[DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters. Everything and everyone in my stories is Stephanie Meyers.]
Chapter 1
"Renesmee, are you coming to pick Charlie up with me?" I asked from the door, knowing she could hear me.
"Yes, Rosalie is brushing my hair," she replied, "So please wait just another minute"
"Okay, I'll wait for you in the driveway"
I walked into the garage and sat down in the Volvo. I had a Ferrari of my own but I avoided using it as mush as possible. I was the sort of girl who avoided fancy stuff. I had almost sold it but I did not want to hurt Edward, my 17-year-old husbands, feelings. Edward and I were a different sort of vampire couple. First, we had met when I was still human. I loved as much as a person could possibly another. We were halves of the whole. After becoming a vampire, my love had almost doubled because instead of one person to love, there were two.
I saw Renesmee run through the door towards the Volvo. She sat down on the front seat and sighed. I was did not need Edward or her power for translating her thoughts. She was probably just impatient to see her cake. Charlie had kept it a secret from everyone, except Edward (because he had already seen it in Charlie's head) and Alice (she had seen in it in one of her visions). He wanted to do his one job at the birthday party very nicely. Alice had insisted on celebrating Renesmee's birthday and my birthday together so that she could throw a big party. She even called all of the wolves to join us in celebration. Edward was completely for the idea, as it would be an occasion to buy me another of his expensive gifts.
The drive to Forks was short, about 10 minutes long. Renesmee was quiet while she listened to the mp3 player that Edward had gifted to her on her first Christmas. It held both of their favorite songs. Some of the classical music was also stored in it, was composed by Edward.
As soon as we reached, Renesmee hopped down from the seat and ran into the house. I parked the Volvo in the driveway and honked. Charlie came out carrying a large white box. He placed it carefully in the back seat.
"Can't I see the cake? It is my birthday party, grandpa." Renesmee complained, her voice impossible convincing
"No I want it to be a surprise for everyone there, that includes you." Charlie explained. He turned to me and said "Hey Bella, how are you? Are you excited for the party? I wonder if Alice is going to make me play those games she's planning," He whispered to himself but both of us heard it clearly.
I saw Renesmee roll her eyes in the back. She looked so much like Edward when she did that.
Edward waited outside for us to arrive with two blindfolds in his hands. I groaned loud enough for him to hear from outside. He chuckled and smoothly ignored me. He tied one around Renesmee's eyes and one around mine. He held both of our hands and led us towards the house. Alice took the cake effortlessly from Charlie and walked quietly behind us.
Alice, Edward's favorite sister, was a short, tiny vampire. She could see the future. Once a decision was made, she could see the outcome. For example, if the volturi decided to come and see our family, she would see them coming. Her partner, Jasper, also had a power. He could affect people's moods, and the mood surrounding him affected him. He had a bit of trouble adjusting to the "vegetarian" diet of the Cullen's.
I knew we had reached the living room when I heard Emmett quietly laughing beside me.
Renesmee waited impatiently at my side. Luckily, she had not gotten her party and present problems from me. She loved receiving presents and having small parties with Alice. When she was younger, both of them would throw small parties within the family for no apparent reason. Behind me, I heard Charlie gasp so the decorations must have been very pretty.
"Bella, Nessie are you ready?" Alice asked. Nessie was Renesmee's nickname. I had been trying to eradicate it but turned out unsuccessful. To me the name sounded the loch ness monster, but Jacob was somehow very attached to that name.
"Sure lets get this finished"
"Edward! Take the blindfold of their eyes"
He pulled the knot gently behind my head. I kept my eyes closed until the last moment. The room looked beautiful. Alice had hung streamer every five centimeters on each of the four walls of our living room the spiraled inward towards the center of the room from the center hung a piñata in the shape of a sun. The color of the streamers contrasted with the colors of the piñata. Balloons hung from the streamers in bright colors. Alice was a genius at these sorts of things. She could match colors and visualize designs very well. This was probably why she could design outfits much better than I ever could.
Charlie's cake was at the center of the small wooden table. He had specially ordered it from Seattle and had it delivered to his doorstep. It was chocolate cake with white icing on the top. The smell of the chocolate might have been tempting to a human but I could not tell. The wolves looked eager to eat it so at least some people would get to enjoy the cake. It was intricately decorated with icing roses each rose was a different colors, but the red looked magnificent on the white cake.
Renesmee looked awed. It looked like she couldn't help but smile. I looked at Edward, he was grinning. He must have had something special planned for us later. Then he suddenly frowned.
"What's wrong?" I whispered.
"Nothing, I just heard something I didn't like very much. I'll tell you about it later." His voice was so low that only I could hear.
I had not realized but Jacob's entire pack was standing at the corner of the room. Jake was holding Renesmee's hand. The only person close to Renesmee's age was Claire who stood behind Quil's tall legs. She had just turned seven. Renesmee who actually was turning four, but she looked like a 12-year old. Mentally she was smarter than most adults were but she was still a child. In about a year's time she would be as old as Jacob would and only a little younger than Edward. I would have turned 23 this year… I was still human.
I looked at Edward; he stood beside me one hand on my waist. He was probably trying to figure out what I was thinking. Edward could hear what other people were thinking. If you thought of something, he could hear it as if you were saying it. He could hear everyone… everyone except me. I had always been a mental mute. Edward thought my mind ran on a different frequency than rest of the vampires and the humans. This proved useful when I became a vampire. I am a shield. By extending it, I can block all mental attacks. When I push it out of me completely then I would be just as vulnerable as everybody else is.
