BHG, you nearly made me fall out of my chair when I saw you type that. However, it also makes me glad that we are on the same wavelength (i.e. that in the second reading, we realize why he was acting in this fashion and why Bella might not appreciate it initially).Bronze Haired Girl wrote:Now, I'm a little shocked to hear myself say it, but I know exactly what you mean about Emmett's joking. My first reaction had been "How could he?" But on the second read I realized that in his way he was trying to help the situation and at the same time tease Bella. If you notice, he immediately jumps in to give pointers on how to act human right before Charlie gets there. Then when things start getting too tense with Charlie he is the one to distract Charlie from the information overload. Of course, being Emmett he used the situation to taunt Bella. I must say, the arm wrestling scene is one of my favorite. I laughed all the way through it.
It also occured to me when I read it a second time that we get to see some of Emmett's serious side in this book. He takes his role as protector very seriously when Bella first gets up after the change and then again when she meets Renesmee. Then, (and I love that this shows he has a brain ) he helps Jasper do the research when they are trying to find out what the baby will like, what to expect for the delivery, searching the stories and legends for any hints.
I love your point about Emmett doing the research on half-vampire, half-human babies. Considering that when Bella did her initial vampire research, she only found one little scrap about succubus/incubus creatures, they did a great job. It really does show that he's brains and brawn. After all, research is a lot more than just a Google search, and it would take a lot of investigating on different fronts. I also liked how he was looking forward to the original trip to South America - like Garrett, I think Emmett enjoys adventure, enjoys challenges and novelty. I hope he and Garrett get to visit each other, now that Garrett is part of the Denali clan. High school in Forks must have been tough to stomach - not only pretending that your gorgeous wife is "merely" your girlfriend, but the subjects that he's studied before, the inability to get close to any of the student body (would he want to?) and the lack of adventure, challenge and novelty.
Thanks for the great food for thought on good ol' Emmett!