Alice insisted that we needed to make one more shopping trip to finish off Nessie's spring wardrobe, and on a cloudy Saturday we headed off to the nearest city with stores acceptable - almost - to Alice's exacting requirements. Jacob closed his shop for the day and joined the core committee of Nessie, Alice, and myself, willing to put up with a day of clothes shopping in exchange for spending the time with Nessie. He even agreed to change his own clothes for the occasion, in keeping with the agreement between himself and Alice.

"Is this really going to take the whole day?" Jacob asked from the back seat as we headed out.

"It's a little early to start whining," Alice told him sternly.

"I'm just asking!"

"Maybe not," she conceded. "We need just a few more outfits for the rest of the school year, a couple of things for weekends and holidays, and of course a dress for the dance."

"What dance is that?"

"This thing the school is putting on," Nessie explained.

"A freshman/sophomore dance they have in the spring," I said.

"Like the prom?" Jake asked.

"No, only the higher grades go to prom, so the school holds this semi-formal a couple of months earlier, to give the younger students something to attend."

Nessie grimaced. "It's supposed to teach us social skills."

"Like how to spike the punch?" Jacob suggested.

Nessie laughed. "How to dance The Worm."

"Getting the fire sprinklers to go off."

"Convincing one of the teachers to start a conga line."

"Challenging another student to a duel!"

I looked back at them. "Obviously there's no need for either of you to learn social skills."

Jacob smirked at me. "All those things require tremendous poise and finesse, I'll have you know." Nessie giggled. "So how does the social skills dance work?" he asked Nessie. "They herd you all into the gym with a bad cover band, and bar the exits?"

"And don't let us out until we've danced at least one dance, in front of a reliable witness," she laughed. "No, only the upper grades get a live band. We get a DJ, though."

"You going by yourself?" he asked casually.

"Yeah."

"Uh huh." A second later, he asked, "Didn't anybody invite you? You know, as a date?" Poor Jake. In theory, he should be ambivalent about Nessie dating boys, but he was far more concerned with Nessie feeling left out because boys didn't want to date her.

"Oh, sure," she said, "lots of them." I suppressed a smile. "But I thought I'd rather not go with anybody in particular." She leaned forward to speak to me. "Brad Nixon asked me. He was really polite about it."

"What did you say?"

"I told him no, but thanks for asking me without being insulting. He just took off."

"At least you haven't made an enemy."

She grimaced. "I don't know why he has to be like that. He seems like a nice guy, basically, but he makes himself obnoxious."

"Maybe he's just shy."

She shrugged. Shyness was only a theoretical concept to her.

Alice veered rapidly into a parking space near one of the few shops she approved of. Weekend traffic was bad in downtown Portland, but Alice had already dismissed the mall as inadequate for our purposes. "I'd love to take both of you to New York for a few days," she sighed, examining the Italian imports in the shop window with resignation before leading us through the door.

Jacob trailed along behind us. "When you have to travel through several states to find clothes," he told Alice, "maybe it's time to consider you might be too picky."

She didn't even bother to answer. A smiling but slightly condescending salesperson approached to ask if we needed help. Alice rattled off a list of requirements, including sizes in both American and European numbering, and a list of designers in order of preference, then turned away, obviously expecting the woman to run off and start fetching. As someone who'd always been intimidated by salespeople, this was one part of shopping with Alice I usually enjoyed.

Before her minion had even returned, Alice had gathered an armful of items and sent Nessie to the fitting room to try them on. Jacob found a chair in a corner by the handbags and accessories, and settled in with a sigh. Meanwhile, the woman deputized by Alice had returned with a selection of dresses suitable for a sophomore dance, and also with another employee, a pretty girl in a pink sweater set. "That's all we need for now," Alice told the older woman, effectively dismissing her.

"Just let us know if you need help with anything," she said, withdrawing. She whispered to the girl in pink before returning to her station at the back of the store, evidently telling her to hover in our vicinity, I assumed either because we looked like high rollers who might expect personal attention, or because she suspected us of being shoplifters. After being effectively straight-armed by Alice, the girl withdrew to Jacob's corner, and seemed to be striking up a casual conversation with him.

Nessie came out of the dressing room in a simple skirt and blouse, in keeping with her school's dress code. Alice added a belt and fabric hair band, and turned her in our direction for approval. I smiled at her, and she turned to Jacob. "That looks great," he called to her.

The girl in pink studied them rather carefully. Her thoughts were almost audible: Nessie looked sufficiently younger than Jacob, and Jacob's manner was paternal enough, to let her assume Jake was some kind of big brother figure or old family friend. "She's cute," she said to Jacob, referring to Nessie.

"Yeah," Jacob said affectionately, watching Nessie. "She's a sweetie."

