Disclaimer: The characters are not mine, they are property of their creator Stephanie Meyer, the plot is all mine. .
A/N: New story guys! This story has been in the back of my mind for ages and I finally gathered the courage to write and and post it up. Real life and I are in a headlock as of late so things are going pretty slow with my writing. BUT . . I am fully committed to seeing Life Happens through to the very end, have no fear!.. .As soon as I get two seconds to rub together I am going to pour all of my energy into getting you the next chapter.
Give my amazing beta StormDragonFly a huge thumbs up and pat on the back. She has a lot on her plate right now and still manages to help me hash out the details.. .So my lovelies, let me know what you think. . Reviews are like Carlisle in a tux. . .they make you happy
B POV
From the age of five, I had dreamed of my wedding. I would put on my mother's wedding dress and drape an old sheet over my head as a veil. I would gather a few vibrant wildflowers, and proceed to marry the little freckle faced boy next door. The older I got, the more details that fell into place in my mind. By junior high I had the flowers and decorations picked out. By the time I graduated high school, I had the food and destination picked out too.
Of course, the summer I graduated high school was also the summer my whole world changed.
Everything in my life had led me here, to this point, where I was standing in front of a full length mirror dressed in a fluffy white robe and a pair of fuzzy pink slippers. To the right of the mirror hung my dress, the one I had dreamed of my whole life. It was safely hidden away from prying eyes in its long white garment bag.
I stood there anxiously staring at my reflection while absently chewing on my brand new set of French tipped acrylic nails. My mother would have a fit if she saw me. My nail biting had always been an irritation to her; it was the reason I had to have the acrylic nails put on in the first place. I studied my hair carefully as I continued to gnaw on my left thumbnail barely noticing the vile taste of the combined nail polish and acrylic. It was exactly as I had always pictured it would be on this day. My future sister-in-law had done an amazing job with it. The top half of my chestnut locks were pulled away from my face and braided loosely to the point where they met in the back.
The back was an intricate design of curls that fell down between my shoulder blades. My favorite part was the flowers. Laced throughout the mass of curls were small buds of lime green and orange orchids. My makeup had been done in delicate shades of pink and my lips sported a soft shiny sheen from the lip gloss Alice had applied only moments before. She had flitted out just after to make sure everything was set up.
Alice was simply amazing. I had no idea where all of her energy came from and even though I got tired just watching her, I loved her for it. She was a little over five feet tall with black hair she kept in short layers around her oval face. I would like to say that I had found her, but honestly, she had found me that first day of summer semester a little over two years ago. She had been in the medical terminology class that Rosalie and I had taken. She commandeered the seat on the other side of me and asked if the teacher's lectures had always been so monotonous and had he always dressed so atrociously. Rosalie and I had collapsed in fits of giggles. The ice had been broken and we were fast friends. Now here I was, over two years later marrying her brother.
Alice and Edward had moved in with the Cullen's soon after their parents had been killed in a car accident years earlier. Carlisle was the much younger brother of Edward and Alice's mother Elizabeth. He had been a total surprise to his parents, Edward had told me, coming a full twelve years after his sister. When Carlisle had been twelve, his sister had given birth to Edward. Three years after Edward was born, Alice came along.
Last year I had been introduced to Edward by an exuberant Alice and the rest, they say, is history. Edward had taken me by storm. He had dodged every obstacle, broken through every wall, and effortlessly withstood every defense I had put around my damaged heart. I had become completely captivated by his intense emerald gaze and messy auburn hair. I had fired every weapon in my arsenal in attempt to keep him away or make him run. Loving someone was too painful. I had loved whole heartedly and it had backfired.
I was broken and no amount of love could patch that hole. So, I had flung the abusive alcoholic I called my father, the train wreck that was my bipolar and somewhat suicidal mother, the brother I never saw, my shattered heart, my battered soul, and the two darkest events in my life. Only a handful of people knew what had happened to me and I wanted to keep it that way. They weren't my proudest moments.
To my complete and total surprise, none of it had fazed him in the least. He looked me in the eyes and told me it didn't matter, that we would work through it together. I had cried shamelessly as he had taken me in his arms and charged through my final defense. There were parts of me that I didn't think would ever mend and I had told him so. He had raised his hands, gently wiped the tears from beneath my eyes, and said that we would take it one day at a time.
