法学院毕业，奥巴马接着就去考律师执照。考试后，也不管是不是可以通得过，两个人就想着先去餐馆搓一顿以示庆祝。掐指算起来，他们在一起有近二年了。在这期间，双方的父母也都见过了，感情也与日俱增。只是一谈到婚姻，就谈不拢。米歇尔认为，既然他们都爱对方，就应当结婚，成立家庭。而奥巴马则不以为然。

接下来是两个人用过餐之后发生的事情。

As we were reaching the end of the meal, Barack smiled at me and raised the subject of marriage.

就在我们吃得差不多的时候，巴拉克微笑着看着我，又谈起结婚这件事。

He  reached for my hand and said that as much as he loved me with his whole being, he still didn’t see the point.

他拉住我的手，告诉我说，尽管他全身心地爱着我，但还是不觉得有结婚的必要。

Instantly, I felt the blood rise in my cheeks. It was like listing a button in me - the kind of big blinking red button you might find in some sort of nuclear facility surrounded by warning signs and evacuation maps. Really, we were going to do this now.

听到他的说辞，我心头的火一下就上来了。作者又接着说，她当时的感觉是仿佛有人在她身上装了一个点火器。那场景有点和原子弹发射现场相类似。到处红灯闪烁，提醒人们疏散的标志随处可见。她心里想，好吧，真的有必要在这个时候来吵一架吗？

两个律师还果真是在餐后针对婚姻的必要性又唇枪舌箭，辩论了一番。最后的结果如何？请看下面这一段：

Eventually, our waiter came around holding a desert plate, covered by a silver lid. He slid it in front of me and lifted the cover. I was too miffed to even look down, but when I did, I saw a dark velvet box where the chocolate cake was supposed to be. Inside it was a diamond ring.

谈到最后，服务生送来甜点。我看见装甜点的盘子上有一个银盖子。他把盘子放在我面前，把盖子打开。我当时还在生气，根本没心情往下看。到我低头看时，我看到本来是要放巧克力蛋糕的盘子里却躺着一只深红色的天鹅绒小盒子。盒子里头有一颗钻石戒指。

下一篇会讲到奥巴马向米歇尔求婚。敬请关注。