I lay shivering and gasping in my warm bed for several minutes, trying to break free of the dream. The sky outside my window turned gray and then pale pink while I waited for my heart to slow.
有那么几分钟，躺在温暖的被窝中的我还是不停的发抖着，喘着气，想要努力摆脱梦魇。当我在等着心跳平复的这段时间内，窗外的天色已经变得灰白起来，不一会儿就变成了浅浅的粉色。
My own eyes flew open.
我猛地睁开眼睛。
Eager to shake off the nightmare, I got dressed and headed down to the kitchen long before I needed to. First I cleaned the already tidy rooms, and then when Charlie was up I made him pancakes. I was much too keyed up to have any interest in eating breakfast myself — I sat bouncing in my seat while he ate.
急于摆脱这个噩梦，我赶紧起身穿好衣服，比平时早好多地就下到厨房。首先，我先打扫了一遍已经很整洁的房子，接着当查理起床时，我帮他弄了薄煎饼。我今天实在太过于紧张，以至于心思都没花在吃早饭上——当查理在吃的时候我就在椅子里显得坐立不安。
“I don’t have that much to do today besides bring the minister, Bells. I’m not likely to forget my only job.” Charlie had taken the entire day off for the wedding, and he was definitely at loose ends. Now and then, his eyes flickered furtively to the closet under the stairs, where he kept his fishing gear.
“我今天除了去接牧师也就没有什么别的可做了，贝拉。我不可能会忘掉这唯一的任务的。”查理为这个婚典请了一天的假，但是到头来却无事可干。时不时的，他总偷偷地把眼睛瞟向楼梯下的壁橱，那里放着他的渔具。
When I was fully back to the reality of my messy, familiar room, I was a little annoyed with myself. What a dream to have the night before my wedding! That’s what I got for obsessing over disturbing stories in the middle of the night.
当我终于回到现实中我那杂乱，熟悉的房间时，我有点生自己的气。我结婚的前一晚到底做了什么样的梦啊！午夜的梦境把我搅得如此烦躁不安。
“You’re picking up Mr. Weber at three o’clock,” I reminded him.
“你今天下午3点要去接韦伯先生，”我提醒他。
“That’s not your only job. You also have to be dressed and presentable.”
“那可不是你唯一的工作。你还要得体着装。”
He scowled into his cereal bowl and muttered the words “monkey suit” under his breath.
他愁眉苦脸地盯着他盛麦片的碗，嘴里还念叨着“正装制服”这个词。
There was a brisk tapping on the front door.
前门响起清脆的敲门声。
“You think you have it bad,” I said, grimacing as I rose. “Alice will be working on me all day long.”
“你以为就你很惨吗，”我一边说着一边愁眉苦脸地站起身。“爱丽丝今天一天都会追着我了。”
Alice’s short black hair was not in its usual spiky do — it was smoothed into sleek pin curls around her pixie face, which wore a contrastingly businesslike expression. She dragged me from the house with barely a “Hey, Charlie” called over her shoulder.
爱丽丝的黑色短发并不像平时那样短钉发式，而是用时髦的别针固定成一个个小卷，用来衬托她那张鬼灵精怪的脸，而她的表情却显得一本正经。她匆匆回头喊了声“你好，查理”，拽着我就离开了家。
Charlie nodded thoughtfully, conceding that he did have the lesser ordeal. I ducked in to kiss the top of his head as I passed — he blushed and harrumphed — and then continued on to get the door for my best girlfriend and soon-to-be sister.
查理若有所思地点点头，默认他所受的折磨比我少太多啦。我经过他的身边时琢了一下他的头顶，他不好意思地红了脸，并清了清嗓子，我跑到门口迎接我的好姐妹兼准小姑。
Alice appraised me as I got into her Porsche.
在我坐进她的保时捷时，爱丽丝就给了我以下评价。
“Oh, hell, look at your eyes!” She tsked in reproach. “What did you do? Stay up all night?”
“噢，见鬼，看看你的眼睛！”她责备地叫起来。“你都干什么去了？整晚没睡？”
“Almost.”
“差不多。”
She glowered. “I’ve only allotted so much time to make you stunning, Bella — you might have taken better care of my raw material.”
她瞪着我瞧。“我花了那么多时间准备让你艳惊四座的，贝拉。你应该要好好保护我的原材料啊。”
It worked. “Alice, I wish you would let me pack my own things!”
这招很有效。“爱丽丝，我希望你能让我自己打包我的行李！”
“It would have given too much away.”