One day led to another, and another, and another. Here we were almost a year later and I was about to become his wife. I was excited, nervous, and completely heartsick. Three days ago, my two best friends and I, had landed in Seattle to be met by my smiling fiancé and the man who had both saved and destroyed me. As my eyes had met Carlisle's gaze, it had clicked. Edward and Alice's Uncle Lyle was none other than the blue eyed god that had starred in both the best and worst times of my life.
"Isabella?" a voice called tentatively from behind me.
My head jerked up and my eyes rose to catch my unexpected visitor's gaze reflected in the mirror before me. There he was, I should have known. A small smile turned my lips up at the corners as I released my thumb from its trap between my teeth. I had somehow known he would find me before the ceremony; it seemed only fitting. There wasn't a part of my heart, soul, and world that this man hadn't touched in the two and a half years since he had entered my life.
The day he walked into the candy shop was forever emblazoned in my memory. I had looked up from my position half in and half out of the ice cream cooler and there he was. He had been dressed in a worn looking pair of blue jeans and a black t-shirt. His gorgeous blond locks had been in a state of disarray. To top it all off, he had been wearing a black and orange leather riding jacket. He had been flanked on either side by a few other guys, and all of them had been staring right at me. It had been clear that they were all in the same group. My mouth had been hanging open at the sight in front of me. He raised an eyebrow and had asked if I were having a rough day. It hadn't occurred to me that he had taken in my appearance. I had been a total mess.
"Hi." I whispered as I brought my hands up and crossed them over my neck. "I didn't think I would see you yet."
"I know. I saw everyone slip out a few minutes ago, so I came in. I wanted to see you before everything started and deliver something to you for Edward. Is that the dress?" He shoved his hands into his pockets and swallowed hard nodding toward the garment bag.
I nodded once, signaling that it was indeed the dress. I took in his appearance starting from the tips of his fingers to the tips of his toes. My eyes ate up every emotion that flashed across his beautifully masculine face and committed it to my memory. His blue eyes caught mine and brought me out of my thoughts. For the first time, I saw the shadow of the words I had always wanted to believe he would say to me but had never come.
The look in his eyes caused me to avert mine. I looked down at my French tipped toes and began to fidget.
I could feel his eyes as they traveled from my face, down to my feet. They were encased in a pair of fuzzy pink flip-flops. I watched as his eyes grew wide and traveled up to the delicate charm bracelet that hung from my wrist. He had given them to me that summer as we walked along the creek bank. I'd had my blue and black Gotcha flip-flops dangling from the fingers of my right hand and my left hand had been laced together with his right.
"I have a couple of things for you." He grinned.
I had stopped dead in my tracks, untangled our hands, crossed my arms across my chest, and looked him straight in the eye.
"I am not a things girl, Carlisle; you know you didn't have to."
"I know, but I wanted to. You work all the time at a thankless job for two bosses who could care less that they run you ragged and underpay you and Rosalie. You aren't appreciated enough, neither of you are."
"Ok," I smiled as I gave in. "Where are they?"
His face lit up with a smile, "I left them in the car. I will be right back."
"I'm not going anywhere" I smiled. "You happen to be my ride."
Seconds later he had returned with a medium-sized gift bag in a most atrocious color of green. The bag had contained a delicate white gold charm bracelet with a small motorcycle charm hanging from it. A smile so big it hurt had spread across my face and my eyes had welled up with tears.
"Do you like it?" he asked as he rocked forward onto the toes of his tennis shoes. I had only been able to nod my assent. It had been so I would never forget that summer, our summer, he had said. He had nodded toward the bag and told me that I had forgotten something. After he had clasped the bracelet around my wrist, I dug back into the bag and pulled out the brightest pair of pink fuzzy flip flops I had ever seen.
I had quirked my eyebrow at him as they hung from my fingers. He had grinned at me and shrugged his shoulders. I doubled over in fits of giggles. They really were something I would have gotten for myself.
"You love flip flops." He had grinned. "I saw them in the store and couldn't resist. They looked so comfy and since you are on your feet so much, I figured it was a win-win."
I had then flung my arms around his neck and pressed a kiss to his cheek.
