Preface

I looked up through the ballroom ceiling and noticed how blue the sky was with the moon. There was not a cloud in sight. The melody in the background reminded me of the lullaby my father would play for me when I was little. I began to sway back and forth when I sensed that someone was staring at me. I turned and caught his eyes. He looked at me with an intensity that made me weak in my knees. I looked at him with a little smirk and he grinned. I didn't realize that I was walking towards him, my one and only, Jacob.

Eighth Birthday

I could not believe it had been eight years already. I was so happy today was Renesmee, my daughter's, eighth birthday. She had made it this far with no trouble from other vampires, the Volturi (the royal vampire family), or me. Jacob, my dearest friend, stayed by Renesmee's side all these years and has loved her more than anyone else. I hated the feeling that he loved Renesmee more than me but, it was obvious that he did love her more. I couldn't believe how much our family's life had changed so much over the years.

Edward and I attended Dartmouth for two years while Renesmee attended elementary school acting as Carlisle and Esme's daughter. Carlisle and Esme are my second father and mother. They have helped me learn about being a vampire and have taught me how to control my urge for human blood. I couldn't thank them any more for what they have done and what they were doing for Renesmee. They watched her in the evening while Edward and I went to class. Alice, my favorite sister-in-law, and Jasper, my brother-in-law, decided to spend their days traveling the world. Alice always called in with a little premonition here and there about anything that would concern the family. Rosalie, my gorgeous sister-in-law, and Emmett, my amusing brother-in-law, decided to travel a little closer to home within the North and South continents. Alice and Jasper visited every two months while Rosalie and Emmett were back once a month. Rosalie couldn't stand being far away from Renesmee.

After the two years at Dartmouth, we all decided that it was time to move but we were unsure of where to go. Carlisle suggested for everyone to go live with Tanya and her family. Tanya's family is somewhat of our extended vampire family. They are "vegetarians" just like us. It was the best thing and it gave a chance to relax and figure out our next move. We ended up staying with Tanya a little longer than expected. Her family loved having Renesmee around because she was a little ball of sunshine. The hardest part before our move to Tanya's was telling Charlie, my dad, and Renee, my mom.

Charlie understood that our moving was for the best. After the plans were made to move to Tanya's home, I visited Charlie and he could tell I had not changed one bit (physically). I told him that Renesmee's safety was our top priority. All Charlie could say was, "Well kid, you know what's best for her and the family. Promise me one thing?" I nodded. "Please don't drop off the face of the earth. Please call or write. I just need to know you are still out there." I smiled, "I promise. I'm just glad you understand everything, well not everything, but I can't be happier that we are on the same page." I was always so concerned about him and his safety. "What are you going to tell Renee?" he asked. "I don't know. I know she'll understand but I'm afraid she'll burst." We both laughed. I was so surprised by Renee's reaction once I told her.

"Honey, I thought you had changed quite a bit," she said cautiously. I looked at her and began to flip out in my head thinking, "Does she know what I am?" "Should I tell her?" My thoughts began to run together into garble. I took a deep breath. "Mom, I don't know, well I can't, and actually it's a mixture of both…" I trailed off speaking at warp speed. She caught my hands and shivered a little. "I think I understand. You don't have to explain anything Bella. I do have a mother's intuition you know," she smiled. After her reassurance I calmed down. We talked about school, married life, Phil (her husband), Florida, and of course Renesmee. She was so happy to be a grandmother. The memory of our conversation was cut short; I heard a high pitched shriek of excitement from Renesmee's room and went to check on her.

"Ah, I see your father has given you the big surprise," I said to Renesmee. She looked up at me with her beautiful chocolate brown eyes and nodded. "Remember," I said, "this is just one of your many gifts from your father and I." She looked at Edward and said, "Dad when do I get the rest?" Edward chuckled and smiled his crooked smile that made me fall in love with him, "Be patient Renesmee, you can't have everything at once." She frowned and looked away at her present.

I fought with Edward for two weeks about her big surprise. We had decided to get her, against Jacob's please, a go-cart. Edward thought a nice car would be the perfect present, as always, but even I put my foot down on that idea. Edward argued, "She's never getting any older, physically, what's the harm with getting her a car?" I responded in somewhat of a high pitched frantic voice, "Are you insane, she's only eight, how do you think people will feel about seeing an eight year old driving a car? It's ridiculous above all your other ideas. I don't want her to get hurt." Edward took my face into his hands, "She is going to be perfectly safe. We live in the safest area and we would be able to watch her from any place. I've taught her the basics." She was never alone but I still rolled my eyes because the only basic for Edward was speed. I finally agreed to something simpler and somewhat safer for her. I knew that this gift would make her happy no matter what.

