Jasper and the Jam Jar
I sat idly in the kitchen, watching Edward and Alice prepare my breakfast. I was definitely getting spoiled.
"Do you want orange or apple juice?" asked Alice.
"You really have both?" I asked in disgust. Why did they have to buy so much food for me? She nodded, and I sighed grudgingly. "Orange juice. Thanks."
She poured it into a glass and it was on the table before I could blink. I sipped casually, watching Edward fry an egg on the stove, his nose wrinkled against the smell.
"Do you want jam on your toast?" Alice asked brightly, holding up a knife and jar.
Edward groaned. "We're going to be late for school, Alice."
"Quiet, Edward," she scolded. Turning back to me, she held up the jar again questioningly, and I nodded.
She turned away and tapped the bottle. "Hmmm, it's new."
"Of course it is, Alice," snapped Edward impatiently, flipping the eggs with a spatula. "Do you think any of us eat jam around here?"
She shot him a sharp look, and then sighed happily, gazing at the jar. "I just love new things. Even jam." She smiled and made a move to open it, but suddenly stopped and became very still. Her eyes widened.
Edward brushed passed her, my eggs on a plate. I ate them hurriedly, not bothering with salt, glancing at the clock. Ten minutes until we had to leave. Pans clanked against the sink as Edward washed them rapidly. However, Alice still stood frozen in the middle of the kitchen, holding the jam jar with a peculiar expression on her face.
"Just open the jam, Alice," Edward said impatiently. "There's no time for what you're planning."
She shook her head, frowning. "Jasper!" she called. Edward made a move to take the bottle, but she snatched it away and lightly danced out of his reach. "Jasper! I need you!"
He was by her side in an instant, his gaze intense. "What?"
She looked up at him sweetly. "Would you open this jar for me? I'm having some trouble."
The room went silent. "Alice," I said slowly, "can't you open it yourself?"
She merely beamed at me, and I stared back, confused. Then I heard Edward chuckle. I spun around to look at him. "What's going on?"
"Nothing, nothing!" cried Alice, handing the jar to Jasper. "Open it, Jasper." She sat down in a chair with the expression of one at the movie theatres, waiting for a film to start.
He stared back at her,
bemused.
She smiled gleefully. "Just like on TV! Remember when
we saw the husband open the jam jar for his wife?" she trilled,
bouncing in her chair. "This'll be so cool!"
He stared back at her for a second, his face impassive. Then a tiny chortle echoed out of him, startling me, and he swept his hand around it, twisting the cap off effortlessly. He gave it back to her silently, but his eyes crinkled in a smile.
"Thank you!" she sang rapturously, kissing him lightly on the cheek and dancing out of her chair to get a knife. His gaze followed her for a moment, twinkling with suppressed humor, and he walked silently back out of the room.
"That was just how I always imagined it!" Alice sighed, and spread it on a piece of bread before pushing Edward and me out the door. "Eat in the car, Bella, or you'll be late!"
I smiled. That was just so … Alice.