"I can't believe you still have them," he said with a sad smile. "I thought you would have thrown them away."
"I couldn't," I sighed as I brought my eyes back to his. "They were the only part of you I got to keep. I needed something to remind myself you were ever here."
"Isabella, you are breaking my heart, "he said as his face contorted from the pain my statement brought. He took one step towards me and then stopped to check my reaction. When I didn't move he took another and another. When he was only mere inches away, he raised his hand as if to touch me. "You have to know that I will always regret how . . ."
I raised my hand sharply, palm outward, partly to get him to stop the onslaught of pain his words brought and also in part to fend off his touch. It amazes me that after all this time that his touch, his mere presence, could still make me weak in the knees. He was my Achilles heel, my one weakness, and I would never forgive myself for it.
"Don't," I said quickly. "This is hard enough as it is. I don't want to fall apart right now. I can't." I shoved my hands into the pockets at the front of my robe.
"You know, I thought that missing you would get easier after I left. I thought time would take some of the hurt and dull the memories. I was wrong because it's still there, just as much now as it ever was," he said quietly as his shoulders slumped and he stared at his shoes. "It should be me today, not him. Not Edward."
"Really? It is still there?" I demanded. "I have to disagree. You didn't want me remember? You said I didn't fit into your world. You said that some of your coworkers had daughters my age and it would cause a problem in your workplace. You didn't want to damage your reputation or have anyone look at you differently. I knew the truth though, I wasn't good enough. You were too embarrassed to ever have me be something other than the girl you picked up one summer and toyed with. It took me a while to be ok with that fact but I am now. I finally accepted that if I had been enough for you, you would have made a place for me in your world no matter what anyone else would have thought."
"You deserved so much more than what I could have given you. I mean, come on, I was 32 and you were 17. You deserved more than a middle aged man who could only offer you strange glances, awkward conversations with people that would look down on you because of your age, and hushed whispers. I did what I thought was best."
"What was best? Why did you get to decide? You did what was easier for you because you didn't want to upset your life. I deserved to have an opinion. You weren't the only one there, "I stated flatly. " I deserved to be loved enough that obstacles were just that and could be overcome."
"I know that now. Hindsight is 20/20. I am paying for it now. I know the life, the person, I gave up and I hate it. I have to watch you marry someone else. Not just anyone else, either; you are marrying my nephew. He has been with me since my sister was killed in that car crash when he was only 12. I have to stand up there beside him, watch you promise forever, and pretend to be happy about it. I have to live with the fact that he gets to keep you and I don't. I hate it."
"Don't say these things, not now. It is just plain cruel. You are only upset because he loves me enough to not be ashamed of me and you didn't. You didn't want me, but you don't want anyone else to have me either right? You know what I still don't get? Why did you hide Esme? In all the time we were together that summer, why didn't anyone deem it important enough to mention you had a wife? I must have really pissed someone off for this to end up being my life. For the rest of my life, I have to look at you at every family function and know exactly what filled the blanks while you were on those "trips" with the guys. I have to sit across from your wife at those functions and smile while you touch her and whisper in her ear and know exactly how it feels. I hate that I hate her even as much as I love her because I still . . ."
"You still what?" his breath caught as his eyes danced with emotion. "Tell me this Isabella. Is Edward able to draw out the electricity that makes your nerve endings sing like I do whenever I enter the same room? Do his arms give you the complete sense of peace that mine do?"
"It doesn't matter anymore." I said shaking my head from side to side. "I won't let it. I love Edward. "
He stepped forward until his shiny loafers were toe to toe with my ridiculous pink flip flops.
"Do you really? Or do you love me more?" he demanded as his hands shot out and took hold of my shoulders. "Tell me the truth, Isabella."
"What good will it do, Carlisle? It is done and over with. " I looked up into his eyes and was completely sure that the expression in them mirrored my own.
"I have to know," he pleaded as he gave my body a stern shake. "God help me, but I have to know."