“这样就会泄露更多机密的。”
Alice realized that she’d given something away, and she frowned.
爱丽丝意识到她似乎说漏了嘴，皱了皱眉头。
“You’ll be my sister officially in ten short hours… it’s about time to get over this aversion to new clothes.”
“你在10小时之后就是我正式的嫂嫂了……是时候不再对新衣服有排斥感了。”
She laughed. “I’ll throw my bouquet at you when it gets close.”
她笑了起来。“真要到了那个时候，我会用捧花来砸醒你的。”
I raised one eyebrow. Tomorrow, I mused. If we were heading out tonight after the reception, and we would still be on a plane tomorrow… well, we weren’t going to Boise, Idaho. Edward hadn’t dropped a single hint. I wasn’t too stressed about the mystery, but it was strange not knowing where I would be sleeping tomorrow night. Or hopefully not sleeping…
我抬起我的眉毛。明天，我陷入了沉思。如果我们今天一接待完毕就奔上飞机，那么我们明天就会是在飞机上……哎，我们应该不会是去博伊西（美国爱达荷州的首府）吧。爱德华从来没给过任何一个提示。我并不是对这道谜题抓狂，但是不知道明天晚上我将睡哪儿，这也太奇怪了吧。或者希望我不用睡……
“At least you’ll have plenty of time to sleep on the plane tomorrow.”
“不管怎么样，你明天可以在飞机上好好睡一觉的。”
“No one expects me to be stunning. I think the bigger problem is that I might fall asleep during the ceremony and not be able to say ‘I do’ at the right part, and then Edward will make his escape.”
“我可没打算艳惊四座。我在想更大的问题我可能会典礼进行到一半的时候睡着，然后没赶上在合适的时间点说‘我愿意’，接着爱德华就会逃跑的。”
“Thanks.”
“谢谢。”
“You’re all packed and ready,” she said to distract me.
“都已经帮你打点好了。”她打算转移我的注意力。
“And denied you an opportunity to shop.”
“并且会毁灭你又一次购物的机会。”
“Waste not, want not. Enjoy this, because you don’t get to see the inside decorations until it’s time.” She pulled into the cavernous garage north of the main house; Emmett’s big Jeep was still gone.
“不要浪费嘛，也不想浪费。好好享受这一切吧，因为你将没机会看到屋内的装饰了，时间还未到呢。”她把车停到屋里北边巨大的车库中；埃美特的大吉普并没有停在那里。
“Oh no — that’s why I’m the only one who’s seen you in the dress. I’ve been very careful to not think about it when he’s around.”
“噢，不，这就是为什么只有我一个人见到过你穿婚纱的样子。而且当他在旁边的时候我会很小心不去想这件事。”
“Is he back yet?” I asked.
“他已经回来了吗？”我问说。
Three miles of drive were once again wrapped in hundreds of thousands of twinkle lights. This time, she’d added white satin bows.
3英里长的车道又一次被披上闪亮的灯饰。这一次，她还加了白色缎带扎成的蝴蝶结。
“Since she put me in charge. I want you to get the full impact coming down the stairs.”
“自打她决定交由我全权处理后啊。我打算让你在步下阶梯的时候印象深刻。”
“Okay, aside from the bride and groom.”
“是的，新娘和新郎不能见面。”
“Well,” I said as we turned into the drive, “I see you got to reuse your graduation decorations.”
“嗯，”就在我们拐上车道时，我说，“我看到你在又在重复利用你那些毕业派对的装饰了。”
“You know he’s already peeked.”
“你知道他可以窥视到你想见的。”
I snorted. “Traditional!”
我不屑地用鼻子哼着气。“传统！”
“Don’t worry, he’ll be there before the music starts. But you don’t get to see him, no matter when he gets back. We’re doing this the traditional way.”
“别着急，他会在音乐响起前出现的。不过不管他什么时候回来，你都不可以见他。我们要按传统的方式进行。”
I glowered groggily out the windshield until we were almost to the house.
我只能就这样晕晕乎乎地瞪着车的挡风玻璃，直到我们快到家了。
“Since when is the bride not allowed to see the decorations?” I protested.
“从什么时候开始连新娘都不能看装饰了？”我立刻反驳道。
She pushed me down into a low pink chair. “No one will dare to call you plain when I’m through with you.”
她推着我坐进一张低矮的粉色椅子里。“只要经过我的打造，没人会再说你平淡无奇的。”
She clapped her hand over my eyes before she let me inside the kitchen. I was immediately assailed by the scent.
