Chapter 9
Treading Lightly
As something shot across the high way, slow enough to see, quick enough not to see what, I slammed on the brakes. My car screeched to a halt just in time. Luckily today had been fairly dry and I had kept my speed at the speed limit. The combination of that is what allowed my car to stop in time and not hit whatever I saw. But what was that exactly. I bushed my hair out of my eyes to see a pair of black eyes staring back at me. The dark eyes belonged to a girl who could not have been older than fourteen, dressed in clothes dirtier than the forest that surrounded the highway. Before I could blink to clear my eyes, she was gone.
I rubbed my eyes, and looked back at the road. Is this the pregnancy brain kicking in or was there really a girl standing in the middle of the road? Chalking it up to imagination, I hit the gas and started driving again. Before I knew it, my car pulled into the elementary school parking lot only to see Amy waiting with Seth. Why on Earth was Seth here? And why did it look like Amy had been crying?
Pulling the keys out of the ignition, I ran to Amy's side, uncaring that my car blocked the path in the middle of the parking lot. I dropped to my knees so that my eyes were level with Amy's. Her cheeks were tear stained, but the tears had stopped flowing. "Baby, what's wrong? What happened?"
Her sobs started up again as she buried her face in my shoulder, throwing her arms around my neck. She tried to say the words but they were unclear because of her sobs. Her savior, Seth, explained. "At lunch, some girls approached Amy and said she was a loner, with no family. The insults worsened as they said she was homeless and unloved. I could feel her distress, but by the time I showed up, the girls were walking back to class, leaving Amy crying on the swings."
"Why didn't the school call me?" I rubbed smoothing circles on her back, cradling her in my arms.
"The school doesn't know. The girls told the teacher that Amy wasn't feeling well and went to the nurse's office. The teacher didn't think anything of it and went back to teaching. I have been with Amy for the past hour, trying to console her."
Hearing that my baby sister had been hurt, made me want to scream at the girls or at least punch a wall. I kept my calm; Amy needed me to be there for her now. I could deal with the punks later. "Thank you, Seth. Why don't we get in the car and I can call the school later? Would that be alright Amy?" Directing the question to her, now that her sobs had quieted.
"Why did they call me an orphan? Why did the call me homeless? Why did they have to hurt me?" Her words broke my heart and Seth's as we stood there, unable to provide an answer.
"Baby, they are just mean girls, who have no idea what they are talking about. First, you're not homeless. You have a big house with a library and kitchen and jungle gym, don't you?" She nodded. "Second, there is no way you are a loner. Think about how much time you spend with Jared and Paul and Quil and Jake and Sam and Emily and Kim and Leah. Third, they just don't know that you have a big, loving family. Mom and dad loved you very much. Rosalie and Emmett love you as their own child, which is why the come over almost every day. Carlisle and Esme think that you are the brightest girl your age. Alice showers you with gifts because that's how she says 'I love you.' Jasper wanted to spend the afternoon with you because he thinks you're so much fun to be around. Embry loves you like a sister. Lobo loves you just as much as you love him, which I know is a lot. I love you more than all of them combined. And then there's Seth here, who loves you tons too. Don't you, Seth?"
Hearing his cue, Seth stepped up to bat. "I do love you, Amy. More than you could ever imagine. More than anyone has every loved anyone else. What those girls said was mean, but not true. You have more love and family than all of those girls combined. You are the most loved person on the planet."
"I am?" She asked, turning her head to see Seth.
"Yes, you are." He smiled her way and took her hand into his bigger one. His presence alone seemed to brighten her mood.
"He's right, baby. You are the most loved person on this planet, but I have to ask something. Do you want me to go talk to the principal? These girls could be punished for saying those things to you."
She paused for a minute to think. "You don't have to talk to the principal. It would only make them mad and I don't want to get them into trouble, either. I will just talk to them tomorrow."
"You sure?" I wanted to help her, but not if she didn't want it.
"Yeah, I am sure. But can I make some cookies for them, as a peace offering?"
I laughed in joy, at her kindheartedness. "Of course, baby. I am sure Jasper and Seth would both love to help you make cookies. Now why don't we get in the car and meet Jasper at the house?"
