Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. All recognizable characters belong to SM.
Coventry:
A Bella and Edward Story Part 4
With the help of Esme, Carlisle and Edward, Bella managed to bake a dozen of her apple pies. She ended up sending half of them over to be baked at Edward's home. He and Carlisle were happy to assist in this task because it gave them some father and son time. It also gave Esme and Bella mother and daughter time.
Bella was happy to show up at the church service the next day with her new family. She really enjoyed attending church before she came to Coventry and was looking forward to getting to know the congregation here. Pastor Webber was a wonderfully, eloquent speaker. He kept the sermon short but meaningful. Bella couldn't help thinking that Coventry really was blessed to have found someone so passionate and inspirational to lead their congregation.
Afterwards, at the Pot Luck, Bella was introduced to countless people whose names and faces all passed in a blur. Edward took great pride in introducing her to everyone as 'his lady'. There were quite a few gentlemen that were disappointed by this news.
The Elder's all converged on Bella's pies and were full of praise.
Edward had been disappointed to find that he had missed getting a slice. Bella however, surprised him when she presented him with a mini pie that she had made just for him. He thanked her by placing a gentle kiss on her forehead.
As wonderful as the day had been, Bella was happy to climb into her cozy bed at the end of it. She drifted off to dreamland with a smile on her lips.
The next twelve months passed by in a flurry of activity. Bella had no shortage of help in bringing the Bakery up to code.
Laurent, the local handy man, took an instant liking to her. She reminded him of the sister who had died in a boating accident when they were teenagers. Bella just had to call him and he would drop anything to help her out. Bella in return always supplied him with his favorite, strawberry shortcake.
Laurent, much like Edward had closed himself off to the idea of finding love. He blamed himself for his sister's death because the trip to the lake had been his idea. He didn't believe that he was worthy of love.
Bella decided to play match maker and arranged for Laurent and Irina to spend a great deal of time together when she invited them over for dinner. Her attempts were very transparent since Bella was a subtle as a sledgehammer but everyone humored her. They could see that she meant no harm and loved her new friends dearly.
She was rewarded for her efforts when Irina came into the Bakery one day and told Bella the good news that she and Laurent were now courting. Bella didn't stop smiling for days after receiving the news.
As wonderful as life in Coventry was, it wasn't a bed of roses for Bella. She received some absolutely shocking not to mention devastating news shortly after the grand opening of the Bakery.
Mr. Jenks had called Carlisle and requested to be put on speakerphone so that he could address Bella and the Cullens all at once. He had something difficult to say and didn't know if he would be able to get through telling it more than once.
Carlisle agreed and they all sat in stunned silence as he told his tale.
It appeared that the boyfriend that Renee had run out on, after he had posted her bail, had caught up with her and demanded that she repay the money. Renee didn't have any money because the money that she had been receiving came from Bella's trust.
She concocted a plan to abduct Bella and torture her into signing everything over to Renee. Afterwards she would be killed. Since Phil and Renee would need to be each other's alibis and need to be seen in a very public place to throw suspicion off of Renee, Phil decided that they needed to hire help.
Unfortunately, for them and fortunately for Bella, the man that they approached was an undercover FBI agent.
Renee had the gall to contact Mr. Jenks for help after she had been arrested. That is how he became aware of the situation. There had been a speedy trial with both Renee and Phil pleading guilty to the charges of conspiracy to commit murder.
They each had received a twenty years sentence.
Mr. Jenks had waited until after the sentence to notify Bella because he wanted to matter to be put to rest beforehand.
To say that Bella had been devastated would have been an understatement. She clung to Edward and asked that he take her to the Church Garden. Edward, unable to deny her anything, did as she asked. Bella sat for a long time crying and praying.
Before long, the garden was filled with her family and friends in Coventry. Some had witnessed an obviously distressed, Bella, being driven down Main Street. The news spread like wildfire and her friends went to her aide.
Tearfully, Bella told the story to her new extended family and was overwhelmed by the support she received.
They all moved into the church and held an impromptu prayer meeting. Everyone prayed that Bella be given the strength to cope with her pain so that it didn't consume her and change the wonderful, compassionate woman that she was.
Bella thanked them all from the bottom of her heart.
Their prayers were answered in the positive and Bella did recover and slowly begin to heal.
Bella flourished in Coventry. She had the life she always prayed for. There was just one thing missing. She kept praying but with each passing day, she wondered if the reason she wasn't getting what she longed for was because God's answer was, No.
Ten months after Bella had arrived in Coventry; her prayers were answered when Edward dropped to his knees and asked her to marry him.
Bella shouted, "Yes!" so loudly that Edward began to laugh in relief.
He had been so nervous and was relieved that she seemed to be as eager as he was. They had spent every possible moment together over the past ten months. They were only apart for work or when he was working with his mother to redecorate his home for his lady love. He really shouldn't have been surprised but Edward couldn't believe that someone as good and decent as Bella would want to marry him.