在她让我进入厨房前，先用双手蒙住了我的眼。接着一股香气扑面而来。
“What is that?” I wondered as she guided me into the house.
“那是什么？”她领着我往屋子里去的时候，我好奇地问她。
“It smells wonderful!” I assured her — almost intoxicating, but not at all overwhelming, the balance of the different fragrances was subtle and flawless. “Orange blossoms… lilac… and something else — am I right?”
“闻起来美妙极了！”我向她肯定，芬芳醉人而又不冲鼻，各种香味之间取得了微妙的平衡。“柑橘……百合……还有些其他的，我猜对了吗？”
She didn’t uncover my eyes until we were in her oversized bathroom. I stared at the long counter, covered in all the paraphernalia of a beauty salon, and began to feel my sleepless night.
直到我们到了她那间大得夸张的浴室，她才把手从我眼睛上挪开。我盯着那排长长的柜子，包罗了美容沙龙中所有的美容用品，预感到这又是一个不眠夜。
“Is it too much?” Alice’s voice was abruptly worried. “You’re the first human in here; I hope I got it right.”
“是不是太刺鼻了？”Alice的声音立刻就变地担忧起来。“你是第一个到这儿的人类，希望我没做错什么。”
“Very good, Bella. You only missed the freesia and the roses.”
“很好，贝拉。你只落下小苍兰和玫瑰。”
“Is this really necessary? I’m going to look plain next to him no matter what.”
“这真的必要吗？不管我打扮成什么样，一站在他旁边，都变得平淡无奇了。”
“Only because they’re afraid you’ll suck their blood,” I muttered. I leaned back in the chair and closed my eyes, hoping I’d be able to nap through it. I did drift in and out a little bit while she masked, buffed, and polished every surface of my body.
“那是因为他们都怕你会吸他们的血，”我小声嘀咕着。我向后靠进椅子里，闭上眼睛，希望能够打个瞌睡起来一切都结束了。我迷迷糊糊中感觉到她在帮我做脸，按摩，“抛光”我人体每一寸肌肤。
It was after lunchtime when Rosalie glided past the bathroom door in a shimmery silver gown with her golden hair piled up in a soft crown on top of her head. She was so beautiful it made me want to cry. What was even the point of dressing up with Rosalie around?
罗莎莉悄悄溜进浴室已经是中饭后了，她身着一袭闪闪发亮的银色晚礼服，金色的长发挽起松松盘在头顶。她美得都令我想哭了。在罗莎莉的身旁，我穿再好看有什么意义呢？
“They’re back,” Rosalie said, and immediately my childish fit of despair passed. Edward was home.
“他们回来了，”罗莎莉这么一说，顿时我那些幼稚的绝望都消失殆尽了。爱德华到家了。
“He won’t cross you today,” Rosalie reassured her. “He values his life too much. Esme’s got them finishing things up out back. Do you want some help? I could do her hair.”
“他今天不会碰到你的，”罗莎莉再次向她保证。“他得抓紧时间。埃斯米让他们在外面把事情都干完了才让他们回来的。你想要帮忙吗？我这以帮着做她的头发。”
My jaw fell open. I floundered around in my head, trying to remember how to close it.
我的下巴差点掉下来。我在一片混沌的脑海中挣扎着，试图想起该怎么把这下颚给合上。
I had never been Rosalie’s favorite person in the world. Then, making things even more strained between us, she was personally offended by the choice I was making now.
我从来就不是这个世界上罗莎莉喜欢的人之一。又由于她个人并不赞同我所做出的决定，我们两个的关系变得更为尴尬。
Though she had her impossible beauty, her loving family, and her soul mate in Emmett, she would have traded it all to be human. And here I was, callously throwing away everything she wanted in life like it was garbage. It didn’t exactly warm her to me.
尽管她拥有这个世界上最可爱的家人，和她的精神伴侣埃美特，她仍然希望能够选择成为人类。而我却在这里把她渴望拥有的一切当垃圾一样抛弃。这些都让她对我感觉不悦。
“Keep him out of here!”
“别让他进来！”
Once Rosalie received Alice’s commendation on my hair, she was sent off to retrieve my dress and then to locate Jasper, who had been dispatched to pick up my mother and her husband, Phil, from their hotel. Downstairs, I could faintly hear the door opening and closing over and over. Voices began to float up to us.
