The cool air blew lightly upon my face as I attempted to make the words-so perfect sounding in my mind-transfer onto the paper before me. My mind was a sound mess and the closer my train was to its destination, the worse it became.
"Attention passengers," the conductor announced over the built in PA system. "This is your conductor speaking. We'll be pulling into Grand Central Station in about ten minutes. Thank you and welcome to New York City."
I sighed and ran my hand over the Ivory wedding invitation that I kept safely in the back of my tattered journal. His name-the same size as the rest of the light calligraphy-seemed to shout up at me loudly.
"Should have been my name," I mumbled lowly in regards to the name resting just under in light yet bolded letters. I'd heard nothing but positive things about the woman from his younger sister that I still managed to keep in contact with. Alice could go on and on about the young, vibrant blond from upstate New York. But, even so, I couldn't help but hold onto the slightest bit of resentment for the woman I'd never even met.
She was marrying the man I've loved since I was eleven.
For the remaining ten minutes of my train ride, I placed the invitation in the back of the journal and the journal back in my small tote bag. When I realized that I still had about nine minutes left, I sat in my seat patiently and stared at the moon that was shining bright in the Summer sky.
"Welcome to New York," the conductor announced one last time before the train came to a stand still and we were all free to leave. I uttered a quiet thanks and rushed off of the train.
The terminal was filled with people coming and going. They swarmed around me and made it nearly impossible to see the petite yet beautiful girl waiting for me just feet away.
"Alice!" I exclaimed, running at her and wrapping my arms around her thin waist. We'd kept contact since I moved away from our small hometown of Berkshire Hills Massachusetts when I was just seventeen and she was barely thirteen. Now, seven years later, here we were. "Oh goodness. It's so good to see you."
"You too," she smiled as she pulled out of the hug. "You are so pretty Bella! I mean, what's it been, seven years since we've actually seen each other?"
"Seven years in January," I said somewhat sadly. "And you! You're what, Twenty now?"
"Well, I'll be twenty in September," she grinned proudly, linking her elbow with mine. "We can talk when we get back to the apartment. A lot of people are excited to see you."
I'd lived in Berkshire Hills until I was seventeen and forced to move to Washington with my father because my mother remarried and cared more for her husband than she did me. I hadn't wanted to go but I also didn't want to live in a house where I wasn't wanted. So, I reluctantly packed my bags and was on a plane a week later. Edward refused to speak to me but Alice and I had continued to talk, even though her brother assumed I wanted to leave.
"Alice," I asked her quietly as we sat in the luxurious town car on the way to our hotel. The entire Cullen family had relocated to Manhattan when Edward had been accepted into Juilliard. Dr. Cullen was very successful with his medical practice while Mrs. Cullen made a name for herself dealing art. "You told me a couple of weeks ago that you'd taken care of the invites for this wedding. Does Edward know I was invited?"
She looked down at her hands that were folded primly in her lap and muttered quietly, "Well…no."
"Alice," I hissed quietly. "Why wouldn't you tell him I was invited to his own wedding? Shouldn't he know about something like that?"
"I think it'll be a pleasant surprise," she laughed lightly, patting my knee. "Don't you worry your pretty little head about it. Oh, speaking of which, My parents are extremely excited to see you."
Carlisle and Esme Cullen had been like a set of seconds parents throughout my childhood. I loved my mother dearly but often times she became quite a handful. It was nice to know I could always retreat to the Cullen household if she became too much to handle.
We pulled up to the posh looking apartment building and with a trickling laugh, Alice practically pulled me from the car and into the building. It was extremely large and accented with a lot of beige. Even the lobby of the building put my small Chicago apartment to shame.
"Follow me," she told me as proceeded through the lobby. I followed her into the elevator and found myself humming along to the quiet elevator music. Once we'd reached the top floor, she led me to the intricately decorated door of the pent house apartment where she lived with her mother and father.
"Mom?" she called into the dimly lit apartment. "Daddy?"
Two of the most radiant looking people I'd ever met suddenly appeared before us. The fare skinned, raven haired wonder that was Esme Cullen suddenly wrapped her arms around me tightly.
"Hi Esme," I said happily.
"Were so glad you could make it," she grinned, pulling away from the hug so that Mr. Cullen could have his turn. Each time I saw Carlisle, I saw Edward. Edward and his father were mirror images, all the way down to the small freckles on their defined chins.
After the hellos were exchanged, Alice led me through the grandiose apartment and to one of the back bedrooms. It was as to be expected-large and magnificent. I almost couldn't wait to fall into the queen sized bed in the center of it all.
"This is where you'll be staying," she chirped. "It's late so I'll let you sleep before I take you to explore the city."
She winked one last time before giggling lightly and skipping out of the room. I puffed out a sigh of relief and fell onto the bed.
I was asleep before I could kick off my shoes.
The next morning, my subconscious alarm clock had me up before the digital clock could even hit 7 o clock. I moaned loudly, finally took of my shoes and walked into the adjacent bathroom. I hadn't looked in the mirror since I'd left on the Amtrak over a day ago. I hadn't anticipated such a long journey when I purchased the ticket. A flight wouldn't have taken twenty one hours.
After a nice, relaxing shower, I threw my hair back and ripped through my bag for the most comfortable pair of sweatpants I could find. After I was dressed comfortably, I made my out into the empty apartment. Of course I was the only one awake.
Early morning light was breaking through the windows that took the place of the back wall. The view of the city was mesmerizing as the sun was steadily rising over the numerous high rises and sky scrapers. Lost in the sight, I nearly forgot about the coffee I'd begun brewing.
