Epilogue.
"MOMEEE!! SAM THREW A STARFISH AT ME!" Bella shrieked as she ran up the beach to her mother. I laughed and wrapped my arms around my knees. The waves crashed against the rocks, sending a salty sea spray into the air that made the ocean misty. It was cloudy, and the rocks in the distance looked like ghostly giants in the water. The air was filled with a salty breeze and children's voices. Bella's black hair was flying in the wind as she ran up the beach, ready to unleash an onslaught of tattling about her best friend's behavior. So much has changed, and sometimes, it seems like nothing changes at all.
Jacob comes over and sits next to me on the wet sand. I look over at him, not wanting to pry, but still desiring some news from our departed friends. "It's funny how stuff works out, huh, Seth?" he says pensively as he watched the children playing on the beach. I haven't been able to read the guy's mind in ten years, but sometimes, I still knew exactly what my best friend was thinking. I took it as my opportunity to find out where they were. "So", I asked, "have you heard anything lately?"
"Yeah, yeah…I got a letter a couple of days ago.", he said distractedly. I did like how vampires sent letters instead of e-mails. It's more personal that way, and at least you have some token from their actual hand, especially when you can't live within a hundred mile of each other.
"Where are they now? Jamaica?" I joked.
"Nah", Jacob grinned, "San Francisco."
"College or high school?" I pursued.
"High school this time. Starting as juniors, so I think they'll be there for a little while."
And that was that. The end of the update. That's all I could ask him to give me. Even after all this time, the pain of not being able to see your very best friend in the world is too much.
Jacob looked over at Leah and she smiled and waved. She was perched on a rock making sure that neither Billy nor Sam fell in the water. I was a lucky guy. How many men get to have their sister marry their best friend? Leah readjusted herself; she was constantly uncomfortable during her later phases of pregnancy and couldn't sit in one place for too long. I thought about the names of their children. They bore the names of our friends that had passed on to the next world, the ones we lost in the war.
The war.
The war was hard, and I shuddered at the thought. I supposed, if their next child was a boy, he'd be named Paul…
I quickly looked around to think of something else; those times were far to dark to dwell on for even a second.
Bella had finished her tirade and went right back to Sam's side, to dig in a tide pool in between some moss-covered rocks, her fair skin looked like a stark contrast to his russet tones. Jacob sighed, and this time, I wasn't sure what was crossing his mind. Once you've shared thoughts like Jacob, Leah, and I had, it was hard not to wonder sometimes what the others were thinking. Life is a series of compromises. Some are more difficult than others. Our compromise we made was that we had to lose our friends to become ourselves again. For our only shot at a normal human existence, we had to lose our closest allies. Since their departure, we've bruised, we've bled, and we've aged. I thought about Bella's namesake, and wonder if she ever feels like she missed out on something, like not ever seeing her children throw starfish at each other on a beach. But, she was where she always wanted to be, and I'm sure she was happy.
And we were happy, too.
I have the most wonderful wife in the world. I can thank the Cullens for our relationship, too, sort of. I aged quickly, which made it possible for an older woman to fall for a younger guy like me. Out on the beach, Bella squealed as Sam wagged a little crab in her face, and I laughed. I didn't come up with the name for our daughter. Angela did. She was, of course, named after a dear friend of hers that had disappeared, never to return one night. I wonder sometimes if Anglea ever knew how close Bella and Jacob were. I know that Jacob would have wanted to name one their daughters Bella if they'd had one, but Leah would have none of it, I'm sure. She almost had to spit the name out during Angela's pregnancy, but she got over that, thank goodness.
I pat Jacob on the shoulder and leave him to his thoughts, and glance at the children. Bella and Sam are continuing their science experiment. Billy was on the sand making snow angels. I look further down the beach and see a pale, light-haired child hanging from the branches of a sun-bleached tree. That was our Edward. Angela had asked me where I had come up with that name and I told her, "I had a great friend once that I lost, too", and that had been that. I walked over to Angela and wrapped my arms around her.
Leah waddled off her rock and came over to us. "It's getting late. We should be heading out soon. Mom said she was going to cook dinner for all of us tonight. Charlie's going to be fishing, and you know how she's got to have someone to cook for.", she said.
"Right, right", I said, and I look at my sister. I could not be happier that our wives had a choice. The imprinting on another person is incredible and powerful, of course, but I always wanted Leah to have a choice, a real one, and I think she chose well.
I looked out onto the beach one final time before beckoning the children to come in. Things were completely different now, but in so many ways, the same. Life just keeps going and going, despite wars, and death, and loss. In front of me, I not only see our beloved families, I also see a rebirth from what we've lost.
"Come on, kids! Let's go! It's time to go to Nana's to eat!" Leah shouts over the crashing waves.
We leave and I take one more glance at the darkening sky.
Life keeps on going, and I'm thankful just to have had today.
Bella and Sam were walking hand in hand in front of us.
I take Angela and Edward's hands and we start to the car.