Chapter 2: Black and White
And ever since that day Charlie has been nothing but cheerful and supportive about the wedding plans. I knew somewhere in the back of my head that he was still very worried about me, which would be the reason why he left to go to Billy's so often—just to escape the loneliness that waited for him at home.
"Going to Billy's today, Charlie?"
"No sweetie, I'm actually going to pick up Renee and Phil from the airport today," he said coolly as he combed his hair down in front of the mirror. "How do I look? Old? Worried? Cool enough for your mom to see?"
"Oh Charlie," I said adjusting his collars as I put the flaps down. "Renee is always pleased to see you."
He laughed as ruffled my hair some more. Just then a strange buzzing sound came from my desk, and a familiar tune started to play. "Since when did you get a cell phone?"
"Since Alice decided she was my wedding coordinator," I laughed as I flipped the phone open, "Hello Alice." It's a bit silly for Alice to even need my help for putting the wedding together, she has the gift of foresight so she already knew what I was going to answer to her question. Mostly she called me to nag and remind me, or Charlie to do things for her; Edward reminded her to delegate so that people wouldn't feel out of the loop about my wedding.
"Bella, remind Charlie to please pick up Renee at the airport…her flight is going to be a bit delayed but she'll be waiting for him."
"Wait, Alice isn't Phil going to be there?" Phil is my mom's husband, my stepdad. He's sort of cool and hip, and definitely younger than my mother—physically of course. Mentally they were at about the same level.
"Nope, seems like Phil had to stay down in Florida for a little bit, but he'll be here for the ceremony," she said matter-of-factly. Perfecting the actual wedding ceremony meant more to Alice, than the actual union of souls. In her eyes, Edward and I were already married. "Well I'll see you later. Edward should be at your door in about a few minutes. Bye!" Click.
Just as she hung up, the doorbell rang. I sprung up from bed, grabbed my bathrobe and raced down the stairs to open the door. I didn't need foresight to know that it was Edward, and that my heart ached to see him—even though he spent the night lying next to me, cooing me to sleep.
"Hello there Mrs. Cullen," he says as he bends down and plants a peck on my lips. His smile was playful and infectious.
"Why hello Mr. Cullen," I smiled back kissing him again. "Isn't it a bit too soon to be calling each other that? After all we have all of eternity to hear that from each other." He stared at me incredulously, and I giggled as he pulled me into his chest for a great big hug.
"Oh darling Bella, eternity cannot come soon enough," he says as he carefully inserts a daisy into my ear. "Come on, Esme and Alice are waiting for you at home. Bye Charlie!"
"Hey you two better behave!" yelled Charlie as he walked towards the garage. "And you'd better not elope, Bella! I rented a tux!"
I laughed as Edward and I got into his shiny Volvo and drove down the slippery road towards the Cullen mansion. As he accelerated in dangerous speeds, well over the 40 mph limit, Edward wrapped his hands around mine.
"What are you thinking Bella?"
"Guess," I said teasingly as I knew this would irritate him. "Okay, do you think we are breaking some kind of law do you think?"
"Well you are about to marry a man in his early 100s…"
I rolled my eyes and squeeze his hand. "Be serious. The Volturi doesn't have some kind of law against a vampire marrying a human before now do they?" I shuddered at the mention of that name. I was thankful to only have a brief encounter with the Vampire's version of the ultimate Godfather mafia family. It was a horrible miscommunication, a mistake that will never happen again.
"No Bella, they do not have a law against vampire's marrying humans. Besides, you're going to become a vampire later that very same day. I see no problem with it." He slowed the car down as we entered into the drive way of the old white house. As he parked the car he stopped to look at me—I have learned not to show my emotion in my voice, but my face unfortunately gave me away. "Are you nervous about them? Or are you nervous about getting married to me?"
"Neither! How could you even think of such a thing?"
"You just seem a bit far away today," he said cupping my face for a kiss on the lips. "Cold feet?"
I smiled as I nuzzled my nose against his. "Sure…that's it right? I mean you know I'm not nervous at all of marrying you," I said in the most determined voice I could possibly utter. "It's just going so fast, all at once! I mean today I'm Bella Swan but two days from now I'm going to be…"
"Mrs. Bella Cullen," said Alice with a proud smile as she tapped against the window of the Volvo. I looked at Edward who was obviously irritated that Alice had barged in on our private conversation. He wasn't saying anything; however he was looking directly at Alice without blinking. They were having a private, mental argument.
"Edward, stop yelling at her…its fine" I said squeezing his hand once again.
"Yes Edward, stop yelling at me," whined Alice playfully, "I'm just being helpful to my little sister."
"You can be helpful by letting me have some time with my bride to be, couldn't you see that we were having a private conversation?" snarled Edward as he and I got out of the car and headed towards the house.