"You chose your path and it was one I had no place in." I shook my head and tried to pull myself from his grasp. His hold was unrelenting and never wavered despite my struggle. I let my shoulders sag in defeat. "Try as I might, though, I can't stop loving you. Is that what you want to hear? You changed my world so completely that I can't go back, and I can't forget it. Yes, I feel it and I hate every second of it. The memories follow me to bed at night and torment me while I try to sleep. I am so tired of living with the memories. Up until I got off that plane three days ago, I was beginning to think I had imagined it all. I don't think it was really real and I want real, Carlisle. I want someone to hold when I go to bed at night. I want to build a life and have children. "
"It was real," he said as he drew me even closer. "It was real. I know it because I still feel you in my arms at night sometimes and it drives me mad. I go to kiss Esme and all I can think about is how her lips are all wrong. "
"You aren't being fair." I raised my eyes defiantly to his. "Why now? Why are you waiting until I am getting ready to get married to do this. I have a chance here, with Edward, and I am taking it."
"One more time?" he pleaded breathlessly. I could hear the resignation along with a touch of desperation, in his voice. His arms came around my waist and he repeated, "Please, just let me taste you one more time, and then I will go."
I looked up, stared him straight in the eye, and squared my shoulders in an attempt to look more confident than I felt. I shook my head from side to side but it lacked the conviction that was supposed to be behind it. "No."
"Please," he sighed as his head came even closer. I could feel the heat from his right arm seeping into my skin where it lay against my lower back and closed my eyes. His breath fanned across my face. My heart skipped a beat as I inhaled it. His breath still smelled like spearmint.
Why did this still have to affect me? Why did he still have to affect me? His left hand began climbing slowly up my back leaving a tingling trail of electricity in its wake. It came to rest on the right side of my face, half buried in the curls at my neck.
I opened my eyes with a sad smile and raised my left hand to his face and cupped his cheek. My fingers traced every surface of his face that they could reach. I slid my hand back down my side and I tilted my head forward. My forehead came to rest against his chin.
"I should hate you for still doing this to me. It doesn't change anything. I wasn't good enough to keep but even that knowledge doesn't make me love you any less. Why can't I hate you?" My voice broke over the last few words.
With his left hand still buried beneath my hair, he used his thumb to turn my face upward to meet his eyes. I watched in slow motion, unable to move, as his lips descended upon mine. I squeezed my eyes tight to stop the tears that were threatening to fall.
My breath lodged almost painfully in my throat as his mouth finally met mine. His lips moved over mine softly and reverently as if he were trying to commit it all to memory. His tongue snaked out and slowly traced its way lazily across my full lower lip before sucking it into his mouth. I emitted a helpless whimper as a few fat tears fell from the corners of my eyes. Using his hand, he angled my face a little to the left as he started tracing my upper lip with the tip of his tongue.
My hands came up of their own violation to clutch the lapels of his tuxedo as he drew my upper lip into his mouth. His touch coursed through every nerve ending of my body, flooding it with a lazy heat that made me feel like a huge puddle of jello.
Squeezing my eyes tighter together, I opened my mouth against his and drew my tongue across his upper lip. I felt a shudder make its way down his spine as his mouth opened on mine again. I slipped my tongue slightly inside his mouth and traced the underside of his upper lip. It was an instinctive action that I had never forgotten that drove him crazy.
A low groan rose from his chest. His grip tightened again, so much so, that it was beginning to border on pain as he drew me relentlessly closer. All sense of time and place seemed to evaporate as his tongue ran along the seam of my lips before diving between them into the recesses of my mouth.
My knees started shaking and I sank father into him as his tongue met mine. The kiss that I had thought was meant as goodbye, took on a life of its own. It lingered on the edges of the consuming passion it had once held and mixed with tinges of sadness and regret. It wasn't hurried, it just was. He raised his head, rested his forehead against mine, and exhaled.
"I love you, Isabella. Never doubt for a second that you colored my world too. You did, more than even you know." He turned on his heel and started to walk away.
"Wait!" I called, my voice coming out as a high pitched squeak. He froze and looked over his shoulder at me. "Y-y-you said that Edward wanted you to deliver something to me?"
I watched as he dug into his pocket and pulled out a simple 18 inch white gold chain. My eyes grew wide as I saw the simple stone that was attached to it. Hanging there, at the end of the chain, was a small tasteful pear shaped diamond set in a delicate white gold mount.
"It's beautiful," I breathed and reached out to touch it.
