AUTHORS NOTE!
ATTENTION ALL READERS. I have been absolutely awful to the lot of you and I must apologize… my school year took over more of my energy then I should have let it and I neglected all of you and this story. And then, as some of you might have read in the previous authors note, I lost my father. It's been a long lifetime since I last wrote. But I adore this story line and I want to really put a jump kick to the plot. I have decided to PACK this chapter with new happenstances. (: Tell me how I do, I love to hear from all of you guys. I began this chapter nearly a year ago on July 12th 2012. It's been that long and I apologize. Now, to the more pressing situation at hand… my procrastination problem. I don't know how many of you would feel comfortable doing this but feel more than free to send me a message along the lines of, "Oh hey there Miss ScribblerInNotes… You have work to do, so get your sorry ass to work!" Anything to that affect. This doesn't mean that you can harass me, but I think that you are going to know how and when to limit yourselves. Well! On to the chapter. Enjoy!
…..
Before I knew it, weeks had gone by. I failed to apply the linear concept of time to my life; there were days that seemed to last three years and days that were over in the mere blink of an eye. The hospital stayed the same. Mrs. Robinson came to my room and left my room. The group of kids that I read to did the same. Of course my doctor was the most consistent visitor that I had. Alice hadn't come around again, but Edward did visit once. However, he wasn't much of a talker.
He had dropped by on the 18th of December wearing a dark hued v-neck and a pair of dark wash jeans, which was spookily similar to what he had been wearing the first time that I met him. I was crafting a card for Mrs. Robinson the best I could with construction paper. The loops of scissors bit into my fingers as I meticulously built a pile of shapes next to me that I planned to make into a card inspired by stained glass. At first, I had wanted to make her the real deal, but my doctor had calmly dismissed the idea. That meant no glass blowing for me, which was something that I was terribly bitter about. It would have included me leaving the hospital for hours and being around extreme heat. Apparently those were two conditions that he was not accepting.
"That looks like a time consuming project."
I jumped in my skin and I brought my scissors down sharply, "Ouch…" A single drop of blood formed and started to dribble from a short and shallow cut on the tip of my thumb. I tucked it into my mouth quickly and suckled at it momentarily. I looked up to see Edward, which in itself was a surprise. Even more surprising was his rigid stance. Curled into himself, he had one hand clenched around the doorframe. His fist was meshed up to his lips.
"Edward?" I asked. When I went without a response I went on, "Are you alright?"
Whatever spell had come upon him at that time had passed quickly as he grudgingly straightened himself and clenched a tight smile, "I'm quite fine. I just wanted to let you know that a piano will be set up in the sun room on Christmas day."
Christmas day. The 25th of December. Mrs. Robinson's ninetieth birthday. Blinking at him, I soon was filled with excitement, "That's great! Thanks so…" He abruptly turned and left, "Much. I really appreciate it, Edwasrd! Thanks for the favor… oh and leaving so quickly too! That was also sweet of you."
'Why would he do that, the least he could have done was stick around to tell me what kind of piano it would be. Pft, forget that, a simple good-bye would have sufficed!'
That was seven days prior to the 25th. I was counting down the days; I used every resource I had to make Mrs. Robinson's birthday the best I could. Finally, I woke up that morning and I had a spring in my jaw I could not stop chatting. I showered far earlier than I typically would have and I made it a point to wear the nicest clothing that I had.
Running my hands over the dress that I wore that day, my thoughts traveled back to when I had first bought it. There was no surrounding story, no real significance. No, but I had a longing for something new. I was never one to be overly concerned with material items, but I could not, for the life of me, remember the last time that I had something new in my possession. Other than the woolen blanket that Carlisle had given me… Not to say that the blanket hadn't been heart warming, but there was still an urge in me to pick something out for myself. To have ownership.
Shrugging it off the best I could, I didn't wait for my nurse or doctor to show up. Instead I checked on my own IV sight, which had healed over quite nicely, and then rummaged through my old possessions and took a multivitamin. They didn't really do much of anything, seeing as I took several medications anyway, but I was determined to not stop for a moment that day; any extra nutrient was welcome. It couldn't possibly hurt me.
