Thank you for your enthusiastic replies! There were the usual names, plus some creative ones. We will see which one Bella chooses!
I loved reading your theories about Charlie and Renee, and of course a couple of them were spot-on.
Disclaimer: All things 'Twilight' belong to SM.
Pre-read by TeamAllTwilight, my wonderful fandom-friend!
Chapter-26
"I know where Renee is."
The brief, innocent-sounding statement rattled me so badly that my brain stopped functioning for a moment. Questions vibrated in my mind, too numerous to be grasped at once. I opened my mouth, but no sound came out; nothing coherent, anyway.
However, it was Edward's reaction that shocked me even more. Edward—sweet, kind, adorable Edward—yelled at my intimidating father.
"How could you, Mr Swan?" he berated him, eyes narrowed and face red with fury. "You kept Bella's mother away from her for years? Do you have any idea of what you have done?"
Charlie stared at him, his face blank. I was sure he was going to pull out a gun from somewhere, and debated whether I should push Edward behind the couch. I wished Emmett was nearby. He could have done something to simulate an earthquake. But then Charlie rendered it unnecessary by his equally unexpected reaction.
"I am so sorry, Bella," he said softly, his eyes misty and his expression regretful. "Edward is right in a way. It is because of me that you had no mother while growing up. Not because I deliberately kept her away, but because I left her with no choice. A good woman like her, with a cop for her father—how could she live with me, knowing I was a criminal?"
"But—didn't she know that you were—I mean, your profession—didn't she know that before getting married?" It seemed unbelievable to me.
Charlie shook his head. "No, I was very careful to hide under the guise of a normal businessman. I fell in love with her the moment we met, and came to know soon after who her father was. Even after we got married I did not tell her. I imagined we could lead our life like that, without her ever knowing. Or even if she came to know later on, she would be too used to me and the life I gave her to think of walking away. When you were born, it was a double joy to me. I became sure that Renee could never leave you, and I would not allow her to take you with her. I became careless, and that's how she discovered my 'profession'."
He took a deep breath. "She pleaded with me for months, begged me to give up that kind of life and start over. She said she didn't care for the trappings of wealth. We had long arguments. Finally I promised her that I would wind up everything in a few months." Another deep breath, and then he continued. "I didn't: I just kept on making excuses and asking for more time. Finally she gave me an ultimatum—if I didn't fulfill my promise within a month, she would leave me and never return. I thought she was bluffing, but…"
He closed his eyes for a second, and when he opened them they were full of remorse. "The day after the month was over, she disappeared. I came back from the office in the evening and she wasn't there—she was just…gone. Sue told me she had gone to shop for some clothes for you, but I knew in my heart that she would never come back. I had driven her away."
"But," I spluttered, "you just said you know where she is!"
"I have known where she is for the last two days, Bella—that's it. Not that I didn't try to find her before, but there were no clues. What was worse was that she hadn't taken anything with her, except some cash. No clothes, jewelery, nothing she could have sold. It was as if she had cut off all ties with me, with the life she had with me."
I wasn't aware of my tears until I felt Edward's gentle fingers wiping them away. I leaned into him, feeling his arm tighten around me, supporting me. I was so lucky to have him with me.
He cleared his throat before speaking. "I'm sorry sir, I assumed you had known all these years where Bella's mom was, and—"
Charlie waved it away. "It's my fault, one way or the other. Even now, now that I know her whereabouts, I don't have the guts to go face her. I will of course, but it's a scary thought."
The image of Charlie being scared of anyone made me snigger. He looked at me and smiled sheepishly.
"So where is she?" I asked. "Maybe I should contact her first? That might work better, right?"
Charlie's face lit up with happiness. "Will you do that? I am sure she won't—scratch that, I know she will come running to meet you. She may not forgive me—"
"Dad, where is she?"
Charlie smacked his forehead. "Of course, right, she is in Florida. Jacksonville, to be precise—working as a nurse in a hospital there. It seems she has been moving around the country a lot, no doubt to avoid being found by me. Do you want to call her right now?"
Of course I wanted to call her, talk with her, maybe yell at her a bit. The question was, could I? Just thinking about it made my brow sweat and my hands shake. My mother—a figure that was almost mythological in its surrealism until now—was about to become a flesh-and-blood woman, with a human voice. It hit me with such force that I forgot to breathe for a moment. It was only when I felt dizzy that I gulped a lungful of air.
I looked around to find Charlie looking worried and Edward somewhat fascinated with my reaction to Charlie's question. "What are you doing, Bella?" he asked, head cocked to the right. I blinked at him eloquently.
