Chapter Ten

I remember seeing, when I was a spirit, that you needed to bring a gift the first time you visited someone's home, and it didn't matter what kind of gift; just don't show up empty-handed. I didn't have a lot of experience picking out gifts, except that they had to be practical, and of course it would be nice if they were both likeable and practical, as was the case when I picked out the toolkit for Jacob. But I don't really know the Cullen children, and with the exception of Alice, none of them have revealed any biased preferences. Alice is a good girl who loves life, loves to shop, loves to match her clothes, loves to have parties, loves to eat the food I make, and isn't picky at all. Jasper's preference is, perhaps, Alice. The man who, even for lunch The man who would give half to Alice, I saw a vague hint of Pietro in him; God knows how. Rosalie, I was a little terrified of Rosalie at first; she was overly cold, she wasn't mean, but I never saw her smile, and she didn't talk to me much. Emmett was friendly; it's just that when she smiles, she reminds me of a shark, which is just amazing. Edward, yes, after disappearing for three days, he came back to school. He was really interested in Bella, and for a moment I didn't know whether to be happy about my Min Tax or feel bad for Jacob, because it was pretty clear Pin that Bella was more interested in Edward. People are really strange to each other, he can't help being attracted to her, she can't help being attracted to him l. And Jacob, the older boy who talked in front of me about how he was especially, super, very fond of Bella, would probably just have a crush that didn't end. Human emotions may be one of the sources of angst, but if there were no emotions, then how boring would it have to be? There wouldn't even be a movie or TV show to watch. "Lacey, have you left yet? " Alice's phone call dialed as the hands were about to head towards nine, her lilting voice relaxing my tense nerves a little. "Not yet," I scratched my face, "Alice, I've been thinking about it, and I still want to prepare something before I do." I had asked Alice directly before, but she had said there was no need to prepare a gift. "Lacey, you're so cute. We're so happy that you agreed to come as a guest; that's the best gift of all." She was just too sweet, too sweet of a girl, and I hung up the phone, counting the number of Karen's family with a red face, and picking some of the treats I'd made yesterday and wrapping them up and putting them in a box. It was getting cold in Forks, the roads had started to freeze, and the wind hurt like pins and needles in my face. I closed the door, already wrapped up like a bear but still cold, climbed into the car, and started the pickup, turning on the heat in a hurry. Jacob had installed the chains for me the other day; I hadn't even thought of that myself. He was like a little sun; even if the temperature in the Fox was 0, I could still feel the 30 degree warmth on his body. Karen's house was deep in the forest. I was so envious when I found out about it. I dreamed of living in the forest and seeing lush greenery as soon as I opened my eyes, but maybe that was for another life. In my next life, I want to live in a glass house like this! The sight of Karen's three-story glass house made me squeal inwardly; it was so beautiful! It's hard to imagine how beautiful it would be with sunshine! "Lacey! I knew you were here when I heard the noise!" I had just turned off the engine when Alice pushed open the door and ran out. "Hey! It's cold out here; you should add a jacket!" I was getting white air when I said anything, but she was only wearing a long sleeve, I touched her hand and it was really cold, "Alice Alice, you're going to get sick. She seemed to freeze, backhanded me, and her eyes flickered slightly. "No, I'm in good health, Lacey; come on in. I lifted my pockets off the car, and Alice smiled. "I knew you'd bring something." Her nose sniffed the air, and her eyes lit up. "Is it one of your little treats, Lacey?" I was shocked; I didn't expect her to hit the nail on the head. "Alice, how did you guess?" "It's a secret, yo." She winked slyly at me as she held out her index finger against her lips. "Okay." I smiled, Contact with the Cullen kids so far and not finding out a bit about the Shire was impossible They keep a one-dimensional yang love with the earthers; this doesn't