"It's nothing to worry about Edward, Bella clearly has a case of the cold feet" assured Alice as she looped her arm around mine. "She's not worried about the Volturi or about being your wife!" I glanced at Alice with my head tipped to the side, obviously confused.
Edward was not sold on Alice's prediction; however nobody was ever brave enough to actually take a bet against her. He pulled my arm towards him and whispered in my ear, "Bella you know you don't have to do this right? You don't have to go by what everybody else wants?"
I kissed him lightly again, as Alice started to pull my arm as she walked up the stairs. "I know my love but I am doing this for you too." Then Alice and I ran up the stairs as Emmett and Jasper surrounded Edward downstairs. "Alice, what are the boys up to tonight?"
"Oh nothing," she smiled deviously.
"Liar," I teased as I followed her rounding around the right corner only to run into Carlisle. "Oh I'm sorry Carlisle, I didn't see you there."
"It's alright Bella. Have a good time" he said as he walked towards the hallway with a book in one hand. I've always noticed that Carlisle was attractive, too beautiful for words much like his adopted family. The sun peeked through the curtains, and the rays of light danced between his hairs as he flipped through the pages of the book. Such a beautiful creature, I sighed to myself as I followed into Esme's room.
There in the room was Alice and Rosalie standing so perfectly tall that I found myself straightening my posture, as if a few inches could put me in the same league as these elegant beauties in front of me. "What's up guys? So where are we going?" I said clapping my hands together, with absolutely no clue.
"Alice didn't you tell her?" asked Rosalie with an annoyed tone in her voice.
"Nope. If I had told her then she wouldn't have come along with us at all!" bounced Alice as she pushed me forward to the mirror. I already didn't like where this conversation was heading at all, I do not like surprises.
Rosalie covered her face with her hand, and shook her head exasperatedly. "I'm sorry about this Bella; Alice was supposed to tell you that we are going to—"
"SShhhh!!!" hushed Alice as she hustled me towards the bathroom, "Rose! She'll know soon enough! Just go in and get dressed Bella! And hurry if we're going to make the flight at all!"
A flight? I asked myself as I turned the light on in the bathroom. To my surprise the bathroom was pristinely clean, as if it had never been used at all. Well of course, I said to myself, vampires don't need to use the bathroom. But there, hanging against the wall was the most elegant gown I have ever seen in my life. I gasped as I walked closer to touch the material, afraid that it was just a dream.
"Well don't just stare at it silly, put it on!" commanded Alice from outside the bathroom. She must have predicted how I was going to react. "We are going to be late!"
Afraid to be the weakest link in the Cullen family extravaganza, I took off my clothes and carefully fit the dress over me. The material was soft and silky and it hugged the curves of my body as I stood up and twirled around for the mirror.
I opened the door to show Alice and Rosalie and they both smiled. I hopped a little as to show my excitement but in doing so I almost tripped because my foot got stuck on the excess fabric at the bottom of my feet. Thankfully Rosalie extended her arm out to catch me.
"Careful there, that's a dress made by Oscar" she said as she stood me up in front of the mirror again.
"Oscar? The grouch?" I said innocently adjusting the dress, fidgeting because I have never worn a strapless dress before.
"No. Oscar De La Renta, the famous fashion designer," smiled Rosalie. She probably thought I was a complete idiot, thinking that a puppet living in a trashcan could possibly sew this magnificent dress. "Esme and Oscar were friends back in Italy; I guess he owed her a favor so she called it in and had this made just for you." Rosalie walked towards me and started to spray products into my hair and twirl it up into a bun. I could feel her staring at my neck as she adorned my hair with a beautiful blue butterfly clip. I stared intently at Rosalie through the mirror, waiting for her to make any sudden movements as she eyed the pulse beating on my neck. I was mentally planning my escape route as she came closer; I doubt that Edward or Alice would be happy that Rosalie got the first bite.
"What?" she asked laughing off the little awkward moment as she pinned up a few of the loose hairs and bombarded my head with hair spray. It was so stiff and solid that I felt as if I were balancing a pineapple on my head. "Did you try the shoes yet?" asked Rosalie pointing towards the pair of black heels on the corner of the room.
"Oh no, I didn't notice them there," I said walking towards the shoes and putting them on. "Say how did you guys know what size I am?"
Rosalie smiled. "Alice…um…guessed."
I should have known that answer was coming. I stood up slowly, careful to maintain balance on these shoes. High heels have never been my forte, and Renee never really forced them on me. I did remember hearing her repeat something to herself during those rare occasions when she wore heels—heel to toe.
So I forced myself to stand up, straightened out my back and forced myself to take a few steps out to the hallway. Rosalie and Alice were already waiting for me; Rosalie in a blood red dress that only exposed one of her shoulders, while Alice was in a pretty chiffon yellow dress with flowing sleeves. They both smiled at me and handed me a pair of white gloves, and a mask.
"Honestly guys, where are we going? I feel a bit silly," I said twirling a little.