She nodded in response, a forced smile creeping across her face. Regardless of her bravery, the words still hurt. Saying "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me" is miles away from believing it. Amy would survive the words, but the pain was still there—for now. Seth lifted her into his arms and spun her around, causing her to throw her head back in laughter. Seth was Amy's savior, just as Embry was mine. My little guy—or girl—agreed with a kick. Smiling to myself, I rubbed the spot where he kicked, letting him know I knew. Strolling back to the car, the relief spread to my body. At least Amy was safe and healthy. Seth would cheer her up and so would baking cookies.
We drove back to the house jamming to Pink's "Raise Your Glass." Was there anything better to raise your spirits? We reached our destination in no time at all. Amy rushed into the house with Seth, ready to get cracking on the cookies. I glided past the kitchen, trusting that Amy knew what needed to be done. I headed straight to the garage, not to check paintings, not for a blank canvas, but for family mementos.
Pulling out a few boxes, I carted the dusty, plastic, storage bins to the living room. I did not need explanations or answers—that's not why I was going through these—but to see if there was anything they thought of that Embry and I hadn't yet. Opening the boxes labeled "Wedding," I knew I would need a tissue box to forge down this path. Not my wedding with Greg—we never made it past the engagement; but my parent's wedding. A true fairytale. College sweethearts who gave each other all the love they could create. They saved every nickel from the beginning to the end, keeping it for the children, not spending a dime on them, already having all they needed.
The wedding was a backyard one at his parent's house in Los Angeles. Her dress had been her mother's before her, minus the sleeves. Flowing to floor, form fitting up top, jeweled at the bust, it was elegant and tasteful. A twenty-minute ceremony and six hour reception fit their personalities, having close friends and family in attendance, adding up to a total of forty people. Tables crowded around a dance floor. A stage stood against the back fence where a band—taking occasion breaks for a DJ to step in—played live music all night. The ceremony took place on that same stage while everyone sat at their dinner chairs. Soon after, a buffet line was set up and true Italian food filled the stomachs of all in attendance. The album of photographs had page after page of my mom laughing at something my dad said, my dad shoving cake in my mom's face, my mom smiling as my dad dipped her low on the dance floor. There was true love at that wedding. In that moment, I realized that I wanted the exact same thing; not our wedding to perfectly match theirs, but to have the same amount of passion for life that they had found in each other.
As tears of joy dripped down my face onto my lap, I felt strong arms wrap around me, a kiss placed on my cheek, preventing the next tear about to fall. His burning cheek rested on mine, warming it. Looking at the mementos, he asked, "your parent's wedding?"
"Yeah, they had a backyard wedding. I pulled out the boxes trying to see if there wedding would remind me of something in particular I wanted to see in our wedding."
"Do you know what you want in our wedding that they had in theirs?" Turning the page of the scrapbook, he asked the question, already knowing my answer.
"Love."
"Well, it's a good thing we have plenty of that to spare." He kissed my lips, and would have deepened the kiss, but the couch separated him from me.
He groaned at the barrier as I smiled at his frustration. "You know if you wanted to be closer to me, you could just sit on the couch." I murmured the words around his lips.
Deciding that my suggestion was a welcomed one, he raced around the couch and slid in next to me. Resting an arm on my shoulders, he snuggled into the couch and looked at my parent's wedding with me. Lifting out the next item in the box, he pulled out my mom's wedding veil and slipped it into my hair, throwing the train to flow over the back of the couch. He said one word before kissing me again: "beautiful."
Her dress, garter, and shoes were the only items left in that box, so guess which one I pulled out. Lifting the lace up my leg, I tempted Embry to no end, causing him to lick his lips, as if he could already taste me on his tongue. He started to move in for a passionate kiss but was stopped by a knock at the door. He groaned as I hollered, "come in!"
Alice raced to the living room with vampire speed and Jasper, Rosalie, and Emmett followed at a more human pace, oddly enough. She set her books down on the coffee table and ran to get more. She zoomed in and out of the room as the remaining trio spoke with us.
"I hope you two know how ecstatic you have made her." A smile seemed to be plastered across Jasper's lips.
"Oh, I think we have an idea." Embry said, knowing that the pixy would be on a high for months. "We just hope this is not going to affect your life at home, or your family's."
