Esme POV
I could hear Alice and Huilen in Huilen's little studio, arguing about the length of a skirt and whether or not Renesmee should wear it on her date with Nahuel. I smiled to myself as I sketched out a design for another house. Since Bella's newborn period was long over, I could see no reason why we couldn't all live under the same roof again, provided that the house was large enough to accommodate everyone's need for privacy.
Bella wandered in to the kitchen, and I placed my pencil on the table to signal that I was giving her my undivided attention. "Oh, I didn't mean to interrupt you, Esme. I'll come back later…" she trailed off, and turned to go.
"No, you're not interrupting, Bella. I was just passing the time, plotting out another house. Unless I can convince Carlisle to let us build another one, it's just a way of entertaining myself. Though I would love for us all to live in the same house again." I could hear the wistful tone in my voice, so I quickly changed the subject to avoid making Bella feel awkward. She was, after all, the first of my adopted children to move into a guest house. "What can I do for you? I would know that 'I need to talk to someone' look anywhere." I smiled at her, and gestured towards the chair adjacent to me.
As she sank down in it, I could see her trying to put her thoughts in order. "Well," she began uncertainly, "I don't know. I just was wondering what it was like for you, when you realized that Nahuel was in love with Renesmee. You're so maternal, I know that you must see her as one of your own almost as much as I do. Do you feel… awkward about their, er, future together?" Ah, I thought. She's worried about how she will deal with the knowledge of them having a physical relationship. "Bella, I know that this is bound to be awkward for you. It was awkward for me, with Rosalie and Emmett." I knew I could approach the subject of Rosalie without any ensuing awkwardness; since Bella's change, she had been much more confident in herself, and didn't seem to feel threatened at all by Emmett's past with Rosalie. "She was the first of my 'children' to find love, and to pursue a sexual relationship. And with a newborn of Emmett's strength!" I shuddered when I remembered the apprehension I had felt, imagining Rosalie's thin body in Emmett's terrifyingly strong hands. "I was convinced he would crush her skull or injure her somehow, though I knew that Rosalie's body was strong. I suppose the worst part for me, when it came time to accept the inevitability of their relationship becoming physical, was the fear that I would somehow hear them. I immediately built them a separate house while Emmett was going through his transition, so they were able to have a place to escape to. When the time comes for Renesmee and Nahuel, I suppose we'll have to build them a house. Perhaps we can give them one of the guest houses, and I can build this one," I gestured vaguely towards the drawing before me. "I wish there were some magic words that I could say that would remove all of this awkwardness and fear that you feel, but there aren't. The best I can do is tell you that I am always here to listen to you, and offer you this bit of consolatory knowledge: Renesmee and I have discussed this at length, and she does not feel that she is ready for sex." Bella sagged in her chair out of relief, and I patted her hand. "However, one day she will be. It is difficult to think about, especially since she has reached full maturity so quickly. I know you feel as if you have been robbed of time when it comes to her, but she is grown now. When the time comes, you will have to accept it as best you can. Also, there is a chance that they will decide to strike out on their own for a time. I want you to prepare yourself for that possibility, Bella." She nodded, but looked bereft.
"I know they probably will want to go out on their own for a while. Renesmee is itching for independence as it is. It terrifies me because Alice can't see her, but I know that I can't keep her under my wing forever. I finally understand how Charlie must have felt; to feel that you only have your daughter for far too short a time before she goes of to live her own life." She swallowed hard, looking down at the table, and I wished for Jasper's presence for a moment. She looked up at me, pain evident in every one of her features. "If and when she decides to leave, I would love for all of us to live together again."
Bella POV
As Alice and Huilen tried to get Renesmee to wear the clothes they'd picked out for her, I mulled over my conversation with Esme. She'd told me that she would like for me to prepare myself for the possibility of Renesmee's leaving, but I had been steeling myself against that inevitability for months.
I knew my daughter, and I knew that she was anxious to see the world. Though we had taken her to the finest museums and shown her all that we could under the cover of night, she had been able to walk on sunlit beaches with Nahuel. There was so much that he could offer her that we couldn't, and I knew in my still heart that he loved her desperately. That knowledge soothed me a bit; I knew he would die himself before he ever allowed her to come to harm. It unnerved me to think that he had been waiting in the wings since the day of her birth; I was afraid that we had subconsciously groomed her to love him, but Alice was right when she pointed out that he may very well have been the only male of her species. Somehow, they were destined to find one another. The fact that they already knew each other more thoroughly than some couples ever do was a side effect of her growing up in such close proximity to him, and I found myself thinking about Quil and his imprint, Claire. I wondered how her mother felt, if she found herself ever wondering about the impact that growing up with her intended already in her life would affect her.