"Oh," said Alice gliding towards me and handing me one of the loose pieces of fabric. "You're supposed to wrap it around your finger." I did so and gave Alice a grateful look. If she had not told me that I would have probably never known. "Are you ready? They are waiting downstairs for us."
The ladies began to walk down the staircase, one hand on the banister and another lifting their dresses just high enough for the tip of their feet to show through. I stared in amazement as they floated down, almost like the princesses that they describe in fairytales. Rosalie's blonde hair was adorned by a red rose clip right next to her ear, Alice had a small bumble bee clipped to keep her hair away from her face. I stared at them, marveled by their sheer confidence, I knew I could walk down a flight of stairs without dying.
Okay Bella, step by step. You can do this, heel to toe, and heel to toe I murmured to myself as I made my way down one step by step. I could feel everybody's eyes on me as I took a step down and saw Alice taking a photo of me.
"Smile Bella! You look like you're about to die!" teased Emmett, whose hands were wrapped around Rosalie's hips. Alice took another picture, and the flash blinded me for a little and I almost lost my bearings but my hand gripped the banister for dear life and I smiled.
There, at the very bottom of the stairs was a person whose back was turned away from me. I lingered on the staircase, looking for Edward. Everybody was coupled together—Esme and Carlisle were laughing in a corner, dressed in an elegant black, their bodies seemed to be connected, and I couldn't tell where one body ended and the two bodies began. Jasper and Alice were already out the door while Emmett was escorting Rosalie out the door but before she reached the doorway, she paused for a minute looked up at me and smiled.
I looked ahead of me now, and there stood Edward at the bottom of the staircase holding a single white rose. He wasn't looking at me yet, so I walked down a few more steps and cleared my throat.
"Excuse me sir, I think you were meant for me," I said softly. Edward spun around immediately, gasping as his eyes traced the silhouette of my body.
"My god, Bella," he mumbled as he ran up to me and stopped a step or two before he offered the rose to me. "You look breath taking."
"Why Mr. Cullen, you don't look so bad yourself," I said admiring his tuxedo, while playfully fixing his bowtie. "Where the heck are we going Edward? Nobody has told me yet."
He grinned playfully as he offered me his arm, I looped mine around his and we took one slow step down towards the door. We walked out towards the driveway, and out into the cold misty night. I looked up quickly to see a pale full moon resting quietly by the mountain side. Just over those mountains was La Push, and I couldn't help but wonder where Jacob was at that very moment.
"So, are you impressed?" whispered Edward as he pointed my attention towards the two sets of stretch limousines parked right in front of me. I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't notice them parked there—one black and one white. "Esme thought it would give us a touch of class."
"As if you need any more class," I said kissing his cheek and resting my head upon his shoulder. We walked towards the black limousine and I peeked inside to see the Emmett, Rosalie, Alice and Jasper inside chatting softly with each other. Alice beamed and waved at me through the window as the car began to drive away. "Wait, Edward where are we riding?"
"Here of course," he opened the door to the white limo and had helped me in. It has always been a bit of a fantasy to ride in a limo, dressed in a beautiful gown. It's the modern equivalent of the Cinderella tale—minus the rats and the over blown pumpkin. But before I could sit down and catch my breath, another surprise awaited me inside.
"Charlie! Mom!" I shrieked, wrapping my arms around my mother's neck and giving Charlie a kiss on the cheek. "What are you guys doing here?" I had never seen my mother look so beautiful, so graceful and so put together before. Her sand-blonde hair was wavy, as it reached down to her dark green halter dress—her favorite color, she told me before, because it brings out the color of her eyes. As she sat next to Charlie, I noticed that he looked handsome as well, almost ten years younger as he laughed at my reaction.
"Bells you didn't think I'd pay a lot of money for a tux that I'd only wear once did you?" joked Charlie as he patted his shoulders and pulled his black coat tighter around him. He was playful and charming and looked younger, and happier as he sat next to my Mom.
"Yes, and it was really nice of Mr. and Mrs. Cullen to invite us out with them," said Renee as she pointed Carlisle and Esme in the right hand corner of the limo.
"Oh please, call us Carlisle and Esme—Mr. and Mrs. Cullen make us seem almost ancient!" said Carlisle as he stared directly at me and winked. The truth was Renee was off by a dozen decades—the Cullen's were probably there to witness the invention of the very first limousine. I laughed at the thought as I sat next to Edward, his hands automatically linked with mine as the driver began to make its way down the slippery slope.
"Carlisle and Esme thought it would be a good idea for them to meet your parents as well," he whispered into my ear, I felt his soft yet icy cold breath on my shoulders and his tantalizing breath filled my lungs and tickled my taste buds. "After all they're going to be part of the family soon enough." I laughed at the thought, Charlie and Renee would most definitely freak if they learned what the Cullen's really were.