"This necklace belonged to Edward's mother. He wanted you to have it. "He moved around behind me and brought the necklace around my neck." Our great grandmother passed it on to Grandma and Grandma gave it to mom who then gave it to Elizabeth. Edwards's father had it set in a new mount for her when they married." He placed his hands on my shoulders and held my gaze in the mirror. "She would have loved to see you wear it."
He leaned over, planted a kiss on the side of my neck, and began to walk away. He hadn't made it very far before my convoy returned. I stood there in front of the mirror, gaping like a fool, studying the delicate necklace that now lay around my neck.
Esme locked eyes with her husband and raised her eyebrows. A person would have to be blind to miss my slight state of disarray and swollen lips. If it bothered her, she never let it show. Esme was always so collected, calm, and serene. She never had a hair out of place and always sported a fresh manicure. She was, I thought, every man's idea of what a perfect wife would be. She played the roll well and did so with class. Her brown hair carried a tint of red and always seemed to be pulled back in an elegant chignon at the nape of her neck. Nothing was ever out of order with her in charge.
If I had to guess, Alice had picked up that habit from her Aunt. That girl was organized and I have a feeling it was all due to this lady that stood before me. I had grown fond of Esme's caring nature and endless hugs. She had accepted me into the fold of her family as if I had always been there. From what I knew about her, she was kind, gentle, and loving. She breezed past her husband and made her way over to me with concern in her eyes.
"Your eyes look so sad. Are you ok?" she asked as she put her hands on either side of my face. I closed my eyes tightly and lay an absent hand over the necklace. "I see Carlisle brought you the necklace. "She reached out and ran a finger along one side of the chain. She trailed her finger over the simple pendant that hung in the middle. "It's beautiful isn't it? It's about that time dear, are you ready to put on your dress?"
My dress was everything I had always dreamed it would be. It was an off-the-shoulder white satin side-draped A-line gown. It had what looked like folds and creases all the way up the dress. It had a draped bodice that laced up in the back and fanned out into a simple unadorned skirt. It had a small chapel train that trailed behind me as I walked. The dress hung just slightly off of my shoulders and showcased what little cleavage I had without being vulgar or exposing me too much. It had no lace or beading which suited me perfectly. I had never been a girly girl. To go with it, I had a simple pair of elbow length white gloves on. Somewhere in between slipping out of my robe and into my dress, Carlisle had vanished.
My mother circled around and around me smoothing out imaginary wrinkles in my dress. She would nod to herself after she smoothed out every wrinkle and mumble quietly to herself. She made one last circuit around me before raising her eyes and announcing "There, just perfect. You look beautiful baby."
I smiled at her as best I could over the tears that still seemed to be threatening to fall. My momma was a special lady that's for sure. She had endured countless beatings at the hands of my angry alcoholic father. She had buried two children for the same reason. I remember, growing up, the fights and the yelling and the sounds of a fist meeting its target. She was eventually admitted to a psychiatric hospital for an indefinite amount of time after she had tried to take her own life multiple times. I had eventually stopped counting. She was loving and erratic and had more mood swings in a day than I could possibly count. She was so very childlike at times, but she was all mine. She was the only mother I would ever have so I loved her as best as I could and tried to embrace the person that she was. It still didn't stop my wishes that she would just be normal.
Fifteen minutes later I was laced into my dream dress and Alice was flitting about fixing my make-up and putting the final re-touches on my hair.
"I will be right back Bella; I have a surprise for you!" Alice squealed as she dashed from the room.
"I wish I had her energy." Rosalie laughed while shaking her head. "It's like she has an IV feeding her massive amounts of happy."
She came around my left side holding my veil in her hands. "Squat, " she ordered and I immediately complied. She secured it to the crown of my head with a little comb and smoothed it out behind me. "Oh Bella, you look stunning," she said as I straightened myself up. She embraced me lightly and wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. "Thank you, for letting me be a part of this. I never had any sisters of my own."
"Yes, you do, "I replied as I pulled her into my arms and hugged her. I took a step back and smiled at her. "You became mine the day you pulled my scrawny behind up off of the cafeteria floor. You were there for me and fought right there beside me as I took back my life. Jake told me once, that blood doesn't always make a family and he was right. I don't think I ever told you this, but thank you. Thank you for being who you are and for pushing me to become who I was always meant to be. I hope one day that I can do the chance you took on me justice."
