BPOV
After much pleading by Alice, Edward and me, Carlisle decided that we didn't need start school until the next Monday. That gave me a few days to get used to living full-time with the Cullens as a Cullen. I had to admit that I felt some relief at having those few days to give them my undivided attention, all of them, not just Edward. It seemed like I was learning something about my new family that I hadn't realized before every minute I was with them.
Esme, for instance, loved gardening. I realized that all of the fresh flowers that bedecked any home the Cullens were in must have been tended by her skillful hands. I'd taken it for granted before, but I didn't now. I discovered, after spending an hour with Esme in her garden the first day, that it was a very relaxing activity. I enjoyed the feel of the soil beneath my bare fingers. I wasn't as consumed by it as Esme, but it was nice, and I was pleased that I had so quickly found something we could share. Alice even joined us for about ten minutes, before her boundless energy and a practical joke Emmett was about to play on her while she was out of her room pulled her away.
After gardening with Esme, I went to Carlisle to ask him about nearby bookstores. I had noticed the built-in bookshelves in my room, but they were bare except for a few knick-knacks. I wanted to get my collection started again. He and I discussed books for a few hours. He had a unique perspective on Shakespeare, having lived so close to the great playwright's time. I found it fascinating to listen to his tales of life in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. They were such a tumultuous time in Europe and America, and he'd been there through it all. We were lost in conversation when Edward strolled into the room. He smiled to see us settled into two of the comfortable chairs in Carlisle's office. He asked if he could join us, which we both enthusiastically agreed to. I spent another pleasant hour drilling Carlisle on the fine points of classical literature in relation to the reality of living during the time periods written about before I remembered my original intent. He gave me the names of several bookstores he used, recommending that I try to find original copies of the classics from these since money was no object. I balked at the idea at first, but it was definitely more appealing than going to a generic bookstore and picking up paperbacks. Old, well-kept books would fit the look of my room much more.
Oh, no, is Alice rubbing off on me? I thought. I supposed it was too late to worry about that, but it gave me an idea. As I left Carlisle's office, leaving Edward behind to discuss some medical condition I'd never even heard of, I listened for Alice.
I didn't have to wait long. Alice came dancing down the stairs, squealing. She ran down the hall and hugged me, twirling around in a circle.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she cried happily.
"I'm only agreeing to go with you if we hit the bookstores as well as the clothing stores," I told her firmly.
Alice giggled. "That's fine, Bella! I do know how to read, you know." She grinned when I raised my eyebrows. "Well, they do make books about fashion and design! Oh, I can't wait! We're going to have so much fun. We have four hours to shop, so we need to get going now!" She began pulling me towards the door before I knew what was happening.
"Now, every good shopping trip needs a plan of attack. Are there any specific stores you want to hit?" Alice asked as she pulled me to the garage. We were in Edward's Volvo and pulling out of the garage before I had a chance to really process how quickly she'd moved. It was as if she'd been waiting for my willing participation in her shopping addiction for a millennium instead of the few months I knew it must have been.
I told her the list Carlisle had given me and then asked wryly, "Really, Alice, was it necessary to practically kidnap me?"
"Yes, it was. If I hadn't moved quickly, Emmett was going to try and foist Rosalie on us. I didn't see that turning out well. She needs more time. He means well, but Rose is stubborn, kind of like you, Bella," she told me. "Besides, I wanted some alone time with my new sister! I've got you all to myself, and Edward doesn't get you back until I feel like returning you. Isn't that great?" she sang out.
"Um, Alice, I'm not human anymore. I'm pretty sure I could make my way back if I really wanted to," I told her, amused at how happy she was.
"Yes, but you won't because you love me and want me to be happy, which is why you're going shopping with me. This will be so much better than shopping with Rose! At least you won't constantly be looking at yourself in the mirror and any passing reflective surface and ignoring me!" She rolled her eyes. "So I know you'll stay with me to make me happy, which already makes me happy!"
I didn't even try to wrap my mind around that one. Instead, I took the opportunity of having her alone to ask some questions I'd been dying to.
"Alice, what do we do at night? I mean, Edward never really talked about your night life in depth, and the nights have pretty much consisted of a lot of running and plotting for me since I became a vampire, except for last night. What is there to do at night?"
