Changing our forever.

Changing our Forever 15

BPOV

I groaned when I felt someone bouncing on my bed.

"Are we having an earthquake?" I snarled, displeased to be woken up in such an unpleasant manner. I heard the musical laughter of a certain shopaholic. "You'd better not be waking me up to go shopping, Alice," I growled menacingly, snuggling even deeper into the bed.

"Oh, but I am!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands. "We're going shopping!"

"Ugh!" I groaned angrily. "We are not! We have guests here, in case you've forgotten. Sleeping guests! And I'm one of them. Haven't you ever heard the phrase, 'Let sleeping dogs lie'? There's a reason for that. I just dare you to go wake up the wolves as abruptly as you have me this morning."

She laughed. "Don't be silly, Bella. I have no desire to spend the rest of eternity missing a few body parts. I let the dogs lie, but you, my human slave, will drag your butt out of bed and get ready now, before I make you."

There was an edge of menace to her voice that made me open my eyes and look at her. It was terrifying. She looked like she was going to go ballistic. If she put all that pent up energy of hers into violence, I didn't want to be anywhere in the vicinity. I immediately went into placating mode, fearing the worst.

"Okay, fine, Alice. We'll go shopping," I grumbled. "But I'm going to sleep in the car on the way there."

"Fair enough," Alice agreed smugly, easy to please now that she had gotten her way. "I graciously laid out your outfit for today. You can put it on after your shower. Unfortunately, we don't have time to play Bella Barbie today, so I'll have to fix you up at vampire speed, once you're dressed."

I grinned widely. That was the best news of the day so far.

"You could at least pretend to be disappointed," Alice whined, seeing the expression on my face. I laughed.

"No, I don't think I could. I have it on good authority that my acting skills are severely lacking," I teased, throwing back the covers and sitting up on the side of the bed. I stretched my muscles, yawning sleepily. She huffed and left to give me some privacy. I stood up, stretching again, arching my back like a cat. I thought about last night and almost felt like purring. Edward and I had certainly enjoyed ourselves, particularly after we got rid of Jasper and Emmett. We figured they would hesitate to bother us again after the little chocolate stunt, so we did a little boundary stretching while they were otherwise occupied.

I walked stiffly into the bathroom, beginning my morning routine. I always loved the feeling of the hot water coursing down on my skin. I considered it one of the distinct pleasures of life, one of the blessings of technology. The joys of hot, running water was something our modern society took for granted, but it was one of the reasons I was thankful I had been born in the modern age. There were other reasons, of course, but indoor plumbing was one of the main ones. It's all well and good to fantasize about living in the past, but I know I've been spoiled by technology and would find it very difficult to be alive a century or two ago. In addition to technology, I would have an extremely difficult time adjusting to societal attitudes and expectations of women in previous centuries. I enjoyed my freedom and equality too much to simply throw away all I've been taught since I was a young child.

On the one hand, I wondered how much of Edward's attitude toward me is simply a product of the culture in which he was raised. On the other hand, Carlisle was much older than Edward, but I never felt like he belittled me or condescended to me. In all fairness, Carlisle spent more time actively involved in the human world, so perhaps that made it easier for him to adjust to modern ideas and attitudes over time. I thought about the question more deeply. Carlisle is paternalistic though, which would be consistent with his upbringing. Esme is a stereotypical stay at home mom, well, except for the vampire part. The 'kids' all go to school and don't hold down any jobs. In Carlisle's day, and even in Edward's, it was commonly expected that the man should protect and provide for his family. Carlisle did exactly that, for his entire family, even though his 'sons' were perfectly capable of finding jobs of their own. I wasn't Jasper, but I could sense the pride, contentment, and satisfaction emanating from Carlisle whenever he was surrounded by his family, his loved ones.