Alice POV.
December 2006.
...It was strange, I didn’t feel as restless as I usually did on a Sunday, and I was actually feeling rather calm and serene. Even though he wasn’t in the house at that moment, I couldn’t help idly speculating maybe it was because I had Jasper to distract me.
Whatever it was, I was feeling the urge to be creative, so I dug out a long neglected sculpture and set to work trying to carve the body shape of the baby hummingbird I was working on.
I knew it was a bad idea even before I started. I should’ve known better. The piece had been Angela’s idea, I should have insisted that she take it on herself. Clay was her medium, not mine. Everything I’d ever made with it had fallen apart. This was no exception.
I was on the verge of hurling it through the window when I heard a low chuckle behind me. Glaring over my shoulder, I caught sight of Jasper at the top of the stairs, a newspaper under his arm, and the amused grin from this morning back on his face. The smile suited him, so I didn’t have it in me to stay cross.
“Hey,” I said, turning around and wiping my hands on a damp cloth. “Where did you sneak off to?”
“Just a walk. The phone’s been ringing all day, it was drivin’ me crazy.”
I nodded in understanding. “It does that on Sundays. It was Bella, right?”
“Yeah, and Emmett and Esme, too.”
I laughed. “Esme doesn’t usually call me, honey, that one was for you.”
“Oh, I know,” Jasper said wearily. “She left a message asking me to come over. I didn’t want to upset her by being a miserable bastard, so I just ignored it.”
“There’s nothing wrong with needing some space,” I said lightly. “To be honest, I normally unplug the phone on Sundays. I’m not usually in the mood for company.”
Jasper paused for a moment, and curiosity flashed briefly over his features. But it was gone as quickly as it had come, and instead, he stepped further into the studio, peering over my shoulder.
He inclined his head at the work behind me. “What’s that?”
I sighed. “It’s supposed to be a hummingbird, a young one, what are they called?”
“A fledgling?” Jasper offered.
“Yes, that’s it. But I’m having trouble with its head; it’s unbalancing the whole thing.”
Jasper moved passed me, taking a closer look. “Keeps falling on its ass, huh?” He shot me a grin. It was a smile I hadn’t seen before, and I liked it, his whole face was lighter.
I stepped around him, reaching out to show him the problem. “I think the clay is too heavy. It’s such a delicate bird, it just doesn’t work.”
“The smallest bird in the world,” Jasper said with an absent smile. “Did you put supports in the body?”
“Like what?” I cocked my head to the side. This was exactly why I didn’t usually indulge in sculpture. These things never occurred to me.
“If you put some wood in here...” Jasper traced a finger up the delicate arch of the bird’s neck. “It would stay upright.”
“Really? It wouldn’t make it worse?”
“Nah, if you put the clay around it, you wouldn’t know it was there.” Jasper straightened up and turned away from the drafting table, treating me again to that wonderful grin. “It works for mud huts.”
My own curiosity spiked again, but I let it slide. I’d promised him I wouldn’t harass him about his past, and I intended to keep that promise. Instead, I returned his smile. “I’ve had enough for today. I’m going to go downstairs and watch a movie, wanna come?”
Jasper shrugged. “I’ve got nowhere else to be.”
I held out my hand. Jasper reached out and grasped it, and my frustration with my work evaporated as he gently squeezed my fingers. “Come on, then.”