Alice's eyes widened. "There's everything, silly! We do tend to indulge our hobbies more at night, spending alone time or...well, the physical is entirely possible even for vampires, as I'm sure you've guessed by now," she said with a light laugh. I would have blushed if I could anymore. "During the day is usually family time. We're different from other vampires that way. They usually travel during the day or hide somewhere, especially if they're in a sunny climate. They travel at night, feed, and that's about it. Oh, some of them have hobbies, and they manage to fit them into their time, but they're usually very portable hobbies. That's one of the many benefits of our lifestyle, to me anyway. I hated being a nomad," she said with a small frown. "It was especially bad before I met Jasper."
"How did you two meet?" I asked curiously.
"Well, I'd seen Jasper so many times in my visions since waking up as a vampire, and I knew that as long as I decided to be with him one day, it was going to happen, but he was incredibly infuriating. He left his...former coven quite abruptly and traveled around the United States for some time, and it was difficult to catch up to him. When I finally did, in a diner of all places, I was so excited! I said to him, 'You've kept me waiting.' And he just said, 'Sorry, ma'am,' and ducked his head down a little like he really was sorry. It was so adorable! We've been together ever since," Alice said happily. "We only joined the Cullens recently, and you know that it's been pretty hard for Jasper. It hurts him to kill humans, emotionally, because of his gift. He doesn't have the same aversion to human blood that Carlisle does, but he got so depressed over the years from feeding on humans that he decided to give the life a try, to see if it would help. It does, but it's so hard for him because he still loves the taste of human blood," she told me sadly.
"I guess we have something in common," I whispered.
Alice stared at me, shock practically radiating from her.
"Alice!" I cried. "Look at the road, for pity's sake!"
She turned back to the road quickly, but her fingers were digging into the steering wheel so hard they were leaving indents. "What do you mean?" she asked.
"I found out when I tried human blood that I really love it, too, Alice. It's going to be hard for me, but, unlike Jasper, I really believe that the vegetarian life is the best for everyone. I'd be surprised that more vampires don't try it, since it makes it so much easier to live a full life undetected but...I understand that it takes a lot of willpower to resist. I'm determined to have that willpower, though," I said firmly, as much to convince myself as her.
"Have you told Edward any of this yet?" she asked quietly.
"No. He was so worried about me becoming a vampire, I didn't want him to think that it was causing me any more pain than necessary," I answered. "When I told him about how I was changed...how much it hurt...I think he was almost feeling the same amount of pain himself, and he can't even read my mind to relive that horror with me. I feel a little guilty that I did that to him, even though at the time I thought he deserved it. I still do, actually." I felt my lips tighten a little at the remembered pain of his rejection.
"I really wish I'd been watching for you as he left, Bella. I just have this feeling that I could have prevented the whole mess with Victoria if I had," Alice said, reaching out to squeeze my hand. I squeezed back.
"I don't blame you. If anyone was to blame it was Victoria, and she's gone now," I told her comfortingly.
She glanced at me again, turning her eyes back to the road quickly before I could scold. "You blamed Edward, too, when we were in Brazil," she said, sounding as if she were talking about the weather.
My lips twisted a little. "I did. I don't know that I've gotten over that all the way, either, to be completely honest. Maybe that's why it's so hard to accept his love again. If he hadn't lied to me and left..."
She nodded, and then her head whipped around again. "Wait, so you know he does love you? When did you figure that one out?" she asked with a grin.
"Not long after agreeing to give us a second chance, but don't you dare tell him, Alice! Don't even think about it around him, or I'm never going shopping with you again, not for centuries!" I threatened her and then pointed towards the road. She swiveled her head back into a generally straight direction, but she kept glancing at me out of the corner of her eye. "Edward deserves to suffer a little more for what he did, just so that he'll never try that one again," I continued firmly.
"I'm glad to see that you're finally standing up to him, but he really did suffer over his decision, even before we left," she told me.
I nodded. "Which should have told him he was making the wrong decision. I really need to talk with him about why he was so against my becoming a vampire," I muttered.
"He loves you, and he didn't want you to be in pain," was all Alice could come up with. We were quiet for the few remaining minutes of the drive.
EPOV
I grinned at Carlisle. "It looks like Alice got Bella to agree to go shopping again," I said as we listened to their quickly fading footsteps.
We're taking your car, Edward, I heard Alice think. I just shook my head and chuckled a little. I knew Alice had been waiting for exactly this moment. She knew that there had to be something Bella would want to buy for herself eventually, and she was perfectly willing to take full advantage of that. I also heard her thoughts about Rosalie and sighed a little in exasperation at my older sister. Alice was right, though. Rose wasn't ready.
