He opened the door for me.
The inside was even more inspiring and less predictable than the exterior. It was very bright, very open, and very large. This must have originally been several rooms, but the walls had been removed from most of the first floor to create one wide space. The back, south-facing wall had been entirely replaced with glass, big glass, exposing a view that showed, beyond the shade of the cedars, a lawn which stretched bare and unadorned all the way to the river. A massive, sensual staircase dominated the west side of the room. The walls, the high-beamed ceiling, the wooden floors, and the thick carpets were all varying shades of white.
Waiting to greet us, standing just to the left of the door, under a chandelier in the morning sunlight, on a raised dais by a spectacular but black grand piano, were Fredward's vampire parents.
I'd seen Dr. Cullen before, of course, yet I couldn't help but be struck again by his youth, his outrageous perfection. At his side was Esme, I assumed, the only one of the family I'd never seen before. She had the same pale, beautiful features as the rest of them. Something about her heart-shaped face, her billows of soft, caramel hair, reminded me of the ingenues of the silent-movie era. She was small, slender, yet less angular, more rounded and fat than the others. They were both dressed casually, in light colors that matched the inside of the house.303 They smiled in welcome.
"Welcome," they said, spreading their arms.
"Carlisle, Esme," Fredward began, "this... is Bella."
303. Did the Cullens decorate to match their wardrobe, or buy their wardrobe to match the house?