罗莎莉一得到Alice对我发式的褒奖，就被派去取我的礼服并安置贾斯帕。后者被打发去旅馆接我的母亲和她的丈夫，菲尔。我隐约听到楼下的门开了又关，关了又开的声音。说话声也渐渐飘到了楼上来。
“Sure,” Alice said easily. “You can start braiding. I want it intricate. The veil goes here, underneath.” Her hands started combing through my hair, hefting it, twisting it, illustrating in detail what she wanted. When she was done, Rosalie’s hands replaced hers, shaping my hair with a feather-light touch. Alice moved back to my face.
“当然好啊，”爱丽丝爽快地答应了。“你可以开始编辫子了。我希望它能复杂而又精致。头纱从这里穿过去，压在下面。”她梳起一撮头发，举起，绞成一股，阐明她想要的细节。她示范完后，罗莎莉开始接手，羽毛般轻盈地开始拨弄我的头发。爱丽丝则又专注于我的脸部工作了。
“Deep breaths, Bella,” Alice said. “And try to lower your heart rate. You’re going to sweat off your new face.”
“深呼吸，贝拉。”爱丽丝说着。“试着缓和你的心跳。不然你出的汗会把脸弄花了。”
I gave her the best sarcastic expression I could manage. “I’ll get right on that.”
我尽我所能给出了一个挖苦的表情。“我能办得到。”
Alice made me stand so that she could ease the dress over my hair and makeup. My knees shook so badly as she fastened the long line of pearl buttons up my back that the satin quivered in little wavelets down to the floor.
爱丽丝让我站起来，好让她帮我着装和化妆。就在她帮我扣紧背上那一长串珍珠纽扣时，我的膝盖哆嗦得厉害，连带着缎子的裙摆都起了小小的涟漪。
“It’s nothing. No one will be looking at me today. Not while you’re in the room.”
“这没什么。今晚没人会注意到我的，至少你在的时候不会。”
I concentrated on my breathing, counting each movement of my lungs, and stared at the patterns that the bathroom light made on the shiny fabric of my skirt. I was afraid to look in the mirror — afraid the image of myself in the wedding dress would send me over the edge into a full-scale panic attack.
我把注意力都集中在我的呼吸上，一下一下地数着肺的起伏，看着浴室灯光在我裙子光洁的织物面料上所投射出的花纹。我不敢看镜子，害怕看到镜子中那个穿着结婚礼服的自己，我惊恐之极。
She rolled her eyes and darted out the door.
她朝我瞪了瞪眼，然后一头冲出门外。
Renee had flown in two days ago, and I’d spent every minute I could with her — every minute that I could pry her away from Esme and the decorations, in other words. As far as I could tell, she was having more fun with this than a kid locked inside Disneyland overnight. In a way, I felt almost as cheated as Charlie. All that wasted terror over her reaction…
勒妮两天前飞到这边，我尽可能地花时间陪伴在她左右，换句话说，只要我能把她从埃斯米和装饰的话题上拉开的话。如果让我说的话，她已经比一个晚上被关在迪斯尼乐园里的孩子还要乐在其中了。让我觉得，就像被查理骗了一样，害我白担心一场……
Alice was back before I had taken two hundred breaths, in a dress that flowed down her slender body like a silvery waterfall.
爱丽丝在我数到两百下呼吸的时候就回来了，一身如同水银泻地般的银色晚装更能突显她纤细的身材。
“They’re back? Is my mom here?”
“他们到了吗？我妈妈在这儿了吗？”
“Um… maybe?”
“嗯……也许吧？”
“She just walked in the door. She’s on her way up.”
“她刚刚进门，现在正在上楼来。”
“Now, are you in control of yourself, or do I have to bring Jasper up here?”
“那么现在，你已经可以控制自己了吗，或者要我把贾斯帕带上来？”
“Alice — wow.”
“Alice——哇。”
“Har har.”
“啊，啊。”
“I have to get dressed now. Can you hold yourself together for two minutes?”
“我也得去换衣服了。你能就这样保持着么，就两分钟？”
“Oh, Bella!” she squealed now, gushing before she was all the way through the door. “Oh, honey, you’re so beautiful! Oh, I’m going to cry! Alice, you’re amazing! You and Esme should go into business as wedding planners. Where did you find this dress? It’s gorgeous! So graceful, so elegant. Bella, you look like you just stepped out of an Austen movie.” My mother’s voice sounded a little distance away, and everything in the room was slightly blurry. “Such a creative idea, designing the theme around Bella’s ring. So romantic! To think it’s been in Edward’s family since the eighteen hundreds!”
