Sunday
POV: Bella

"Hey, girls," Charlie greeted us from the couch as we passed the living room. "How did the shopping go? Did you have fun?"

"It was great, Dad." I was giddy with excitement.

"We had a lot of fun, Charlie." Alice added politely. Alice, ever the charmer, was on first-name basis with my father as well.

"Well, you sure look like you did," he grinned, eyeing our bags. "I hope you didn't spend my entire paycheck, Bella."

"Something like that," I responded with a vague smile.

As Alice effortlessly carried all of our shopping bags upstairs to my room, I made a beeline for the kitchen. I was starving and I needed some energy before we could practice waltzing.

Alice's reaction in the bookstore had been exactly as I'd expected. First, she hadn't believed her ears as she'd stared at me in shock for about a full minute. And then she'd squealed, completely beside herself with joy.

"Oh, this is going to be so exciting, Bella. I can't believe you're actually willing to do to this. Of course I'll teach you."

"Wait, Alice," I had held up my hands before she could have started twirling me around in the store itself. "Edward is coming back tomorrow. And we still have one full week of school. He'll probably be with me during my every free time."

Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't have been complaining about Edward being with me, but this was a gift I was—shockingly—willing to present to him. And I wanted it to be a surprise. Considering it would be me initiating the dance with him, I could only hope he would be proud and happy.

"There won't be that much time." I had concluded, thoroughly disappointed. Especially with me, an amateur at dancing, I would need all the time and help I could possibly get.

"We'll have to make adjustments," Alice had informed me firmly, though even her tone couldn't have possibly lessened her smile.

"Meaning?"

"Maybe I'll call Emmett and ask him to force Edward to stay longer. I'll lie and say that I saw some good game all the way in Canada. Even Edward won't be able to resist that – hopefully. That'll buy us another day."

"But didn't Esme say that Edward shouldn't miss another day of school? And I don't think one extra day is going to make that big of a difference."

"Well," Alice had explained confidently. "If we explain the real reason why we're doing this, to surprise Edward, she'll agree. After all, she's a mother. She'll want to do this at least once for him – and for you."

"I guess that's okay, then," I had smiled. "But are you sure Edward will agree to stay away for a while long?"

"Of course I'm sure he won't agree," Alice had shrugged, pulling out her phone and sending rapid texts to Esme. "But I'll make him stay away."

Despite what I'd anticipated, Alice and I didn't get to work right away with the dancing. Not only was my bedroom or any room in my house too tiny to practice a waltz—not to mention that Charlie would think we'd lost our minds—, but we didn't have any proper music to practice to.

Alice sat crossed-legged across from me in my bed, frowning thoughtfully at the CDs I'd bought earlier which were now spread across the sheets.

"I'm thinking," I began frustratedly after ten agonizing minutes of thoughtful silence in which we'd made absolutely no progress. "—that we put a bunch of CDs together and I memorize the steps to—"

"Bella, stop," Alice held up her hand. "Dancing isn't about memorizing steps." She leaped off my bed and spun gracefully around my room. "Dancing needs to come effortlessly. If you're constantly distracted of what steps to take next, you won't be focusing on enjoying the moment with Edward."

"But what if I mess up?"

"You won't. And even if you do, which I doubt, Edward's there to help you."

I fell back against the bed with a strangled gasp as a sudden thought occurred to me. "When you say he'll help me… do you mean to say that Edward knows how to dance? Like actually dance? The waltz?"

"Well, I mean, he is from the early 1900s, Bella. People back then are quite accomplished in dancing. And you know how traditional he is… "

She continued to speak, but I wasn't even listening, too busy feeling like slapping myself for being so ignorant and stupid. Well, of course, he was an accomplished dancer! Having been alive for over a hundred years, he was probably experienced in everything.

I can't believe I'd thought of something so ridiculous. I would look so foolish trying to dance with him. I'd probably stumble and fall over and make him embarrassed of me.

I should've just baked him a custom-made vampire birthday cake. Now, where would I be able to find mountain lion blood . . . ?

"I can't believe what an idiot I am," I whispered. "He already knows how to waltz. I seriously doubt he'll be impressed with my pathetic attempt. What the hell was I thinking?"

"Bella, what are you talking about?"

I ignored her question. "Alice, do you know if we'll be able to return these CDs? I'm starting to think this is a bad idea. Maybe we should just forget about his birthday."

Alice groaned. "Not this again. Bella, I'm telling you, it will be special -"

"Not that," I interrupted, trying not to sigh in disappointment. "I want to call this whole thing off. I feel like an idiot for even suggesting this. I can't waltz with the waltzer himself. I can't do a simple dance. Or even walk for that matter." I glared down at my recently freed leg. "I'm an amateur, okay? I'll look completely ridiculous and he'll just laugh at me. Just forget it."

I yanked my pillow over my face to avoid Alice's sympathetic and knowing gaze on my face.

And mainly because I didn't want her to see the pathetic tears that were escaping my eyes at an alarmingly speedy rate.

I didn't feel her weight sink into my mattress, but suddenly, she was there and tugging the pillow from my clenched fists.

"Bella," she said softly, biting her lip at the hot liquid cascading down my cheeks. "Don't cry… Look, I understand that you stupidly feel inferior to Edward because he's not human and, unlike you, much more capable of . . . -"

"Everything?" I grumbled.

"Different things," Alice finished.

I rolled my eyes, the tears already beginning to subside. "Our relationship is complicated enough as it is. And I'm so . . ." I waved my hand wildly in the air in an effort to describe myself. "Ordinary. I mean, dancing with him? Showing him that I can be physically balanced, coordinated and graceful for one night? That's worthless compared what he's done - what he does every day - for me.

"You are not ordinary, Bella. I can't believe we're even having this conversation. Edward isn't shallow. He loves you, alright? He's not going to focus on those little things. Why can't you just enjoy yourself with him?"

"Easy for you to say," I mumbled, swiping at my eyes. "You're not physically challenged."

"And it will mean a lot to him that you're trying," Alice insisted. "Come on, everybody knows you hate dancing, especially Edward, after you threw that fit when he snuck you to prom. And you actually admitted it wasn't half-bad."

"Yeah, I guess," I muttered unwillingly. "But that was him leading; I didn't have to do much. What if I make a fool of myself? What if I don't match up to Edward's standards?"

It was just the my "dancing" that wasn't up to Edward's standards. My everything didn't match up either.

"Then Edward will laugh, playfully tease you about it and his birthday will end on good note. Isn't that what you want?"

I didn't respond and Alice as if I were being deliberately difficult.

"Bella, how are you going to have a successful relationship with him if you don't get rid of these little insecurities?"

"But I'm human and he's… a vampire."

"So understandably, there are and will be differences. You need to accept that. Temporarily, at least."

"Really?" I whispered hopefully. "Do you really see me becoming like you?"

"I'm only sure if you're sure." Alice responded. "If you change your mind, your future will change."

"Never," I promised. "I want to be with him."

"Well, it's not like it's going to happen right now, so you might as well just make the best of your human experiences." I could tell Alice was getting seriously annoyed now. "Now, are we doing this thing or what? I didn't buy you three hundred dollars worth of dancing shoes for nothing."

I shrieked, "Three hundred dollars? Dancing shoes? When did you buy those? You were with me the whole time today. Seriously, Alice, what are you – I don't need—"

"Sheesh, Bella, I'm just kidding, but you should have seen your face. Haha."