naturedly enduring the ones I couldn’t talk her out of。 I’d always been indulgent with my mom； amused by her；
even a little condescending to her。 I saw her cornucopia of mistakes and laughed privately to myself。
Scatterbrained Renée。
I was a very different person from my mother。 Someone thoughtful and cautious。 The responsible one； the
grownup。 That’s how I saw myself。 That was the person I knew。
With the blood still pounding inmy head from Edward’s kiss； I couldn’t help but think of my mother’s
most lifealtering mistake。 Silly and romantic； getting married fresh out of high school to a man she barely
knew； then producing me a year later。 She’d always promised me that she had no regrets； that I was the best
gift her life had ever given her。 And yet she’d drilled it into me over and over — smart people took marriage
seriously。 Mature people went to college and started careers before they got deeply involved in a relationship。
She knew I would never be as thoughtless and goofy and smalltown as she’d been。 。 。 。
I gritted my teeth and tried to concentrate as I answered her letter。
Then I hit her parting line and remembered why I’d neglected to write sooner。
You haven’t said anything about Jacob in a long time； she’d written。 What’s he up to these days？
Charlie was prompting her； I was sure。
I sighed and typed quickly； tucking the answer to her question between two less sensitive paragraphs。
Jacob is fine； I guess。 I don’t see him much； he spends most of his time with a pack of his friends
down at La Push these days。
Smiling wryly to myself； I added Edward’s greeting and hit “send。”
I didn’t realize that Edward was standing silently behind me again until after I’d turned off the puter
and shoved away from the desk。 I was about to scold him for reading over my shoulder when I realized that
he wasn’t paying any attention to me。 He was examining a flat black box with wires curling crookedly away
from the main square in a way that didn’t look healthy for whatever it was。 After a second； I recognized the
car stereo Emmett； Rosalie； and Jasper had given me for my last birthday。 I’d forgotten about the birthday
presents hiding under a growing pile of dust on the floor of my closet。
“What did you do to this？” he asked in a horrorstruck voice。
“It didn’t want to e out of the dashboard。”
“So you felt the need to torture it？”
“You know how I am with tools。 No pain was inflicted intentionally。”
He shook his head； his face a mask of faux tragedy。 “You killed it。”
I shrugged。 “Oh； well。”
“It would hurt their feelings if they saw this；” he said。 “I guess it’s a good thing that you’ve been on house
arrest。 I’ll have to get another one in place before they notice。”
“Thanks； but I don’t need a fancy stereo。”
“It’s not for your sake that I’m going to replace it。”
I sighed。
“You didn’t get much good out of your birthday presents last year；” he said in a disgruntled voice。
Suddenly； he was fanning himself with a stiff rectangle of paper。
I didn’t answer； for fear my voice would shake。 My disastrous eighteenth birthday — with all its far
reaching consequences — wasn’t something I cared to remember； and I was surprised that he would bring it
up。 He was even more sensitive about it than I was。
“Do you realize these are about to expire？” he asked； holding the paper out to me。 It was another present
— the voucher for airplane tickets that Esme and Carlisle had given me so that I could visit Renée in Florida。
I took a deep breath and answered in a flat voice。 “No。 I’d forgotten all about them； actually。”
His expression was carefully bright and positive； there was no trace of any deep emotion as he continued。
“Well； we still have a little time。 You’ve been liberated 。 。 。 and we have no plans this weekend； as you refuse
to go to the prom with me。” He grinned。 “Why not celebrate your freedom this way？”
I gasped。 “By going to Florida？”
“You did say something about the continental U。S。 being allowable。”
I glared at him； suspicious； trying to understand where this had e from。
“Well？” he demanded。 “Are we going to see Renée or not？”
“Charlie will never allow it。”
“Charlie can’t keep you from visiting your mother。 She still has primary custody。”
“Nobody has custody of me。 I’m an adult。”
He flashed a brilliant smile。 “Exactly。”
I thought it over for a short minute before deciding that it wasn’t worth the fight。 Charlie would be furious
— not that I was going to see Renée； but that Edward was going with me。 Charlie wouldn’t speak to me for
months； and I’d probably end up grounded again。 It was definitely smarter not to even bring it up。 Maybe in a
few weeks； as a graduation favor or something。
But the idea of seeing my mother now； not weeks from now； was hard to resist。 It had been so long since
I’d seen Renée。 And even longer since I’d seen her under pleasant circumstances。 The last time I’d been with
