A/N:
Hey Y'all, Greeting from Texas. Since I've got some down time, waiting for my brother to get home from work, I figured I'd update.
Here it is, the thing you've all been waiting for since the last chapter. It also happens to be the last chapter of happy times. Things get angsty again next chapter.
I don't own the characters, I just own this craziness that I decided to have them participate in.
The song is not mine either, the great Shangrilas own it.
Time to get married...
Chapter 14- Chapel of Love
Going to the chapel Bells will ring
And we're gonna get married
Going to the chapel
And we're gonna get married
Gee I really love you
And we're gonna get married
Going to the chapel of love
The sun will shine
I'll be his
And he'll be mine
We'll love until
The end of time
And we'll never be lonely anymore
~Chapel of Love by The Shangrilas
September 2009
APOV
"I'm getting married today," I screamed as soon as I woke up. Bella and Rosalie sprung to a sitting position on the sofa bed in my old room at my parents' house.
"Alice, I love you sweetie, and I know today is a big day for you, so I'm going to say this as nicely as I can. Shut the fuck up and go back to sleep. We've got another hour and a half until the people from the salon will be here, and I am going to take advantage of every minute that I get to sleep in being baby free. Not to mention, today is going to be a very long day. You need all the rest you can get," Rose said. Bella started laughing next to her sister-in-law.
I huffed, but laid back down. She was right. Today was going to be a very long day, especially since it would not only be my wedding, but also the day that my best friend got engaged. It was going to be great. I knew she wouldn't enjoy being the center of attention, but she would enjoy knowing she was going to marry Edward. I squealed to myself. At least I thought it was in my head.
"Alice," Rose seethed.
"Sorry! I'm going back to sleep now, I promise." Well, maybe I wasn't going to go back to sleep, but I would stay quiet. I was thinking of the day ahead and eventually did fall back to sleep, because the next thing I knew I felt the bed dip and an arm shake me. I opened my eyes to see Rose sitting on the bed. She placed a finger over her lips in the universal sign for silence as she pointed over to Bella, who was still sleeping soundly on the pullout.
Rose stood and strode out the door in one of the gifts I had gotten her, a black satin robe with 'bridesmaid' in rhinestones on the back. I grabbed my own white satin robe, which proudly stated "Soon-to-Be Mrs. Hale', and followed her into the hallway. I closed the door behind myself so we wouldn't bother Bella.
"She still has no idea what is coming, does she?" I whispered.
"She is freakin' clueless. Edward hasn't exactly been subtle about it either," Rose said with disdain in her voice. "I've heard them talking about the future. Edward keeps wondering aloud about what their children will look like whenever they're with Ethan. I think he has even mentioned something about a house with a picket fence and a dog. "
"Oh, don't forget the jeweler," I stated. Rose raised an eyebrow at me in question. "Well Edward took the ring to the family's jeweler to have it cleaned. He wanted to make sure it was sized properly, so he told Bella he had to have his watch fixed one day while they were out. Edward had spoken to the jeweler and had him say it would only take about 15 minutes to fix and to browse what was in the store. Edward had her try on everything. I'm talking necklaces, earrings, bracelets, rings. The jeweler's assistant actually took measurements for Bella's perfect necklace and bracelet length that way when he measured her ring finger she wouldn't be suspicious."
"You have got to be kidding me," Rose said, laughing so hard she had started crying.
I shook my head no, letting her know I was serious. This just caused her to laugh louder. I quickly shushed her, we didn't need Bella to wake up.
"Oh, shut up, we need to wake her up anyway. I woke you up because the people from the salon are here. Let's get you ready for my brother."
"Better yet, let's get our best friend ready for the biggest day of her life so far," I countered.
"Ali, shouldn't Bella and I be saying that about you?" she questioned.
"Oh please, I've been ready to marry Jasper since the day I met him." And it was the truth. I'd always known Jasper was my forever, and now it was Bella's turn.