“噢，贝拉！”还没穿过门就开始高声尖叫起来。“欧，宝贝，你真是太美了！欧，我都要哭了！爱丽丝，你太神奇了！你和埃斯米都可以去经营婚礼策划的生意了。你从哪儿找到这条裙子的？太漂亮了！那么优雅，那么高贵。贝拉，你看上去像刚从简奥斯丁的电影中走出来一样。”我母亲的声音听上去有点遥远，房间中的物体也有点模糊。“围绕贝拉戒指为主题而出的设计，多么富有创意啊。太浪漫了！让人不禁联想到这枚戒指从19世纪开始就在爱德华家代代相传了！”
There was a loud, gruff throat-clearing in the doorway.
这时，门口又响起了一阵响亮，粗哑的清嗓子声音。
Alice and I exchanged a brief conspiratorial look. My mom was off on the dress style by more than a hundred years. The wedding wasn’t actually centered around the ring, but around Edward himself.
爱丽丝和我交换了个阴谋得逞了的眼神。我母亲对于服饰时尚方面已经落伍100年了。这场婚礼主题并不是围绕着戒指，而是爱德华本人的。
“Renee, Esme said it’s time you got settled down there,” Charlie said.
“勒妮，埃斯米说差不多该让你下楼就位了，”是查理。
“Well, Charlie, don’t you look dashing!” Renee said in a tone that was almost shocked. That might have explained the crustiness of Charlie’s answer.
“哇喔，查理，你看起来很神气嘛！”勒妮用几乎震惊的语调感叹。而查理的回答仍显示了他的固执。
“Something old, too. They were your Grandma Swan’s,” Charlie added. “We had a jeweler replace the paste stones with sapphires.”
“也是旧东西了。他们曾是你斯旺祖母的，”查理补充说。“我们找了珠宝匠把原来的人造玻璃石换成了蓝宝石。”
That made two of us.
我们两个都是。
“Alice got to me.”
“是爱丽丝让我穿的。”
“Oh goodness, I almost forgot! Charlie, where’s the box?”
“噢，天哪，我差点忘了！查理，那个盒子在哪里？”
My throat got all thick. “Mom, Dad… you shouldn’t have.”
我的喉咙哽咽了。“妈妈，爸爸……你们不需要给我的。”
“Give me a hug before I go down,” Renee insisted. “Carefully now, don’t tear anything.”
“在我下去之前，来拥抱个。”勒妮坚持说。“小心点，别扯到任何东西。”
“Something blue,” she said.
“一些伤感的东西，”她说。
Inside the box were two heavy silver hair combs. Dark blue sapphires were clustered into intricate floral shapes atop the teeth.
盒子里躺着两枚份量沉甸甸的银色发梳。梳齿的最上端，点缀着簇状的深蓝色的宝石，极其精美。
“Is it really time already?” Renee said to herself, sounding almost as nervous as I felt. “This has all gone so fast. I feel dizzy.”
“已经到时间了？”勒妮自言自语，听起来几乎跟我一样紧张。“这一切来得太快了。我有点晕。”
“Alice wouldn’t let us do anything else,” Renee said. “Every time we tried, she all but ripped our throats out.”
“爱丽丝不许我们做别的事情了，”勒妮说。“每次我们想做点什么，都被她揭穿了。”
My mother squeezed me gently around the waist, then wheeled for the door, only to complete the spin and face me again.
母亲温柔地环住我的腰，接着转圈似地向门口走去，只为了转完一圈就又能看一次我的脸。
My dad rummaged in his pockets for a minute and then produced a small white box, which he handed to Renee. Renee lifted the lid and held it out to me.
我父亲在口袋中摸索了一分钟，掏出一个白色的小盒子，交给了勒妮。勒妮揭开盖子，并递给了我。
Alice stepped up and quickly slid both combs into my hair under the edge of the thick braids. “That’s something old and something blue,” Alice mused, taking a few steps back to admire me. “And your dress is new… so here –“
爱丽丝走上前，迅速地把两枚发梳插在两侧的发髻边。“这边的东西古旧又略带伤感，”爱丽丝若有所思，退后几步端详着我。“而这边的礼服却是新的……那么这里——”
A hysterical giggle burst through my lips.
一阵歇斯底里的笑声穿过我的嘴唇。
“That’s mine and I want it back,” Alice told me.