"Oh Bella." She whispered as she dashed the tears from under her eyes. She pulled me into another tight hug.
I will never forget the day she came into my life. I rounded the corner into the cafeteria, trying to push some papers back into my bag, and plowed right into this leggy blond girl. I had fallen flat on my behind and my things had scattered everywhere. I sunk down further onto the floor and waited for retribution. Everyone had known who I was through the embarrassing displays of my parents. I was picked on and made fun of and bullied. I never fought back, I hadn't known I could. Much to my surprise, she sank down to my level and began to help me stuff my things back into my bag. After putting all the contents back into it, she rose to her feet and extended her hand. I shrank back expecting to be hit when I heard her laugh.
"I wasn't going to hit you Bella," she smiled. "I was going to help you up."
"Oh." I whispered as I took hold of her hand. She hefted me to my feet and I stared in wonder at this gorgeous blond haired, blue eyed slip of a girl. She was talking to me and she wasn't making fun of my secondhand clothing.
"Someone needs to tell you Bella that you should never have to bow to anyone. Stick with me and we will get you a back bone yet." She smiled and threw her arm around me and away we went.
She was just as beautiful now as she had been back then. She had and still did push me to be my best and never accept anything less than what I deserved. She was the type of person, I had learned, that would go out of their way to take care of someone. Despite her tough exterior and carefully crafted appearance, she was nothing but an extraordinary woman who knew who and what she believed. She had met my brother shortly after our return to the Seattle area that summer and they had become inseparable.
Rosalie and Alice wore the same dress for the wedding, the only difference being the color. Rosalie wore a hot pink dress and Alice had donned a lime green one. Their dresses were billowy concoctions of chiffon fabric. The tops of the dressed hung from their shoulders by two large straps. The straps had intricate beadwork along them that added just the right amount of sparkle to their dresses. They sported an empire waistline that was accentuated by a contrasting charmeuse ribbon and fell in billowing folds to their ankles. I hadn't understood the color choices as of yet, but I had trusted my soon to be sister in law with that decision.
Seconds later, Alice danced into the room in her flamboyant lime green dress holding something behind her back.
"Bella. I brought you something," she squealed excitedly while bouncing from one foot to the other. "Flowers!" With that she produced the hidden bouquet from behind her back.
I gasped as I got my first look at the gorgeous bouquet she had chosen for me. It was a beautiful arrangement of orange and lime green small orchids, stephanotis with rhinestone accents, hot pink spray roses, plum stock and orange mini calla lilies. It was gorgeous and different and everything I always wanted.
"They are beautiful Alice. Thank you!" I kissed her cheek as she passed the bouquet to me. "They are exactly what I wanted."
A slight knock sounded at the door and we all turned towards it. The smile that lit my face came naturally as my best friend in the entire world sauntered into the room where I had been getting ready.
"I have to hand it to you, Bells, I didn't think you could actually pull off a dress. It looks good on you, honey." he said as he walked over to where I stood and took my hand.
"I guess that's our cue, honey," my mother said as she ushered the rest of the ladies out the door. "See you down there."
"Jeez, Jake, I guess you really do know how to clear a room," I said with a wry grin.
"What can I say, they can't handle all of my masculine beauty," he replied with a laugh as he lifted his right hand to my left cheek. "You look beautiful, Bells, "he said as he studied my face. "Your dad. . ."
"Don't even go there, Jake. He made his choice. All of the people that matter to me are here."
"Ok honey, I was just going to say he was missing out. His loss is my gain. I get to give my best girl away. You ready to go?"
Jake had been my very best friend for as long as I could remember. We had grown up together making mud pies in our front yards as our fathers spent endless hours fishing.
"Yes, "I said, even as I nodded my consent.
"Then let's do this," he said as he leaned over and kissed my cheek and drew my veil down across my face. "Uh Bells?"
"What?"
"Aren't you going to change your shoes? I mean I totally dig the flip flops but I somehow thing the whole fuzzy pink thing isn't the look you were going for." He queried as he led me out the door.