Pink girl seemed happy with this reply. "Do you go to school around here?"

"No, I graduated last year. I work now."

"Oh, really? What kind of work?"

"Mechanic."

Nessie noted their conversation as she returned to the fitting room. She emerged wearing one of Alice's selections for the school's dance, a pale yellow dress with a square neckline and slightly flared skirt. She looked pretty and graceful yet still girlish, so I was happy with it. Alice examined it with a critical eye.

"What do you think, Jacob?" Nessie twirled for him.

"Looks beautiful, Critter," he said.

Nessie paused a moment to watch him with the girl from the store. Jacob was making her laugh, comparing her job with that of auto mechanic. It was obvious to me the girl was flirting with him, and I could see the exact moment Nessie realized it. She raised her eyebrows, stared at them a moment, and wandered back into the little room to try on the next dress.

Alice grabbed me by the collar and urged me into the fitting room with a pale blue cashmere pullover and a pair of slacks. She declared my outfit a keeper, helped Nessie come to a decision about the dance dress - they took the yellow one I liked - and Alice passed it all on to store personnel for processing. A few minutes later, as the pink girl managed to convey to Jacob that she was here at the store most weekends until 6:00, we took up our packages and headed for the car. Alice made a stop at another store for shoes and a third for accessories, and conceded that enough had been done that morning to allow a lunch break for Jacob. For that, she agreed, the mall would suffice.

We found a table for four in the food court and waited while Jacob foraged. Since Jacob typically ate more than the average human being, we easily covered up the fact that Alice and I were not eating by simply spreading his selections out across the table. The non-eaters would toy with food containers, exchanging our full ones for Jacob's empties as required. Nessie nibbled delicately on a cinnamon roll.

"Jacob, we should get you some clothes while we're here," Alice suggested. He glared at her over the top of his smoothie cup. "Hey, I've kept my part of the bargain. Isn't your bank account growing as we speak?"

"Yeah, it is. It's kind of scary how much money is coming in."

"Well, then."

He shrugged. "Okay, clothes it is. But from here, okay? Not from some designer shop."

"I can manage very well with the mall if I have to."

Alice was even more efficient than usual, setting Jacob up with four ensembles within thirty minutes. We also chose an outfit for William and one for Mila, assuming that presenting them when clothing was being distributed to half the family would make the gift more acceptable. "Carlisle and I are working on a way to get them a regular income," Alice confided. "We're hoping to have a plan ready for when they get back from Quebec."

"I'd guess it doesn't involve playing fiddle at the bus station," Jacob said.

Alice laughed. "Oddly enough, it kind of does. But all will be revealed in time!"

"Not like he can work a nine to five job."

"It wouldn't be easy. And he'd have to leave it behind and find another one every few years. Like you have to leave your auto thingie."

He nodded, frowning, but Alice was too distracted to notice she'd been inadvertently unkind. She stopped short in front of a menswear shop. "Ooh, Jacob! You need one of those!"

"Thanks for telling me." He was already being pulled along.

"Alice!" I called after her. "I'm going into the bookstore. I'll meet you at the entrance."

"Okay," she agreed, already flipping through racks. "Nessie, you going with her or staying?"

"I'll go." She walked along with me through the busy corridors, glancing at windows as we passed. "It's too bad Jacob has to close down his shop, after working so hard to get it going."

"Yes, it's a shame."

She fell silent, and I thought that was the end of the discussion. She said suddenly, "That girl at the store downtown, I think she was flirting with Jacob."

"Yes, I think so."

"Jacob never goes out on dates or anything, does he?"

"Um, no, I've never known him to."

There was another silence. I wondered if this was leading anywhere in particular.

"Momma, what happens if Jacob wants to get married some day? He'd want to stay in one place, so he could keep the same job, and have a house for his wife and maybe his family, right?"

"I suppose he would."

"It would seem strange not to have him with us, though." She seemed lost in thought, and continued to muse in silence while I browsed the bookshelves and walked back half an hour later to meet Alice and Jake.

Alice seemed to have done well; they were both carrying armloads of bags. "I think my work here is done!" she declared, and we headed for the parking lot, stowed the day's shopping in the trunk, and started for home.

When we had a moment alone, I told Edward about my little exchange with Nessie.

"I caught some of it in her thoughts," he said. "It's weighing on her mind a bit."

"Does this indicate any kind of breakthrough for her? I mean, in terms of...maturity?"

He smiled. "She's not really seeing Jacob as a potential boyfriend, if that's what you mean. But it is a breakthrough of another kind. This is the first time she's even questioned Jacob's presence in her life. He's always simply been there. He's been her Jacob. Now she's begun to think of him as a person in his own right, with needs and wishes of his own. I suppose it is a necessary first step."