Carlisle and I settled into a thoughtful silence. We used to just sit like this often before I met Bella, and it was nice that life was finally settling down enough to just enjoy each other's company again. After several minutes, though, Carlisle caught my gaze. I could see several questions in his eyes, although I was doing my best to give him the privacy of his mind by thinking of other things, like how Bella was going to fit into this life of ours.
Are you really alright, son? Carlisle thought. I know it hurt you that Bella didn't immediately accept you again.
I shook my head a little. "No, Carlisle, I understand why she feels the way she does. I hurt her, I left her, and then unspeakable horrors occurred. Why should she just accept that I never stopped loving her and go on like nothing bad happened? Also, you know that I worried about taking her...soul from her. I still don't think it was the best option for her," I said miserably.
Are you upset that she really wasn't given the choice in the end, just as you weren't? Carlisle's thoughts were filled with guilt. He knew how hard I had taken my new way of life at first.
I laughed bitterly. "I think that's the worst part, Father," I said, using the word I rarely spoke aloud. "I'm so happy that I will have her forever that I don't even care how it happened. I'm such a selfish bastard. I am unhappy that her parents had to die to bring her to me, but I'm ecstatic that I'll get to be with her for eternity."
Carlisle's eyebrows raised. I thought she hasn't made up her mind yet, he thought.
"No, she hasn't. But I will never give up, so it's only a matter of time," I said with more determination than I'd ever felt before in my existence.
Carlisle nodded slowly, a smile playing on his lips. He immediately sobered with his next thought. I don't know what to do about Rosalie and Bella. The thought was reluctant. Carlisle didn't like being unable to make things better between them.
I sighed, although the action brought no relief, as usual. "We have to let them figure it out themselves, I think. Rose is just going to have to learn to live with her, no matter what resentments she harbors." I would say no more than that. I may not like the things I heard in Rosalie's mind, but I would keep silent on them to everyone but her.
BPOV
We returned home from shopping to find Edward in the music room, playing the grand piano there. This was the first house I ever lived in that had such a thing as a music room. Even the Cullens' home in Forks had been fairly informal; Edward's piano had been placed in the front room there. I left my purchases in my room to go through later and went down to sit on a small chaise in the music room, just enjoying the beauty of Edward's music. I closed my eyes to better appreciate the sound alone, since looking at the man I loved distracted me too much. I tried not to think, simply letting the music wash over me.
I don't know how long we stayed like that before I felt someone else come in and sit down on the edge of the chaise next to me. I inhaled Esme's lovely scent and smiled. She smelled so much like she acted, all roses and moonlight and love. It was a wonderful thing to sit next to her, listening to Edward's music. Her hand reached for mine and, with my eyes still closed, I let her pull me into a loose embrace. It felt so comfortable, and comforting, as I let myself drift there with two of the people I loved most in the world just then.
The moment came to an end when Jasper walked in. I opened my eyes as Edward brought his current song to an end. We all looked at Jasper expectantly, Edward with a smile in his eyes.
"Bella, would you like to learn how to play chess tonight? I know you weren't fond of it as a human, but the mind of a vampire makes it much easier, I promise. You might even come to enjoy it," he said hopefully.
I smiled, pleased and touched that Jasper had thought to include me in this way. True, he was probably just hoping for a fresh partner to play with, but it was nice anyway.
"I'll give it a try, Jasper," I said willingly, pulling away from Esme with a final hug. I tried to remember that I was stronger than her and be gentle. She laughed at me a little and hugged me tight, then let me go.
"I'll be honest with you," I told him as he set up the board in the living room, a room that was probably once a sitting room or formal parlor because it had such high ceilings. "Just looking at you, I wouldn't take you for a chess kind of man."
He smiled at me. "I've had a long history of war, Bella, and chess is a game of strategy," he told me.
"Really? You've been in wars?" I asked. I knew Jasper was Southern, although the slight drawl had faded almost to nothing by his years as a vampire. I had no idea when he'd even become a vampire, though. I wondered if he meant the wars of the previous century. He seemed a little young to have been in both World War I and World War II, but I could see him having enough time to catch the end of World War II and the beginning of the Korean War before the change.
"Yes. I was an officer in the Confederate Army," he told me quietly. He smiled a little at my wide eyes. "Remind me to tell you my story some time when I'm not trying to teach you chess," he chided gently, and I laughed a little sheepishly. It was so hard to get used to, sometimes, even now that I was a vampire myself. Perhaps I'd accept it more nonchalantly once I had a century or two behind me myself.