"It will keep her busy enough that everyone else will be able to pick their own clothes for a while. As for me, it will just make me happy to be around her while she is filled with such joy." Jasper's smile change to a smirk, as if he had remembered some inside joke. "Speaking of which, where is Amy?"
"Kitchen, with Seth and Lobo. They're making cookies. Today, Amy had a run in with a few bullies at school." Alice stopped moving her books to listen. The mention of bullies caused everyone in the room to growl at the thought of anyone hurting Amy. "I know; I had nearly the same reaction. Physically, she is fine. They did not touch her, but they threw some harsh words and I think it broke her a little. Seth helped her bounce back a bit, but I think she's going to hurt for a while, even if those girls don't say anything more. She's making cookies for the enemy right now, as a peace offering."
"What are the girl's names?" Emmett asked, the gruff lingering in his voice.
"She didn't say, but I am sure she'd tell you if you asked. But don't go hurt those girls; they're in first grade for Pete's sake." I wanted to get even too, but that was not the way to do it.
"So is Amy! She shouldn't have to suffer that kind of ridicule in first grade." Jasper responded with as much temper as Emmett.
"Hey, you don't think I want the same thing? But getting the girls in trouble with the school will only increase the taunting. Amy wants to talk to them, reason with them. She hopes the cookies will help. Just let her do it her way and do not physically harm those girls. It will not make you feel any better." My words were firm, unwavering. "However, the best way to make Amy feel better and to prove those girls wrong is to love her. Say it to her. Show it to her. Do whatever you can to spread the love. Those girls called her an unloved, homeless, loner without a family. The more you prove them wrong, the less impact their words will have on her."
"I still think we should scare the shit out of those girls, pardon my language." Jasper broke out of his usual gentleman persona to voice his opinion.
"We still have those zombie costumes in storage." Emmett pondered, allowed, an idea already forming in his mind. "We haven't gone on a haunt spree in a while. What do you say?"
"Count me in." Jasper's lips turned into an evil smirk. "Alice, Rosalie, you in?"
"As much as I would love to have the use to use the wedding dress again, Seth is on patrol tonight, so I want to spend the night with Amy. Speaking of whom, you said they're in the kitchen?" I nodded in response to her question and just gave up on Jasper and Emmett, understanding that was a lost battle.
"I can see that my presence would only hinder the progress that you'll make tonight. Have fun though." Alice said the words to the conspirators, as she continued to cart the last of the wedding books from their car to the coffee table.
Emmett and Jasper started conspiring on their way to the kitchen as they trailed Rosalie. Alice finished setting the last wedding magazines and cloth swatches on the table before heading back to the car for her notebook.
"I thought vampires were supposed to have a perfect memory." Embry whispered into my ear at seeing her notebook.
"We do, but I like the tradition of it. Wedding planners always have a wedding planner." Embry and I laughed at her pun, but she didn't. Apparently this wedding planning business was serious stuff.
Alice sat in the single across from our love seat. She eyed the garter and I realized that it was still on my leg. Completely embarrassed, I shed the garment and placed it back into the box next to my mother's shoes and dress. Remembering I also wore the veil, I careful retracted it from my hair and set it next to the other garments.
Turning to Alice, I smiled, acting is if I had not just been playing dress up. "So, Emb ry and I have been talking for a while what we wanted in our wedding and where. I already told you all of the locational information. So I guess we really just need to tell you the guest list, because I am taking care of the food and you're taking care of the rest." The thought of food made my stomach growl.
Embry reached behind the couch we were sitting on and pulled out a greasy bag of food. "I almost forgot to give you your chili cheese burger. Sorry, baby?"
"Sorry? You have nothing to be sorry for, especially because you just made me love you even more." I opened the bag and the wave of grease hit me, relieving the nausea I didn't know I had, and causing my hunger to grow much more. I kissed Embry on the cheek and then began to pull out a napkin and the burger. I draped the napkin across my lap and motioned for Alice to continue with the wedding planning.
As I bit into the burger, the spices of the chili sparked appetite but appeased my hunger. Alice began to speak. "So Embry, why don't we talk about your guest list? You don't need to provide addresses, I just need names.
