18.
While I was busy in the kitchen searching for a bowl to put my snacks in, I heard Aunt Alice whisper to Mom. I left the cupboard door open and sneaked closer to the living room. I knew it was a bad thing to eardrop, but come on, I was curious.
"I can't believe Edward is really going through with the whole chaperone thing," said Aunt Alice. Clothes rustled and the leather of the seat shifted. Mom must be nervously twitching. But I could be wrong.
"I understand he is very protective," answered Mom in a dry voice.
"Really? It sounds like some creepy daddy-daughter complex to me. Even Charlie was not that extreme. You two are going a little bit other board," she giggled. "I can't believe this," her voice lowered to an almost inaudible tone, but thanks to my powers I could pick it up. "Don't you think you'll push those two to elope, melodramatic style—" she joked.
"Alice! Stop it. I don't want to hear about your crazy theory. I trust Edward, even if his methods might seem a little outdated," Mom struggled to make sense of her own thoughts. The seat shifted and I froze.
"Renesme? What is taking so long?" she called from the living room. I bumped into the island in the middle of the kitchen while rushing back to my search for a bowl. I was rubbing my bruised ankle while wincing when I heard behind me:
"What happened?" Mom's voice came from the door. When I looked up she was leaning against the doorframe with Aunt Alice peeking over her shoulder.
"I just bumped my foot," I gave her a nervous smile. Her eyebrows arched up at my lame lie. I was supposed to be super fast and not clumsy. A smile spread and lit up her face. Mom told me stories about how she used to be when she was still human and how she couldn't run. I always thought she was joking around to make me feel less alienated for being half-human.
"What movie do you want to watch first?" she ignored my awkward jumping and limping to grab a blue bowl. It was helpful that she just looked the other way and planned to spend time forgetting there was tension building up. Maybe she also wanted to relax.
Somehow, as the title of the movie appeared on the screen I couldn't help thinking about what Aunt Alice said. "What if they elope..."