her in Phoenix； I’d spent the whole time in a hospital bed。 The last time she’d e here； I’d been more or
less catatonic。 Not exactly the best memories to leave her with。
And maybe； if she saw how happy I was with Edward； she would tell Charlie to ease up。
Edward scrutinized my face while I deliberated。
I sighed。 “Not this weekend。”
“Why not？”
“I don’t want to fight with Charlie。 Not so soon after he’s forgiven me。”
His eyebrows pulled together。 “I think this weekend is perfect；” he muttered。
I shook my head。 “Another time。”
“You aren’t the only one who’s been trapped in this house； you know。” He frowned at me。
Suspicion returned。 This kind of behavior was unlike him。 He was always so impossibly selfless； I knew it
was making me spoiled。
“You can go anywhere you want；” I pointed out。
“The outside world holds no interest for me without you。”
I rolled my eyes at the hyperbole。
“I’m serious；” he said。
“Let’s take the outside world slowly； all right？ For example； we could start with a movie in Port Angeles。 。
。 。”
He groaned。 “Never mind。 We’ll talk about it later。”
“There’s nothing left to talk about。”
He shrugged。
“Okay； then； new subject；” I said。 I’d almost forgotten my worries about this afternoon — had that been
his intention？ “What did Alice see today at lunch？”
My eyes were fixed on his face as I spoke； measuring his reaction。
His expression was posed； there was only the slightest hardening of his topaz eyes。 “She’s been
seeing Jasper in a strange place； somewhere in the southwest； she thinks； near his former 。 。 。 family。 But he
has no conscious intentions to go back。” He sighed。 “It’s got her worried。”
“Oh。” That was nothing close to what I’d been expecting。 But of course it made sense that Alice would be
watching out for Jasper’s future。 He was her soul mate； her true other half； though they weren’t as flamboyant
about their relationship as Rosalie and Emmett were。 “Why didn’t you tell me before？”
“I didn’t realize you’d noticed；” he said。 “It’s probably nothing important； in any case。”
My imagination was sadly out of control。 I’d taken a perfectly normal afternoon and twisted it until it
looked like Edward was going out of his way to keep things from me。 I needed therapy。
We went downstairs to work on our homework； just in case Charlie showed up early。 Edward finished in
minutes； I slogged laboriously through my calculus until I decided it was time to fix Charlie’s dinner。 Edward
helped； making faces every so often at the raw ingredients — human food was mildly repulsive to him。 I made
stroganoff from Grandma Swan’s recipe； because I was sucking up。 It wasn’t one of my favorites； but it
would please Charlie。
Charlie seemed to already be in a good mood when he got home。 He didn’t even go out of his way to be
rude to Edward。 Edward excused himself from eating with us； as usual。 The sound of the nightly news drifted
from the front room； but I doubted Edward was really watching。
After forcing down three helpings； Charlie kicked his feet up on the spare chair and folded his hands
contentedly across his distended stomach。
“That was great； Bells。”
“I’m glad you liked it。 How was work？” He’d been eating with too much concentration for me to make
conversation before。
“Sort of slow。 Well； dead slow really。 Mark and I played cards for a good part of the afternoon；” he
admitted with a grin。 “I won； nieen hands to seven。 And then I was on the phone with Billy for a while。”
I tried to keep my expression the same。 “How is he？”
“Good； good。 His joints are bothering him a little。”
“Oh。 That’s too bad。”
“Yeah。 He invited us down to visit this weekend。 He was thinking of having the Clearwaters and the Uleys
over too。 Sort of a playoff party。 。 。 。”
“Huh；” was my genius response。 But what could I say？ I knew I wouldn’t be allowed to hit a werewolf
party； even with parental supervision。 I wondered if Edward would have a problem with Charlie hanging out in
La Push。 Or would he suppose that； since Charlie was mostly spending time with Billy； who was only human；
my father wouldn’t be in danger？
I got up and piled the dishes together without looking at Charlie。 I dumped them into the sink and started
the water。 Edward appeared silently and grabbed a dishtowel。
Charlie sighed and gave up for the moment； though I imagined he would revisit the subject when we were
alone again。 He heaved himself to his feet and headed for the TV； just like every other night。
“Charlie；” Edward said in a conversational tone。
Charlie stopped in the middle of his little kitchen。 “Yeah？”
“Did Bella ever tell you that my parents gave her airplane tickets on her last birthday； so that she could
visit Renée？”
I dropped the plate I was scrubbing。 It glanced off the counter and clattered noisily to the floor。 It didn’t
break； but it spattered the room； and all three of us； with soapy water。 Charlie didn’t even seem to notice。
“Bella？” he asked in a stunned voice。
I kept my eyes on the plat