Gray. Endlessly gray. Oppressively gray. Damp, tedious gray.
I huffed over my bowl of cheerios, shooting the leaden cloud cover a dirty look. From the corner of my eye, I saw Charlie raise one eyebrow at me. I frowned harder. Charlie could question my sanity all he wanted, but I still felt personally affronted.
What business did the insipid clouds have ruining my fun? Not that I was going out a lot these days, anyway. Not riding in that flashy, obnoxious car Edward had forced on me. But, still.
I'd been dreaming of visiting our meadow for days, to get some alone time with him – something we were altogether short of lately. I wouldn't have minded escaping Alice and her wedding torture, either. And Charlie's perpetual sulking.
Marriage was supposed to get me more time with Edward, but all these pesky wedding preparations were doing was keeping me away from him.
So, of course, Forks would volunteer to ruin my plans. Destroy my peace of mind. Doom me to yet another afternoon of dress rehearsal or make-up tryouts or whatever other torment Alice had in store for me.
I realized my fingers were clutched too tensely around the spoon when my knuckles started hurting. I dropped it into the bowl. I'd already lost my appetite, anyway.
Charlie, who had gone back to his breakfast-time moping, glanced at the wall clock.
As if on cue, the doorbell rang. I all but jumped out of my chair in my haste to welcome my boyfriend. At least my day wouldn't be entirely wasted. I still got to see Edward.
But the vampire of my dreams seemed determined to further my vexation. He was standing in the doorway, raindrops sparkling in his bronze hair, the image of my own personal god, perfect in every way possible. Except for the expensive-looking bouquet of yellow roses in his hands.
I stared at him, puzzled, for one nanosecond. Then, as it dawned on me that he had brought me flowers, I went from staring to glaring. My previous irritation kicked up a couple of notches.
"Why did you do it?" I demanded. "You know I don't like gifts."
"'Don't like' is an understatement, I would say," he answered, chuckling. "But before you take your dislike too far and shut the door in my face, let me explain that Alice said you'd be having a hard weather day. And I, being the thorough fiancé I am, figured that perhaps some light might brighten it." He offered me the flowers alongside his crooked smile.
I was still slightly pissed when my head started swimming, but this time it was more at myself for still reacting like that to his dazzling smile. And also a little at his choice of words. Did he have to keep saying the "f" word out loud? It gave me the creeps.
Still, he was right. Even when he didn't upset me by giving me presents, he always brought light into my life. He was the light.
And since he'd already bothered, the roses weren't all that ugly themselves. I grabbed them from his hand, perhaps a little more brusquely than necessary. He was wise not to comment on my hasty change of mind.
"Never mind the rain," I mumbled quietly. "Indoor activities can be fun, too."
He laughed at that, and I ignored him.
When I'd put the flowers in a glass full of water on the kitchen table – Charlie owned no vases – he added, "Alice also said you still have to go home for food testing this afternoon, by the way."
As I slumped on the table by the lively yellow flowers, Edward's laughter ringing in my ears, I reflected on the painful fact that what James and Victoria and the whole Volturi guard had failed to accomplish was highly likely to happen sometime soon. One of these days, I was going to flip out and do something really stupid and wild – wilder than motorcycles and cliff-diving. The teaming up of rainy town and obsessive sister-in-law was a threat to my mental well-being.
"How will you feel when the final cause of my demise turns out to be your pixie sister?" I spat.
He, of course, just laughed louder.
A/N: Oddest thing in the universe: I wrote this rant one day while I was riding the bus to college. It was raining, in case you were wondering where I got the inspiration ;-). A couple of weeks later, as I was leaving college, a little kindergartener who was walking back home with his mom approached me and gave me a yellow daisy. It made my day, and I keep it safely between the pages of one of my favorite books.
So Bella got her share of rain and yellow flowers and, oddly enough, so did I.
A/N 2: Thanks to my PTB betas LoriAnnTwiFan and another beta whose name I don't know. PTB is awesome. Thanks also to everyone who has added my stories to their favorites and who has reviewed them. You make me want to write more.