Chapter 10
"Hello!" Alice greeted with a big smile in a bubbly tone. She extended an arm out and allowed the guests inside. "Can I take your coats?" She had taken it upon herself to be the 'meet and greet' hostess for the evening while all of Carlisle's new colleagues paraded wide-eyed into the massive estate they called home.
A middle-aged couple entered the home, and the man stared at Alice open-mouthed as she continued to grin from ear to ear.
"Your coat?" she asked again.
"Oh..." He slipped his arms out of the knee length jacket that clung nearly to the length of his body. "Thank you." The man turned, taking his wife's jacket next and handed it over to Alice.
The two of them eyed the ceilings as if they had just entered some museum, or one of Newport mansions. For an extra couple of seconds they stood in the doorway, looking star-struck or even frightening to move from where they stood.
"If you go to the right," Alice began with a pause as her soft, perky voice made both of them jump simultaneously as they were snapped out of the daze. She held back a giggle, "The party is that way. Your coats will be in this closet when you leave."
The man cleared his throat and nodded, "Thank you..." His eyes appeared as if they were searching for a nametag.
"Alice," she held out a hand, "Alice Hale."
"Alice." The man nodded before proceeding into the house without stating his own name.
When the two of them were around the corner, Alice laughed to herself and stood up strait with her fingers interlocked in front of her as she awaited the next set of guests.
The extra large dining room, coupled with the kitchen, was set up to look like an upscale lounge. Alice set up a collection of low lights in the shades of pinks and purples that danced off the walls and marble floors in the intimate, dim lighting. It wasn't a shock that many of the guests wore the same, mesmerized expressions as the high school students from Forks when they all were welcomed into the Cullen home for the first time.
"Dr. Cullen." Dr. Martin made his way through the crowd of people and the two men shook hands.
"Carlisle," he said casually.
"Well in that case you can call me Franklin," he said, sipping on the small glass of scotch he held in his left hand.
"And you know my wife, Esme from the day you stopped over."
Esme smiled and extended her hand. "It's nice to more formally meet you," she said.
"Likewise." He grinned and arched his neck, looking around the room. "My wife is mingling somewhere," he assured them with a laugh before eventually spotting her accepting hors d'oeuvres from Emmett, who insisted on overplaying the catering routine.
"Who's the big guy over there?" Franklin asked, raising one eyebrow as he saw his wife laughing at something Emmett had said.
"That's our older nephew," Esme explained, "Emmett."
"He's Caleb's brother then?"
Carlisle and Esme looked at each other and nodded. "Yes," they said at the same time.
"Is he in college? He looks like a professional athlete."
Carlisle began to chuckle, "He has a degree already."
"The school is always in need of coaches," Franklin went on, "He must've played football." He eyed Carlisle, but wasn't looking for a response, "They pay the coaching staff well over there. He could probably get at least six or seven grand for being an assistant."
"I'll talk with him," he said to appease his co-worker, "He may be interested."
He nodded and took a small sip of his drink again, keeping an eye out for his wife until she migrated away from Emmett.
"Emmett's wife is here somewhere," Esme said, attempting to ease the man's thoughts.
"Oh, he's married?" Franklin smiled, letting his mild jealousy subside with a more relaxed smile.
"Yes." She nodded, grinning as she did.
Rosalie overheard their conversation from where ever she had been and made her way into the conversation.
"Here's the bride now," Carlisle teased, making Rosalie grin at him.
Franklin's eyes widened, and he attempted not to stare.
"Oh, were you talking about me?" Rosalie pretended to be shocked and then eagerly flashed her wedding ring, "Yes, newlyweds." She smiled at Franklin, "I'm Rosalie."
"Franklin," he nodded politely, "Congratulations."
"Thank you." She gushed as if she and Emmett actually had recently wed.
Alice entered the room, waving toward Carlisle for a moment; her hand barely visible above the group of people.
"Oh, excuse me a moment," Carlisle said. He gave a half-smile to Esme and nodded to Franklin, "I'll be right back."
"Take your time." Franklin smiled and then turned his attention to the two women before him.
Carlisle crossed the room, letting out a deep breath as he reached Alice. "Is something wrong?"
She shook her head, "No. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you worry."
He let out a relieved sigh and then smiled, "What is it?"
"The kids aren't attending the party, are they?" Alice asked him, "Meaning, Caleb, Alex, Mackenzie, William... all of them."
Carlisle shook his head, "I think they're at the pool. Why?" He could see Alice's look of concern. "Is everything okay?"
"I'm just worried about Nicole," she admitted, "She and Salvatore are out and about nearby. He let his shield down so I can see them clearly. I just have this lingering anxiety that I'm going to lose track of her again." She closed her eyes for a moment, "I'm sorry."
Carlisle's expression softened, "Alice, we didn't have to have these guests over to our house." He motioned for him to join her away from the noise of the crowd. "I don't want Nicole to feel like she's isolated from her own home."
"Don't be silly," Alice told him, shaking her head, "Nicole is thrilled to be away from us and alone with Salvatore. I just suddenly got anxious." She sighed, "Do you think the kids would mind checking up on them?"
Carlisle nodded, "Of course. I'll go get them."
"Oh, no," Alice shook her head, "I'll have Jas do it. He's not having as much fun as the rest of us are."
"Are you sure?"
She nodded, "Positive. I just needed to take a breather, that's all."
"You didn't have a vision?"
"No." She shook her head. "It's just a mom thing, I guess."
Carlisle smiled and Alice took in a deep breath before whisking through the crowd to find Jasper, who stood closely with Emmett.
"Dr. Cullen! Hi!"
He spun around, facing two nurses from the hospital. "How are you?" he asked with a nod.