“那是我的，记得还给我。”爱丽丝对我说。
She flicked something at me. I held my hands out automatically, and the filmy white garter landed in my palms.
我下意识地伸手接住了她扔给我的一样东西，摊开掌心一看原来是一双白色的吊带丝袜。
“Charlie, would you grab the flowers, please?”
“查理，你能把花拿来吗？”
“There,” Alice said with satisfaction. “A little color — that’s all you needed. You are officially perfect.” With a little self-congratulatory smile, she turned to my parents. “Renee, you need to get downstairs.”
“那就对了，”爱丽丝满意地说。“一点点色彩，这就是你所需要的了。你已经非常完美了。”带着一丝自我庆贺的微笑，她转身对着我的父母。“勒妮，你该下楼了。”
While Charlie was out of the room, Alice hooked the garter out of my hands and then ducked under my skirt. I gasped and tottered as her cold hand caught my ankle; she yanked the garter into place.
趁查理不在屋里，爱丽丝一把抓过我手中的吊带袜，并一头扎到了我的裙底。当她冰冷的手触碰到我的脚踝时，我不由倒吸了一口气，差点站不稳。她猛地拉紧袜子，示意穿好了。
I blushed.
我脸一下子红了。
She was back on her feet before Charlie returned with the two frothy white bouquets. The scent of roses and orange blossom and freesia enveloped me in a soft mist.
当查理带着两束白色的花束进来前，她已经站起了身。玫瑰，柑橘和小苍兰所营造的香气，仿佛薄雾般笼罩着我。
“Yes, ma’am.” Renee blew me a kiss and hurried out the door.
“遵命，夫人。”勒妮给了我个飞吻后，就急匆匆地出了门口。
His voice sounded far away. I couldn’t feel my legs.
他的声音好缥缈，我甚至感觉不到自己的腿在哪里。
I took a deep breath, willing myself into composure.
我深吸一口气，希望自己能够平静下来。
Alice stood right in front of me, on her tiptoes to better stare me in the eye, and gripped my wrists in her hard hands.
爱丽丝就站在我面前，踮着脚尖以便可以直视我的眼睛，牢牢地抓住我的手腕。
“Focus, Bella. Edward is waiting for you down there.”
“集中精神，贝拉。爱德华就在楼下等你。”
“Yes,” I squeaked. “Edward. Okay.” I let her pull me from the room, with Charlie tagging along at my elbow.
“是的，”我短促的回答。“爱德华。好了。”我让她把我领出房间，查理紧紧地尾随着。
“Bella?” Alice asked, still holding my gaze.
“贝拉？”爱丽丝问我的时候仍然看着我。
Rosalie — the best musician in the family next to Edward — began playing the piano downstairs. Pachelbel’s Canon. I began hyperventilating.
罗莎莉——这个家中仅次于爱德华的优秀乐师——开始在楼下的钢琴演奏了。帕赫贝尔的卡农。我的呼吸也开始变得急促起来。
“Easy, Bells,” Charlie said. He turned to Alice nervously. “She looks a little sick. Do you think she’s going to make it?”
“放轻松，贝拉，”查理虽这样说，却紧张地转向爱丽丝。“她脸色看上去不太好，你认为她能做得到么？”
“She’d better.”
“她会好的。”
The music slowly morphed into a new song. Charlie nudged me. “Bells, we’re up to bat.”
音乐渐渐过渡到一首新的曲子。查理捅捅我。“贝拉，我们要上了。”
The music was louder in the hall. It floated up the stairs along with the fragrance of a million flowers. I concentrated on the idea of Edward waiting below to get my feet to shuffle forward.
大厅里的音乐响多了。它与千万朵鲜花的香气交织在一起，漫上楼梯。我把精神集中只去想爱德华正在下面等我，然后向前迈开了脚步。
The music was familiar, Wagner’s traditional march surrounded by a flood of embellishments.
这段音乐很耳熟，重重装饰音之下，原来是瓦格纳的婚礼进行曲。
A sudden fanfare trilled through the soaring music. I recognized my cue.
高昂的乐曲中突然插入一阵鸣号声，我知道这是给我的暗示。
“Don’t let me fall, Dad,” I whispered. Charlie pulled my hand through his arm and then grasped it tightly.
“别让我摔跤了，爸爸，”我小声地说了一句。查理拉起我的一只手挽住他的臂弯，并紧紧地握住。
“It’s my turn,” Alice chimed. “Count to five and follow me.” She began a slow, graceful dance down the staircase. I should have realized that having Alice as my only bridesmaid was a mistake. I would look that much more uncoordinated coming behind her.