It had been a little while since my last sick spell, but my feet had been a bit swollen and sore. When my breakfast was dropped off by Masha- which was moderately odd, she hadn't been around in a bit- I thanked her easily and took my meds right there and then. This satisfied her and she was on her way, reassuring me that she would see me later at the little get together that we had planned for Mrs. Robinson. When the kids came by for their Saturday reading I greeted them at the door and flashed the book that I had chosen at them. The book was one from my own childhood that my mother would read to me on Christmas. The number of kids there was smaller than usual as it typically was on the day of a holiday. Plenty of the kids would spend their days in their rooms with their families. There were some loyal listeners that brought their families to the reading. Moms and dads and siblings and grandparents. The reading was quick, though I managed to cut my thumb in a very similar place to where the scissors had nicked me days before. I huffed annoyed at it and gave it the same suckling treatment before continuing on with the story. All of the kids were satisfied and were enjoying the rest of their Christmas elsewhere by twelve thirty.
My doctor made an appearance closer to one in the afternoon, only an hour before the festivities would begin. I grinned at him, "Good afternoon Doc, how nice of you to stop by-" My doctor didn't patter around my room but instead walked right up to me and took my hand from my side. As I sat on the edge of the hospital bed he inspected it briefly, "What are you doing? Oh, the cut. I just managed to get that one a little while ago." I shrugged it off but he didn't seem to do the same. He was a bit stiff and he had been for a while.
"I know," he murmured lowly. From his pocket he took out some disinfectant and he set to work cleaning the small cut. He reached out to me with a band aid but I fended him off jokingly.
"It's only a paper cut, really, I don't need that," I took my hand from his and looked at the slender slit in my skin, "How did you know, anyway?" At first he didn't respond to me but then he muttered something about a nurse. I didn't really catch what he said.
"You know, the nurse mentioned something about me going back on an IV soon?" It was a question that had been meant to be a statement but as I saw the unchanging look on Carlisle's face, I faltered. We shared a familiar silence. He stood unmoving. I got up and straightened my blue wool blanket at the bottom of my bed before straightening out the sleeves on my crimson dress and tightening the band in my dull hair that was thrown into a bun. Once that was in order and I couldn't find anything else to do with myself, my form settled back into the bed. With my legs flat in front of me I reached out to grab my feet and began to play with my knit tights. The pressure made my entire body creek.
Finally, my doctor moved. Carlisle began to idly flip through his clipboard. I couldn't look at him unless it was from the corner of my eye. I worked on rubbing my calves and feet, both of which were swollen. Quietly I reminded myself that I should be numbering my days. The symptoms of heart failure were becoming more constant. My mood had lightened but while my exterior improved the rest of my physical being worsened. I rolled my sore ankle between my hands. My breath was always short. My legs would swell more often and for longer amounts of time. I was lucky to have made it as far as I had, considering my condition. I wondered how long it would be before I was out of my doctors hair. Out of my doctors care. The pads of my thumbs dug into the ball of my foot.
"Yes, we need to get you back on your fluids," he was slow and cautious, as if speaking to a child. I couldn't look at him. Stifling a dry sob, I held a small grin on my face and listened to his calm voice speak, "We thought that we wouldn't need to hook you back up for a while but the situation has proven otherwise." I went back to massaging my calves. I couldn't look at him.
The translation was, 'We thought you might be making some longer term progress but now you are plummeting more quickly and severely than before.' There were bitter words on my tongue, though I didn't use them.
"I wonder if there will be dancing today at Mrs. Robinson's party. I love to dance," I muttered trying to change the subject.
Carlisle's voice broke through my thoughts, "If you started dancing, I'm sure others would follow."
"Would you follow?" I asked.
"Harper?"
