And so the day was quiet, productive—I finished my paper before eight. Charlie came home with a large catch and a trout. The chills that flashed up my spine whenever I thought of my trip into the woods were no different than the ones I'd felt before I'd taken my walk with Squaw Black. They should be different, I thought. I should be afraid—I knew I should be, but I couldn't feel the right kind of fear.
I slept dreamlessly that night, exhausted from beginning my day so early, and sleeping so poorly the night before. I woke, for the second time since arriving in Forks, to the bright yellow light of a sunny day. I skipped to the window, suddenly nimble, stunned to see that there was hardly a cloud in the sky, and those there were just fleecy168 little white vests that couldn't possibly be carrying any rain. I opened the window—surprised when it opened silently,without sticking, not having opened it in who knows how many years169—and sucked in the relatively dry air. It was nearly warm and hardly windy at all. My blood was electric in my veins.
Charlie was finishing breakfast when I came downstairs, and he picked up on my mood immediately.
"Nice day out," he commented.
"Yes," I agreed with a fat grin.
He smiled back, his brown eyes crinkling around the edges. When Charlie smiled, it was easier to see why he and my mother had jumped too quickly into an early marriage.170 Most of the young romantic he'd been in those days
168. Fleece vests, in colors ranging from pink to orange, are often on sale at Old Navy. Bella owns many of them, and the texture is a reference point for her descriptions of unrelated things.
169. Chief Chuck Duck runs a tight ship.
170. After 8 years of courtship that began in the sixth grade.