Chapter 3 Meeting Rosalie
(BPOV)
"Mom, do you have a minute?" Emmett asked as I was gathering my student's compositions from the desk in the office.
"Sure sweetie, what's up?" I asked, my focus not completely on Emmett. I was looking for the Rachmaninoff score that the Seattle Symphony had sent to me. It wasn't under the sheet music. Maybe I had left it on the piano when I finished practicing? Nope, it was already in my briefcase. Stupid pregnancy brain. I wondered if I should extend the deadline for one of my graduate students. She had run into some difficulties with…
"I want to marry Rose," Emmett interrupted my train of thought and I sat down in my desk chair quickly. "Mom? Are you alright?" he asked.
I took a deep breath and shook my head to clear it. "Yeah, I'm fine. Wow, I wasn't expecting you to say that. Um, when are you going to ask her?" I asked still trying to wrap my mind around his declaration.
"I was thinking after school. I only have my class ring; but it's better than nothing right?" he said nervously.
"No," I blurted out before thinking. The look of Emmett's face turned to panic and I quickly added, "I'm sure Rose would be fine with your class ring; but just sit here for a moment. I'll be right back." I ran as quickly as my six-month pregnant belly would let me, up to my jewelry box and found the ring that my grandmother had given me for my eighteenth birthday. It wasn't big and flashy; but it had six small diamonds surrounding a ruby. Rosalie had admired it the last time I had worn it and I knew she would appreciate it. I brought it back down to my office where Emmett was sitting on the couch waiting for me.
"I know it's not much; but I think she'll like this better than your class ring," I said slightly out of breath from rushing up and down the stairs.
Emmett carefully took the ring from my outstretched hand and a small smile spread across his face. "It's perfect, Mom. Rubies are her favorite. I don't want to marry her because of the baby; I want to marry her because I love her. I just want you to know that," he confessed.
I smiled softly at him and ran my fingers through his hair in a motion I had used to sooth him since he was a baby. "I do know. I never would encourage you to do this if I thought you were doing it just because she's pregnant. I know you love Rose and I know she loves you. You're young, just like your father and I were; but you and Rose will be fine. You better get going or you'll be late. I think Alice is waiting in the kitchen for you. Esme took the boys to school already. Good luck Emmett," I said before I kissed his forehead. He wrapped his arms around me after he stood up and whispered, "Thank you," before he left the office.
"Dr. Masen? I hope I'm not interrupting you. The door was open and I thought you had office hours right now. Do you always record yourself as you play? I'm sorry, that was rude, ignore that. You seem really busy. Um, I have a question about an assignment and—," a student from one of the undergraduate classes I taught rambled nervously. I pushed the stop button on the digital recorder I was using as I played the piano.
"Tia, correct?" the young girl nodded before I continued, "You're not interrupting. I do have office hours right now. I was simply practicing. I have a performance next weekend and I like to record myself and then read through the score as I play it back to make sure I didn't get anything wrong."
"Wow, you do that all from memory?" she asked and I nodded in response before she continued, "I just started to play the piano a couple of years ago and that's why I'm in your music theory class. I thought that if I study the background behind the music and how it's made, it will make it easier to learn. I think I'm in over my head though. The interval worksheet is so confusing," Tia said desperately. She handed me the worksheet and showed me the question that was troubling her.
'What lies an A5 higher than the leading tone of the minor scale whose parallel major has a mediant degree that lies a M3 higher than the subdominant degree of the minor scale that has a signature of four flats?'
She had answered a few of the other questions correctly on the sheet; but that question was definitely the hardest and had the most steps. She needed to understand the pieces of the question and once she did, she would be able to figure it out on her own. "Let's work backwards and take it apart, what minor scale has a signature of four flats?" I asked her. She studied her notebook and some handouts from class.
"Oh, F minor. So its subdominant degree is B-flat minor and then I find the major scale that has a mediant degree that's a M3 higher than that. I think I get it. I just didn't know where to start. I'm sorry I disturbed you for something I should have been able to figure out on my own," she apologized.
"Tia, it's okay; it's what I'm here for. You're also not the first person from your class to ask about that problem. It's meant to be a challenge. If you can figure out the rest of this sheet, you'll do just fine on the integral portion of the exam. Take them slowly and break them down into parts," I told her as she put her papers into her backpack. She thanked me and left just as my phone rang.
"Why hello, Dr. Masen," I said as answered my cell phone.