Kneading and rolling my feet, I kept my head down. His hand came up and under my chin. His fingers lingered right there, caressing the concave contour under my chin before he took a painstakingly slow approach to making me look up at him. My breath tousled his hair at his forehead. I felt fortunate not only because I had brushed my teeth that day but because I could smell and feel him and he was solid. He was permanent in what I had left in life.
"Would I follow you? Yes, I would follow you." I heard him and I wanted to believe that the words meant something more than they did. He would join me in dancing. That is what he meant. But what I wanted him to tell me was that he meant more than just following me in a promenade. I stripped my chin from his hand and felt dread pool in my chest. He was only permanent in my life as a doctor. It was his profession.
I tried to keep outwardly optimistic, "Sunny side up, I've been off the IV for almost a month now. That's a good thing," Shaking nails were traced over my shins, leaving dry white lines between the knit patterns in my tights, "I had hoped to stay off the IV until after New Years Eve, but it shouldn't make too much of a difference." I couldn't look at him. I gathered my calves into my hands and roughly kneaded them, muttering more to myself than to him, "There is only so much energy that you can put into a lost cause." I couldn't look at him. Couldn't.
I would have kept rambling if my doctor hadn't snapped out of his daze and wretched my hands away from my legs. I peeked up at him through my hair.
He was so close. He smelled fresh. His eyes were a shade darker than they normally where on a day to day basis. He leaned down and I could have sworn that my heart was going to smash right through my rib cage. My eyes flickered down to his mouth and for a moment I thought my heart was finally going to give in on me. Clunk. Done. Right then, right there. He stopped a few inches from my face and I forced myself to look at his nose. The sharp ridge of his nose to be exact. However it didn't stay in my sight for long because his forehead then rested on my own. The very tip of his nose brushed mine and all I could see was his eyes. Two feelings rushed over my nearly feverish body. I closed my eyes.
The first was relief. I wasn't sure what I would have done if he had… but he didn't. So it didn't matter. He didn't kiss me.
The second was disappointment. I wanted him, if only for a few moments, to kiss me. At that moment I wanted nothing more. He didn't kiss me. He wouldn't kiss me. I had to keep reminding myself of that.
Now that I look back at that moment when our foreheads touched, I realize that it was then that I admitted to myself what everyone had been hinting at all along. Mrs. Robinson and Alice seemed to be on their A-Game. I had feelings for my doctor. I waited, still as I could keep. Cracking open my eyes, I looked at him through my lashes.
Carlisle moved away almost hesitantly while I stayed still. His hand smoothed over my chin and then swept away stray hair from my forehead. Carlisle looked at me with a look that I could only translate into pity. Little did I know.
"We can manage to keep you off of an IV until January 2nd," I looked at our hands, which were still molded together. I flipped mine over so my palm was facing upward in his icy hold. Our palms were touching and while he leaned over me like that I felt safer than I ever had. It was calm. There was peace. The image of my brothers vows on his wedding day flashed through my head and then it was gone. The corners of my lips curled kindly. He knew how to calm me down almost as well as he knew how to rile me up. I didn't thank him but it wasn't necessary. He knew my gratitude.
He rose and held a hand out to me. Grateful, I took the offering and let him help me out of bed. He smiled at me, "Let's get you down to the sun room now. Just because you organized the whole party doesn't mean it will wait for you. Gloria surely won't wait for you either." He didn't wait for a reply but instead swept out of the room, leaving me to freshen up. I watched him leave with his typically sleek hair shuffled out of place.
I moved to the bathroom and peered at myself in the mirror with a frown. Surveying my appearance was not my favorite thing to do, but it happened from time to time. My skin was sickly pale and my red hair lacked any sort of luster. My cheeks were sullen and my eyes were gaunt. I seemed so much older than I actually was.
After washing up I left a note saying that I had headed down to the sun room and I was on my way with a pair of old converse in hand. The hallways clearly displayed the Christmas holiday there in the Oregon hospital. There were plenty of hand crafted ornaments along the walls, small plastic pine trees could be found on the tables that lined one of the waiting lobbies that I had to walk through to get to the sun room.
