Chapter 21 The Engagement Ball
Bella started to mumble on the way to the meeting place. Edward tried to understand what she was saying and finally made it out. She was practicing the names of the ministers and, judges and their wives. She had them written on a small piece of paper:
Minister of Agriculture Edward Cullen and Bella
Minister of Commerce Alistair England and Makenna
Minister of Defense Riley Biers and Victoria
Minister of Education George Banner and Shelly
Minister of Finance Santiago Flores and Maria
Minister of Health Benjamin Powers and Tia
Minister of Labor Amun Sherriff and Kebi
Minister of Law Aro Volturi and Athena
Minister of Manufacturing Ben Cheney and Angela
Minister of Transportation Michael Newton and Jessica
Supreme Court Judge Harry Clearwater and Sue
Supreme Court Judge Jared Cameron and Kim
Supreme Court Judge Paul Lahote and Rachel
"I wish everyone had name badges, it would make my life so much easier," Bella said to herself. "At least I know the first name on the list."
"Don't worry, I'll help you. I won't let you down. You'll be better than fine, you'll have them all eating out of your hand by the end of the night. You will see," he countered.
She folded the paper and slipped it into her glove. The ushers outside the door opened it for them, and the Head Usher Afton announced them, "Sir Edward Cullen and Miss Bella Swan!" All heads turned their way and applauded them. There were more people there than Bella thought there would be. Almost all of them were new faces to her. All of the men had similar black suits and white shirts and ties. All of the ladies had on colorful beautiful dresses. At least she has that part right.
They headed directly for the President and First Lady. They bowed and curtsied to them and they nodded back. Carlisle grinned and said, "Bella, you look amazing. Edward will always walk in your shadow, and they will say, 'Edward who? Oh yes, Bella Cullen's husband.'"
"Absolutely, my dear. You look absolutely stunning! You look handsome, son, tall and debonair. Bella, we have some guests who are quite anxious to see you. You two come with me and I will show you where they are." Esme led them to a place near a window where a group was gathered, separate from everyone else. "I believe you already know them."
Bella looked at them and froze with delight, a huge smile on her face. "Daddy, Momma, Rose, Jasper, Alice," she named each one when she saw them and gave them all a hug and a kiss, and everyone had extra rouge on their cheeks from the kisses. "Liam, Seth, Rachel! I am astonished to see you! How were you able to come? Look at you! You are all dressed up, too! How did this happen?" she cried. At least she already had a hankie.
"I think I might be able to guess what has been going on. Mother, what have you done?" queried Edward, smiling.
"I was planning our week with Bella the night you stayed at their farm before we left Twin Forks and got down to the Engagement Ball on the list. I got to thinking how sad it was that your family wouldn't be there. I asked myself, 'why couldn't they be there?' So I wrote an invitation and enclosed it in a letter of explanation and everything just worked out. I wanted it to be perfect for you."
"Yes, we got an all-expenses-paid trip for us all down the river in the ship and an overnight stay at the royal palace. We got a short tour of the city first thing this morning and have been scrubbed and dressed by the best, and we get to keep these lovely dresses and the ones we wore around town. This is the best day of my life!" cried Rose.
"The hardest thing was to keep us as a surprise all day for you. Lady Esme made sure that you were occupied all day so we could see the palace and city," said Renee, "To be so close and not see you was hard, but it was part of the excitement."
"My baby girl, you are beautiful. Edward and his parents have been so kind and gracious to us. Their concern for our feelings has been foremost in our treatment all day long. We are glad that you are marrying into such a loving family. You will be happy with them. All we need to do now is figure out how to come and visit you and have you come up more often. The ship was great, but there must be a way to improve transportation for everyone."
"I'm working on it, dad. It may take a while, but I have an idea that I would like to promote. It's expensive and will take a lot of time, though," Bella confided.
"Well if I know you, you will keep at it until you accomplish whatever you set out to do," encouraged Charlie.
"You know, I have noticed that about her, sir, and I think that she gets a lot of that from you. Both of you are tenacious and strong willed. You have definite opinions about many things, and are not afraid to defend or fight for them," mused Edward.
