The next thing I was conscious of was the sound of Charlie's cruiser turning onto the bricks of the driveway. I sat up in surprise, realizing the light was gone, behind the trees, and I had fallen asleep. I looked around, muddled, with the sudden feeling that I wasn't alone.
接下来我听到了查理的巡逻车碾上车道的砖块的声音。我吃惊地坐起来，发觉光线已经消失在了树丛后。我方才睡着了。我茫然地环顾四周，忽然意识到我不是一个人。
"Charlie?" I asked. But I could hear his door slamming in front of the house.
“查理？”我出声询问道。但我能听到从房子前头传来的他关门的声音。
I jumped up, foolishly edgy, gathering the now-damp quilt and my book. I ran inside to get some oil heating on the stove, realizing that dinner would be late. Charlie was hanging up his gun belt and stepping out of his boots when I came in.
我跳起来，急躁得有些可笑，收拾起已经有些潮湿的褥子和书。我冲进屋里，往锅里放了点油，开始加热，意识到晚餐要推迟了。当我进来的时候，查理正在把武装带挂起来，脱下靴子。
"Sorry, Dad, dinner's not ready yet — I fell asleep outside." I stifled a yawn.
“抱歉，爸爸，晚餐还没好——我在屋外睡着了。”我的话被呵欠打断了。
"Don't worry about it," he said. "I wanted to catch the score on the game, anyway."
“别担心，”他说。“总之，我想先看看赛事的比分情况。”
I watched TV with Charlie after dinner, for something to do. There wasn't anything on I wanted to watch, but he knew I didn't like baseball, so he turned it to some mindless sitcom that neither of us enjoyed. He seemed happy, though, to be doing something together. And it felt good, despite my depression, to make him happy.
为了找些事干，晚饭后我和查理一起看电视。没什么我想看的节目，但他知道我不喜欢棒球，所以他换了台，切换到某个我们都不怎么喜欢的情景喜剧。但他还是很开心，因为我们能待在一起做点什么。如果不去管我的失落的话，让他高兴是件不错的事。
"Dad," I said during a commercial, "Jessica and Angela are going to look at dresses for the dance tomorrow night in Port Angeles, and they wanted me to help them choose… do you mind if I go with them?"
“爸爸，”插播广告的时候我说道。“杰西卡和安吉拉打算明天晚上去天使港去找舞会穿的衣服，她们想让我帮忙挑选……你介意我跟她们一起去吗？”
"Jessica Stanley?" he asked.
“杰西卡·斯坦利？”他问道。
"And Angela Weber." I sighed as I gave him the details.
“还有安吉拉·韦伯。”我叹了口气，给了他更加详尽的信息。
He was confused. "But you're not going to the dance, right?"
他很困惑：“可你不打算去舞会，对吧？”
"No, Dad, but I'm helping them find dresses — you know, giving them constructive criticism." I wouldn't have to explain this to a woman.
“我不去，爸爸。但我可以帮她们找衣服——你知道，给她们一点有建设性的意见。”如果是跟一个女人说话，我就不用解释这些了。
《暮光之城》与图书题目相得益彰的是，“暮光之城”系列别具匠心的封面设计则很好地传达出了每本书内在的深远寓意。斯蒂芬妮·梅尔指出《暮色》封面上的苹果代表“创世纪” 内善恶树上的禁果。象征贝拉和爱德华之间人类与吸血鬼禁忌的爱恋。在书的开头引用了“创世纪”217页的内容：“只是分别善恶树上的果子，你不可吃，因为你吃的日子必定死。”这同时也代表了贝拉如何分辨善恶——选择是否吃下那颗禁忌的果实，这比喻了选择跟爱德华在一起或远离他。