"Damn it, Alice! I'm not wearing that! What I have on is perfectly fine!" Renesmee was stomping down the stairs, in a pair of old jeans and a pearl-snap flannel shirt.
"Young lady, I'm through telling you to watch your mouth, and you're just like your mother! Why can't either of you just wear something nice for once? All you ever want to wear are ratty old clothes and Chuck Taylors! You can't wear Chucks with everything, Renesmee!" Alice was storming down the stairs, right behind her, clutching a piece of something floaty and pink in one hand and something floaty and green in the other.
"Yes, I can! I can wear these shoes wherever I damn well please, and you can't tell me to watch my mouth when you're the reason I'm swearing to begin with!" The frustration on her face was familiar, and I felt as if I were looking in a mirror. Knowing all too well what Alice could drive a person to with her clothing fetish, I decided not to scold her for her language. Esme must have had the same thought, because she was suddenly standing next to me, chuckling and shaking her head.
"Alice, stop tormenting my daughter," I laughed. Renesmee stuck her tongue out and scampered into the kitchen, returning with an apple and a glass of milk. As she'd grown older, her aversion to human food had all but dissipated, until there were very few things she wouldn't eat. I suspected it was all a bid to look as normal as possible, but I didn't question it. Though she still hunted from time to time with Nahuel, I had my suspicions that they only hunted as a way to be together out from under the constant scrutiny of the family.
"Oh, she's definitely your daughter! You can't beat that child into a dress! I swear, you two will be the death of me one day, with your jeans and your t-shirts. Renesmee," she said, pleadingly, "it's your first date ever. This is a major milestone for a girl. Please, let me dress you. Just this once." A devious glint appeared in Alice's eyes, and she went for the kill. "Don't you want to look nice for Nahuel? You know, dress up? I'm sure he would have been dumbfounded to see you in a skirt…" She trailed off mournfully, but the damage had already been done. I could sense the resignation emanating for my daughter, even without Jasper's skills.
"Okay. Fine. Whatever. But I'm not wearing either one of those," she said, pointing scornfully. "It's dinner and a movie, not a black tie party. I don't need a French designer for a movie theater in Small Town, Montana."
Alice's laughter swelled to fill the room, and I could hear Emmett's deep, booming one coming from the garage, where he and Jasper were building two souped up go karts to do God only knows what with. Jasper poked his head in the door, and gave Alice a stern look that didn't fool anybody. "Alice, you leave that girl alone. You've tortured her enough for one day. She doesn't need a damn dress to be beautiful."
Alice rolled her eyes, and snorted. "Go back to your go karts, Jasper. I could fill a book with what you don't know about women's fashion."
"Alice, you're my wife. I could tell you where the hemlines were for every season the last half a century," he retorted. "But she's right, Renesmee. Wear the blue one."
Emmett's laughter drowned out everyone else's as Jasper eyed his wife with mingled mischief and desire.
****
For forty-five minutes, I listened to the muffled scuffling and hissing going on in Huilen's studio as they tried to get Renesmee into something they considered suitable. The occasional "Absolutely not, Alice," or "What are you thinking?" wafted down to my ultra-sensitive ears, but I tried to focus on the book in my hands and not the thought that my daughter was getting ready to go out on her first date. At the age of seven.
When she came down the stairs, I wanted desperately to be able to cry properly. Alice had apparently been able to convince her to take Jasper's advice, because she was dressed in a light blue strapless dress with a pink sash that somehow looked very edgy, despite it's pastel colors. The center of the bust had a large pink flower pinned to it, and Renesmee's curls were pinned up, artfully disheveled. She wore the slightly dazed expression that I recognized as the aftermath of being browbeaten into submission by Alice, and her makeup was flawlessly applied. I heard a sharp intake of breath behind me, and saw Renesmee's face light up with a smile that overtook her countenance before I turned to see Nahuel.
He was entranced, following her every movement with eyes that screamed his adoration. His mouth slightly agape, I heard his breathing quicken along with his heart, and I felt my grip on my daughter being loosened.
