Chapter 2: Party
Renesmee's POV
I walked up the porch steps quickly, Jacob's hand still in mine. My heart was pounding faster than usual. Jacob squeezed my hand. I'm calm. I'll be fine. I growled at him in my head.
I saw an unfamiliar car in the driveway. I got curious.
" It's Nessie. Not Edward." I heard Alice say from inside.
" Well he needs to hurry." I heard Emmett growl.
I could just see him wearing a party hat and hiding behind a chair, ready to surprise my dad when he walked in. I giggled quietly.
" We'll finally get to see our baby cousin again. She's not really a baby anymore. I wonder if she'll remember us..." A musical female voice chuckled. It was slightly... familiar.
I looked up at Jake and he smiled. Jake... Who's here? I smelled the air. Well whoever it was, it was a vampire at least.
Before I reached the door, it opened, and Carlisle stepped out to greet us.
" Hurry inside. Your father will be in shortly. Alice still needs help decorating. Come in." He pressed his back against the door frame and motioned for us to go in.
I did as he instructed, Carlisle always knew what was best. I looked around the room and my jaw dropped.
Everything was covered in blue and white roses. They were in vases, crystal bowls, and some were just laid out across the tables. There was a two layer cake in between two small piles of roses. She had a pile of white glass plates beside the cake and roses, with a stack a matching glasses beside those. The lights were tinted blue and the tables and piano top had blue and white striped tablecloths.
There were three men and three women sitting on the two white couches in the living room. One man and all three of the women looked familiar. I took my hand out of Jake's and stepped forward cautiously.
One of the women, the most familiar, looked at me and smiled. She had black hair and a chalky complexion, but, despite being chalky, there was an olive tone underneath. " Carmen?" I asked, smiling. Carmen. How could I not remember Carmen? My memory was almost as photographic like all the rest of the Cullens', but I did forget some things about my past. Except for the Denali family.
" Nessie!" Carmen rushed off the couch and swept me up into a hug. " Oh my, you've gotten so big! Ooh!" She squeezed me gently and then pulled away.
" Tanya. Kate. Eleazar." I nodded to them and shot puzzled looks to the others.
One man was holding Tanya's hand, he had dark brown hair and his skin was pallid. The other was holding Kate's hand. He had light blond hair with darker brown streaks. His skin was pallid like the other unknown man. I couldn't recall Tanya or Kate having found mates when we met.
" Nessie, this is Damien Canice. I met him about three years ago in Denali. I was out hunting. I found him draining an elk in the forest. We've been together ever since." Tanya looked at me, then back at her mate. Damien was looking at her with so much love in his eyes that I guarantee Jasper was overwhelmed. I giggled.
" And this is Cristian Canice. Damien and Cristian are brothers. Biological. They were born human brothers. I met him the same day Tanya met Damien. They had been together in the forest and Tanya invited them back to our house. They were interested in our story, of why we decided on animal blood like themselves. I saw him, and I gave him my heart." Kate looked at Cristian with loving eyes and he smiled at her warmly.
" Hello Damien. Cristian. Nice to meet you both. What's the cake for Alice? Me and Jake are the only ones that eat human food." I looked at Jake and he winked at me.
That's right about the time I heard tires turning off onto the Cullen's drive. But it was much to slow to be my mom or dad's driving.
" Charlie and Sue." Jasper said.
I smiled. Of course my grandpa would be here for his son-in-laws birthday. And I got another chance to spend time with him.
Alice grabbed my hand and led me over to a couple of small baskets that were filled with rose petals. She took one basket and handed me the other.
" Spread these around on the tables and on the piano. I'll go get the drinks." She danced off toward the kitchen.
I started laying out small blue and white rose petals across the piano surface and along the keys when something occurred to me. I had never seen a blue rose before.
" Alice? Where on earth did you get blue roses?" I asked her. I kept a regular conversational tone because I knew she could hear me.
" You have to breed certain colors and breeds of roses together to get that exact shade of blue. I chose it because I know it's Edward's favorite color because of Bella." She was suddenly right beside me, laying two pitchers, one with lemonade and the other with coffee, on the table beside the cake, cups, plates, and presents.
There were nine presents laying out, stacked on the table, including mine. I wondered what everyone else had gotten him. He already had everything.
I heard footsteps coming up the porch stairs, followed by a knock on the door.
Everyone looked at me. I guessed that everyone just felt out of place when it came to Grandpa, except for mom of course, but Jake? He knew Sue and Grandpa just as well as I did, maybe better.
I grabbed Jacob's hand and drug him over to the door with me. I heard him sigh and then clear his throat. I looked up at him questioningly, and he looked pointedly down at my hand in his.
