(15) Premonition
The Town Car pulled up to the curb on the busiest street in Los Angeles, Rodeo Drive. The brick building was not very flashy except for an ornate door with silver paneling. A few girls lingered at the entrance looking at the window displays of diamond solitaire necklaces and Harry Winston earrings. Alice hopped out of the car and Jasper followed. I trailed behind Edward and peeked at the sky still ominous no hint of sun.
We walked through the doors to the lighted glass cases holding jewels far beyond my price range. I bent down to look at an emerald ring with three diamonds. A perky saleslady appeared out of nowhere. Her appearance astonished me and I jumped a little.
"Hello, how may I help you?" A sugary sweet voice added a fake quality to her appearance. Let's not kid ourselves she was practically in her forties and the voice belonged on a fifteen year old.
"I would like to see that emerald ring, please." Edward said smoothly and laid his fingers on the glass. The saleslady smiled and bent below to retrieve the ring. She put the display ring on a red cashmere cloth.
"No that's okay," I responded hastily and tried to move away quickly. I felt Edward's hand hold my back firmly giving me nowhere to go.
"Bella, you're simply trying it on. Don't be a scaredy cat" He implied teasing and laughed. He took the ring from the cloth and handed it to me. I didn't move my fingers to grasp the ring and he sighed. He took my right hand and slipped it on my index finger. It was loose and swung to the other side of my finger.
"It will need to be sized. You have very slender fingers." The lady said and smiled. She did look skeptical probably wondering whether Edward could afford the pricey ring.
"It's beautiful." I started to take it off. The ring slipped out of my fingers. I flushed my face turning bright red. The ring didn't clatter because Edward caught it before it reached the floor. He put it back on the cashmere cloth.
"Good catch." The saleslady muttered and I saw a distressed look on her face. She was probably regretting letting a clumsy teenage girl try it on in the first place.
"I am here to pick up a item. It was requested through your buyer's London location. It's under the name Carlisle Cullen." Edward stated and brought the envelope out from his back pocket.
"Of course, let me notify our store manager. Wait just a moment." She put the ring in the case and turned the lock. She walked briskly to the back room.
"Edward what's going on?" I asked confused. A part of me was disappointed that we weren't shopping here but then common sense leaked through. Where was I going to wear an emerald ring? School? The movies?
"I talked to Carlisle and he wanted me to pick up a present for Esmee. It's their anniversary and he was planning on coming down here to pick up the present next week. I saved him a trip."
"What is it?" I asked leaning on the glass countertops. A couple of employees snickered and Edward straightened me out.
"It's probably not a good idea to lean on the glass. You are very accident prone." He suggested playfully.
"No problem." I turned slightly red and felt the heat coming from my ears.
I saw a burly man dressed in an expensive suit. He was wearing gold-framed glasses. "Hello, my name is Marvin Young, how are you?"
"Good, thank you." Edward said for both of us.
"Great. Welcome to Tiffany's. I have the requested item in the safe. Follow me to the rear of the store and I will be more than happy to get that item for you. How is Carlisle?" Mr. Young replied.
"He's well looking forward to his anniversary." Edward said.
"That's wonderful." Mr. Young stated and we followed him to the back office. He bent over and opened the safe. He brought out a blue box. Inside the box was a light blue velvet case. The man walked over to Edward and opened the lid. There was a red I think it was a diamond or maybe a ruby strewn on a gold chain. It was breathtaking.
Edward nodded and he closed the lid. Mr. Young wrapped the necklace back into the blue box and put it inside a Tiffany bag. Edward handed him the envelope and he folded the envelope into his breast pocket. Edward reached to shake his hand and I saw folded money exchange hands. I wanted to ask how much he gave him but clamped my mouth closed.
"Well, tell Carlisle I send my greetings. We do enjoy doing business with him. Take care young man. Miss." Mr. Young shook Edward's hand and turned back to the office. Edward guided me to the lobby.
"Would you like to look at any more jewelry before we go?" He asked and leaned close to me.
"Umm, no that's okay." I said quickly and my knees started to tremble. Nervous anxiety rippled through me plus I was not eager to drop any more expensive rings.
Alice and Jasper walked over to us. Alice was carrying a small bag. I raised my eyebrows. She smiled and looped her arm through mine. We got into the car.
"Look Bella, tear-drop earrings." She said excitedly and produced the tiny objects from her bag. She held the glittering earrings against her ears and giggled. I smiled wondering maybe I was a little envious that Alice got a present. Alice turned her attention to Jasper and talked about the quality of the stone or something.
"Are you upset?" Edward asked gently and took my chin in his hand. He lifted my face to look into my eyes.
"No, it's just a girl thing. So how much did Carlisle pay for Esmee's present? Is that rude to ask?" I admitted guilty.
"It's perfectly alright. It was 1.3 million." He said dismissively putting the jewelry box on the console behind us.
My eyes bugged out and shifted. That was a lot of money! A part of me knew the Cullen's had money but knowing that they were in the billionaire category sent me into uneasiness. I gulped and pretended that he said a different amount.
He hugged me against him and hummed a little. I leaned back relaxing and closed my eyes. Tonight I would be back in Forks! I decided to live up the rest of today because it would be back to cooking Charlie dinner and homework soon enough.
"Next stop. You are going to enjoy this?" Alice sang and clapped her hands excitedly.
"Why is it a bookstore?" I grunted but smiled despite myself.
"No, silly." Alice laughed and sprinted out of the car. She grabbed my arm again as if I would flee. The boys walked behind us as we went into the store.
The store was small and held pricey clothes. I looked at the trendy décor and knew I was out of place. I usually picked up my clothes at Target or most recently the dress barn near Forks. There was a disco ball in the middle of the store and pop music filtered from the speakers. I saw a rack of clothing and stood next to it. Edward and Jasper stood near the counter looking at wallets. Alice pulled me beside her and grabbed clothes. She managed to find three pairs of pants and five tops. She pushed me into a dressing room and closed the door firmly.
Now what, ugh these clothes were things Alice liked to wear. If I had a perfect body I would happily wear the clothes maybe even enjoy buying them. I shrugged on a top with green stripes and black corduroy pants. I looked awkward. I walked out of the dressing room and Alice stood next to me assessing the outfit.
"Try the next one." She ran her fingers along her jaw line and pushed me back into the dressing room.
I pulled off the clothes. I put on a dark blue top with a V-neck and light blue jeans that had a slight fade. I stalked out of the dressing room.
"Yes, perfect." She clapped her hands. She was in the process of jumping up and down then stopped. She became eerily calm. Her eyes were glazed and she opened her mouth.
I shook her. "Alice, EDWARD!" I shouted and Edward appeared beside me. Jasper came next to Alice and patted her.
"Alice what is it?" Jasper whispered.
Alice stood unblinking and she looked different from her usual spunky self. I couldn't quite put my finger on it. She looked deathly white. Her eyes were locked and refused to look at us. I gasped quietly because I knew what it was that shocked me. Alice looked scared. Frightened beyond a doubt.