"My mom; Jacob, Rachel, and Billy Black; Paul; Jared and Kim; Emily and Sam; Seth, Leah, and Sue; Brady; Collin; and Quil and Claire." He ticked of each person on his fingers to make sure he included everyone.
I took my last bite of the burger just as Embry finished his list. Alice motioned for me to continue with my side. "Amy and Lobo; Charlie and Bella; Carlisle, Esme, Edward, Emmett, Rosalie, Jasper, and of course you; Renée and Phil; Angela and Ben; Mike; Jessica; Lauren and Derik; Cora, our art teacher; Jonesy who own the tattoo parlor—I have his address if you can't find it; Daniel Stuart, Greg's dad—"
"Are you sure you want to invite him?" Alice asked, knowing my past with Greg better than most.
"He always said that I was like a daughter to him, that even after Greg died and I had moved on to someone new, he wanted to be there for me. He said that Greg would want me to move on and he just wanted to be there for me when that happened. I want Daniel there. He's someone from my past who I want to be there. It's not just that he was Greg's dad, he's the only person besides Amy who I still have a strong connection to from my life in California. I can't explain it, but I need him to be there."
"Whatever you want. I just needed to assure that you wanted him there. Is there anyone else?"
The last person on my guest list immediately popped into my head as Alice was finishing the guest list. "The last person I would like to invite to my wedding is Marcus Volturi."
Alice's jaw dropped in astonishment. She was truly surprised for the first time in her life. "Are you crazy? You want to invite the Volturi to your wedding on Quileute lands? Have you lost your ever loving mind?" Alice's protest brought everyone else into the room.
"Calm down, Alice. I'm not inviting the big three, their significant others, and the entire guard. I am only inviting Marcus, and he is allowed to bring one guest, which will probably be one of the guard for his protection. He and I have been e-mailing since the Italy incident. He is interested in my work and I am interested in his history. We have become good friends, and he has expressed interest in meeting Embry, for the sake of knowing to whom I am giving myself, not because of Embry's wolf heritage.
"You saw him in Italy. He was the most apathetic of the Volturi, and he only showed any interest when Edward and Bella's love, my and Embry's love, and my artwork came up in conversation. Don't you see? He has lost his life love and because of his power he is reminded of his lost love when he sees our strong love for each other. My art that he loves so much is from right after I met Embry, when I had fallen hard for him. Marcus is a helpless romantic, who lost his soul mate apparently many centuries ago, and is practically suicidal and apathetic now. Aro and Caius at least travel outside of their castle every few decades: Marcus hasn't left since his Didyme died. If he cares enough to come to our wedding that shows that the Volturi not only has a weak link but that we also could have a strong ally in Marcus. What if their stipulation with Bella goes to hell? What if something else goes wrong with what's going on in Seattle and the Volturi have to intervene, would it not be better to have Marcus partial to what we do, rather than against it?
"Besides, he has become a good friend of mine. Just send the wedding invitation to him, and when the time comes he might not even come."
Alice groaned and turned to Jasper. "Can you reason with her that this would be a bad idea?"
"Actually, I am sorry, Alice, but I have to agree with Abby on this one. It would be more beneficial to have Marcus on our side than not. Besides, from what Carlisle has told me, Marcus lost his wife Didyme and never knew what truly caused her death, then was forced to stay with the Volturi because he felt a tie to them, which Carlisle knew to be fabricated by Chelsea. Marcus apparently wanted to leave the Volturi centuries ago, but never did after Didyme died. If we could persuade him away from them, he could be the best asset ever if the shit hits the fan. Pardon my language, ladies." Jasper's tactical mind could see the benefits of Marcus' friendship with me.
Alice groaned in frustration. "But I won't be able to see with all of the wolves, so it will be even harder to prevent catastrophe. And how do you expect Sam to allow Marcus on the reservation when he does in fact drink human blood. He's only letting us on the reservation for your wedding, and we don't even drink human blood. How on earth are you going to persuade Sam?"