“该我了，”爱丽丝悦耳的声音说道。“数到五，然后跟着我。”她开始以一种缓慢、优雅的舞姿旋下楼梯。我早该意识到让爱丽丝作为我唯一的伴娘是一个错误，这样显得身后的我更加的手脚不协调。
As soon as my feet were past the treacherous stairs, I was looking for him. For a brief second, I was distracted by the profusion of white blossoms that hung in garlands from everything in the room that wasn’t alive, dripping with long lines of white gossamer ribbons. But I tore my eyes from the bowery canopy and searched across the rows of satin-draped chairs — blushing more deeply as I took in the crowd of faces all focused on me — until I found him at last, standing before an arch overflowing with more flowers, more gossamer.
一旦跨过令人提心吊胆的阶梯，我就开始寻找他。一开始的短瞬间，我被屋子的各个角落中挂满的花环所吸引，这些花环又成千上万朵白色的鲜花织成，花环上垂下长长的白色丝带。但是我掠过了那些花团锦簇，和成排的套有缎子套面的椅子，看到所有人都注视着我时，我的脸涨得更红了，最后，我终于找到了他，正站在装饰着更多鲜花和花环的拱门前。
One step at a time, I told myself as we began to descend to the slow tempo of the march. I didn’t lift my eyes until my feet were safely on the flat ground, though I could hear the murmurs and rustling of the audience as I came into view. Blood flooded my cheeks at the sound; of course I could be counted on to be the blushing bride.
一次一个台阶。当我们随着缓慢的进行曲开始下楼时，我这样告诉自己。我的登场引起了来宾们的交头接耳，我能听到，但直到来到了平地前，我都不敢抬起眼睛。血液充斥着脸颊，当然我的定位本来就是一个害羞的新娘。
All I really saw was Edward’s face; it filled my vision and overwhelmed my mind. His eyes were a buttery, burning gold; his perfect face was almost severe with the depth of his emotion. And then, as he met my awed gaze, he broke into a breathtaking smile of exultation.
我能看见的只有爱德华的脸；它充斥着我的视野，占满了我的整个心灵。他似蜜的双眸燃着金色的火焰；完美的脸庞恰如其分地承载他深沉的情感。接着，当他对上我充满敬畏的凝视后，报以一个摄人心魄的微笑。
I was barely conscious that Carlisle stood by his side, and Angela’s father behind them both. I didn’t see my mother where she must have been sitting in the front row, or my new family, or any of the guests — they would have to wait till later.
我几乎没有意识到还有卡莱尔站在他的身边，两人的身后还有安吉拉的父亲。我没见到我的母亲，她应该坐在了前排，也没看见我的新家人，也没有看见任何的来宾——他们应该呆得更久一点的。
Suddenly, it was only the pressure of Charlie’s hand on mine that kept me from sprinting headlong down the aisle.
忽然之间，全世界就只剩下查理的手传来的压力，才让我没有急切地冲到神坛边。
Our vows were the simple, traditional words that had been spoken a million times, though never by a couple quite like us. We’d asked Mr. Weber to make only one small change. He obligingly traded the line “till death do us part” for the more appropriate “as long as we both shall live.”
我们的誓言如同已经被无数次宣读的那样，简单而又传统。但没有一对夫妇会像我们这样特别。所以我们让韦伯神父在誓言上做了小小的修改，他把那句“直到死亡将我们分开”巧妙地替换成更为贴切的“只要我们都还活着”。
The march was too slow as I struggled to pace my steps to its rhythm. Mercifully, the aisle was very short. And then, at last, at last, I was there. Edward held out his hand. Charlie took my hand and, in a symbol as old as the world, placed it in Edward’s. I touched the cool miracle of his skin, and I was home.
进行曲实在太慢，让我不得不努力调整步伐来迎合它的节奏。感谢上帝，通向神坛的走道很短。然后，终于，最后，我到了。爱德华伸出他的手。依照这个世界古老的象征，查理托起我的手，并将它交付到爱德华手中。我碰到了他冰冷、神奇的肌肤，感觉终于到家了。
When it was his turn to speak, the words rang clear and victorious.