Alice made everyone play a couple games. I let Renesmee cut the cake by herself. She was pleased. Everyone (those who could eat) had cake, even Renesmee though she made a face after swallowing it. Unlike the rest of us, Renesmee could eat human food without chucking it out later, but she preferred our diet better.
We ordered pizza for Jacob and his pack. We ordered about 10 boxes and all but 2 pieces got over.
"Do want to see your birthday present?" Edward whispered while Renesmee was opening her presents.
"I thought you had forgotten about that this year," I whispered back "I had my hopes up."
He smiled my favorite crooked smile and led me into the garage.
"You got me another car!" I stared at him with disbelief
"Not another, you have not noticed but you have been car less for about a week."
"What do you mean? My car is right there." I said shrugging to the back of the Cullen's garage.
"That's not yours anymore, I sold it to someone who lives in Seattle." He said, "You did not like it much, so I thought you would like to discover a new way to drive."
"You fixed my old Chevy." I asked hopefully. I was too scared to know how much the new car costs.
"No, I got you a simpler car which can go at a speed faster than a snail."
"And which car is it then?"
"It's a BMW. It is a very common car in the states. A lot of people drive it"
He removed the cover and showed it to me. It was a golden car. I had seen a lot of these being driven around in Phoenix. So, I decided to let it pass the simplicity test.
I squeezed closer to him and reach up to kiss him. I guess he was also in the mood as he pulled me up so that I would not have to stretch as much.
"I like the car, I approve it"
He grinned. I guess he was pleased that I accepted the present without whining.
The party inside was almost over. The wolves were ready to leave and Sue looked uncomfortable sitting across the sofa from Emmett. I would not blame her; she had the courage of sitting there, which normal humans could not do.
The pack left. Jacob went with them, so that he could drop Billy home. Renesmee looked at the pile of presents. All the Quiluete boys pitched in enough money to get her a handcrafted game of chess. It was pretty and it designed with little wolves on the sides. It looked like a valuable chessboard. Renesmee liked playing chess sometimes. She could win against Jake and me, but Edward and Alice were difficult to beat. After every lost match with either of them, Emmett would reassure her that she was not the only person with that problem. Jasper and Alice got her about a dozen different outfits. Rose got her a collection of classics with stories like Little Women, Oliver Twist, Peter Pan, and Alice in Wonderland. Moreover, Carlisle and Esme got her three plane tickets to visit any place with Edward and me. Charlie and I made her a homemade scrapbook, and Edward got a tiny silver camera that went along with the scrapbook. It was like the gifts that very given to me on my eighteenth birthday. All of them together bought me a hardbound fancy version of Wuthering Heights. I had read that book so many times that the bind was torn and the cover was in bad state. I did not like very extravagant gifts. So far, only Edward had given me anything that cost more than a hundred dollars.
This party reminded me about my horrible eighteenth birthday when I was still human. I had gotten a paper clip while I was unwrapping the gifts. Getting a paper cut with seven vampires in the room was not a very interesting experience. What was worse was that Edward thought that being with vampires was dangerous and so his family moved out. I had been torn apart. Jacob had sown that part of me together and the Cullen's eventually came back to Forks. During that bit of time when Edward had been away, Jake was my best friend. The vampires and werewolves were mortal enemies at that time. I had missed my friend quite a bit, then. I had made my choice; I could not live without Edward. He was my soul, the cause of my existence. Now, as I was immortal, I literally had forever to spend with him.
After the party, we watched a movie. All of us sat in the living room watching a movie of Renesmee's choice. It was a comedy. The family enjoyed it, but Edward's face was sick with worry. I did not know what was worrying him so much. He obviously did not want the others to get worried. I was looking at his face more than watching the movie. I tried to read his face but I got nothing from it. He diverted his concentration towards me. His expression relaxed, so I let it go.
At nine o clock, we head home. Our cottage was about a five minute run from the main house. The cottage had originally been a present from my family on my nineteenth birthday. It was so that Edward and I could have some alone time. While Renesmee slept right through the night, Edward would be mine and I his. We put Renesmee in bed and kissed her good night. She had the gift of falling asleep very easily like Jacob. I headed to our room, but Edward pulled me back. He kissed me right there. His lips were soft but urgent on mine. I wrapped my hands around his neck, and stretched up to reach him more easily. He pulled his face back and chuckled, like he used to when I was still human.
"Hey, what are you doing?" I mumbled. It was incomprehensible to me, I wasn't sure if he understood what I was saying. He led me outside.
"We are going to spend the night at home."
"But why? What's wrong?" I asked. "During the movie you looked very worried, like you were thinking about something painful or unpleasant. I did not want to say anything in front of Renesmee so I kept my mouth shut."
I heard something in Charlie's head. It was something I had been expecting for sometime now. It is all very confusing. I do not know how to set everything in its right place. Whatever I plan is blocked by something. It does not sit right."
Chapter 2"Edward will you please put me on track. I have no idea what you are talking about" I said in a frustrated tone. He stood still for a second as if I was not there at all.
"I will tell you while we walk to the house. Lets keep at human pace so that I can tell you the entire problem slowly and calmly."
"My brain works faster now remember. Tell me Edward."
He kissed me again but I was the one who had to break away this time. That took a lot of effort because I could never have too much of him and always wanted more. The curiosity was killing me.
"Charlie had a thought which I was expecting sometime soon." He explained, " He was thinking how grandfather-ish he was looking every single year and Carlisle remained young. He was about to ask him how he kept his face wrinkle-free."
"Oh" That was all I could say. My mind was swarming with thoughts. Now I knew why Edward was so worried.
