论拼速度或拼计谋，我们都将不遗余力比拼到底！”