Grandpa didn't know about me and Jacob. And if he did, I'm positive he wouldn't approve. Jacob was already about 16 and a half when I was born. He was twenty now, but, by appearance, he only looked about three years older, if that.
There was another knock, so I let go of Jake's hand and opened the door with a smile.
" Hey Grandpa. Hi Sue." I hugged him tightly and then hugged Sue. " Come on in."
They walked in and Grandpa put their big present on the floor by the table with the other presents on it.
" You get bigger every time I see you Nessie." He said with an eye crinkling grin. He didn't used to call me Nessie, but everyone else did, so I guess it rubbed off.
" Well hey there Jacob." Grandpa said, putting his arm around Sue's shoulders.
" Hey Charlie. How's it goin?" Jake turned his head to the side so Charlie couldn't see him wink at me.
I heard tires on the driveway about half a mile away. I smiled. That was my mom's Ferrari alright.
" Okay people. Hide. Charlie and Sue, over there. Jake and Nessie, get over behind there. Carlisle and Esme, behind the stairs. Em and Rose, over here. Me and Jazz will be here." I watched Alice point out everyone's places and then she flitted over and turned out the lights. It was pitch black, not even I could see and that's saying something. Jacob and I were crouching behind the couch, Jacob almost had to press his stomach against the ground he was so tall, and we were holding each others hands. I kissed him quickly, because I knew I wasn't going to get another one in all night.
" What are you doing Bella?" My father's voice came. " And what's with the blindfold?"
" Never mind the blindfold. Just keep your eyes, and your nose, closed." I heard my mother's musical voice. She wasn't far from laughing. It was my mom's job to keep the party a secret. Including to shield everyone in case they thought about it. Especially Charlie and Sue, because they didn't know that my dad could read minds.
I heard a car door shut softly, followed by another one opening then closing. Two pairs of quiet footsteps across the grass. Then up the steps and onto the porch.
Get ready to yell. I thought. Jacob squeezed my hand in response.
I heard the faint sound of silk moving against silk and I knew it was my mom taking off his blind fold.
" Keep your eyes closed." She repeated.
" I wouldn't be able to see anyway. Your hand is over my eyes." His voice sounded slightly annoyed. I was suppressing laughter. I heard the door open and the light switch kick on.
" Open your eyes." Mom said.
" Surprise!" Rang loudly around the room. And the look on my father's face was priceless!
His eyes were wide, his jaw was hanging open, and his hands were clutching my mom's arm. Alice snapped a picture with her tiny digital camera and everyone laughed at his expression before he composed his face.
I skipped from my place and over into his arms.
" Happy birthday Daddy." I whispered in his ear. I gave him a kiss on the cheek and smiled at him. He smiled back, then looked at everyone's faces before taking in his surroundings.
" How..." Was all he said.
We all laughed again. I took his hand and led him over to the chair that was placed right in front of the cake and gifts.
He sat down unwillingly, but pulled mom onto his lap. She looked surprised but complied.
" How did you put all of this together?" He asked, his voice still coated with the surprise that we all knew he felt.
" Easy. Mom took you away for the weekend so that you wouldn't suspect anything, and mom helped on that. We set up everything today, bought the presents beforehand, and we bought the decorations yesterday." I edited out the fact that mom took him away so he couldn't read our minds and that she shielded us when she was bringing him in.
Grandpa was still – after four and a half years – on a strictly need to know basis. That means, we didn't tell him anything compromising, and he wouldn't freak out and run screaming.
" Nessie, you and Alice are the most amazing decorators on this entire planet." Dad murmured.
Well, I didn't really help much. It was mostly just Alice. I thought. And he nodded.
" Presents!" Alice sang out loudly. She skipped over to the table beside my mother, father and I. She grabbed a random package and placed the small box in his hands.
" From Rose and Em. Happy Birthday brother." He read off the front.
Emmett's eyes were alight with excitement, and Rose was smirking. That made Dad feel a little uneasy. He undid the side of the paper and pulled out a small box. It was blue and white. He took the lid off slowly and his eyes popped open wide.
" What is it?" Jasper asked, though he already knew.
" It's a pair of Vuzix iWear AV310 video glasses. They hook into your iPod and when you put them on it looks as if your sitting in an IMAX theater. Thank you guys. I've really been wanting this." He said happily.
" No problem." Rose replied.
Alice took the present out of his hands and handed him another one.
" From Jazz and Alice. Have a nice trip?" He made the last sentence sound like a question. This box didn't have wrapping paper so he took off the box's lid quickly.
" Two vouchers for plane tickets." He looked at Alice.
" You and Bella are going to Sydney, Australia, Edward." Alice shrugged and gave him a peck on the cheek.