I wasn't alone in the silence for long. Alice popped out of her bedroom not long after I did and Carlisle and Esme quickly followed suit. After the normal morning coffee, Alice dragged me to my bedroom to prepare me for our day in the city. She threw one of my outfits at me, dragged a flat iron through my messy hair and had me out the door within the hour.
"You are going to love the city," she grinned widely, her hands moving with each word she said. Her eyes were wide with exuberance and she was practically skipping as we made our way down the city sidewalk. "I can show you Rockefeller center and we can go to the Met and Oh! You need to be taken to the Russian Tea Room. That's where Edward and Tanya are having the reception. That was my idea. They just wanted to have it at the hotel ballroom but I said no. That is definitely way too common," she inhaled deeply and I couldn't help but stifle a giggle. Alice was most certainly the biggest talker I'd ever met. She could go on for minutes and stop only to breathe. "Anyways, yeah, let's get going. I'm taking you to breakfast at Sullivan's. They have the best Dutch Crepes. I'll call Rosalie. Let's go."
We began walking and as we did, she pointed at every thing she could and every where she pointed, a story seemed to accompany it. The only break my ears were given was when she called one of her friends. The conversation was short, sweet and she continued on with the tour when she hung up.
"Here we are," she finally said as we approached an adorable corner side bistro. "Rose and Emmett should be here any minute."
"Who are they?"
I instantly regretted asking that question. When I did, she began rambling on about how Rosalie was a fashion designer at the label where Alice was an intern. According to Alice, Rosalie was my age and controlling in the nicest way possible. Emmett was the handsome Lacrosse player from NYU who was also good friends with Edward. We were just sitting down at the booth when they joined us.
Rosalie was a voluptuous young woman with thick blonde hair, piercing eyes and more curves than an hour-glass. Emmett was large, towering over Rosalie, Alice and I. With thick biceps and soft features, he reminded me of a bear. Just by appearances, Rosalie and Emmett completed one another.
"Sorry were late," Rosalie huffed as they slid into the booth, rolling her eyes "Emmett here was being a total pansy and wouldn't leave the house without his hideous leather jacket."
I didn't find his leather jacket hideous.
"Well you were the one that was in the shower for two fucking hours this morning," he retorted. With an annoyed expression, Rosalie scoffed and opened the menu dramatically. I looked at Alice warily but she shook her head and lifted her hand. She was obviously telling me that this was normal behavior for Rosalie and Emmett.
"Guys," Alice said once she was able to finally get a word in. "This is Bella. She's from Chicago. She's here from Chicago for the wedding."
"I'd like to go to Chicago," Rosalie had the eye roll down pat. She threw Emmett a churlish glance and turned back to me with a smile. "It's nice to meet you, Bella. I'm Rosalie and this is Emmett. We really do love each other, I promise."
"Then why don't you stop your bitching every once and a while and maybe we could tell that to people and they wouldn't look at us like Bella is right now," Emmett spat quietly.
Alice cupped her hands over her face and threw her head down on the table as the bickering extended into a full fledged argument. Before we'd even been given the chance to order, Rosalie stormed out and Emmett reluctantly followed after her.
"Does that happen a lot?" I asked with a breathless laugh. Alice leaned back in the seat and shook her head.
"What's gonna happen is they're both going home and they'll have like fuck-hot sex and everything will be fine. Rosalie tells me that happens all time," it was strange hearing Alice talk like that. How could someone so small speak such colorful words?
"Edward will be so excited to see you," she beamed once we'd finished breakfast. We were back to walking along the city streets, only now they were much more crowded as the day progressed. "I'm sure he'll be really surprised to find that you're here! We can all have dinner tonight at this restaurant called Per Se. I'm sure Tanya would just adore you."
Right. His fiancé. Tanya.
For the remainder of the day, we toured what we could of the city. She took me all around. From the wonderful art in the Met to the delectable taste of Pink Berry frozen yogurt, she didn't miss a beat.
"Alice, you know we have like two weeks for me to see the city," I laughed when we returned to the apartment late that afternoon. On our way home, she'd called Edward to inform him of dinner. But, she left out the fact that I would be accompanying He, Tanya and Alice. "What time are we doing dinner?"
"I told Edward around 6:45. Is that alright?"
I nodded and looked down at my watch. It was already four o clock and I wasn't sure that I had a suitable outfit. As if she was reading my mind, Alice smiled and pulled me into her bedroom, leaving me no time for much needed small talk with Carlisle and Esme.
Unsatisfied with my flat hair, I fixed it up into a stylish yet casual up do, applied a light coat of makeup and slid into the sleek Blue dress Alice had given me and found myself with a little over an hour to chat with Esme about living in Washington and then moving to Chicago when I turned 19. I was glad Alice took all of our allotted time to get ready for dinner. It was nice catching up.
"Let's go," she said as she came into the living room. I nodded and slipped on the heels she'd also let me borrow. Somehow, they actually fit. Alice looked at Carlisle and Esme. "We should be in later. I'll tell Edward to give you a call after dinner."
Esme smiled and Alice and I left the apartment. I was surprised to find that I was practically bouncing in my seat on the way to the restaurant. I was about to come face to face with the man I thought I would never see again when I left Washington.
Hope you enjoyed that. I can't wait for Bella and Edward to finally reunite. Should be interesting. As of now, the story is rated M for language but you never know. I could throw a lemon in at some point.
All of the restaurants listed are real. You should look them up. They're all pretty nice. Please read and review.