BPOV
Even though I had had to endure close to three hour getting my hair and makeup done, I couldn't deny that Alice's wedding was beautiful. Jasper had tears of joy sliding down his cheeks when he saw Alice coming down the aisle. Alice had decided to do a fun choreographed dance instead of the regular bridal party dance. I was reluctant at first; not having much rhythm, but it was very easy. The guys made fools of themselves and we were getting nothing but compliments from the surprised guests. Dinner was delicious. When it came time to cut the cake I wondered if the two would keep their earlier vow. I was sitting next to the newlyweds in the limo on the way to the reception hall, when I heard both of them agree to be nice to the other when feeding the first bite of cake.
Just as the piece Alice held reached Jazz's face she pushed her hand forward and up, smearing the icing and cake all over his face. Jazz had already gotten the piece partly in Alice's mouth so he wasn't able to retaliate much. I laughed snapping pictures with my camera, before playing the good maid of honor and going to help clean the both of them up. Jasper was a lost cause, and I sent Edward with him to the bathroom to clean up. The poor boy had cake up his nose. I got Alice's face cleaned off, before Rose ushered her into the bathroom to reapply her makeup.
I knew the part of the night I was dreading was coming up. The bouquet toss! There were not a lot of single women here, meaning I would have to go out. Fewer women out to catch the thing meant more chance that I would; I couldn't hide in the back. After the Bride and Groom were cleaned up they shared their official first dance. Then Alice danced with Carlisle, and Jasper danced with Charlotte. Then the DJ said the words I'd been dreading. He called for all the single women to come out on the dance floor. Alice picked up the bouquet she was throwing before looking back at us.
"Ready, ladies?" She asked, looking over her shoulder at us. The ten of us on the dance floor nodded. The DJ counted to three and Alice threw the flowers over her head. I didn't even try to reach for it and the offending thing fell right into my hands. Alice winked at me before giving me a huge hug. I ran into the comforting embrace of Edward's arms, hoping to calm my nerves.
The DJ started some stripper music as Jasper led Alice to a chair in the middle of the floor. He sat her down and worked his way down her body, until he was kneeling in front of her. He picked up the edge of her skirt and ducked under. The room erupted in laughter. After what seemed like forever, Jazz emerged with the garter between his teeth. He helped Alice up and twirled her around as the DJ called for the single men. As Edward walked away from me I gave his hand a squeeze, knowing he would understand that I needed him to catch this thing. I would not be comfortable with anyone else placing that garter on my leg.
Jazz looked over his shoulder and the DJ again counted down from three. The garter flew through the air. Only one man even reached up for it; my Edward. I got a strange feeling this was set up. I grabbed Alice and asked her why; she knew how much I hated to be the center of attention. She tried convincing me it wasn't staged but I was unconvinced. The chair was out in the middle of the floor again. I sat down in it and Edward kneeled in front of me. As he reached for my foot to slip the garter on, Alice screamed.
"Wait!" She walked over to the DJ who handed her a mic. "Bella, did you notice there is a small satin bag tied to the handle of that bouquet?" I nodded. I had noticed the bag and wondered what it was. As she reached my side she said, "Could you please take that bag off and hand it to Edward?" I cocked an eyebrow at her, but did as she asked. As soon as I had handed the bag to him, Alice handed him the mic.
"Isabella. I'll never forget the first time I saw a picture of you. Alice had come down to Portland to visit me. She had a stack of photos with her from college. As I began flipping through the photos this gorgeous girl with chestnut brown hair, and big brown eyes was in a few of them. When I asked Alice about her she said 'That is my awesome best friend and roommate Bella. We met at work. She's a bit shy, but my perfect compliment.' All I could think about was how fitting your name was for you. Beautiful. Mi Bella, my beautiful. When we finally met, I was surprised by how easy it was to be around you. I know we've had some rough patches to overcome, but we've weathered the storm. I know I will always be able to handle whatever life throws at me if I have you as my rock." Oh my god. This isn't happening. No way, not here, not now, not on Alice's day. I felt the tears streaming down my face. Edward opened the bag and turned the contents out into his palm. A gorgeous platinum band with a princess cut center diamond bigger than I could have imagined, lay in his hand. He picked it up and looked right into my eyes. I saw the tears collected in his green orbs and noticed his hand was shaking; he was nervous. "Isabella Marie Swan, I ask you, in front of all our friends and family, to be my rock always. Will you marry me?" I couldn't speak as the tears just kept flowing, so I nodded. I kept nodding as I grabbed him around the neck and pulled him to me kissing him passionately.