"Hello to you too, Dr. Masen," Edward replied. I smiled every time he called me that. It had taken five years for me to earn my Master's Degree in Music and my Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance.
I looked at the clock and realized that my office hours had ended as Tia left, so I walked across the room and closed the door as I talked to Edward. Being a radiologist, his job kept him busy throughout the day and if he wasn't able to call me, we texted frequently. "So you got my message that I had a talk with Emmett this morning?" I asked.
I heard the creak of his chair and the sound of typing as he said, "Yeah, how was he this morning? I had to leave before he was awake."
I sat back down at the Yamaha grand piano and said, "He wants to propose to Rosalie today. I gave him my ruby ring."
He stopped typing and took a slow breath. "Do you think they'll make it?" he asked me.
Even though we had gotten married younger than we would have if we weren't expecting Emmett and Esme, we knew marriage wasn't the answer to an unplanned pregnancy unless you were fully committed to each other. I would never encourage Emmett and Rosalie to get married if I thought it would end badly.
"They're just like us, Edward. They'll make it," I told him.
"How can you be so sure? You and I grew up together; I knew I was going to marry you when we were five years old. I had been planning on proposing to you the summer the twins were born so that we could get married after senior year. They've only known each other a couple of years and only started dating a little over a year ago," Edward worried.
"Don't you remember me telling you about the first day I met Rose? That was the day I knew she was perfect for Emmett," I told him as I packed up my music from the piano and left the performance classroom to return to my office across the hall.
Edward's chair creaked again and I guessed that he was leaning back to listen to me. "I remember it was at a football game that I had to miss when I was on call. I think there was something about eavesdropping and soulmates, other than that I don't remember," he confessed.
I closed my office door and sat down at my desk to gather my students' assignments before I went home for the night. As I stacked the papers, I told him about that cold night in October, two years before.
I sat huddled on the bleachers, wearing a sweatshirt with a hood on my head and wrapped in a blanket, rocking Susan in my arms as the fourteen-month-old drifted to sleep. I glanced at the group of middle school girls that were fawning over four-year-old Jacob and seven-, almost eight-, year-old Paul. Jacob was standing on the bleachers in front of some of Alice's friends and leading the group in a chant of 'Let's Go Wolves!' I heard a soft giggle behind me and a voice said, "That little boy's cute."
"Oh, that's Jake Masen. He's a handful," another girl said.
"Masen? Like-?" the first girl sputtered.
"Yeah, that's his littlest brother. The two younger boys in the middle of all the girls are Paul and Sam Masen. His sister, Alice just stood up to help him lead the cheer," the second girl told her.
I carefully glanced over my shoulder to see who was talking. I saw a girl with brown curly hair named Jessica that had been in school with Emmett and Esme since first grade. Esme said she was a mean gossip and avoided her whenever possible. I didn't recognize the girl she was sitting with. She had frizzy blonde hair, glasses, and braces. I turned back around to watch the varsity football game.
"So, Paul, Sam, Alice, and Jake. Wow five kids, that's a lot; I'm an only child," the blonde said.
Jessica snorted and said, "Seven. Emmett has a stuck-up twin named Esme; she's dating Carlisle. He and Emmett are the only freshman that made the varsity team this year. Esme's over there with all the other player's girlfriends. He also has a baby sister. I don't remember her name. I think it's Sharon or Lisa or something. His dad is so hot and young too. I'd do him if I got a chance; but he never seems to look at anyone except his wife. I'd love a chance at him."
"Jessica! That's horrible. Obviously he loves his wife. Marriage and family is sacred. I hope someday someone only sees me; I'd never take him for granted," the new girl said.
I heard Jessica scoff before she replied snottily, "Whatever, Rosalie. So you've been staring at him for two weeks, have you even talked to him yet?"
The girl named Rosalie answered, "Well, kind of. I accidentally bumped into him today in the hall and I dropped my books. I apologized and he helped me pick them up. When he handed them back, our eyes met and he just stood there with his mouth open and his eyes wide. Right as the bell rang he asked, 'who are you?'; all I could do was stammer, 'Ro, Ro, Rose Hale.' Then I turned around and ran to class. I'm such an idiot. In that one look, I felt this connection. I feel like he's my soulmate."
Jessica laughed and scoffed, "Soulmate, yeah right, those don't exist. You know, if you straightened your hair and lost the glasses and braces you might actually be pretty enough for Emmett. Oh, there's Mike. Gotta go."
I heard Rosalie whisper, "Bitch," as Jessica ran down the bleachers. She didn't follow.
