How It All Goes Down
Isle Esme
- After several stops aboard a plane, Edward and Bella end up in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. There, Edward and Bella take a taxi to a harbor, where they board a fancy yacht. The yacht brings them to an uninhabited island called Isle Esme – a gift from Carlisle to Esme. They settle into the beautiful vacation villa on the island.
- Bella struggles to hide her nervousness about what's to come: Edward making love to her. Edward invites her to swim with him at midnight. After much procrastinating, Bella arrives at the beach. She sees Edward's clothes hanging on a tree, and follows his example. She walks into the water and they embrace.
- The next morning, Bella wakes up happy and fulfilled until she meets Edward's tortured gaze. He makes her aware of the bruises now covering her body. Bella insists that she expected complications and feels perfectly fine. In fact, she's convinced that human life doesn't get any better than this. But Edward keeps blaming himself, despite his admission that this night was also the "best night of his existence" (5.170).
- He also tells her that he asked Carlisle and his brothers about what to expect when making love as a vampire. (Edward, the 100-year-old virgin…)
- Taking stock of the room, Bella notices that Edward has torn apart the pillows and covered her in feathers. She suddenly feels hungry, so Edward makes her breakfast, and she eats for two. When she kisses Edward later, he retreats and tells her, "I will not make love with you until you've been changed. I will never hurt you again" (5.220).