Jacob appeared outside Renesmee's window and growled at the sight of the go-cart. He looked at me and shook his head. I felt a little embarrassed and looked away. Edward told Jacob to come inside through the back where we left Jacob's clothes. I left Renesmee and Edward playing with her new toy and met Jacob in the kitchen. He was scrounging through the fridge as usual and turned to face me with a look of disappointment. "I thought we were on the same page Bells." I passed him without acknowledging what he said. Jacob was more concerned about Renesmee's safety than anyone. Suddenly, he slammed his hand on the counter and yelled at me, "Bella, did you not hear me, how could you agree to this?" I turned and calmly whispered, "Not right now Jake, it's her birthday, let her enjoy the gift." He shook his head, "I cannot believe this is happening. I've done everything to keep her safe. I've moved everywhere with you and yet this is what you give her, a death mobile." I finally gave in; I turned to Jacob and yelled, "You think you're the only one concerned about her safety. I do anything and everything to keep her alive and out of danger. How dare you accuse me of putting my own daughter at risk. I love her more than anything." I then noticed Renesmee, out of the corner of my eye, standing in the kitchen walk way staring at Jacob and I. Her eyes began to swell with tears.

"Why do you always have to fight?" she murmured. I ran to her and pulled her into my arms, "I'm sorry, we'll stop fighting." She looked into my eyes and then settled knowing I was being honest. She had obtained the talent of telling whether or not a person was lying just a year ago. She looked at Jacob and growled. I turned seeing Jacob clutching his fist. "Jacob, why are you angry?" her voice was stern. He looked up at her and didn't answer. She screamed this time, "Why are you angry?" Jacob finally gave into her demand, "I don't want you to have a go-cart. It's too dangerous for you." She smiled the same crooked smile that she obviously inherited from Edward. "Don't worry about me, I'm perfectly safe." She winked at me. I could not believe that such a small child could be so confident. Of course, she was as smart as everyone in the family but still her confidence was shocking. Jacob unclenched his fist and sighed. Renesmee wiggled out of my arms knowing she had won. She raced to Jacob and jumped in his arms. The two looked at each other and then Jacob finally said, "Ok, let's go take it for a spin." Renesmee squealed and jumped out of his arms racing for her bedroom. Edward wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed me ever so gently on the cheek. I could feel the smoldering heat of want in my bones and Edward already had me in his arms walking upstairs. We both knew we had a few hours till Renesmee's official birthday party with the rest of the family.

I could hear the engine start and Renesmee scream with joy as she drove her little so- called "death mobile." Edward caught my eyes and I couldn't think of anything else at that moment. As usual, all I could hear was fabric ripping and feel his lips crushing against mine. After all these years, I still expected to get dizzy and out of breath. Our bodies shaped into each other's. It was as if we were made for each other. I could feel the tightening of his grip and hear the accelerated breathing. I could have stayed in this moment for days, even years. We were cuddled up under the blankets when Edward looked at the time. I knew we had to leave for Renesmee's birthday.

Edward and Renesmee raced to Tanya's house as usual. She was almost as fast as Edward. I was right behind them along with Jake. I could see Emmett and Jasper outside setting up the birthday sign. We finally made it to the house and found a beautiful four tier blue cake with glitter stars pasted all over the tiers sitting on top of the kitchen counter. Alice had been designing the cake for weeks, maybe even months. Unfortunately on the top tier was, "Happy Birthday Nessie!" I hated her nickname. I could hear wrapping paper being shuffled around in the family room. Esme, Carlisle, Rosalie, Tanya, and everyone else were quickly and quietly wrapping Renesmee's gifts. I walked outside and it was just starting to become twilight. The breeze was sweet and I could smell a storm brewing just south of us. I decided to take a quick walk along the forest's edge.

I found myself wandering around more often after we had moved to Tanya's home. The place reminded me so much of Forks when we first arrived. I remembered our arrival as if it was just yesterday. It was dusk and the crickets were starting to hum their little tunes. Renesmee was fascinated by the noise. Tanya showed us where we would sleep until we were able to make our own accommodations. Carlisle and everyone else had shown up two weeks in advance while I visited Charlie and Renee.