"He owes me, big time. First, I have helped solve a problem between you guys and the wolves, and I am sure there will be more to come. Second, I am the reason Leah hasn't torn his head off, yet. Third, I am also the reason she is out of his basement and is now a functioning member of society. Lastly, Emily and I are pretty close. I am sure I could convince her to convince him to let it happen. The wedding is only going to last twenty minutes. We don't want or need an hour long ceremony. Besides, Embry and I have already cleared it with Jake and Billy, who both hold more authority over Sam, even if they don't use it. But they could and that is the point. Sam will agree because there is too much against him to not allow it. Don't worry. Marcus isn't going to do anything. He is too much of an apathetic man to care."
Alice continued to moan. "This is all going to go horribly wrong I can feel it."
I tried to calm her worries with one last effort. "Alice, you worry about the wedding and I will worry about Marcus. Deal?"
"Fine. But this is only because you are even letting me plan your wedding." She submitted with a grumble and continued to take notes. "Anything else you have already talked about?"
"We know how we want our wedding party to be." I turned my head to face Embry's resolute jaw and smiled as he listed the names.
"Jake and Quil are sharing the title of best man, because there is no reason I should decide between the two of them. And I have already asked Billy to reside over the wedding. It will all be official, being that he is ordained." Embry had already done so much talking to everyone down on the reservation to ensure that our wedding could actually happen. I wasn't even sure how he had time between running patrols, going to school, picking up food for me, and spending time with Amy and me.
"And I already told you about the bridesmaid situation. But don't tell anyone cause I still have to ask them if they will be in the wedding party. And I still have to ask a certain someone if he will give me away. But I want to do it at an appropriate time, so I will let you know on Friday if dinner goes over well this Thursday. Remember, everyone is coming over this Friday to talk about the Victoria/new vampire situation, so not too much wedding talk, because I don't want it to overshadow the seriousness of the meeting."
"Fine, so we will just have to get going on it today. What colors or theme did you guys have in mind?"
Embry looked down at me terrified. His expression said, can a wedding have a theme? I just squeezed his hand in assurance and took the reins. "No theme in mind. But we would prefer to be theme-less. We would like a powdered, baby-blue color for the dresses, ties, and a beach theme for the decorations and table settings. I have already looked into it a little bit so I will bring down my book of decorations that I liked. But I don't want any table decorations that prevent people from seeing or conversing with someone on the opposite side of the table. All of it needs to be short enough that it doesn't crowd. Let me go get the book." I started to get off of the couch until Embry said he would get it. He gently shifted me off of his lap before placing me on the couch beside where we were lounging. He left a kiss on my forehead before taking long strides up the stairs to our bedroom. He knew exactly where I kept the binder of different decorations. It was one of the things we had worked on together. There was a book of how we wanted the wedding and a book of how we wanted the baby's room. The wedding book was of course much larger and closer to being finished, whereas the baby book was barely started because we didn't know the gender yet.
"Alice, this book had all of the information you will need to plan our wedding, including the names and numbers of guests. Anything that is not in the book is up to you to decide. The only thing Embry and I haven't decided on is the cake and the food. Tiffany is going to lead the cooking and Esme is hopefully going to be doing the cake. I haven't asked Esme yet, but Embry's mom already said yes. So don't say a word until I can ask Esme on Wednesday."
"Do you honestly think I would say something?" She rolled her eyes and continued to take notes.
"Of course not! But I don't know how much you can see with Embry being so involved, so if I tell you then I can be sure. Come on, Alice, have a little faith that I have faith in you." That moment, Embry walked into the room carrying the binder of clippings, print-outs and notes we had collected to plan our wedding. He handed it over to her, and within two seconds she was scanning the pages and finished in less than a minute. "This is so extensive, that I will probably only ask you guys for anymore help to pick a cake, test the food, fit you for your tuxedo and gown, and to practice the ceremony a few days before. I'll start working on all of this tonight." She smiled with a bit too much glee as she stored the binder and her notes in the top of her bag.
"Should we go test some of those cookies?" Embry asked, offering me a hand. I nodded and—with Embry's help—lifted myself off of the couch. The three of us wandered to the kitchen where a flour fight had broken out. Embry quickly shielded me from a batch that Jasper had thrown, but I was still hit by a puff of flour as Amy threw a fistful at my backside.