Notes soared through the air, bouncing off of the ceilings and hallway walls and the back of my brain. The music was unlike anything I had heard before. The live piano music? I heard it before I saw it. Where the hallway I was walking intersected with another, a door way led to a brightly lit room that was buzzing quietly with chatter and vibrating with the notes. My toes touched the room but I lingered in the doorway, looking directly at the source of the sound.
Mrs. Robinson was perched on her wheelchair and her hands were stroking the keys of a piano that read "PETROF" on the side. It was sheen and black and it suited Mrs. Robinson well enough. It brought the stories that she had told me to mind.
For years she played piano at a hotel in their lobby as live entertainment for the high-class clientele. When she was in her early twenties she was picked up by a restaurant owner who wanted her talents at night when his food hub was turned into a cocktail and jazz parlor. She had fallen madly in love with that man and had three children before she and her husband left them with a relative and they both went off to serve in World War II, he as a soldier and she as a nurse. She had come back without her husband and without her legs, only to have to give up the restaurant and live off of the money that had been left in her husband's wake. She took her kids and lived in a home in a remote town where she sat in her sun room and played piano for hours, always improving but never quite reaching the talent she had before she lost the love of her life and her legs.
To see her playing for the first time in years made me go all soft and I smiled smally, not moving from my post. It took me a few moments to realize that perched next to her on the piano bench was Edward. He was looking at Mrs. Robinson and talking to her, sparing her small grin as she barked something and tossed her head back in laughter.
"Hapa!" I looked away from Mrs. Robinson to see the short, coarse hair of Jeremy. He was running toward me, his hands outstretched. He was not bandaged up like the last time I had seen him and he looked as though he was recovering splendidly from his recent surgery. A light mocha line of scar tissue peaked out from under the collar of his shirt, and that was all that seemed to be left, "Hapa, Hapa!"
He wrapped his arms around me soundly, knocking the air from me, "Happy Winter Solstice, Jeremy." I laughed and placed one arm around his back and placed my opposite hand on the back of his neck.
"I don't know what that means, but it's Christmas," He insisted, "Not what you said."
Jeremy pulled back and his mother came up from behind him, "Jeremy Herman Abdullai, if Miss Connor celebrates the Solstice, then you better respect that," She held her hands on her hips with a hardness in her eyes but a smile on her lips, "It's just like how your Pops celebrates Decoration day in March while your Mamma celebrates the Day of the Dead."
Jeremy spun on his toes and crossed his arms, "Well that's because you're from Mexico and Pops is from Liberia. Hapa is from America."
Mrs. Abdullai pulled her son to her side and shook her head, "I'm sorry about Jeremy, Miss Connor. He means no offense."
I put my hands up in front of me, palms facing outward, "There's nothing to be sorry for, things like this get confusing. The world's a big place," I smiled at Jeremy, "I'm just still celebrating the Winter Solstice. It happened four days ago, but it's part of my practice to celebrate that holiday."
He furrowed his eyebrows and wiggled from his mom's arms to tug at my hand. I let him lead me to a booth near the window. It had snowed several inches. He clamored onto the bench and then patted it and invited me to sit down as well. Mrs. Abdullai sat across from us, giving her son a knowing look.
"Why?" he asked, his eyes wide. I glanced at his mother, primarily because I knew that there were plenty of people in the world that don't appreciate it when their children are exposed to other beliefs. She only looked on warmly, her hands enveloping each other over the swell of her stomach. She looked several months pregnant and happy as could be.
"Well," I began slowly, "Many places all over the Earth celebrate the birth of a savior during or close to the Winter Solstice. The Winter Solstice is when we have the shortest day in the whole year because the sun is closer to the Earth than it ever is. Some historians believe this happens in so many cultures because all people understand that in order for something to exist, it must be born first."
"But why do you celebrate it? I don't get it," Jeremy had one leg curled under him and one leg swinging off of the bench, "The sun is just super close."
