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Lydia had looked more anxious than angry, the necklace dangling from her fingers like a dead snake; she had sounded almost sad, as if she had done something wrong, not Hannah.
莉迪亚与其说是生气，不如说是焦急，项链在她手指间像一条死蛇似的晃来晃去。她听起来几乎是悲伤的，好像她做错了什么事，而不是汉娜。
The necklace was, in fact, the last thing Hannah would ever steal. But this moment, this last talk with her sister, would puzzle her for a long time.
事实上，这条项链是汉娜最不可能偷的东西。但是这一刻，这最后一次和她妹妹的谈话，会使她困惑很久。
That evening, in the safety of her room, Lydia pulled out the piece of loose-leaf on which Nath had scrawled his host student's number.
那天晚上，莉迪亚在自己安全的房间里拿出了那张活页纸，纳在上面潦草地写下了寄宿学生的号码。
After dinner—when her father retreated to his study and her mother settled into the living room—she unfolded it and picked up the telephone on the landing.
晚饭后，父亲回到书房，母亲坐在客厅里，她打开信封，拿起楼梯平台上的电话。
The phone rang six times before someone answered and, in the background, she could hear the raucous sounds of a party just getting under way.
电话铃响了六次才有人接电话，她能听到背景里传来聚会的嘈杂声。
"Who?" the voice on the other end said, twice, and at last Lydia gave up whispering and snapped, "Nathan Lee. The visiting student. Nathan Lee."
“谁？”电话那头的声音又说了两遍，最后莉迪亚不再低声细语，而是厉声说道：“李纳。我找来访的学生李纳。”
Minutes ticked by, each ratcheting up the long-distance charge—though by the time the bill came, James would be too devastated to notice.
时间一分一秒地过去，长途电话费也越来越高，不过等到账单来的时候，詹姆斯可能已经伤心欲绝了，不会注意到这一点。
Downstairs, Marilyn clicked the television dial around and around: Rhoda. Six Million Dollar Man. Quincy. Rhoda again. Then, finally, Nath came on the line.
在楼下，玛丽琳一遍又一遍地拨动电视的旋钮：罗达。六百万富翁。昆西。罗达。最后，纳来电话了。
"Nath," Lydia said. "It's me." To her surprise, tears welled in her eyes just at the sound of his voice—though his voice was deeper and blunter than usual, as if he had a cold.
“纳，”莉迪亚说。“是我。”令她吃惊的是，一听到他的声音，她的眼睛里就涌出了泪水——尽管他的声音比平时更低沉、更生硬，好像是感冒了。
In fact, Nath was three-quarters through the first beer of his life, and the room was beginning to take on a warmish glow.
事实上，纳已经喝了人生第一杯啤酒的四分之三，整个房间开始散发出温暖的光芒。
Now his sister's voice—flattened by long distance—sliced through that glow like a blunt knife.
现在，他妹妹的声音被远处传来的声音压扁了，就像一把钝刀划破了那道亮光。
"What's the matter?" "You didn't call." "What?" "You promised you'd call." Lydia wiped her eyes with the back of one wrist. "That's why you're calling?"
“怎么了？”“你没打电话。”“什么？”“你答应过要打电话的。”莉迪亚用一只手背擦了擦眼睛。“这就是你打电话的原因吗？”
"No, listen, Nath. I need to tell you something." Lydia paused, puzzling over how to explain.
“不，听着，纳。我有事要告诉你。”莉迪亚停了下来，不知如何解释。
In the background, a burst of laughter swelled like a wave crashing ashore. Nath sighed. "What happened? Did Mom nag you about your homework?"
背景中传来一阵笑声，就像海浪冲上岸一样。纳叹了口气。“发生了什么事？妈妈没有跟你唠叨你的作业吗？”
He tipped the bottle to his lips and found the beer had gone warm, and the stale liquid shriveled his tongue. "Wait, let me guess. Mom bought you a special present, but it was just a book.
他把酒瓶倒在唇边，发现啤酒已经变热了，发霉的液体使他的舌头发皱。“等等，让我猜猜。妈妈给你买了一件特别的礼物，但那只是一本书。
Dad bought you a new dress—no, a diamond necklace—and he expects you to wear it.
爸爸给你买了一件新衣服，不，是一条钻石项链，他希望你戴上它。
Last night at dinner you had to talk and talk and talk and all their attention was on you. Am I getting warmer?" Stunned, Lydia fell silent.
昨晚吃晚饭的时候，你不得不说个不停，而他们的注意力都集中在你身上。我变得热情些了吗？”莉迪亚惊呆了，一句话也说不出来。
All their lives Nath had understood, better than anyone, the lexicon of their family, the things they could never truly explain to outsiders:
在他们的一生中，纳比任何人都更懂得他们家族的语言，他们永远无法向外人真正解释的事情：
that a book or a dress meant more than something to read or something to wear; that attention came with expectations that—like snow—drifted and settled and crushed you with their weight.
一本书或一件衣服比读书或穿衣服更有意义；这种关注带着期望而来，就像雪一样，飘移，沉淀，用它们的重量压垮你。
All the words were right, but in this new Nath's voice, they sounded trivial and brittle and hollow. The way anyone else might have heard them.
所有的话都是对的，但在这个新的纳的声音里，它们听起来琐碎、脆弱、空洞。就像其他人听到的那样。
Already her brother had become a stranger. "I gotta go," he said. "Wait. Wait, Nath. Listen."
她的哥哥已经成了陌生人。“我得走了，”他说。“等等，纳。听着。”
"God, I don't have time for this." In a flash of bitterness, he added, “Why don't you go take your problems to Jack?" He did not know then how those words would haunt him.
“天哪，我没时间做这些。”他又痛苦地说：“你为什么不把你的问题告诉杰克呢？”他当时不知道这些话会怎样萦绕在他心头。
After he slammed the receiver back onto the cradle, a twinge of guilt, like a small sharp bubble, bored its way through his chest.
他把听筒砰地一声放回去了，一阵愧疚感像一个尖细的小气泡，在他的胸膛里钻了出来。
But from far away, with the heat and noise of the party cocooning him, his perspective had shifted.
但在远处，聚会的热气和喧闹声包围了他，他的看法发生了变化。