"Okay." I smiled, It was impossible to be in contact with the Cullen kids so far and not notice something, It wasn't my fault that they kept their distance from everyone else, I did feel that strange sense of separation, I didn't know why but I wasn't going to pry, Everyone has secrets and I'm no different Lacey, you're so wonderful! "Alice hugged my arm, like a graceful and dexterous cat gently pampering. "Do you need to change your shoes?" I let out a sincere question as I looked at the floor, which was so clean that there wasn't a speck of dust on it. "No need; Emmett and Edward made it worse before then." Alice pulled me right in. "Hey Alice," I said, taking her hand better. "Are those graduation caps?" I pointed to the graduation caps hanging on the walls and marveled, "I've never seen so many graduation caps!" Oh~ these are Carlisle's collection," Alice stopped to explain for me as well "Carlisle has a lot of collections; later, you can see if there's anything you like; maybe Carlisle will give it to you." "Ah, no, no," I quickly waved my hand. "I'm just curious." Carlisle Cullen was the Cullen family patriarch, and although he worked at the hospital in town, I hadn't met him yet. Ah, speaking of hospitals, it seemed like I was due for a retest. I reached the second floor without realizing it. The Cullens were waiting for me; the ones I hadn't seen before were Carlisle and Esme. The face value of the Cullens was really exceedingly high, and I suddenly tensed suddenly at being watched by them. "Lacey, let me introduce you." Alice did a good job of easing my nerves, introducing me softly: "This is our father, Carlisle Cullen, Esme, our aunt. "Huh? Aunt?" I didn't hear the answer I thought I was going to hear and looked at Alice in surprise, Everyone looking at the family would have assumed that Esme was the role model.

My eyes widened and I stole a glance at Carlisle, who looked even more like a man in an oil painting than Edward did, and I lowered my voice to whisper in Alice's ear, "I hear Dr. Cullen is the most popular doctor in the hospital, so that would be too Is there a girl who can't be chased? I didn't realize at the time that they could all hear me, but of course, sometimes not knowing is a blessing; otherwise, it would be embarrassing. The first one to burst out laughing was Edward, and then, as if a mysterious switch had been flipped, one after the other, Jasper couldn't hold it back, and even Rosalie had her back turned, her shoulders vaguely shaking. I watched the scene blankly, finding the witty forks comical. Carlisle explained helplessly that his deeply chosen features were truly captivating, now with a hint of distress on his face. "I'm sorry, Lacey; they love to see me...frustrated. What kind of family is this, anyway? I was shocked. I handed Esme the small snacks I'd brought with me, and Alice enthusiastically showed me around the beautiful glass house. Seeing my eyes stray to the ornaments, she would carefully explain to me, "Ah, this is also from Carlisle's collection, and this is the real thing." "Genuine?" I stared. Was this what I thought it meant? Alice laughed at my terrified reaction. "Yeah. This one, this one, and that one," she extended her fingers to point to several ornaments, "are all Italian antiques from the 18th century. Shocked, I asked weakly, "And what about the others?" "The rest are just mere artifacts." I was just relieved when Alice added coldly, "It's all been put away by Carlisle, really. I coughed, and Alice giggled. "Lacey, let me show you my closet!" She looked like a child who couldn't wait to show off her pretty dresses. "You have to be sure to tell me if you have a favorite!"

I guess she wanted to give it to me, but I didn't realize that when I went into Alice's coat check, I just, well, couldn't get out. I can't get out in every sense of the word. "Come on, Lacey, I've always thought you'd fit into this dress; change into it and let me see!" "Lacey, what do you think of this look? I think you look fantastic in purple!" "You must own this dress! Rose doesn't even look as good in it as you do! Lacey, you have to take it! Lacey! "Lacey, come on, try this on! Don't be shy!" I feel a headache and need to take a pill. "Alice," Rosalie knocked on the door, "it's time to go down." I didn't realize that it would be Rosalie who would end up rescuing me. I silently noted this favor and decided to make her an extra dessert for lunch today in return. Esme and Emmett were both in the kitchen. Esme smiled and took out two aprons, one of which was a small pink floral with lace trim. "This is what Alice prepared especially for you. The other was a pink country apron with Kitty on it. "This is the one Ross bought back for Alice. I'm used to it. What surprised me was Rosalie. I looked over at her, but she looked away from me to look at Emmett. The Emmett guy gave me what looked to me like a goofy smile. Okay, so the smile was goofy, but I understood what it was supposed to convey. But choosing between the two—isn't that making it difficult for me, a normal person? I thought about it. I was a little more hopeful about Rosalie than Alice, who couldn't tell the difference between salt and sugar, so I put on the Kay Belt Cat's apron, and Rosalie insisted that she wouldn't wear Alice's choice of lace crinoline, and Alice tried to talk her out of it while I covered my mouth and snickered. I covered my mouth and laughed.