The next day Edward and I had found a little clearing where we could build our home. Tanya had given us all the supplies that we needed and we went to work. It took us three days to finish the house. Renesmee insisted on her bedroom being downstairs next to Jacob. Our closet was substantial compared to the one in Forks which was way too big. I was so happy Alice didn't design the house or the closet would have been the whole second floor. She was very disappointed at the sight of the closet and growled at me a little. Alice was happy about one thing: the classroom. I insisted on Renesmee being home schooled and we built a little classroom which became more of a play room for her. She studied English, science, math, music, and foreign language in the morning after breakfast. She would learn about cars from Jacob and Rosalie, medicine and science from Carlisle, music and foreign language from Edward, and English from me. Learning was easy for her but our main challenge over her intelligence was feeding her.

Renesmee still had problems with feeding off of animals. She would hunt if she had to but she always liked the donated human blood. Renesmee had a bit of a temper when it came to hunting. She liked to eat in peace. She also became used to human food but was very picky. She ate meat, sweet potatoes (surprisingly), and sweets. She only drank water and juice. Although, her main nutrition is blood. We found that she became ill if she didn't have an equal balance of both. Renesmee became more active once we moved and loved to explore the forest and travel. Edward and I decided one evening to take her to Isle Esme so she could go explore. She loved the ocean and went all over the island. I began to wonder where our next vacation would take place, when I heard Edward call me, "Bella, it's time for her to blow out the candles." I ran to his side and we walked towards Tanya's house.

Renesmee was surrounded by a pile of gifts and she was sitting impatiently waiting to open them. Alice called from the dining room, "Nessie, it's time to blow out your candles." Renesmee jumped out of her chair and ran to Alice's side. She stared at the cake; her eyes looked as if they were going to pop out of her head. We all laughed at her and she blushed. Alice had changed Renesmee from her jeans and t-shirt to a big poufy Cinderella gown. She truly looked like a princess. Renesmee climbed on top of one of the chairs and waited for us to sing. She closed her eyes and blew out her candles. She screamed and jumped up and down almost falling off the chair. Renesmee got the clumsiness from me, obviously.

Alice served only Renesmee and Jacob cake but she had enough left over to feed an entire country. "Thank you Alice. It's just beautiful," I said. She grinned, "Well Bella, you only turn eight once." We laughed. Everyone chatted away as Renesmee and Jacob ate. After a few minutes I found Renesmee near her presents trying to open them without anyone noticing her. She saw me and grinned. "Do you want to open your presents now?" I asked. "Of course," she said. I called for Edward and everyone else to come into the living room so they could watch Renesmee open her presents. Alice seemed more excited about the presents than anyone else.

The first gift was from Alice and Jasper, a $500 gift card, of course, to go shopping. Rosalie and Emmett bought her an IPod and laptop. Carlisle and Esme bought her an art set. Renesmee's artistic talents began to surface a few months ago. Jacob bought her a beautiful bracelet with her birthstone. Tanya and her family had bought Renesmee a racing helmet and suit. Edward had told Tanya about our big gift the day we decided on the go-cart. It was perfect for her and it even had her initials on it. Renesmee loved the suit but decided that she wanted to wear the helmet. Edward was next; he put his hands over her eyes and carried her to the garage. In the garage was a beautiful Baby Grand Piano. Renesmee had been playing the piano since she was three and knew how to write and compose music. I felt a little embarrassed to give Renesmee my gift after seeing everyone's gifts. I walked quietly back into the living room and grabbed the ivory box. I heard her run after me. I turned and she looked at the box in my hand. "May I?" she asked. I nodded.

I have never seen Renesmee's eyes open up that wide. The look on her face was strange; I didn't know what reaction to expect. The next thing I knew Renesmee was jumping into my arms. She kissed me on the cheek, "Thank you Mommy, I love it." Edward appeared by my side and saw one of the Sapphire combs that I wore on the day of our wedding. I had promised it to Renesmee when she was younger. I told her, "The day I give you this comb will be the day I know you are grown up." Edward smiled and hugged the two of us. Everyone else admired the gift from mother to daughter and Alice looked as if she wanted to cry. I giggled at Alice and she stuck her tongue out. We started packing up Renesmee's gifts later that evening and found her curled up on the couch fast asleep. We said good night to everyone and went home.