"I understand the severity of the storm, but as I said before, miss, I have traveled in much worse conditions," I said slowly so her blank eyes could understand. "And what's more, I did not just spend hours on a plane to end up vacationing in an airport lobby. So, if you would be so kind, please have the valet bring my car around front."
Standing at the attendant's desk, I was forced to listen to her trying to convince the valet service that I was serious about traveling in this weather. I didn't mean to be so difficult about the whole situation, but I had been forced to sit on a plane for what seemed like eternity and a year. On top of all that, it seemed like every flight attendant wanted nothing more than for me to accompany them to the nearest bathroom. Seriously, every time I opened the book I had brought along, a flight attendant would "accidentally" drop something in the aisle. They were making it extremely hard to maintain a polite and gentlemanly demeanor.
Finally, I spotted a valet pull my silver Volvo around the front of the airport. I had missed my car so much it was pathetic. I mean, you just didn't find that kind of steering in any car.
I eagerly took my keys from him and got in, tuning the radio to a classical music station. Home I thought joyously. I was going home.
I reached for my phone to call my sister, Alice. She was the reason I was here after all. I remembered when she called me just a few days earlier.
"Come on Edward. You haven't been to the cabin in ages. It'll be fun! You will get to have it all to yourself. Just imagine it. All secluded, away from all of your therapy patients, away from the sounds of the city, away from…Tanya."
That got my attention.
A family friend of ours, Tanya, had recently moved to Seattle where I just opened an office. I had done the polite thing and had welcomed her and shown her around the city. I guess Tanya thought she'd reciprocate with a tour of her bedroom-and her pants. Although I turned her down gently, she was just too persistent. It was becoming unbearable. So, needless to say, I jumped at the opportunity to get away.
I had always loved our family's cabin in Denali. It was just so inviting and quiet.
And I could definitely use the break. I was too over-worked ever since I had opened up my own therapy office. For some reason, I had believed that once I earned my degree from Dartmouth, things would get easier. I was so wrong. Nothing in my life seemed to fall into place. My family was temporarily spread out all over the country with their significant others while I was stuck working all hours of the week, missing them-by myself. Like always.
It's not that I didn't want to be with someone. It's just that no one has ever piqued my interest. Every girl has always been too boring, too stupid, too catty, too lusty, too uncultured, too…not for me. But I guess I was used to it by now.
I thought about how all of this as I drove my car carefully uphill to the Pitsiark. There were so many great memories there. I remember when my Emmett, Alice, and I used to have snowball fights in the back while Carlisle and Esme built snowmen out front. It was so easy for us to be ourselves at Pitsiark.
Without warning, a wailing alarm went off on the radio, interrupting a flute solo. A man's voice began reporting.
"ATTENTION DENALI RESIDENTS. THE NATIONAL WEATHER FOUNDATION HAS ISSUED A SEVERE WEATHER WARNING FOR YOUR AREA. ALL RESIDENTS ARE ADVISED TO REMAIN INDOORS. ALL ROADS ARE BEING BLOCKED OFF DUE TO THICK ICE AND SNOW. NO CARS SHOULD BE ON THE ROADS AT THIS TIME. BEWARE OF POWER OUTTAGE AS A RESULT OF STRONG WINDS AND HAIL. ANY SNOWED IN RESIDENTS SHOULD ALERT OFFICIALS IMMEDIATELY. STAY TUNED FOR FURTHER WEATHER UPDATES."
Well, I thought wryly to myself, at least I'll be in a nice warm cabin soon. The staying inside part should make up for my being out on the road.
I hadn't realized how bad the blizzard really was until I started getting nearer to Pitsiark. It was like the storm had focused itself in that particular area. Great.
The last few miles to the cabin were a struggle against Mother Nature. My car fought and fought against the winds and the curtains of snow until I finally pulled up in front of the cabin.
I moved to the trunk to get my luggage out and struggled against the blizzard to make it to the front door. The snow was a good two feet high already. It was like marching in quicksand all the way to the porch.
I felt a manly sense of triumph as I knocked the snow off my boots, but my happiness disappeared when I remembered that I had no key to get in. Alice had mentioned something about using her copy of the key or something like that. But I realized I had forgotten my own in the car. And it was not worth another trek out there to retrieve it.
Wait! There was a spare key out here somewhere. I dropped my bags and began to search high and low for the key. It felt like I looked for hours when I remembered that we stored it under a floorboard on the porch. The old key was a bit rusty, but after a few rough shoves it went in.
I opened the door slowly, to savor the moment. It creaked noisily and I made a mental note to bring some oil next time. Leaving my bags at the door, I ventured inside.
God. Everything was just as beautiful as I remembered it. Esme loved interior design and her flawless taste was reflected in our cabin. The smell of cedar and family memories was everywhere. It almost made me emotional as I spotted some old artwork Alice, Emmett, and I had made when we were little.
The cabin even reminded me of the lasagna Esme used to make. I could almost smell it coming from the kitchen. That reminded me. I hadn't eaten anything all day since every time I tried to ask a flight attendant for food, they seemed to undress me with their eyes. I'd rather starve that be forced to endure that.
I took my time walking to the kitchen, appreciating every detail. When I got to the doorway, it seemed like the hood was on in the kitchen. I guess one of the maintenance people had left it on. I called them earlier so ensure the house was heated and the refrigerator was stocked.
I walked further into the kitchen to turn on the lights…
My lungs let out a whoosh of air in shock as my jaw dropped open. Standing in front of the sink was a woman…
And she was wielding what seemed to be a butcher's knife. Her eyes were wild, and her hands were visibly shaking. But, she didn't look like the type to hack a man to pieces in his own kitchen. In fact, it looked like she thought I was going to do just that-to her.
"Wh-who are you? What do you want?" she breathed raggedly.
"Who am I?" I repeated. I almost laughed at the ridiculousness of the situation-and I hadn't laughed in so very long. But it didn't seem appropriate to laugh at the moment because the girl looked scared witless. "Who am I? I should be asking who you are!"
"What? Why? You're the one breaking and entering," she said confusedly. Her arm lowered the knife to her side. Good. At least there was less of a risk of her hurting herself or me.
"Breaking and…" I broke off, realizing I'd been echoing her words back to her. "I can't break into my own cabin."
"Your cabin? Oh, right. Like I'm supposed to believe that. This is my friend Alice's cabin. So you should…uhm…leave before I call the cops."
Ah, it was all piecing together. I almost laughed again at the look of total bravery in the girl's face. What if I really was some kind of intruder? Was she just going to stand there and try to talk me down? I should put a stop to this.
"I should introduce myself. I'm Edward Cullen. Alice is my sister. I didn't realize she had…invited someone else here to stay as well. She didn't mention it when she called me a few days ago…"
The girl's face suddenly took on the most comely blush.
"Well," she stuttered, not making eye contact with me, "Alice invited me up here a few weeks ago. I turned her down at first…but then yesterday I decided to come up here after all."
"Ah, well, that explains things. She must have encouraged me to visit because she didn't know you were coming…"
"Yeah I guess." She still stared at the floor in embarrassment as I looked at her thoughtfully.
Well, now that the mystery had been solved, where did that leave us?