I looked for the right words, "I think it's a time to celebrate the birth of all of the world's saviors, fictional and not. I celebrate being born again. I feel like when I am close to the sun, I am close to the divines."
He asked me what a divine was and Mrs. Abdullai answered for me, "Sweets, Miss. Connor believes in many, many gods and goddesses."
"Oh," he said simply before shrugging, "Happy Winter Solstice, Hapa."
"And a Merry Christmas to you, Jerm," I winked before sliding out of the booth.
"Hey, I am not a germ!" he exclaimed.
"Jeremy, why don't you go play with the other kids? I'm sure Miss. Connor wants to go and see the other people here." Before I could protest, he chirped in agreement and was running off to where a handful of children were playing with the toys set up in a far corner. I watched him wave toward us before he was completely wrapped up in his friends, who were completely enthused by his arrival.
"You know, Miss Connor, I wanted to take Jeremy home for Christmas but he wasn't having any of it. He wanted to be here for the party."
I turned to Mrs. Abdullai, "Please, you can just call me Harper. I'm sorry that this all got in the way of your holiday plans."
"He has a reason to be happy there. I am happy to spend the day here," she pulled a little package out of her enormous handbag and handed it to me, "You should take this now. Open it if you like, but I'm sure the life of the party that you planned wants to see you." I wasn't sure how she knew that I had taken part in the planning and it flustered me. I tried to tell her that I didn't need any gift and that it was too kind, but she would not take the package back. So I slipped my fingers under the paper and opened up the box to see a hair clip that had a fake orange flower and some plastic berries hanging from it. The front of my dress felt damp and I reached up to wipe a tear that has slid down.
"Jeremy told me that you had hair the color of fire. I thought it was fitting." With that she departed from the table with some difficulty, one of her hands always on her stomach. I called a 'thank you' out after her.
I looked closer at the pin and found a small signature under the flower that read, "Talia Abdullai." Placing the handmade hair piece back into the packaging, I looked up around the room. Edward and Mrs. Robinson were still at the piano. At least four generations of Robinson's were flocking around the room. One man, who looked about Gloria's age, stood near the piano singing with her. They both had blue eyes and I realized that it must have been her little brother, Michael. I continued on looking around the room and stopped breathing when I saw my doctor sitting contently with five people that I recognized from his photograph that he had shared with me.
As if he could feel me looking, his head tilted toward me and he greeted me from across the room with one of his smiles. I felt warm all over and I gave a feeble wave before walking toward Mrs. Robinson. I tried not to notice that when all of his kids turned to look at me as well, all but one of them had light golden eyes.
Approaching the back of her chair, I leaned over her a bit, the tips of my hair brushing her cheek, "Mrs. Robinson, have you been keeping Edward captive all morning, or what?"
Edward gave me a grateful look which be quickly disposed of once Mrs. Robinson looked from her music, to him, and then to me. Her eyes were brighter than I had seen them in ages and her skin was practically glowing with happiness.
"My dear, I was wondering when you'd show your pretty face. You just missed Masha, she was here this morning and helped me greet every single one of my family members- this is Mike, by the way, Mike this is Harper Connor," Michael gave me a firm nod and I almost pat myself on the back for being correct but instead gave Gloria my attention, "And then she had to go on and go to this boys house for Christmas dinner. Can you imagine Masha dating? Me either, but I told her to go on and woo the boy out of his trousers. She blushed, but I can't imagine why," she stroked a tune as she spoke to me, "In any case, lovely, Happy Winter Solstice. I got you a gift."
I scrunched my nose together, "It's your birthday. I should be giving you a gift, not the other way around."
With a wicked grin, she held out her hand expectantly, "Well then, have it your way. Where is my gift?" I dropped my shoulders and gave her a guilty look. Instead of telling her that I had not had the money to buy her anything, I fished the card I had made out from my dress pocket and placed it into her waiting hand. With a childish glee, she shut the piano and leaned onto the case with her elbows.
