Today, as any Twilight fan should know is a very stupendous event. It's Edward's Birthday! He was born June 20, 1901, to be exact.
I really wanted to do a one-shot for today, but how you celebrate a vampire's birthday? So, I went back to when Edward was still human. I focused on Elizabeth- Edward's mom- because she's always fascinated me.
Enough with the author's note, to the story!
Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.
Elizabeth bustled into the kitchen. Her arms were full of packages, fresh from the grocery store. She piled them neatly onto the kitchen counter, then turned to look at the calendar.
Her eyes found the small square of today- Thursday, June 20, 1907. 'Edward's Birthday' was marked in her neat handwriting. Edward himself had managed to put a stool under the calendar in January, climbed up, and circled it in red. A smile tugged at Elizabeth's lips as she thought of the happy, now six-year old little boy.
She shook her head, then got to work. She unwrapped the packages, revealing eggs, white flour, white sugar, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, milk, and various fresh fruit. All the supplies to make a delicious cake. Pulling out a bowl, she mixed the flour, eggs, most of the milk, the extract, and the white sugar. She worked fast- she only had a certain amount of time.
She and her husband- also Edward- had made the plans for this day weeks ago. Father would take Edward out on a 'Man's Day on the Town.' This would involve a trip to the park, ice cream, and going to the zoo to see the mountain lions, an animal Edward had been absolutely fascinated with lately. With Edward gone, Elizabeth would be able to focus on making a cake, and wrapping presents.
Elizabeth cut up some of the fruit- strawberries, mostly, with a few other berries- crushed them and mixed them up with powder sugar. She mixed the now syrup-like concoction into the already-mixed batter, and poured it all into a cooking dish. She cut more fruit up while waiting for the oven to heat. She was very proud of her oven- it was the newest, best model, and had been a 10th anniversary present from her husband. When she thought the oven was fully heated, she slipped the precious cake batter into the oven.
With the cake baking, she focused on presents. She walked through her house- pausing at a window to admire the view of Chicago and Lake Michigan. She went to her room, with its beautiful blue quilt that had been handmade by her mother. Elizabeth traced the patterns with her fingers, feeling the complex system of knots and stitches. One day I will make a quilt as beautiful as this for Edward and his wife, she thought tenderly.
She went to the closet in the back if her room. Pushing past the row of dresses and suits for her husband, she got to the back of the closet, where the presents were kept in an old box. She hurriedly took them, and wrapped them up in green paper. She tied both the little parcels with red ribbons. Remembering the cake, she went back to the kitchen, taking the packages with her.
A quick peek into the oven revealed the cake was not quite done. Elizabeth instead readied the outside of the cake. She made a frosting from the powdered sugar, water, and the leftover vanilla extract. The leftover fruit was cut into cute shapes.
A few minutes later, the cake was done. She carefully frosted it with a knife, then placed the fruit in patterns on the side and on the top. She moved the cake onto the table in the living room, next to the presents. Edward will love it all, she thought.
Just as she finished cleaning up the kitchen, the door opened. "Mommy!" Edward yelled as he ran into the kitchen. "I saw the mountain lions! They were big, and one was eating!"
Elizabeth laughed, then scolded Edward. "Don't yell inside the house. And I guess you had fun?"
Edward Sr. came into the kitchen too. He was smiling. "Edward and I had a great time. We played catch and he caught everything I threw."
Edward smiled, looking smug.
She caught Edward's hand. "Come on, your birthday isn't done yet." She led him into the living, a burst of happiness jolting through her when she saw Edward become even happier, if that was possible.
After a generous slice of cake, Edward was opening his first present. He pulled the red ribbon and carefully opened the green paper. "Oh!" he exclaimed as a carefully carved wooden mountain lion fell into his lap. "It's so real looking!"
His father smiled happily. "Glad you liked it. I carved it myself."
Edward played with the mountain lion for a few minutes, making growling sounds. Then he carefully placed on the table and opened the other present.
It was a box containing a beautiful book. The words were hand-written, the drawing unique and carefully inked. Edward flipped through the pretty little book, reading the few words he could. He nodded when he came to a page he could really read. "And so the lion fell in love with the lamb," he said confidently. Sure enough, the page contained a drawing of a golden lion and a sweet little lamb.
Elizabeth nodded. "Good job! Soon, you'll be able to read everything in the book I made you."
Edward seemed pleased. "This was the best birthday ever!" he said. He jumped out of his seat, putting the book down next to the mountain lion. He hugged his mother.
"Happy Birthday," she told him. "I hope you have many more."
If only she knew just how many moreā¦