I heard Alice squeal, and a round of applause come from the rest of the guests. I finally told him yes, over and over again as he slid the ring on my finger. The DJ started a slow song in our honor and I heard Leona Lewis' voice float out of the speakers singing I Will Be. I looked into my fiancée's eyes as I spoke.
"You planned this?" He nodded. "I love you. It was perfect. I just really wish you wouldn't have spent so much money on a ring, I would have been happy with something smaller." This thing was huge, I really didn't know how I would wear it at work.
"Bella, first off, you need to understand, money is nothing to me. I could stop working tomorrow and live comfortably for the rest of my life." I gasped; I knew he had money but not that much, not that is mattered to me either way. He continued pulling me from my thoughts, "Secondly, I didn't spend a dime on that ring." I looked at him confused. He stroked my cheek before lifting my hand and kissing the ring. "Love, that ring was my mother's, my grandmother's before that, and I do believe the original owner of that ring was my great grandmother." I looked at him stunned. I was speechless. I felt honored that he would give me such a precious family heirloom.
"Thank you," I whispered as tears fell from my eyes again.
"I did spend some money on a ring for you though. I got you something much smaller to wear at work. This can be your special occasion ring. I know you needed something that you could pull gloves over."
"You are wonderful, Edward Masen."
"As are you, future Mrs. Edward Masen."
"I like the sound of that," I said smiling. We danced the rest of the night away. All of us had such a great time. After all of the drama Edward and I had gone through at the beginning of our relationship, it was hard to believe we had made it here. Rose and I helped Alice out of her dress as the reception wound down. She had chosen a simple, white, knee length sun dress to wear on the plane for their honeymoon. Jasper and Alice said their goodbyes and got in the limo that was taking them right to the airport. Carlisle had splurged and got them a private jet to take them to directly Samana in the Dominican Republic. We quickly packed up all their gifts and got it all back to our apartment building. We put everything in their apartment before Edward and I headed down to his. Rose and Emmett were staying in my apartment where the sitter had been watching Ethan. They were taking my master bedroom, the sitter and Ethan already asleep in the guest room. I wished my brother and sister-in-law a goodnight before I let myself into Edward's apartment and headed for his bedroom.
We made love sweetly before curling together and talking quietly. We talked about our future. He told me more about his financial situation. I learned his parents had left him very well off when they passed away, his father having been a very prominent lawyer that came from a wealthy family. Edward had been very smart investment-wise as well, which allowed his inheritance to grow exponentially over the years. He hadn't even taken much of a hit when stocks dropped, having moved most of his investments right as the markets began to dip. He told me that when we decided to have children I could be a stay at home mom if I wanted to. As much as I loved my job, the idea of getting to stay home while our children were young appealed to me very much. We moved on to living arrangements. Edward mentioned buying a house on the outskirts of the city, or even moving into his childhood home, which had never been sold. At this moment, neither of them were appealing to me. I liked the Neptune too much to leave.
"Edward, I want to stay here. I like this building and I like its proximity to so many places. It isn't too far for either of us for work. The restaurants are all really good. Plus our friends and family are nearby."
"Ok, we'll stay here," he said chuckling, "but which apartment?"
"I don't know," I said honestly. "I seem to have more stuff than you, but I like the view more from your apartment." I watched his face trying to see if I could gage his feelings on the subject. All of a sudden it looked like a light was turned on.
