Chapter 2
We walked up to the house, and Alice wrenched the door open while I was still reaching for the knob. "C'mon, come on come in!" She would have yanked me through the doorway had I not already stepped into the house.
"Jasper, Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie, Emmett, COME HERE NOW!" She shouted, bouncing up and down; Edward gave her a concerned look as he closed the door.
"This had better be good, Alice, I was just about to work on my car." Rosalie said, scowling. "Yeah, I almost had Jasper beat on Halo 3!" Emmett added. "What do you need to tell us, Edward, Bella?" Carlisle asked, while Esme smiled as if she knew what was coming. Edward shot Jasper a look, and a wave of calm flooded the room, more for Alice's benefit than anyone else's, but she was bouncing so violently I was afraid she would smash a hole in the floor.
I gulped. "Um, well, Edward asked me to marry him, and I said yes." For a split second, no one moved, and I wondered if anyone had heard me. Then the spell broke, and everyone began speaking at once: "congratulations!" Esme and Carlisle exclaimed, hugging me, then Edward. Alice bounced from Edward to me and back, saying something to me about a planner and that we would discuss details later. Emmett pounded Edward on the back, then turned to me: "Welcome to the family, little sis!" He shouted, and then enveloped me in a hug that left me wondering if I had a cracked rib. Rosalie clasped my hand in hers, and then gave me a quick hug. "Thanks, Rosalie," I said, surprised.
"You're welcome. I was hoping we could bury the hatchet, so to speak. Could we put the past behind us? After all, you are going to be my sister for eternity." She smiled shyly.
"Of course," I replied, answering her smile with one of my own.
"Thank you," she said, and then went to congratulate her brother. Finally, Jasper put his hand on my shoulder and said, "Thanks, Bella, I know Edward's so much happier with you in his life. I can't wait for you to officially join the family."
"Thanks, Jasper," I said, a little surprised, but touched by his gesture.
Alice bounded over to me again, now clutching a huge pink binder to her chest, and yanked Edward and me away from the rest of the family towards the dining room. We sat at the table, and Alice opened her binder to reveal what looked like a collage of fabric samples and dress sketches. My eyes widened, but she just turned to the next page, which contained a list of names with notes attached to them, and said, "Okay, so, about the guest list. How many people did you want to invite?"
"I was thinking, maybe, twenty?" I asked, my hopes for a small wedding slipping away by the second.
"Twenty?" Alice looked at me as if I had suggested having the guests come in their bathing suits. "Well, yeah," I said, "I mean, aside from Renee, Charlie, and Phil, I don't really have any human family, and as for friends, I was just thinking Angela, Ben, and I guess Jessica, Mike, and Lauren and their immediate families. Of course, you would all be there, too," I looked at Edward, hoping for reassurance. He squeezed my hand under the table and looked at his sister; "Alice," he said, "a small wedding would probably be best. We don't want to put Jasper –or anyone else-- at risk."
"Well, you're right, and we don't want to attract too much attention…" Alice mused, but then she frowned. "Darn, there goes the ice sculpture--" "Wait, what does an ice sculpture have to do with the guest list, and who said anything about even having an ice sculpture?" I asked, panicking.
"It doesn't have anything to do with the guest list, but it does fall into the attracting-too-much-attention category. And I believe I said something about it," she said coolly. "I guess twenty people it is. Now, about invitations…" Alice continued to torture us with wedding details until I suddenly heard Edward's voice: "Bella? Bella, love, wake up." I opened my eyes and realized I had fallen asleep.
"You must be exhausted," Edward pulled me into his arms and said to Alice, "It's almost midnight, she should go back to Charlie's."
Why can't I stay here tonight?" I asked sleepily.
"Well, love, Charlie would doubtless assume the worst if you spent the night here, then told him we're getting married."
"Oh, yeah," I said; I tried to stand up, but Edward's arms tightened around me. "I can walk," I said, but Edward just chuckled, and I realized we were outside. "I didn't say goodbye to Alice," I protested.
"She understands," Edward replied, and then we were running. Well, he ran, I just stayed there in his arms. The last thing of which I was conscious was Edward gently tucking me into bed and kissing my forehead before whispering, "Good night, I love you."