"Alice, I really missed you on my shopping day. Angela dragged me all over the market from place to place buying out the store. We could hardly sit in the carriage for so many clothes. I hope that you, Rose Rachel and Mom can come up to my room so that I can show you my new wardrobe. We'll be able to sleep in tomorrow morning, and then go to church together, but we have time in the afternoon to visit and tell each other about what has been going on in our lives. I'm dying to hear where your honeymoon was, and I want to hear about my goats and Moonlight from Rose.
"Speaking of Angela, I need to introduce you two to her. Actually, I need to go meet a lot of people, but let me take you to her before Edward takes me away forcibly. I have to meet all nine of the other ministers and the three judges and all of their wives before the ball begins in only half an hour." She dragged them both over and introduced them to Angela, who guiltily admitted to conspiring with Bree and Lady Esme at guessing the sizes of all of her family from things you told them.
It was a task, but Edward actually did introduce Bella to the ministers and judges. Fortunately they were grouped here and there, so it was easier. She did well with the names and positions, and many of the wives seemed interested in getting to know her better. Edward thought that they must be very curious about Bella, because they were all in attendance, an event that rarely happens. Word about Bella's beauty and intelligence must be spreading. He was glad to hear it.
Promptly at eight o'clock the Head Usher rang the bell and invited them all to go to the ballroom. President and First Lady Cullen led the way, followed by the Swan family, and then the ministers, judges and their wives. Bella was surprised to see over a hundred other people waiting there for them. The Cullens and Bella stepped up to the podium and a hush fell over the room. President Cullen welcomed them all to the ball, and introduced Edward, who introduced Bella and her family. The audience applauded and the formalities were done.
From that point on, the band began playing, and people mingled, snacked and danced. Edward understood that Bella would be expected to dance with other men during the night, but men kept cutting in during the dances as well. Bella tried to be gracious about it, but she felt like a new toy that everyone wanted to play with. She was very grateful for those dancing lessons, but she sure was tired. Edward took her to the refreshment table and out into the garden to sit down and rest instead of dancing. He wanted to hold her in his arms, and they could hear the music out there, so they danced together in the moonlight. No one cut in on his dances, either. His father told him about that trick, and it worked. She did, however have an obligation to dance with each of the ministers, and there were 9 of them, so his dances were limited. Fortunately, a couple of them said that he could have their dance, they were tired, too.
Jasper and Alice danced the night away in each other's arms, with an occasional rest stop. Beautiful Rose was very popular. Men asked her to dance every dance, and she was stunned. She hadn't had the benefit of dancing lessons, so she warned them that their feet were in danger. Most of them were gracious and took her over to a less used area so that they could teach her how in a less crowded area. She soon got the idea and had a wonderful time. Seth and Liam found some other things to do, but still got bored and got permission to go up to bed. Farm boys aren't used to late hours. They took a sleeping Rachel out of Renee's arms with them. Renee told them to leave her in her dress, that she would change her when she got there, but Bree saw them coming, and did it for them. Charlie and Renee had a few dances, but mostly mingled with the other guests. They had a pleasant night, too, but Renee was very tired, so they went over to the President to excuse themselves. "President Cullen, we Swans are not nocturnal creatures, and my wife gets especially tired when she is expecting a baby. We mean no offense to leave the ball before it is over, but I'm afraid that we need to go to bed. We will take the children with us."
"Of course. We have been glad to have you here for this wonderful celebration, but your rest and health is also important. Have a good evening. Do you need help finding your way to the rooms?"
"Yes, I think we would get lost trying to find them alone."
"I will have my head usher escort you there." He walked over and asked Afton to guide them to their rooms, which he did. When Bella saw them preparing to leave she went to her mother and invited them all to eat breakfast with her in the morning in her room. She agreed that it would be nice to be able to be themselves and be in private. Finally, Edward escorted Bella up to her room before she fell asleep standing up and stole a kiss at her threshold. Esme had arranged for a valet and two girls to help the family get settled. The women especially needed the help getting out of the fancy ball gowns. They were delighted to be gifted with night gowns, too. This was, indeed a night to remember for the whole family.