I gasped and choked back a snort as I looked down. It was too late to change them now and I had no idea where Alice had put the shoes that went with my dress.
"There isn't any time." I shook my head. "I don't know where they are anyways. Jake?" I asked as he tucked my hand into the curve of his elbow and led us over to the stairs that would take me down to what would be one of the most import walks of my life.
"Hmm?" he replied as he leaned his ear down to hear me.
"Can you not tell Alice about the shoes and manage to get me down the stairs with me causing and damage."
"You got it, honey. By the way, someone is waiting to see you, " he said as we reached the top of the staircase. He looked down at me and smiled as he nodded his head towards the foot of the stairs.
I followed his eyes as we began our descent. What I saw brought tears to my eyes. "Billy," I said on an unsteady sigh. "You came. Oh, Billy, I can't believe you came!"
Having reached the bottom I rushed over to the regal man sitting in the wheelchair resplendent in a classic black tuxedo. I leaned over and wrapped my arms around his neck and turned my face into the crook of his neck. I pulled back and brought my hands to his cheeks. "Thank you." I said simply.
"Your daddy is a fool darlin'; I wouldn't miss this for the world." he said as He patted my hand. "Let's go get you married."
I smiled widely and held my head high. Completing my day were the two people who had opened their home to me so that I could achieve my one dream. I had always wanted to finish my education and continue on to college. I had my eyes set on a career in nursing. Thanks to the two men on either side of me, I was about to achieve it. Billy and Jake had hugged and encouraged me every step of the way. They had given me a quiet place to study on the days daddy drank a little too much and in those final weeks of high school, they had given me a safe place to sleep. They quizzed me before every test and made sure I always had something to eat. The Blacks had never had much in the way of material things, but what they had they shared openly with me as if I were a member of the family. I had often wondered how two men with such different personalities could be such great friends. Billy was the type of father that every child wishes they had. He laughed, played, disciplined, cried, and pushed his children to be the best they could be. He and Jake had held me up when I had lost the strength and will to do it on my own and here I stood today only a few short weeks from my degree and the start of a career I had already fallen in love with.
I turned to face the doors as the music changed. I took my place in between two of the most important men in my life and put my smile firmly in place. The doors opened to reveal yet another surprise my Alice had planned for me. There was no silk isle runner, no stuffy chapel, and no obscenely gaudy flower arrangements.
Instead, the aisle was scattered with flowers and flower petals in a menagerie of colors. It was flanked by two groupings of rustic wooden chairs tied with comfortable cushions in varying colors. My eyes took in every detail as we glided down the aisle towards the altar. I looked up and gasped. The altar was composed of wooden logs, oak or pine, if I guessed right. The same flowers that I held in my hands sat in simple vases around each of the four legs that held up the wooden canopy. The minister stood squarely beneath the wooden altar. Alice and Rosalie stood smiling off to the left.
Steeling myself, I glanced to my right and promptly tripped. Jake quickly righted me and patted my hand as he glanced down to ascertain if I was alright. My eyes were elsewhere. There to the right of the minister stood three of the most important men in my life. Two more stood on either side of me. A lone chair sat off to the right in the first row of chairs with a single flower resting in its seat. My eyes filled with tears as I smiled. Bless you, Alice, I thought.
At the head of the aisle, standing tall beside the minister was Edward looking devilishly handsome in his tuxedo. His green eyes sparkled with emotion and on his face was one of the most beautiful smiles I had ever seen. Standing next to him were Carlisle and Emmett. Emmett smiled at me, winked, and gave me the thumbs up sign. I suppressed the urge to giggle. That was my brother all right. The loveable giant who found humor in every situation he faced.
Carlisle stood beside his son in all of his glory. His blond good looks were only enhanced by the classic lines of the black tuxedo he wore. His face held only the shadow of a forced smile as his eyes caught mine. His eyes drifted slowly downward as he took in my appearance. His eyes rested on my feet and he frowned. I looked down to see what had caught his attention and almost cried. I had forgotten to put on my shoes; Alice was going to kill me. I closed my eyes and suppressed the urge to run. I hoped no one would think anything of it since I could almost always be found sporting a pair of flip flops.
As Edward stepped down and took my hand, I closed my eyes and let the memories take me. Just one more time I promised.