I sighed and tried to relax as I allowed myself to sink into the plush first-class seat that I occupied. I did not need to rest, at least not physically. However, the past few hours had been an emotional strain on me. I pretended to sleep as I recalled the scene at our home from earlier this morning.

I remembered watching Bella and Nessie drive away with the other women in my family, headed to Portland for a twenty-four hour shopping trip. I stood on the porch and waved until my sharp eyesight could no longer see the back of the Volvo that they required with five passengers. I felt the acute pain in my chest as I faced an entire day without my mate. Then, slowly my thoughts were turned to the mind directly behind me, at another heart…one that was actually beating, but whose rhythm was abnormal, skipping beats, as its owner yearned for an occupant of that car, as well. I turned, intending on glowering at Jacob, but when I saw his broken expression, I sighed instead and clapped him on the shoulder.

I left minutes later, and was preparing for take-off the same time the girls would be arriving in Portland. I checked my phone right before the flight attendants requested electronics to be shut off, and was relieved that there were no texts from Alice. That meant that there were no variations to the future that would interrupt my plan.

My luggage was stowed; I traveled light for this trip. All I had was a change of clothes, necessary traveling documents, a safe amount of cash—not enough to be suspicious if I were to be stopped in the security screening process-- and a camera case with an outdated camera and four rolls of film.

I spent the duration of the flight thinking of my Bella and wondering what she was doing. I knew that the idea of shopping was not any more appealing to her now than it was as a human, but being immortal changed her perspective of things. She did not tire now, and time was something of which we had plenty, so it was easier for her to be patient during these excursions. I imagined she missed me; I wondered if it was half as much as I missed her.

As the pilot was asking us to prepare for landing, my hand was itching to turn on my phone, to see if there were any messages from her. At my first possible opportunity, I switched it on. One text was there, this one from Alice:

We arrived safely. So will you. Everything is still the same on your end. The cryptic message was all I needed to energize me for my plan. I was so excited to give my bride this gift; a gift that I knew, deep down, that she would treasure more than any bauble or car I could buy her. My Bella was becoming easier to understand. The gifts that she accepted with grace came from the heart, not the store.

Soon the plane landed, and although I was slightly annoyed at the pilot's sloppy landing sequence, I made myself smile and appear relieved to blend in with the other passengers as I disembarked. Since I traveled only with a carry-on, I was able to bypass the congested luggage claim area and head straight to the rental car counter. I selected my car carefully, fully for function on this trip, not style. I asked them to pull the car up to the adjacent, covered loading area and waited just inside the doors, watching passengers both coming and going, the former wearing sad or weary looks on their faces and the ladder seemingly relieved and excited to be going home.

I had neither expression on my face as I approached the rental car being parked for me. I slipped the tip into the driver's hand as he exited the car and I slipped behind the wheel. My small bag sat in the passenger seat beside me, and the sight of it was a visible reminder of what I was here to accomplish. I pulled away from the airport, driving from perfect recall toward the place I had visited once before, on a vacation with my Bella.

I parked down the street, searching the thoughts around me as was my routine, looking for anything dangerous or suspicious. The mundane thoughts were exactly what I expected to hear. No one took notice of my arrival and I sensed no danger in the area. One final time, I looked at my phone, checking for a message from Alice announcing a change in the future. I noticed the alert confirming that I did, in fact, have a message:

Stop worrying and checking for messages from me!!! I will CALL you if something changes. Switch your phone from "silent" to "vibrate," just in case.

I grinned at my sister's jab and did as she instructed. Immediately, I got another text:

Thank you!

I shook my head, still smiling. Then, I grabbed my bag, secured my phone in the side pocket, and stepped out of the car into the thick Jacksonville heat.

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I could not have timed my trip better. The Atlantic coast was experiencing a heat wave for February. It was approaching eighty-five degrees. This had residents breaking out their shorts and tank-tops the past few days. However, thankfully Florida was also well known for its sporadic rainstorms and fickle weather. This provided me intermittent cloud cover, and thanks to my omniscient sister, I knew exactly when I would be able to be out in the Jacksonville heat, and when I would have to stay indoors. I had exactly seventeen minutes of cloud cover before the sun would escape the clouds. I would need only a fraction of that time to secure what I came for.

