Breaking Dawn Read Along: Week 3

Hi again!  Some fun chapters this week:

Chapter 25:

• Edward's talk about priorities reminds her of Renesmee. She suddenly longs to see her. The thought of her daughter also stirs Bella's concerns about her baby's rapid growth and aging.
• At the Cullen house, Bella finds that Renesmee has grown even more, but her growth rate has definitely slowed.
• Rosalie tells Bella that her daughter has been "asking for her," but that they didn't want to intrude on Bella and Edward's first chance at privacy. Emmett starts to tease them by asking if the cottage is still standing. Bella compose her anger at his insinuations.
• She learns that Jacob left the house without explanation.
• The Cullens plan to move to Dartmouth soon, as Edward and Bella are registered at college there.
• Suddenly, Alice has a vision. She reveals that Jacob talked to Charlie about Bella and that he's on his way back to the house. Bella is enraged. When Jacob enters, Bella accuses him of putting Charlie in danger. "Do you realize it's death or vampire life for him now, too?" (25.77).
• Jacob explains that he didn't tell Charlie about her condition. Instead, he turned into a wolf in front of Charlie and then told him that Bella had changed too, in a different way. Charlie still asked to see her, and just requested to be told as little as possible.
• When Bella asks Jacob about what he told Charlie about Renesmee, he replies that Charlie believes the baby is an orphan that Bella and Edward adopted. Charlie seemed to light up at the idea of being a grandpa.
• Although Bella is grateful for what Jacob has done, she still doesn't trust herself to face Charlie as a newborn:
  
  Undiluted fear ripped through my stomach as the enormity of what I was about to do hit me. I was going to gamble on my iffy self-control with my pure human father as the guinea pig.(25.124)
• As Charlie's arrival draws near, the Cullens advise Bella on how to act human. Alice hands her colored contacts to disguise her red eyes. Bella clasps Renesmee to keep her calm. Edward tells his daughter to be careful with Charlie and to keep her communication skills to herself.
• When Charlie enters and sees the new Bella for the first time, a mix of emotions plays across his face. "Shock. Disbelief. Pain. Loss. Fear. Anger. Suspicion. More pain" (25.208).
• Bella, on the other hand, experiences his delicious scent as "a fistful of flames, punching straight down my throat." She manages to compose herself, though.
• Edward tells Charlie that Renesmee is actually their niece. But Charlie is struck by the child's eyes – the eyes of her mother, Bella. He's done with the lies.
• Edwards pleads with him to stick around, though, explaining that the lies protect Bella, Renesmee, and the rest of the Cullens. Eventually, Charlie sits down with Emmett to watch football.

Chapter 26:

• After spending an awkward afternoon at the Cullen house, Charlie prepared to leave. He suggests to Bella that it's better to not tell Renée about the situation. He asks Bella to stay close and she promises she will. "Now that you know just enough, I think this can work. I'll keep as close as you want" (26.19).
• Charlie says that Renesmee is the prettiest baby he's ever seen. He's just as helpless against Renesmee's magic as the rest of the family. Charlie leaves with the promise to come back again the next day.
• Like the rest of the family, Bella is proud how well she composed herself around Charlie:
  
  I must have a superpower! It seemed too good to be true. Could I really have both my new family and some of my old as well? And I thought that yesterday had been perfect. (26.50-51)
• Annoyed by Emmett's continuing sexual innuendos, Edward asks Bella to challenge Emmett to a wrestling match. Bella easily wins the match. Emmett stalks off, furious. Fascinated by her massive strength, Bella karate chops a big rock into shards and powder. She gives a piece of rock to Renesmee, who manages to dent it.
• The ease with which Bella has adopted her new vampire life causes her to believe that she never quite fit into the human world. "It was like I'd been born to be a vampire" (26.131).

Chapter 27:

• As the days go by, Bella feels very happy with her new life:
  
  The tapestry of family and friends that moved together around me was a beautiful, glowing thing, full of their bright, complimentary colors. (27.3)
• She's also close with the werewolves in Jacob's pack (Quil and Embry have joined his side). Sue Clearwater has taken it upon herself to smoothen Charlie's transition into the world of make-believe. Only Leah remains uncomfortable with the Cullens, despite her camaraderie with Jacob. She has become second in command of his pack.
• Bella spends her days with Renesmee and her nights with Edward. Bella still worries about Renesmee's continuing growth. She recalls how Renesmee learned how to speak using perfect grammar, and soon after began to walk. Edward and Carlisle have turned to research for answers, with little success. The only sure option to halt Renesmee's aging would be to turn her into a vampire, but Bella can't bear to hurt Jacob this way.
• Bella knows that she still needs to show the Volturi that Edward kept his promise and made her a vampire. She doesn't want them to come to Forks, and doesn't want Aro to find out about Renesmee through Edward's thoughts, so she decides that it's safest for her to go on a solo trip to meet up with them instead.
• Edward refuses to let her go alone, so Carlisle volunteers, which allows Edward to stay at home with Renesmee. The Cullens also plan a trip to Rio to research some old legends about children similar to Renesmee. Jacob wants to come as well, but Edward and Carlisle believe he should stay with his pack and with Renesmee.
• Bella, Jacob, and Renesmee go hunting in the woods. Although Renesmee can digest human food as well as animal blood, her favorite is human blood.
• Bella notices how perfectly attuned Jacob and Renesmee are to one another:
  
  She bounded back to Jacob; he held his arms out at exactly the moment she leapt into them. They had to move perfectly synchronized. (27.64)
• During the hunt, Bella suddenly spots Irina, one of the sisters from the Denali vampire clan. Irina never forgave the Cullens for siding with the werewolves on killing her friend Laurent (who intended to kill Bella).
• Upon seeing Jacob and Renesmee, Irina growls and disappears into the forest. Bella fears that the close friendship between Renesmee and Jacob might fuel Irina's desire for revenge.

All I have to say is....Charlie!!!  I cannot wait to see his reactions to all of this on the big screen.  What do you guys think?

Arm wrestling scene.  I'm so frickin' excited for this too and so glad they kept it in! 

Dun dun dun....Irina!  That...let's all say it together...bitch!!  I'm curious to see how all this plays out with the Volturi.  

What do you guys think of this part of things?  Progress, no? 

For next week, we'll be looking at Breaking Dawn: Book 3 - Chapters 28-30.  Read on! 

Again, summaries are all from this site.