"I swear…if Alice sprays anymore hairspray around me my lungs will explode", I thought, somewhat annoyed, as the minutes I spent trapped in this chair at the mercy of Alice lengthened. I did not want to be in this chair. I did not want to be annoyed. I didn't even really want to be with Alice. I simply yearned for the company of my beloved, my Edward, but for the last twenty four hours--since Alice had captured me at noon yesterday--I had been forbidden to see him.
This, of course, was Alice's stipulation….something about the bad luck that came with a Groom seeing the Bride the night before the wedding. Wedding. That word still froze in my mind a little bit. I still couldn't really believe that I was getting married. I suppose it's about time to believe it. After all, the wedding is today. My apprehension and angst had mostly faded, but a small part of me remained shocked that in a few hours time I would be Edward's wife. In just a short passage of moments, after the exchange of a few deeply meaningful words, I would cease to be Isabella Swan. I would be Isabella Cullen. My heart actually skipped a beat as I thought the name. Even I had to admit that I was excited about that proof of belonging to him.
I sighed with joy as Alice pinned another curl in place. Even the slight sound I made did not go unnoticed by her vampire ears.
"Is anything wrong, Bella?", Alice asked, suddenly worried, "You do like your hair, don't you? Oh, please tell me you don't hate it." I had to giggle at the pained expression on her face. When she heard my laughter, she eased up a bit.
"I love my hair, Alice", I affirmed, and it was true. The curly up-do she had been slaving over was beautiful without being too overdone to seem out of place on me.
She smiled. "I had a feeling you'd like it", she said, adding a wink. A pause and then, "If it's not your hair, then what's bothering you?" The serious face was back.
"Honestly, Alice, nothing is wrong. I'm just….a little excited", I admitted. My confession didn't seem to phase Alice at all. She simply shrugged.
"I knew you would be." Another gorgeous smile erupted on her face. Another confession bubbled on the surface of my lips.
"I am starting to get nervous though." I could feel the sweat commence its beading on my palms.
To my surprise, Alice giggled. "Yeah…I knew that, too. Don't worry, Bella. This can't be anywhere near as bad as telling Charlie and Renee about your engagement, and you survived that, remember?"
Yes, I did remember, and I cringed a little at the thought. The memory of telling my parents that I intended to wed my 17-year-old boyfriend was a human memory that I hoped the transformation to vampire would not preserve. Overall, it had gone better than I'd expected, but that doesn't mean it was a pleasant experience to any extent.
Of the two, Renee had--surprisingly--taken the news with more finesse. I had called her, not that Edward didn't offer to fly us to Jacksonville if I wanted to tell her in person. However, I had refused. The truth was, I was terrified of her reaction and thankful for the barrier of a phone line and several thousand
miles to protect me from her wrath. The phone had only rang two times before she answered. My hopes of her not picking up were immediately dashed.
"Hello," she had said, quickly and breathlessly. I had probably interrupted her trying to find her left shoe or something.
"Hi, Mom," was my quiet response, "How's everything going?" was my desperate plea to prolong the inevitable.
"Fine, fine. I just can't find my right blue flip-flop anywhere. It is driving me nuts!" As she said this, I smiled to myself. I knew my mom so well, and I knew exactly how she felt about teenage marriage. That was precisely why I would rather be a snack for the Volterri than tell her my "news". "How are you, sweetie? You don't usually call to chitchat. Is something up?" Hm. It seemed as if my mom knew me pretty well, too.
"Everything is fine, Mom. I just have some good news to tell you," I said, trying my best to sound enthusiastic. Edward squeezed my hand and pulled me closer. I was currently seated in his lap. There was no way I could survive this conversation without his literal support. His kissed my forehead and I continued, "Mom, maybe you should sit down."
"Bella….", was all she said, the first real edge of worry appearing in her voice.
"Don't worry, Mom. I didn't kill anyone or anything.", Although, at this point, I was starting to wish I had. "It has to do with Edward."
"Oh", she took a moment to allow that to sink in. "He didn't leave you again, did he?", I could sense the suppressed rage in her forcibly calm voice.
"No, Mom. Quite the opposite in fact", Edward looked at me, his eyes urging me to tell her now. "Mom, Edward and I, well….we're engaged."
There was complete silence on the line. "Oh, no", I thought, "Has she fainted?"
"Mom?" I barely whispered.
"Bella. I'm only going to ask you this once and I expect an honest answer." Wow. Renee was being the boss for once; I hadn't expected that. "Are you joking?"
"No, Mom. I'm telling you the truth. The wedding is August 13th and you'll have an invitation in the mail within a week. This is very real", I blurted, surprised at how easy it was to be honest.
"And I suppose there's no hope of me changing your mind?" Renee asked. There was no hint of anger to her voice, simply resignation.
"This is what I want, Mom. I want Edward. I will never change my mind," Edward smiled at my words and I felt my heart rate quicken. It took me a minute to remember that I was in the middle of a very important conversation with my mother.
"I know you love each other. Anyone can see that, but you're both still so young", Renee began. I could just feel her rant coming on. "I guess you know that I'm not thrilled about this, but I'm going to do my best to respect your decision."
"What? Mom? Is that really you? Is that all you have to say?" I was shocked, and Edward was laughing quietly--probably at my expression. Of course he could hear everything my mother was saying, so he knew exactly why my eyebrows had just relocated to midway up my forehead. I glared at him as I waited for her response.