I sauntered up to the yellow house down the street, searching for a familiar voice that would warn of being discovered. There were no voices coming from the house—Renee and Phil were out. I streaked at vampire speed to the porch, found the key hidden there, and was inside the house before any of the neighbors could notice me, if they were looking. Once inside, I swept the interior with my eyes, searching for any danger as a reflex. Finding none, I reached inside the bag and pulled out the camera, loaded with a new roll of film.

As I lifted the camera to my eyes, I was reminded of doing the same thing, a lifetime ago, in a different living room. I remember looking through the lens, staring at Bella and Charlie standing there stiffly, and taking a picture of the most beautiful creature I had ever encountered. Both in the memory and now, my chest ached, but for different reasons. Then,for fearing that my presence was a danger to her. Now, for knowing that leaving her was the biggest danger of all.

I forced myself into the present, and started snapping. I took pictures of the living room and kitchen. I took pictures of the mantle that held snapshots of Bella and her mother, through the years. I took a picture of Renee and Phil's wedding portrait that was hanging on the wall. I captured the sight of the spare bedroom, where Bella stayed during our one visit. It was a perfect representation of Renee—disorganized and cluttered with the cast-off reminders of her latest fads. A stack of books were piled in the corner, a scrapbooking table with the appropriate tools stood beside bed, which was holding an exercise ball and miscellaneous exercise bands.

I skipped Renee and Phil's room and bathroom, trying to afford them some amount of privacy, slipping instead into the back yard. I took pictures of the house from all angles, and well as the landscape that Bella would love. Feeling confident that I captured everything that she would want to remember, I returned to my car, still monitoring the thoughts of the neighborhood.

I was listening for the phone alert just moments before it came. Alice had texted, Phil is finishing up his time at the batting cages, and Renee is grading papers. I headed for the local elementary school where Renee had informed Bella she had secured a 6 week substitution position, filling in for the young kindergarten teacher who was home on maternity leave. This part would be a bit trickier, as a man with a camera would surely attract notice loitering around an elementary school.

I pulled into the elementary school parking lot just as the sun was coming out. I searched the shadows with my eyes, looking for a safe path in the sunlight. At the same time, I searched the thoughts with my mind. Renee's familiar innocent voice was easy to spot.

Oh, I am so proud of Brice. His handwriting has improved so much since we switched the pencil from his right hand to his left hand. Who would've thought he'd be a lefty? I need to talk to his parents about switching other things at home. Where are those Post-it's….I saw her rummaging through a pile on a messy desk. Pictures, papers, and books were scattered, covering every surface of the desk.

As I located the direction of her voice, I found the window that I was certain belonged to her room. I would be able to walk in shadows to the playground, and if I sat on the bench under the tree, I would have an angle to photograph the classroom and Renee without her seeing me or the glare ruining the picture.

I paused for a moment after I decided that plan of action, giving it time to seep into Alice's visions of the future. If there was a problem with that plan, she would call me immediately. When a few seconds passed with no alert from my phone, I picked up my camera and stepped out of the car, into the shade of the building. Continuing in the shade, I sauntered into the playground, sitting down on the bench. As soon as I did, I could catch Renee's scent on the breeze. She had the windows open to her classroom, and her scent caught me by surprise. I had forgotten how much like Bella she smelled. It was not nearly the same powerful scent that I endured and adored for many months, but it was similar enough to bring Bella's human scent into the forefront of my memory. My throat burned, and at the same time, my still heart lurched. Oh, how I loved that girl.

I quickly grabbed my camera, eager to complete this portion of my plan, all the sooner to return to Bella. Pretending to take a picture of a squirrel outside of the window, I snapped a couple of pictures of the classroom, capturing Renee flitting around the room, straightening the children's desks and erasing the blackboard. Renee's thoughts revealed that she had not noticed me. Instead, she was thinking about her dinner plans with Phil. He was going to take her out to dinner, but Renee did not know where exactly they were going.

I headed back to the car, and when I had shut the door, my phone alerted me to another message from Alice. I glanced at the phone, and sure enough, there was the name of the restaurant that Phil had just decided to take Renee. I entered the unfamiliar address into the GPS, and I headed into the Jacksonville sun, protected by the dark-tinted windows.