These two really were a fine pair. Neither could believe that the other returned their feelings so deeply. Bella's resounding 'Yes" finally dispelled those fears for Edward and the engagement ring dispelled them for Bella. Thank heavens for that.
Neither of them wanted to wait to be wed so they had a very simple ceremony. At Bella's request, they only had Carlisle and Esme in attendance to act as witnesses. She said that the only guest that she wanted at her wedding was God.
Bella said that, more often than not, brides get too carried away by planning the perfect day only to be stressed out unnecessarily by ridiculous things. She didn't want to spend her wedding worrying about something going wrong, guests complaining or people taking bets as to how long the marriage would last while consuming the food and drink that the couple had paid for.
Edward smiled lovingly at her and agreed.
Bella had seen Esme and Carlisle's wedding photo and had timidly asked Esme if she still had the dress. To say that Esme was thrilled at the prospect of her daughter wearing her dress would have been an understatement.
The dress was a short sleeved, A-line dress in antique white satin and it suited Bella well. Esme and Carmen helped Bella make the necessary alterations to the dress, in the privacy of her home, so that it would fit her properly. When they were finished the young lady looked a vision.
The night before the wedding, Carlisle stayed with Edward at his house. Esme remained with Bella who was spending her last night under Carlisle and Esme's roof. Each parent gave their child 'the talk' about the wedding night.
When Carlisle and Esme reminisced about it later, they shared a laugh over their blushing children. Neither had been sure their deep blushes would have faded in time for the wedding the next night.
It was a simply beautiful wedding. It was held the Friday evening following the proposal. The church was lit with pillar candles.
It wasn't your usual, bride being ushered down the aisle sort of do. Bella simply walked in with Esme and Edward walked in with Carlisle then they stood before Pastor Webber and exchanged their vows. After they were pronounce husband and wife and shared a kiss they were engulfed in a group hug by their parents.
Pastor Webber gestured to the camera in Esme's hand and asked if they would like to move to the garden to take some more photos. Before they exited the church, Bella asked for a moment and turned to walk back up the aisle.
Believing that they had left her behind, Bella got down on her knees, clasped her hands together, raised her head towards heaven and prayed out loud.
She thanked God for Esme and Carlisle without who Edward wouldn't exist nor would he be the wonderful man that he is today. She thanked God for her incredible husband and prayed that he be kept safe from harm so that he would return to her each day from his job. She also asked God to bless their union with children that they could raise to serve him as she had done her whole life. Once she had done, Bella wiped her eyes, rose to her feet and turned around.
She was stunned to see the Cullens and Pastor Webber standing there with tears streaming down their faces. They were touched by the heartfelt prayer from this devoted young woman.
Bella lowered her head shyly as she approached them.
Edward walked over to his bride and kissed her soundly, earning hearty laughter from his parents and Pastor Webber.
Photos were taken and then Pastor Webber joined the family at the Carlisle and Esme's for a lovely dinner. Bella surprised Edward with a lovely wedding cake that she and Esme had made the night before.
While Esme snapped countless photos, Bella and Edward shared a dance to the song that they had sung together on her first night in Coventry.
Then Edward walked his bride over to their new and carried her over the threshold. They remained there celebrating their union undisturbed until they needed to leave to attend church on Sunday morning.
The first Sunday that they walked into church as husband and wife, Pastor Webber made their wedding announcement to the congregation. He also mentioned that Bella had asked and Edward had agreed that in lieu of presents, the couple would like donations made to the church. That announcement was met by a resounding 'awwww' from congregation. This caused the couple to blush and Carlisle and Esme to beam with pride.
The couple felt that the money could do much more good in the hands of the church and they certainly weren't in need of the funds.
The prayer that Bella made after her wedding ceremony was heard and answered positively. It turned out that on their wedding night the newlyweds had conceived their baby girl.
When Esme and Carlisle found out, their joy couldn't be contained. Esme, knowing that Bella wasn't into being the center of attention, pleaded to be allowed to throw a baby shower.
Bella finally agreed on the condition that it was a coed baby shower. Her reasoning was that it took both parents to create a baby so they both should share in the celebration.
Due to work schedules and other commitments, the shower was pushed back so that it was held two weeks before the baby's due date.
Baby Girl Cullen seemed to sense how excited everyone was to meet her so she decided to join the party. Bella was rushed to the hospital and a few short hours later, the new parents met their little blessing from God.
They named her Elizabeth Marie Cullen.
Elizabeth after Edward's grandmother who had been instrumental in match making of Carlisle and Esme. Marie after Bella's paternal grandmother who helped raise her to be the woman she is.
She was a beautiful mixture of both of her parents. She had her mother's facial features and straight hair but her father's eye and hair colour.
When Bella and Edward brought their little girl home from the hospital, Bella was in a very reflective mood. As she and Edward passed the Welcome to Coventry sign, Bella couldn't help but think of her life since she arrived in this loving community.
No one could have predicted that Coventry, the place that her mother ran away from at 18, would lead Bella to Edward and her very own Happily Ever After.
The End