"A first step?"

"If they do marry, some day," we shared a familiar glance of wistfulness at our daughter's brief, nearly concluded childhood, "she'll have to accept him as more than just her property. It would be a very unequal partnership, otherwise."

"Yes; but Jake would put up with it. I feel sorry for him sometimes. The imprinting thing makes him so abject. Nessie could push him around and take advantage of him as much as she wants, and he'd just take it. Not that she'd be mean to him on purpose," I quickly added, "but until now, she's hardly given him any thought, just expected him to always be there, giving her whatever she needed at the time."

He nodded thoughtfully. "As I said, it's a start."

After three weeks with the Denalis, Mila and William returned to Maine, more firmly resolved than ever to stay. Jasper had arranged for the paperwork necessary to establish them as permanent residents. The morning after they returned, while Nessie was at school and Jacob at his shop, Carlisle asked the couple to join us for a short family meeting. We gathered around the dining table, standing this time, while Jasper presented them with citizenship papers, including a driver's license for each.

"That particular document is a worse fabrication than the others," William said, holding up his license. "I have never been inside a motor vehicle, much less driven one."

"But Kate let me drive while we were visiting," Mila said. "It's not as difficult as I'd remembered. You can learn to drive, and make the license valid after the fact." William looked skeptical, but agreed to try.

"The other issue we need to deal with," Carlisle said, "is that of your financial independence. This is something we've all found essential to living as we do. A nomad can manage with no possessions save the clothes on his back. For us to pass as human and live a settled life requires funding. We would all be happy to extend our support, provided you are comfortable with such a situation."

The two looked at each other. "I must confess, I am uneasy at being maintained at your family's expense."

Carlisle nodded. "I understand. Jacob felt much the same way. He chose an alternative arrangement: he invested a portion of his income where Alice, using her gift, indicated it would gain value quickly. He will soon have a competence of his own. We would be happy to make similar arrangements for both of you."

"Very kind of you," William said, "but we have no income with which to begin the transaction."

"But you do." Carlisle smiled at Alice. "You still have, I understand, a little money you collected by playing music in public places."

William laughed. "No more than a few dollars!"

"That's all we'd need," Alice said cheerfully. "If you spend even five or ten dollars on a stock that doubles in value within the week, then invest your doubled money on another stock that doubles, and so on, you'd be rich before the year is out. Just hand me ten bucks, and I'll make you a fortune."

"And once you have sufficient capital," Jasper told them, "you can live indefinitely off the interest, or further investments if you care to make them."

"We maintain our comfortable living based on Alice's insight," Carlisle explained.

"It seems like taking advantage of you," Mila said doubtfully.

"This information pops into my head without any effort," Alice said. "If it makes you feel better, pay me one cent first."

"One cent?" Mila asked, confused.

"A penny for my thoughts." She grinned impishly, and they couldn't help but laugh.

"A reliable income is essential to our way of life," Carlisle told them. "We have to be able to relocate when needed. and to maintain the trappings of human existence. It is not feasible for most of us to work for a living. We all appreciate and admire how far you have both come, and we look forward to being able to continue our friendship. Please, let us make this final step possible for you."

Mila looked at William, who shrugged. "It seems best," he said, and she nodded. He turned back to Carlisle. "Very well. I place all my worldly wealth in your capable hands." He dragged a handful of change and crumpled bills from his pockets and dumped them on the table. "We await your instructions."

"We'll have to make sure you have enough money to either buy or rent a place to live. The cabin is only yours until the end of June." Carlisle looked over at Alice, who nodded confidently. "It seems that will not be a problem."

"I'll start scouting the area for something available as of summer," Esme offered.

We left our new cousins to be instructed in modern banking and investment procedures by Jasper and Emmett.

In the evening, after Nessie had gone to bed, we were enjoying our usual multi-level family gathering, this time expanded to include our newest friends. William turned to Carlisle. "You know, while we were up north, we did a bit more experimenting with my shield, of the kind we tried earlier. We expanded the range of tests, and your friend Eleazar asked me to mention something to you. He made quite a point of it. He said to be sure and tell you that my shield is impervious to fire."

Carlisle looked up. "You actually tried it?"

"Aye, we did. Eleazar had me expand my shield, for safety's sake, while he tried some sort of device that shoots flame against it. I had no difficulty, no matter what kind of fire he used or what arrangement he had me make with my shield. He seemed altogether fascinated with that aspect of it."

"As am I," murmured Carlisle.

At that moment, Alice got to her feet, her eyes wild and staring. "Oh!"

Edward looked up from the piano keys. "Alice?" An instant later, he appeared to see what Alice was seeing, and his expression changed to one of shock.