" Thanks you guys. This is awesome." He sat the box aside and reached for another one.
" From Carlisle and Esme. Be safe and happy. Happy Birthday son." He took the lid off the box and smiled. " It's a photograph to digital picture converter. You slip an old picture in the side and it saves it to whatever device is hooked into it. It enhances the color and removes any water stains or smudges on the picture. Thank you." Esme hugged him tightly and whispered, "Anything for my baby boy." In his ear.
Alice sat a bigger box in front of Dad and put the picture converter with the other opened gifts.
" To my wonderful son-in-law. I've never felt more gratitude toward anyone. Thank you for taking care of my Bella. Love Charlie and Sue." He smiled up at grandpa and tore the paper off the box.
" Tumi luggage for him and her. Thank you Charlie and Sue." Bella hugged Grandpa and Sue then sat back down on Dad's lap.
Dad pushed the box over and grabbed another present. The one Jake and I had gotten him.
" Whoa whoa whoa. Not that one yet. Save it for last." I grabbed the box out of his hands and sat it in my lap.
" Alright..." He said suspiciously. Alice handed him a different box.
" Happy birthday. And many more to come. Your cousins, the Denalis." He smiled up at them and took the lid off.
" A complete collection of General George Washington's campaign buttons. Where did you ever get a hold of these?" He clutched the box to his chest.
" It wasn't easy." Eleazar murmured. " But it wasn't hard either!" He reassured quickly when he saw my father's brow furrow.
" My turn." Mom had my dad's attention at once. She hopped off his lap and crossed the room and ascended the stairs gracefully.
Everyone waited in silence while she was upstairs getting whatever it was she had got him.
" Go Bella!" I heard Alice murmur, so low that Charlie or Sue couldn't hear, but loud enough for those of us with sensitive hearing to catch. Jacob let out a low chuckle and my heart sang at the sound. I looked at him and smiled. He was wedged between Emmett and Charlie, completely at ease. Most of the other wolves wouldn't go near my family. Jake winked at me and I giggled.
Mom came back down then, holding a small velvet jewelry case in her hands. She handed it to my dad and he looked at her with a frown.
" You put this together Bella," He gestured to the room around him. " I don't want to except any gifts from you."
" Too bad. Stop being a party pooper and open the present." She teased.
He sighed and opened the lid. The look that came over his face was heart shatteringly beautiful. His eyes were so full of love and adoration that my heart wanted to burst.
What is it? I thought, too afraid to speak in case my voice broke. But he realized my cover up for what it was. He smiled understandingly. " It's a pair of locket cufflinks. The tops are engraved with mine and Bella's initials, and when you open the top of the cufflink with Bella's initials there's a picture of Bella and I. The one that has my initials is a picture of Jacob, Bella, Renesmee, and I. And on the insides of both it says, ' More than my own life' in French. Thank you Bella."
I touched the tiny golden locket that hung from my neck. More than my own life was what was carved on the inside of it, on the opposite side of a picture my mother, father, and me when I was little. There were no changes in their looks, but in me... a very noticeable difference.
My father heard my thoughts and smiled at me.
" I hate that picture. Bells what's wrong with you? Giving him a picture of me like that. I look terrible." Jacob complained, making everyone laugh.
I smiled at him and he smiled back with adoration in his eyes. Looking at Jacob, I almost let it slip in my mind what my gift to my father was. Almost.
" Okay Nessie. The suspense is absolutely killing me. Please just give Edward that damned birthday present. It's bad enough that you didn't tell anyone else what it was." Emmett leaned over and gave me a gentle shove.
" Okay, okay." I handed my father the present and he half smiled.
I got up and sat myself on the arm of the couch beside Emmett, and while everyone's attention was directed at my father, - except for Alice who was giggling quietly – I punched Emmett full out in the shoulder blade, using all of my strength. It would have badly injured a human, but Em just grunted almost inaudibly and rubbed his hand across his shoulder. I giggled and hopped back down in my place.
Dad took the tissue paper out of the bag and pulled out the small rolled up piece of parchment that was inside. He shot me a puzzled look and I silently told him to go on. He unrolled it and gasped.
" An exact copy of the original document, Common Sense. It was written by Thomas Paine."
Emmett laughed. " Nice gift Nessie. Common Sense. I think that's a message Edward."
Not a copy. It's the original. You have no idea how long it took to get my hands on that document. It took a lot of favors, some money, and a whole lot of begging. You better be happy. I smiled at him as I laid my hands on my mother's and his arm.
They both looked at me wide eyed.
Then Alice clapped. " Party Time!!!" She announced excitedly. And I settled my back against the front of Jacob's warm legs to wait out the party.