"Yes, sweetie. That's all I have to say. Oh, and I want to see your dress as soon as you pick it out!" the excitement in her voice was a little forced, but she wasn't yelling at me, and for that, I was so happy. When Edward saw my smile, he leaned forward and, with the quickness of vampire speed, lightly kissed my lips. The rest of the conversation revolved around girly details that I was only half interested in. Edward mostly tuned out, cradling me in his lap and twirling his fingers in my hair.
Speaking of hair, Alice's movements brought me back to the present, as she pinned one more lock of hair in place and started spraying clouds of hairspray in my direction once more. Before I had a chance to complain about the smell, Alice spun my chair around so that I was facing the mirror in her bathroom. "Your hair is finished", she announced proudly.
My breath caught in my throat as I absorbed my reflection. "Oh, Alice. It's perfect."
"Thanks", she said, and her face quickly changed from angelic to impish, "Now….it's time for make-up."
I rolled my eyes and recommenced my daydreaming to distract myself from Alice slathering countless mystery products on my skin. My mom probably would have killed to be here. Although I knew she disapproved she had been, as promised, supportive of my decision. I only wish I could say the same of Charlie's reaction.
Edward and I walked up the sidewalk to my house. Well, walked is probably too strong of a word on my part. I half-walked and Edward half-dragged me over the concrete. Edward wouldn't have usually been so forceful, but I'd made him promise not to let me leave my house today without telling Charlie. I had to tell him; today was the day, and I had made my decision. When we were within six feet of the front door, Edward stopped pulling me along and turned to face me.
"Bella, this is ridiculous. I'm not forcing you into this house. If you can't walk in there on your own, then you aren't ready to tell him." He said quietly, while chuckling. "It's okay. As long as we tell him within the next week, it will have been soon enough." He ran his fingers along my cheek. "Calm down, love. He isn't going to shoot you."
I snorted. "You don't know that, Edward." My eyebrows creased with anger. Sure, he could joke. He wasn't the one terrified of his father possibly killing him in a few moments time.
"Yes, actually, I do. I checked with Alice. Charlie won't murder you. I can assure you of that much", he reassured, adding his beautiful, crooked smile.
"Okay, Edward", I rolled my eyes. Leave it to his psychic sister to know that I wasn't going to lose my life today. "If I'm going to come out of this alive, then I guess I have nothing to worry about", I muttered
angrily, stomping up to and through the door. Edward was, of course, right behind me. We walked into the living room and joined Charlie as he watched television. Luckily a commercial was on, so he devoted most of his attention to us.
"Hey, kids", he stated happily. Charlie had been increasingly polite to Edward in recent days. I'm sure that would be changing as soon as Dad heard what I'd come to tell him. "What's with the random visit? Anything going on?"
"Actually, Charlie, Bella and I have an announcement to make", Edward broke the silence. Of course, the way he phrased it, Charlie probably knew what I was going to say next.
Edward glanced down at me and I held his gaze as I spoke, "Dad, we're engaged."
"ISABELLA SWAN! YOU'RE WHAT?? Oh, don't you tell me that you're going to marry this boy after all he put you through." Charlie's anger seeped into every loud word he used.
"Yes, Dad. We're getting married….on August 13th." Edward squeezed my hand and tightened his arm around my shoulder. He could see that I had instantly paled when Charlie started yelling.
"Why? Why so soon? Why him? How can you trust him?" he was no longer yelling, but he was shaking with the effort it cost him.
"I love Edward, Dad. I want to marry him. I know I will never feel differently. Waiting doesn't even seem logical."
"But, Bella….you're eighteen years old.", he was whispering now, and close to tears.
Edward stepped in at this moment, "Charlie…", he began and Dad glanced up at him, "I know I hurt Bella in the past, and I know that I've made many mistakes when it has come to her care. However, the damage those mistakes inflicted has caused me more pain than I've caused her. She has chosen to forgive me; whether I'm worthy of that or not, I still cannot decide. And your daughter has agreed to marry me. In doing this, she has made me happier than I ever hoped to be. I can promise you one thing, Charlie. I will never leave Bella again. I will be hers forever….till death do us part."
Charlie simply stared at Edward for a solid seven seconds before he said anything. "I know you care about her, Edward, and Bella, I know you love him. I just think you guys are too young for this. You don't know what marriage is about." He was calmer now, but still distraught. "It'll be a while before I get used to this, and I don't think I'll ever like the idea, but you can bet that I'm not going to miss the chance to walk my only daughter down the aisle." He looked at me, trying to smile; the pain was clear in his eyes.
I let out a breath that I didn't realize I'd been holding. "Thank you, Dad", and with those words I stood up to hug him.
Tears swam in my eyes at the thought--a reaction quickly noticed by Alice. "Bella, stop crying right this instant! Your waterproof mascara has to dry before it's actually waterproof", her voice was exasperated.
Drawn back to the present by her voice, I noticed that, sure enough, she was holding a mascara wand in her hand and brandishing it at my lashes. "Sorry, Alice", I smiled, "I'm glad it's waterproof though. I'm sure these aren't the only tears that will come from me today."
"Oh, trust me, Bella. They're not", and with another quick wink, Alice resumed her work.