I turned around and smiled at her. Her cheeks flushed red and she stammered, "Sorry, I didn't mean to say that out loud."
My smile grew and I tipped my head to the side to indicate that she could sit next to me. She moved down a row and I said, "Don't be sorry when you're speaking the truth. I didn't mean to listen; but I heard your conversation. I believe in soulmates too, by the way. My husband is mine."
"How did you know that he was? I mean I've seen Emmett Masen around school since I moved here two weeks ago and I just can't get him out of my head. When our eyes connected today, I felt like my entire world stopped and centered around him. I don't even know him and I think I love him. Jessica's probably right, I'm not pretty enough for him," Rosalie told me.
I shook my head and said, "You're a very pretty girl. But looks have nothing to do with finding your soulmate. Hair, glasses, and braces are superficial. A soulmate sees the real you, what you hold in your heart. My Edward was by my side through thick and thin from the time we were five. He never cared that I had braces or about my hair the year my mom thought it would be a good idea to perm it and I looked like a poodle. He supported me, and loved me. That's a soulmate. Emmett would be lucky to have you as his. I can tell you have a good heart." I meant every word I told her.
She blushed again and said, "Thank you. I'm Rosalie, or Rose, by the way."
"Bella," I replied simply. I could have told her I was Emmett's mom; but I didn't want her to feel embarrassed that she had told me so much.
Rosalie stood up and said, "I should probably go. My mom said she'd be here by nine to get me and I don't want to make her wait. Thanks for talking to me."
The game ended about a half hour after Rosalie left. Later that night, after we were all home, Emmett found me in my office and asked to talk to me.
I figured he was going to talk about the game, but instead he said, "Today I met the girl I'm gonna marry. Her name's Rose and I think I love her."
I didn't tell him about my conversation with Rosalie and instead asked him to tell me about her.
"She's gorgeous, Mom. I'd seen her in the halls the last couple of weeks; but I never got a chance to talk to her. Today she bumped into me and dropped her books. I helped her pick them up and then when our eyes met, it's like gravity shifted or something. All I could do was stare at her. She has the most beautiful blue eyes and when I've seen her smile across the hallways her whole face lights up. Instead of introducing myself, I blurted out, 'who are you'. I was such an idiot. Her name's Rose Hale and she ran away from me so fast I didn't even have a chance to tell her my name. I think I scared away my soulmate," Emmett worried as he leaned back on the couch in the office and covered his face with his arm.
Rosalie was so shy that it took her six months to stop stuttering whenever he talked to her. He came home and told me about every conversation they had, the look of awe and love never faded from his eyes whenever he talked about Rosalie. It took Emmett until Homecoming of their sophomore year to ask her out on a date.
"Facing the challenges of teenage pregnancy and marriage isn't what I wanted for them. I wish things would be different and that they could just be normal like their friends; but this happened and we need to support them. I know they'll be good together, Edward," I said as I finished my story.
The tone of the heavy sigh from Edward let me know before his words did that he agreed with me. He confirmed it when he said, "You're right. I have a feeling Rose's parents aren't going to be quite as understanding from what Emmett's told us about them."
"I agree. I can't believe we've never met them what with all the time Rose and Emmett spend together. I guess that'll change soon," I said as I locked my office door and walked to my car. I needed to get to the daycare and pick up Susan.
"I'll be home for dinner; Banner's on call tonight and I'm on this weekend so I have next Saturday off for your performance. Do you need me to pick up anything on the way home?" Edward asked.
"If you could pick up Alice from ballet that would help a lot; I don't think Emmett's going to want to get her. I need to run through this score again once I get home. Esme's getting the boys and is going to keep them and Susan out of the way and then I have to be at rehearsal with the full symphony tonight at seven," I replied.
He started typing again as he said, "Will do. I love you, Bella."
"I love you too, Edward. I'll see you at home," I told him before hanging up and driving toward Susan's daycare. I wondered how Emmett and Rosalie were doing.
A/N: I would love to hear what you think of this chapter! Please review. Also…
Can anyone figure out the answer to Tia's question from the interval worksheet? Virtual cookies or virtual Edward kisses to anyone that reviews with the correct answer!
What lies an A5 higher than the leading tone of the minor scale whose parallel major has a mediant degree that lies a M3 higher than the subdominant degree of the minor scale that has a signature of four flats?
Or if you don't want to answer that one… Would you rather fight 100 duck sized horses or 1 horse sized duck?