We settled in to play. I could hear movement throughout the house, voices echoing clearly through the halls, but I tried my best to focus on the game. To my surprise, I found that Jasper was right. Chess was much easier for me as a vampire. I wasn't as impatient, and it was easier to understand the moves. Still, I lost three games before calling it quits for the evening. I was happy to see that Jasper had enjoyed himself. I could feel it, too, a radiating contentment.
As I left the living room with Jasper, Edward and Emmett approached us. Alice, Carlisle and Esme were following close behind, looking expectant. I was about to ask what was going on when Edward moved forward to grab my hand.
"Do me a favor, Bella?" he whispered so low that I knew only I could hear him. I looked at him warily but nodded. "Challenge Emmett to an arm wrestling match. Please?"
I stared at him as if he'd lost his mind. Then I looked at Emmett. Then I stared at Edward some more. Really, was he trying to get me killed?
His hand ran up my arm to encircle my biceps, and he leaned closer still, his words barely a breath against the shell of my ear. "Remember, newborn strength." It was all he had to say.
I knew Emmett was proud of his strength, and I also knew that he liked to good-naturedly torment his brothers and sister with it, although he was always careful to keep his teasing verbal with Rosalie. I imagined that Edward, Alice and Jasper, and even Carlisle and Esme, would be happy to see him defeated, even if it was just this once. I nodded a little reluctantly.
"Emmett," I said, still a little hesitant. "What would you say to a little challenge?"
His eyes lit up. "Oh, yeah! Bring it, little sis!"
I smiled sweetly at him, although I really wanted to laugh at the way Alice was nodding her head wildly in encouragement. "You, me, arm wrestling, now." I said as confidently as I could.
His eyes wide with excitement, Emmett grabbed my other hand and pulled me towards the back door. The light had long ago faded behind the trees, and I marveled yet again that I could see everything as plainly as if it was still noon. "We can't do it in the house. I'd hate to break any of Esme's furniture trouncing you. Will this do?" he asked, stopping beside a large, strangely flat rock to one side of the garage and looking eagerly at me, like a big puppy. I looked at everyone who had followed us warily, but they all just nodded encouragingly. I think they were just waiting to see Emmett taught a very important lesson in pride, although I really didn't think I'd be able to do that. Maybe they'd see me taught a lesson in pride instead. I also saw a golden head peering out from one of the first floor windows. Well, I knew there was at least one person hoping for the latter outcome.
I gritted my teeth and leaned over the stone, holding out my hand towards Emmett. He gripped mine, still grinning.
"You did ask for this, Bella," he said happily.
"Let's just get it over with, Em," I ordered him grimly. "One, two-"
"Three!" he crowed.
I stared at him, puzzled, as I wondered when he was going to start pushing his hand against mine. Then I realized that he already was. I could feel the force he was using; a small part of my mind calculated that it was the equivalent of approximately twenty bulldozers all pushing an object at once. My hand hadn't budged at all, though, and I felt as relaxed as if I was sitting there reading a good book. I smiled a little, inordinately happy that I was able to best him at this point in time. I flexed a little, and his hand moved down three inches. Our family cheered beside us.
I grinned at Emmett. "Sorry," I said, no apology in my voice as I slammed his hand down onto the stone with enough force to crack it neatly in two. His half crashed into him because he wasn't prepared, and he actually moved a little as its weight settled against him. I kept mine balanced with my toe.
Emmett stared at me in shock. I chuckled. He shook his head slowly, then turned and looked at our family, all of whom were still cheering. His eyes got even wider, and I turned to see Rosalie on the edge of the crowd. She gave me a very small smile before disappearing back into the house the next second.
I reached out a hand to my brother. "No hard feelings, Emmett?" I asked.
He pulled me into his arms, and I let him mess up my hair a little. I could tell he needed it. "No, little sis, but we are definitely having a rematch every day until you're not a newborn anymore, and then I'm going to get you!" He told me, laughing. I was glad he was able to take it so well.
We all went inside, laughing. Edward hugged me close and then suggested, "Why don't we all go see that vampire movie that just came out? I bet it's pretty funny!" There was immediate agreement, and Emmett went to find Rosalie, muttering about how he wasn't going to let her guilt him for not making her go with us.
I decided I was definitely enjoying my first full day as a Cullen.