Edward spent the night holding his mate while she slept. He poured his love and adoration to the fragile human in his arms with promises to keep her happy and protected. When morning came he woke her to say goodbye and inform Esme would fetch her in two hours. Bella stayed in bed a little longer before she could no longer waste the time away.
She decided to dress in her old blue jeans, tennis shoes and a long sleeve blue shirt. When Esme arrived with her breakfast she gave her a once over with a look of disapproval. Bella pretended not to notice. Esme waited while she ate before the two left. Bella didn't ask where they were going or what they were doing for the day. Bella thought her the car was nicer than Edwards' Volvo and suited her well.
"Did you sleep well dear?" Esme asked to break the silence
"Yes, thank you. Edward and I talked last night." She added assuming she would be asked. Esme studied her profile before probing.
"Is there anything specific you want to ask me?" She offered
"Not at the moment, thank you." Esme's face fell when she declined.
Bella instead asked more about the family. "When was Emmett born?" Edward's family history fascinated her to no end.
"Emmett was born January of the year 1834 in our home in Nashville, Tennessee." Esme spoke with pride. "It was a tough birth, as many are for us. He was quite big and strong too." Esme's mind took her back to those days.
"How old were you then?" Bella asked. She wasn't comfortable asking Esme about her past after what she heard the day before.
"I was two-hundred-and-thirty-three years a vampire. Carlisle changed me in 1601. I was twenty six years old then. I'd guess I had been married for eleven years by the time he found me." Esme gave more information wanting Bella to know her better. It was important for her to have strong relationships with her daughters as they were the ones to hold the family together and love her sons.
Bella's mind tried to match the beautiful woman next to her to her age and recoiled. She couldn't imagine it true. It was within the realm of 'absolutely impossible.' Esme looked like her big sister to anyone who saw them together.
"How old was Dr Cullen?" Bella asked curiously. She knew she would never call Carlisle by his first name. He commanded too much respect with the way everyone respected and obeyed him.
"He found me when he was a hundred-and-twelve. He had long missed his opportunity to find a mate being so busy with work. It was at least a year after he decided to go searching when he found me."
"What does that mean, 'searching'? You said before Edward would have had to go."
"Yes, he would have dear. Born vampires are what you could call teenagers between the ages of thirty and seventy. After seventy they are young adults and can find a mate at any time between then and the age of one hundred when they are fully mature. After a hundred it becomes near impossible for the male to settle. The need to find his mate eats at him. Many will go in search of her the world over. Most are successful. Others will search until they give up. In which case may take a lover or choose to remain alone forever. It is rare for mates to come together at a much later age."
"Would he have left? Edward" She pressed. Esme's smile faltered a moment.
"Yes, I do not doubt it. Even when he had been with us a short time. We were surprised he chose to stay a few years when he returned home alone. It's not natural and we selfishly let him stay." She explained. "We're here," She suddenly announced turning into a parking bay of an old run down building.
Bella noticed it was a shelter for the homeless. She followed Esme out the car and they were greeted by a big woman with faded red hair and big framed glasses. She watched the woman fuss over Esme and follow her to the back of the Mercedes. Esme gave her two large plastic bags full of clothes and offloaded two crates of food from the Cullen fridge and pantry to the side of the car. They didn't stay longer than a few courteous minutes before Esme hurriedly said goodbye. Bella was speechless. There would be homeless people walking about in extremely expensive clothes that afternoon.
"We give to help wherever we can. I deliver these to a different home once a month. We buy enough food to feed the size of family we are known to have but none of us eat. I cannot let it go to waste. We also hardly wear any clothing item more than twice. This is where it goes." She explained to Bella.
"But-isn't it dangerous for the homeless to wear such expensive clothes? I mean, from others who would fight them for the clothes?"
"It is and does happen. The shelters sell the clothes to small shops nearby and use the money to make ends meet." Bella's lips formed an 'o' in understanding.
"Now, Jasper was born in March of the year 1859. He was a pleasant surprise." Esme was back to telling Bella about her family. "I think Carlisle was most proud to see his features passed on so strongly to one of his sons. We lived in Ashland then." She smiled at her memories.
"We knew we were lucky to have Jasper. Many of our females are not blessed with children. Those who are only birth once. It is rare to find one with three like me. When others heard that I had birthed Edward, it caused great distress for other females. Carlisle and I were questioned by the ruling coven. He was suspected of using his science to help me have many children. They wanted him to share this information with others. Of course there was nothing to tell. Some thought it may be because of our diet. Only true friends rejoiced in our good fortune." Bella was listening intently. "Since then our family has mostly kept away from the world especially after Edward was taken away."
A moment later they parked at a supermarket for groceries. Esme did not speak about her family while shopping. They filled two large trolleys and made their way to a beauty salon. Bella was surprised when Esme left her there with a heavily tattooed girl to go shopping for clothes. She was relieved not to take part in another Cullen shopping trip. The girl at the salon treated Bella with great care. She curled her hair slightly to give it a luxurious wave down the middle and polished her nails. Esme arrived just as they finished to pay the bill and drove them back to Forks. She didn't say anything more about her family on the drive.
"Esme, may I ask why-why you all dress and look so polished all the time?" Bella asked. Edward had told her it was out of respect for his father's house but she wanted to hear another explanation.
"Well dear, first, we can afford to. Our skin is very sensitive so the finest materials are most comfortable." Bella wondered how their skin could be sensitive yet hard.
"Most importantly, it is Carlisle's house. We show him respect in every way we must and looking our best all the time shows we take pride in his name. It's a sign of submission to his leadership. Truly, we are fortunate that Carlisle moves with the times else we'd all wear clothing likened to his time some hundred years before I was born. It is good he insists on involving himself with the human world." Her eyes glanced at Bella's outfit again.
"Does it matter what we like? I mean what about Rose and Alice. Didn't they have their own dress sense before?" Bella asked. She was curios what the answer to the question would be. It was clear Esme didn't approve of what she had on.
"Yes they did and it shows in how they dress now. Carlisle - and even Edward - is not oppressive Bella. Your personal style of dress is acceptable of course, within reason. My guess is you like clean lines and clothes that are not revealing. You don't like to experiment with colour and prefer clothes that don't draw attention to you." She raised an eyebrow and Bella nodded. She wanted to tell her what she really liked but Esme continued.
"Unlike Rose who will steal the spotlight at every opportunity as I'm sure you have noticed. Alice experiments a lot. She goes through phases of designs, colour, materials – it all depends on her mood. We all have the freedom to do that but we are always mindful of who we are. We are Cullen, dear Bella, and so are you. It matters not whether you are with any of us or alone."
Bella felt admonished. After a moment of silence Esme addressed her in seriousness. "My daughter, I know Edward has provided all that you need to be comfortable in our world. If you insist on keeping to your time do it gracefully. Don't let him think you are unappreciative of his thoughtfulness." Esme left her with those words to think about. She had delivered Bella to her house and gave her two small shopping bags with clothing.
Bella took them and thanked her. She knew the gift was not open to refusal. Once in her room she opened the bags to find a pair of slim fit stretch jeans and white long sleeve t-shirt lace top, black and white checkered flat court shoes and a matching scarf. All were neatly folded over a black leather biker jacket. A not-so-subtle message from Esme.