"Oh, my goodness!" Alice whispered. "So much...! I don't know..."

Edward was looking at her, following her thoughts. "Which is it?"

"I can't tell yet! So many possible decisions," Alice said, shaking her head in agitation.

They definitely had our attention. "Edward? Alice? Can you tell us what is happening?" Carlisle asked.

Edward stared at his sister a moment longer, then turned away with an effort. "There are changes coming up in the future. Probably long term future, maybe short. Having to do with the Volturi, and ourselves."

"Changes?" Jasper asked tensely. His eyes went back to Alice, who had emerged from her vision.

"A lot of potential changes," she explained. "Nothing definite yet, but most of the possible outcomes are significant."

"Significant how? What are the possibilities?"

She told him.

We all sat quietly a few minutes, stunned into stillness.

At last Carlisle spoke. "We have to contact Tanya. Our entire...extended family need to have a meeting." He looked over at Mila and William. "Our entire family. That does include you, as far as we are concerned. I'm sorry to burden you with all this so soon, and after you have been through so many important decisions, but it seems your presence here has set off some potential changes. You are under no obligation to participate in any decisions we make; however, I hope you will at least join our discussion, and contribute any thoughts or suggestions you might have."

They looked at each other. "We can certainly agree to that much," William said.

Carlisle contacted Tanya by email, telling her only that there was a rather serious matter he wanted the entire group to discuss in person. She responded shortly afterward, and a meeting was set for the following Sunday night, at a point roughly halfway between our home and the Denalis'. Carlisle mentioned that William and Mila, or the Dunoon Coven, as Emmett had taken to calling them, would be attending as well.

"Good," Tanya replied. "From what Eleazar tells me, their input will be essential.

Nessie's dance was on the Saturday before the scheduled meeting. She put on the dress Alice had picked out, then Alice, Esme, Rosalie and I gathered round to do her hair, put on her necklace, and generally exclaim over how pretty she looked. She seemed like a princess from a fairy tale, surrounded by handmaids, except that Nessie was too egalitarian to play the role properly. She asked if any of us had been to dances. Rosalie had a great deal of positive experience with those; Esme a little; Alice recalled some memorable school dances she'd attended with Jasper after they found Carlisle's family; and I was able to contribute my own ambivalent experience at the single prom I'd attended.

We took Nessie downstairs, the four of us preceding her down the steps like bridesmaids, but Nessie laughing at the attention and refusing to take the whole thing seriously. A room full of teenagers at an event intended to test and showcase your social skills - what's to worry about, right? It would have been a nightmare for me. I envied her calm assurance a little. Jacob was there to see her off, first offering a small nosegay of flowers in honour of the occasion - not a corsage, since he was not her date, I noted. Jacob was being scrupulous about such things. Nessie hugged him warmly and insisted on placing them in water before leaving.

Edward and I drove her to the dance, Nessie reaching over the back seat most of the way, to make contact and present us with a series of images - possible mishaps that might occur at a school dance, all of them funny. Her humorous take on the dance got Edward to stop treating it like a major, life-changing event, and we kissed her goodbye at the door and promised to pick her up when it was over. She waved to us, and disappeared into a sea of fourteen- and fifteen-year-olds. None were as pretty as Nessie, or as well dressed, but she blended in effortlessly, waving at classmates and giving Meghan a hug. Nessie was politely admiring Meghan's ghoulish black dress as the door swung shut on us.

When we got back, Jacob was still at the house. "They asked me to stay here," he said. "What's going on?" He looked at me suspiciously, as if expecting me to find more things from six or seven years back to berate him over.

Carlisle came to sit across from Jacob. "We all have to leave Sunday evening to meet with Tanya's family. William and Mila as well."

"Okay. So, you want me to go with you, or what?"

"No, that's not it. We have no idea how long it might take, and we would rather not include Renesmee on this occasion."

I chimed in, "We were hoping you could stay here, keep an eye on her - not that she needs much care at this point - and if we take a long time, get her to school Monday morning."

"Sure, I can do that. What's the meeting for?"

We'd already talked about informing Jacob. It seemed like a good idea. "Some information came out concerning our new friends. This led to Alice seeing some future events we all need to be aware of."

Jake's eyes grew wide as Carlisle filled him in. "Okay," he said at last. "Consider me informed. You'll keep me posted on anything else Alice sees?"

"Absolutely. We may need your help with this at some point. Yours, and possibly the pack's as well."

"You've got it," Jacob told him without hesitation.

"We're grateful."

Jake shook his head impatiently. "But how far into the future are we talking about?"

"Probably many years. That's one thing Alice is trying to pinpoint."

"What do you have planned?"

"At the moment, nothing," Carlisle admitted. "That's the purpose of this meeting."