Her eyes glazed over as she inspected the stain glass styled picture. Sitting on a plush bench at a grand baby piano, not unlike the one that she was wheeled at, was a young woman with blond hair that was tightly curled to her head and around her face. Her mouth was open in song and musical notes spilled from her lips. Blossoms kissed her feet and birds were flying above her head.
"Dear Gloria," she began to read out loud. I scratched the back of my neck and gave her a sheepish smile. I had hoped that she would spare me the embarrassment, but apparently she had other plans. She went on, "I hope that by the time that you are reading this, you will have already had a chance to reacquaint yourself with your instrument, courtesy of the Cullen family. I've been thinking about your birthday for a while, I couldn't help but decide to make sure that your 90th was one of your favorite birthdays. I know that you've told me that your music gave you strength, and I hope that you are feeling full of it today. It's the least I can possibly do for someone who has stuck by me, and my temper, without faltering once. Who knew that a flippant old coot would be able to provide me, an equally flippant young rebel, with such insightful company. You have been my strength before, and I hope you are feeling some in return right now. All of my Love, Harper Angela."
Michael pat me on the shoulder, and I wasn't expecting it so it nearly knocked me off my feet. He smiled down at me through his wrinkled face and bushy eyebrows, "Now if that isn't the sweetest thing, I don't know what is."
Mrs. Robinson, on the other hand, did not say anything at first. Only the side of her face was showing and though there could have been a tear in her eye, it wasn't definite. In fact, she did not say anything for a while.
"I can't believe that you haven't said anything yet," I teased her, "Imagine that, the great Gloria Robinson speechless."
"Don't sass me, dear. Else you'll be wishing that I had kept my mouth shut," she faced me, her eyes crinkling at the sides from a lifetime of smiling, "Thank you for the card. It's beautiful."
Then she shoved a wrapped box into my face, giving me very little time to grasp it. I fumbled to get a hold of the package and before I knew it she was wheeling off.
"Where are you off too so quickly?" I asked.
Not turning around she called, "I'm getting tired. I want to rough house with the grandkids and their kids for a while."
Michael patted my shoulder again and this time I stumbled backward several steps. I wasn't used to so many people being in one place. In fact, I hadn't been around more than three adults at a time in a very long time. There were children buzzing around and teenagers milling about and parents socializing and grandparents gushing over babies. It was overwhelming. Edward's chilled hand caught my elbow in an effort to steady me, which I immediately thanked him for.
"I swear to you, I am not normally clumsy," I laughed at myself. He stiffened immediately and I eyed him cautiously.
"It's not a problem, don't worry about it." Edward turned and began on his way to where his family was still sitting and chattering. I opened my mouth to say something to him but it got lodged in my throat. I wanted to go with him and meet Carlisle's family but I wasn't sure if Edward even liked me or if he was just being nice to me because I was his father's patient. What if he detested my very existence and didn't want me to hinder him? Or his family. I shifted from one foot to the other and puffed out my cheeks.
"Edward?"
He faced me after I had blurted out his name and waited for me to say something. He was expecting something out of me, so at the least I decided to act like I had at least an ounce of courage in my body.
"I'll admit I'm nervous to meet all of your and Doctor Cullen's family," I started. Cringe. So much for courage, "I was wondering if you could introduce me." There were several fleeting moments where I felt as though he was judging me but before I could get any more fidgety than I already was, he offered me his arm. I blinked.
And then I lurched forward and looped my arm in his and perched myself on his elbow. He gave me a reassuring smile, or his equivalent to reassurance, and led me on. I began to play name games to keep myself on my toes, 'Alice is easy. Alice looks like Alice from Alice in Wonderland but with inky and short hair. Edward is the first Cullen kid I met and has sophistication that matches Edward Allen Poe. Emmett. Emmett. Emmett is enormous. Jasper rhymes with Casper, who is the friendly ghost. Jasper. Rosalie. She looks like the model, the queen on the flowers. Debatably. Rosalie. And then there is Edward's sister. Ren. Ren. Ren. Deer lard, what is her name?'