"This means war." My words resonated in the kitchen as the hollering, yelling, and shouts continued, while I grabbed a fist of flour out of the enormous sack and threw it at Rosalie. She ducked and it hit Seth instead. From there is continued until the flour had been emptied from the sack and could be seen on nearly every other surface. We all sat in a circle on the floor laughing at our silliness after an hour of vicious battle.
Our group of eight cleaned up the mess and then we all said goodbye to each other so that we could clean ourselves. Rosalie made a promise to be back in an hour after she had showered. Alice left with her wedding books and excitement oozing from her pores at the thought of event planning. In reality, she was planning not just one event (a wedding), but four more (graduation celebration, wedding shower, bachelorette party, and baby shower); and that was if you didn't count the fact that Edward and Bella would be getting married soon after us—even if they didn't know it yet. Alice would be busy for a while. Emmett and Jasper said goodnight only before heading off to find their zombie costumes. Seth left for patrol, but only after forcing Amy to promise him that if she needed him, she would call for him; no matter is she needed him tonight or any other night, for any reason, she would yell for him, and he would come running.
Embry didn't have patrol tonight, so he stayed and helped me get the flour out of my hair. I am sure I could have done a decent job, but Embry insisted that only he would be able to get the part on the top of my head. I trusted that only he could be capable of the task of washing my hair, as he shampooed me from the top down. As we stepped out of the shower, I heard the phone ringing and rushed to pick it up before it went to voicemail. It was Bella.
Edward had finished explaining to her all that had happened over the weekend. "Are you okay? Are you sure that vampire didn't do anything to you?"
A giggle slipped from my lips as I brushed off her worry; I had enough of Embry's to last me eternity. With the phone pressed to my ear, I settled into the pillows on my bed. I watched Embry change into a pair of sweatpants as I relaxed, already wearing my own shirt and sweat-shorts. I admonished Bella's worries as I felt none in me. "I'm fine, Bella. Don't worry about me. Worry about you. Did Edward tell you about the meeting on Friday?"
"Yeah, he did. I was actually calling to make sure I was allowed to come." Her voice sounded insistent, but only to the point where she felt assured that she wasn't being left out of the loop.
"Of course you're invited. You're the reason why this meeting is happening this Friday, instead of this past weekend. Just make sure that you and Edward show up at five, and I'll be sure that the wolves don't eat all of the food." With the mention of the wolves, Embry walked across the room in two large strides, and began to tickle me, signaling that any mockery of his brothers would not be tolerated. "Okay, the big bad wolf has warned me that any insults towards his pack will not be accepted, so instead let me ask you, are we still on for dinner Thursday?"
"I'm still coming. Your house at five?" She asked for assurance.
"Yup. See you then."
"See you tomorrow. Goodnight, Abby. Say hi to Embry for me." Bella said her parting words, thinking she was being so cute by mocking me for having Embry over.
Two can play that game. "And say hi to Edward and Charlie for me. Goodnight, Bella." And I hung up the phone before she could formulate a reply.
I turned to Embry and said, "Bella says hello." He laughed, having heard the whole conversation anyways, and didn't need me to repeat it.
"I'm sure she does. So Edward explained it all to her?" Embry's honest curiosity was a commonality I had found persistent in our conversations.
"It sounds like it. And anything he didn't explain will come up on Friday. He can protect her as much as he wants, but that can only happen if she wants that protection he is providing. I hope that he can learn to work with her stubbornness rather than against it."
"Me, too." Embry agreed, kissing my lips. We would have continued kissing but it was dinner time, and Rosalie had just shown up with a meal I hadn't been expecting.
Rosalie laid out food that Esme had made earlier in the day. Esme had made it incase I was too tired to make a meal, and had luckily guessed right. Rosalie warmed up the lasagna in the oven with the seasoned asparagus, before adding a vinaigrette to the green salad. I thanked Rosalie and asked her to pass on the gratitude to Esme. Amy came down stairs just then and smiled at Rosalie before running into her arms for a hug. The four of us sat down to dinner, and with the exception of Rosalie, ate the meal in comfortable companionship. Rosalie and Amy went to Amy's room to play dress up as Lobo trailed at their feet. Embry and I washed the dishes and headed back to bed. We fell asleep just minutes after settling in between the sheets.