"We're great." The young brunette smiled and nodded eagerly.
"I'm glad you both could make it."
"We wouldn't miss it," the other girl said, "Everyone's been talking. We're glad you're back."
Carlisle gave a closed-mouth smile at the two of them and nodded, "Well, thank you. I'm glad to be back, too."
"You have a beautiful house," the brunette spoke again.
"Thank-"
"Dad, dad, dad!" Marshall came running through the crowd just a tad faster than he should have, soaking wet in his swim trunks.
The girls stared down at the adorable child and began to gush, looking at each other with admirable grins.
Carlisle's eyes widened and he snickered upon seeing the trail of wet footprints his son had left behind. "This is Marshall," he explained, scooping up his son in his arms.
"Hi Marshall," they said at the same time like two teenage fan-girls of a pop band.
Marshall looked at the two of them, and then to Carlisle without saying anything back.
"I thought you were suppose to be in the pool with the big kids?" he asked his son, pressing his eyebrows together.
Marshall looked back at the girls and then put his hand over his mouth to whisper into his father's ear, "I'm hungry, Daddy."
Carlisle clutched his son a little tighter in case he decided to make an inhuman break for the blood they had stashed for him upstairs in their room.
The two nurses laughed again, and Carlisle glanced at them, "I'm just going to find some food a little more kid-friendly," he explained with a smile, "Help yourself to anything."
"Thanks!" the brunette said, still staring at the two of them in admiration.
"Thank you," her friend said.
They waved, as Marshall clung to Carlisle, looking over his shoulder as he walked through the crowd. At the last minute he stuck his tongue out at the two of them, making the young ladies giggle with one another before they made their way over to one of the drink stations.
Esme's eyes widened a bit when Carlisle returned to their circle of friends with a soaking wet Marshall on his arm.
"Well, who is this?" Franklin's wife had since entered the conversation and looked at the youngster that clung to Carlisle.
"This is Marshall," Carlisle explained and then looked at Esme for a moment, "Our son."
"I didn't know you had a son." Franklin grinned and laughed out loud before holding up a hand, "How's about a high-five little fella?"
Marshall looked at Carlisle for a moment before tentatively slapping his hand against the man's.
Franklin began to laugh and his wife smiled at the cherubic nature of the young boy.
"I'll be back in a minute," Carlisle explained to them, "I'm just going to get him something to eat."
Esme looked at him and Carlisle nodded, letting her know he was alright before bringing Marshall away. His other co-workers glanced with smiles as Carlisle passed them by, all immediately infatuated with his son.
She sighed with a grin and continued to entertain as her husband took care of Marshall.
"He's adorable," Mrs. Martin gushed, "How old is he?"
The two of them hadn't talked over the story behind Marshall, and so Esme threw out a number that was accurate in their son's appearance. "He's three-and-a-half," she said with a nod.
"Well, he's right at home here in Marshall, Minnesota," Franklin laughed again, continuing to sip on his scotch and then dangled the glass in front of him. "Don't mind me," he said, "It's rare I get a night off, never mind out."
Esme and Rosalie both smiled.
"Indulge," Rosalie encouraged him.
"I intend to," Franklin said with a laugh, nudging his wife, who simply shook her head with a smile.
"Christopher says you have an indoor pool," Mrs. Martin stated, sounding it out like a question.
"Oh, um, yes." Esme nodded, almost embarrassed by the lavish nature of their home. "He's here now with Caleb and the rest of them, right?"
The two of them nodded.
"Our son just thinks so highly of Caleb," she went on, "The two of them are becoming great friends. They've been meeting to study at the library on Friday nights."
"Yes," Franklin added with a nod, "Good influences on one another."
Esme smiled, "Well, I'm glad they're getting along so well."
Caleb leapt over Chris and into the pool, completing a flip as he did so.
"Showoff!" Alex called, laughing along with her brother and their friends.
"Man, this is so much better than Connecticut," Caleb said, "I hated being cooped up at home all the time, never meeting any new friends."
"What'd you get home-schooled there or something?" Mary asked, slicking her hair back with water.
"Oh, um, yeah..." Caleb caught himself as he accidentally told a small truth of their world before returning to Minnesota.
Jasper entered the pool area and everyone turned to him.
"What's going on?" William sat on the ledge with his feet in the water facing the door where he just entered.
"I need a quick favor from one of you," he said, "Or two of you."
William stood up first and eyed Madison, who stood with a beach ball in her arms next to Alex. The two of them made their way over to Jasper and the three of them disappeared from the room for a moment.
"Who was that?" Mary said with a smile.
"Oh, that's Jasper," Mackenzie explained. "Why?"
"He's hot."
Caleb and Alex made eye contact and burst out laughing.
"What?" she said, "He is. How old is he?"
Alex continued to laugh, "He's married. Sorry."
"Married? What?"
"To Alice," Caleb went on, "The short, dark-haired one."
Mary scrunched her nose, "Oh, I should have known. They're kind of, like, perfect for each other." She splashed some water on her face, "Damn."
The kids laughed again and a moment later, Jasper returned, smirking as he obviously overheard the conversation.
"What's going on Jas?" Alex asked him.
"William and Maddy..." His voice drifted and he peered out the small window in the center of the door that led out of the pool area.
Everyone followed his stare, and then let their mouths drop when Nicole emerged with Salvatore.
Jasper could see the intense, strained nature of Salvatore's face and rushed toward them to get him out of the room.
"It's okay, it's okay..." Nicole said, noting that they'd attracted unwanted attention from the human population in the pool.
Jasper looked at the two of them and whispered lowly, "What are you guys doing here?"
Salvatore looked over his shoulder at the human kids and then looked back to Jasper. "My mother called," he explained, "We may have a problem."