I saw Alice look at us first and she was practically bouncing in her seat and clapping her hands together like an overly enthused seal. I took a deep calming breath, "Before we get too close, I just want to make sure that I know everyone's name. Because nothing works against you more than forgetting a name during a first impression," Edward opened his mouth but I beat him to it, "Alice, Edward, Emmett, Jasper, Rosalie, and I can't for the life of me remember-" By that time we were practically at the table.
"Renesmee," Edward called and the young teen with bronze hair turned as Edward released my arm and introduced my entrance, "This is Harper."
She was small and I strained to remember her age. She was lovely to look at. Her teeth were tiny and pearly like a child's but she was a high schooler. I instantly had affection for her. My heart warmed with her smile and I was so caught up in her atypical disposition that I missed the beginning of what she was saying.
"-About you! You can call me Ness if you'd like. Do you have a nickname?"
The corners of my mouth curled and I rasped a laugh, "When I was younger my older brother called me Harp, but I gander that it's because he is lazy. I don't think shortening your name would really do it justice. But thank you for the offer, Renesmee."
The apples of her cheeks were brushed with pink and she took my hand so I would sit next to her. Carlisle was across from Renesmee and Edward took a seat next to him. I glanced at him and saw that his eyes were trained on me. Me and the way that I was interacting with his family.
Thoughts of what had happened between us earlier in my room flooded my mind for a split second before I wedged them deeply into the back of my mind. That didn't stop the small flush that raised in my cheeks. I quickly looked away form him to look at everyone else at the table. Closest to the window, Rosalie sat with her arms loosely crossed and her head pointed toward the snow outdoors. She didn't regard me with warmth, or with chill. Simply not at all. Emmett was seated next to her and was leaning with his arm tossed over her shoulder. Perfectly straight teeth gleamed in his mouth and he was watching me smugly. Jasper was across the table from Rosalie, his back stiff as a board and both of his hands clasped on his legs. One of them was closed and empty while the other one was wrapped around Alice's hand. Alice was still buzzing in her seat and as soon as I looked at her she let out a little gasp of excitement.
"You look absolutely darling in that red dress. I've been dying to tell you since this morning. It's not something that I would normally pick for a redhead, but you just look like a little runway model!" She plucked up my hand and examined my nail beds, "You'll have to let me do your nails sometime."
I watched her as she turned my hands to get a better look at them, "…Why do I feel like allowing you to do my nails entails allowing you to do my hair, my makeup, and my wardrobe?"
There was a general bout of chuckles and I noticed that I wasn't nearly as nervous as before.
"You're pretty spot on with that one," the blonde teen muttered which caused a slow stop to the laughter and earned a small huff of protest from Alice, "I'm Rose, by the way. And you're Harper."
Not sure what to say, I was about to tell her that she was correct. But Emmett saved me the humiliation, "And I'm Emmett. Hey, don't be so nervous. We don't bite." There was laughter still in his eyes, "Much."
I raised an eyebrow at him, "If you are ever considering biting you might want to remind yourself that cannibalism is, more often than not, frowned upon by the general public. You ought to keep your teeth in your mouth." Emmett let out a guffaw, which Rose elbowed him for but let a tiny simper take her mouth.
Alice waved toward Jasper, "This is Jasper. Greet Harper, Jasper."
"Hello."
I didn't ask anything more from him, instead I said his word back to him and then tried to address the table, "It's nice to meet you all since I've only heard complaints and brags about you all constantly for the past months…" I gave Carlisle a crisp look.
"We forgot an introduction!" Renesmee exclaimed, leaning across the table and taking Carlisle's hands in hers, "Since we are sure that you haven't met the head of our house, since he certainly isn't your doctor, it's only right that we introduce you to Doctor Carlisle Cullen."
I placed the gifts from Mrs. Robinson and Talia on the table and held out my hand to Carlisle, "Renesmee's right. It's nice to meet you, Doctor Cullen."