当轮到他宣誓时，每个字都带着胜利感，异常清晰。
In that moment, as the minister said his part, my world, which had been upside down for so long now, seemed to settle into its proper position. I saw just how silly I’d been for fearing this — as if it were an unwanted birthday gift or an embarrassing exhibition, like the prom. I looked into Edward’s shining, triumphant eyes and knew that I was winning, too. Because nothing else mattered but that I could stay with him.
在那一刻，趁着牧师在说他的台词的时候，我觉得我的世界在经历了那么久的跌宕起伏后，终于在一处合适的地方落了脚。过去的我竟然会害怕这一切，认为这场仪式也像某件硬塞给我的生日礼物，或者某场丢人现眼的展示，好比舞会；我简直太莫名其妙了。我看向爱德华那闪耀着胜利光辉的眼睛，知道自己也同样是个赢家。只要我能和他在一起，其他的事情都已经不重要了。
I didn’t realize I was crying until it was time to say the binding words.
等到要我宣誓时，我都没有意识到我已经泪流满面了。
“I do,” he vowed.
“我愿意，”他宣誓。
“I do,” I managed to choke out in a nearly unintelligible whisper, blinking my eyes clear so I could see his face.
“我愿意，”我努力吐出这两个字，声音低得都听不见，眨眨眼睛，想要看清他的脸。
Mr. Weber declared us husband and wife, and then Edward’s hands reached up to cradle my face, carefully, as if it were as delicate as the white petals swaying above our heads. I tried to comprehend, through the film of tears blinding me, the surreal fact that this amazing person was mine. His golden eyes looked as if they would have tears, too, if such a thing were not impossible. He bent his head toward mine, and I stretched up on the tips of my toes, throwing my arms — bouquet and all — around his neck.
韦伯神父宣布我们结为夫妻，爱德华伸出手捧住我的脸，小心的，就如同捧着撒在我们头上，娇弱的白色花瓣一般。透过婆娑的泪眼，我试着去确认这一超现实的事实，眼前这个难以置信的人已经是我的了。如果可能的话，他金色的双眼看上去好像也已经溢满了泪水。他的脑袋向我凑近，我立刻垫起脚尖，张开双臂——连人带花——环上了他的脖子。
On the surface his sudden smile was amused, almost a smirk. But underneath his momentary entertainment at my public exhibition was a deep joy that echoed my own.
表面上，他看似被逗乐了，扯出了一个傻傻的笑容。私底下，我却因为他被迫当众表演的瞬间转移而洋洋得意。
He kissed me tenderly, adoringly; I forgot the crowd, the place, the time, the reason… only remembering that he loved me, that he wanted me, that I was his.
他吻着我，是温柔的，是爱慕的；让我忘记了人群，地点，时间，原因……只记得他爱我，他要我，我是他的。
My mother’s arms were the first to find me, her tear-streaked face the first thing I saw when I finally tore my eyes unwillingly from Edward. And then I was handed through the crowd, passed from embrace to embrace, only vaguely aware of who held me, my attention centered on Edward’s hand clutched tightly in my own. I did recognize the difference between the soft, warm hugs of my human friends and the gentle, cool embraces of my new family.
我最终不情愿地把目光从他身上挪开，我母亲的手臂是第一个搭上我的，她满脸泪痕的脸也是我最先看见的。后来我们在无数双手的簇拥中穿过人群，从一个拥抱到下一个拥抱，我的注意力全集中被紧握在我手中的爱德华的手上，对于到底是谁拥抱了我，意识模糊。不过我还是能轻易辨别出，来自我人类朋友们那轻柔、温暖的拥抱，以及来自我新家庭成员那儒雅、冰凉的拥抱。
He began the kiss, and he had to end it; I clung to him, ignoring the titters and the throat-clearing in the audience. Finally, his hands restrained my face and he pulled back — too soon — to look at me.
他开始吻的，也必须由他结束。我依然贴着他，意犹未尽，完全无视观礼者的窃笑或者是清嗓子的声音。最后，他用手按着我的脸，自己向后退去——太快了——然后看着我。
The crowd erupted into applause, and he turned our bodies to face our friends and family. I couldn’t look away from his face to see them.
人群中爆发出热烈的掌声，他转过身子，好让我们面对我们的朋友和亲人们。而我却迟迟无法把视线从他身上移开。
One scorching hug stood out from all the others — Seth Clearwater had braved the throng of vampires to stand in for my lost werewolf friend.
有一个炙烈的拥抱尤为与众不同——塞思·克里尔沃特勇敢的站在吸血鬼群中，代替我那失去了的狼人朋友。
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