"Love, I have a great idea. Why don't we just turn this into one big apartment? I'm sure Esme would go for it, since she wasn't going to ever kick either of us out anyways, and it would allow us to keep the best of both apartments. Not to mention it would give us two, maybe even three, extra bedrooms to have for guests or children, which would mean we wouldn't outgrow the place too soon."
"Edward, that is perfect!" We talked for a few more minutes on how we would configure the new apartment, deciding we would go see Esme in the morning.
"Well we talked about everything else tonight, maybe we should start thinking of a date?"
"Sometime in the spring, April maybe?"
"Ok, we'll look at a calendar tomorrow, Love. So what kind of wedding do you want?"
"Elegant but not too big. Just close friends and family. I don't need a hall full of guests to celebrate with, or a five star catered meal."
"My thoughts exactly, Love. You do know Alice is going to demand to plan it?" he whispered in my ear. I nodded.
"Yup, and that is fine with me. I could care less about all the other stuff, as long as I get to call you my husband at the end of it all that is all I care about." He kissed me again and I soon fell asleep in my future-husband's arms.
When we woke up, Edward and I dressed quickly before going next door to see my brother. Em and Rose loved the idea of the entire floor being ours. When the babysitter got up to leave, I saw the disappointment on my sister-in-law's face.
"Rose, why don't Edward and I watch Ethan today?"
"Really? Are you sure?" she questioned, the hope evident in her voice.
"Yeah, it would be fun. It'll be good practice for when Bella and I decide to start our family. Not to mention, I love this little guy," Edward said walking over and picking Ethan up out of his playpen, "and I never get to spend enough time with him."
"No arguments here. You two have fun. I'll call you later sis to pick him up. Let's go enjoy our day of freedom wife," Em yelled as he grabbed Rose's hand and ran for the door. I think he was in a hurry thinking we would back out. Not gonna happen, my nephew needed some quality Aunt Bella and Uncle Edward time. As well as some Nana Esme and Poppop Carlisle time.
We decided to take Ethan to the park before heading over to Carlisle and Esme's. We walked out of the building, hand in hand, pushing Ethan's stroller. When we got to the park I picked him up and kissed the peach fuzz on the top of his head. I walked over to the swing set and sat down, cradling Ethan to my chest. I felt Edward come up behind me. He gently pushed me. The swinging motion quickly put Ethan back to sleep. Edward helped me stop, but I wasn't interested in standing up just yet. I looked at the sleeping baby. He really was the most adorable boy ever.
"You now, you are a natural with him, love," Edward whispered in my ear. "I just keeping thinking that one day soon the little baby lying in your arms could be ours. What do you think? Do you want to wait long after our wedding to start our family?"
"I don't want to wait at all. If I'm being honest I want to have a honeymoon baby. We need to set a date Edward."
He pulled up the calendar that was on his phone. He quickly flipped to April.
"Well, we'll have to see what places are available but, any Saturday in April or even May," he said.
"Umm, I was thinking, what if we asked Carlisle and Esme to have it in the gardens at the house? They're beautiful and by that point they'd be in full bloom. So if it's ok with them, what about April 24th?" I said, hoping he'd like the idea.
"That sounds perfect, love, just perfect." He leaned down and kissed me. To any onlookers I'm sure we looked like the perfect new family.
I pulled away from Edward, feeling like we were being watched. When I looked around no one seemed to be looking at us though. I pushed the feeling to the back of my mind, and continued with my perfect day.
Uh oh...what's going on now, hmmm. A bit of foreshadowing maybe? You know I love hearing from all of you. Drop me a review!!!
Alice's wedding dress: http://i41(dot)photobucket(dot)com/albums/e290/panda1499/BU%20Photos/AliceWed(dot)jpg
Bella and Rose's bridesmaid dresses: http://i41(dot)photobucket(dot)com/albums/e290/panda1499/BU%20Photos/AliceBridesmaid(dot)jpg