Carlisle took my hand and, completely unexpectedly, brought my hand to his lips and kissed the indent between my forefinger and my middle finger, "Just Carlisle is fine."
In front of his kids. He was kissing my hand in front of his kids. I convinced myself that it was no big deal and that he meant nothing by it. I had only used his name aloud once, and other than that only ever in my thoughts. Otherwise he had just been Doc or Doctor Cullen. I rolled my eyes, letting my ears warm, "It's nice you meet you, Carlisle. Maybe I'm not the only person that should be on one of the hospital cots, you are cold."
Both of his eyebrows shot up and into his hairline, "This isn't anything out of the ordinary for me."
"Really? Because my day has been extraordinary," I joked. My heart was thudding and I wanted to gleam at the fact that he remembered. I shook off that thought, "Thank you, again, for getting the piano here. It was the cherry on top, so to say, for this party."
"Don't worry about it even for a second," he told me. So I didn't. Instead I sat at the table with Carlisle and his children, nibbling at a plate of snacks that Carlisle had insisted on getting me. All of them had plates in front of them. None of them seemed to eat though, because it was hospital food.
At least, that was the reason as far as I was concerned.
…..
"Maybe I'm not the only person that should be on one of the hospital cots, you are cold."
"This isn't anything out of the ordinary for me."
-Some of the first lines ever said between our two little love birds.
THIS CHAPTER WAS ORIGINALLY MUCH, MUCH LONGER. BUT I DECIDED TO CUT IT INTO TWO. I AM HOPPING TO HAVE THE NEXT CHAPTER OUT BY THIS TIME NEXT WEEK.
OpiumCakes! I was back and then a lot of things happened. My father passed in 2011 and I am only just now getting back on my feet. I've been slackin'. I'm glad that you like the pictures that I've picked for Harper, they've been saved to my computer ever since I began jotting down notes for the plot of this FanFiction. I hope I haven't lost you in my absence. Oh, compa16, thank you for reading both of my stories, and I'm sorry that I've been gone. Bad author, bad! I'm glad that you enjoyed Miss Alice, she was interesting to write~ Hey there corbsxx, thank you for the review. Oh yes, Mrs. Robinson knew alright. ;) Troublesome and mysterious as ever, that woman was. If you reference back to one of my pervious story installments (Chapter 2 to be exact), there was section on the ways that my story is AU. More or less, Bella is dead in my story. Please don't hate me… D: Hello L. , thank you for the review and I hope that I can update more this summer! Shhhhh, BamYurrDead! No one is supposed to know my little tactic. :P More is to come, it's just been slow. I apologize. PhysicsMaster17 I hope you enjoyed how this chapter wrapped itself up. Thank you for the review! Hikaru69, Carlisle is one of my very favorite characters as well~ I hope you enjoyed this chapter. mayacullen86, I'm grateful for your review, it came to me out of the blue last month and reminded me that I have duties as an author, FanFiction or not. Also, thank you for reviewing after I posted the Authors Note last Sunday. angel19872006, here is your real update! I hope that I have lived up to your expectations. Ida, I hope that I still have done a good job in keeping Carlisle in character, please let me know if you believe otherwise. I believe that there is always room for improvement. So if something is off, let me know so I can see what I can do to revise it. aandm20, I hope that this chapter wasn't too fast for you. I know that you really liked the pace before I posted this chapter and I hope that this is just as good. I have a few sequels planned for this storyline, which I am excited for. I just hope that doesn't mess with the way that I control the story pace. Let me know what you think! SerWolfsBaneRuneRunner I hope that you return and that you still enjoy this story. Remmy94, you are a large contributor to my return and I am very grateful. I hope to hear more from you soon so we can talk about character development and whatnot. I'm eager to hear what your thoughts are. Thankyouthankyouthankyou.
Now then! Let me know how I'm doing. It's been so long since I've added an installment but I can only hope that my style and quality has improved, if even just a bit. I'm off now, but thank you all for reading.
Regards, ScribblerInNotes (:
UNEDITED.