"Be-lla," he sing-song'ed when there was no reply, while his fingers crept on my waist and tickled me, making me squirm and giggle. He chuckled, and even Charlie smiled at the scene in front of him.
"Don't you want to call your mom, Bella?" asked Edward sweetly. I tried to collect my thoughts and put them in some order.
"I very much want to call her, but…I am terrified at the same time. It is just too much to absorb. For years my mother was just somebody who left my father and me because she did not want to be a wife and a mother. Now the whole story has changed, like the design inside a kaleidoscope. I am having difficulty assimilating it. If I call my mom now, I will have no idea what to say to her!"
"Oooh," he nodded, eyes full of understanding for me. Suddenly he snapped his fingers. "Hey, Bella, how about I call your mom? I can inform her about you and then pass the call to you. Will it make things easier for you?"
I thought for a moment and agreed. It would certainly help me, and it would be much better than I calling her and turning into a blubbering mess. So Charlie gave him the number and he made the call on my mobile.
Very politely he asked for Renee Dwyer (that was the name my mother had taken, Charlie told us) when somebody in the hospital picked up. Then he switched it to speaker, and I heard my mother's voice for the first time in my life.
"Hello, Renee Dwyer here." I pressed my fist on my mouth so I didn't start sobbing.
"Ms. Dwyer, this is Edward Cullen. You don't know me, but—"
Here he was interrupted in a most enthusiastic manner by my mother, and her words made no sense to any of us. Not in the beginning, anyway.
"Edward Cullen! Of course I know you—you sweet boy! How are you? I have been wondering about you since you left the hospital, you know."
Hospital? Edward and I glanced at each-other as the same thought occurred to both of us. He cleared his throat quickly and spoke.
"How did you know me at the hospital, Ms. Dwyer? I am sorry, but I don't remember you."
"Well, of course you don't you remember me—you were in a very deep sleep after you had that horrible accident. Your family was so worried. But I knew you would wake up when you were ready."
Edward's eyes widened. "It was you!" he shouted, his voice almost vibrating with excitement. "You used to talk with me when I was in coma, telling me not to worry!"
Renee laughed on the other end. "So you do remember me! Yes, I was your night nurse during your stay in the ICU here, and I did talk your ear off because I believed you could hear me, even if you could not respond. So tell me, how are you doing now? You sound good!"
Edward smiled, and so did I. It was impossible not to be affected by Renee's cheerfulness. However, when I sneaked a glance at Charlie, I found him wiping his eyes hastily.
"I am very well," Edward replied, "although there are things that I have forgotten. But right now I have some important news for you—really important."
"What—are you getting married or something?" came the laughing voice.
Edward took a deep breath and spoke. "I am already married, actually. But the news I want to give you is—I have your daughter here: she is my wife."
There was profound silence on Renee's end. When she finally spoke, her voice sounded shaky. "Edward, I know you wouldn't—but, please, tell me this is not a cruel joke. Just because I told you about her while you were here—"
"No, no, Renee, of course not!" protested Edward, shocked that she could think he would joke about such a serious matter. "I would never do that! Of course when I married Bella, I had no idea that—"
"Bella," murmured Renee, "you call her Bella. I used to call her Izzy."
"I know," said Edward gently, "I have been dreaming of you."
"Dreaming of me?"
"Maybe it was the memories trying to come back," he amended. "We couldn't understand what was happening, because all I had was your voice. I never saw your face, did I?"
"No, you didn't," she answered, probably shaking her head. "Once you woke up, your family immediately had you transferred to Seattle. Makes sense, of course." She swallowed audibly and continued, "So, may I speak with Izzy? Is she nearby?" Her voice fell to a whisper. "Does she even want to speak with me?"
Tears began to flow from my eyes. Edward assured Renee that I definitely wanted to speak with her; I was just overwhelmed. When he held the phone over to me, I could barely whisper 'Mom' before bursting into noisy sobs. I could hear her calling my name, but I could not stop crying. It was as if a dam had broken, having resisted for years. Finally Edward took the phone from me, trying to hush me in vain.
"Ms. Dwyer, I am sorry, but—"
Renee interrupted him, her voice teary but determined, as if she had made up her mind suddenly. "Edward, give me your address," she demanded, "I'm catching the first flight to Seattle."
End Note: So, did that answer your questions? I know, most of you are thinking—but what of Jasper? Patience, dear readers. All will be revealed.
On an unrelated note, saw a picture of Rob on robertpattinsonnews, from Cannes 2012. It was titled 'Seriously Gorgeous Rob'. The B&W version—just three words, people! .God.
One more thing. I seldom rec fics, because the good ones are already familiar to everybody, but recently I found 'One Day' by RueforRegret through another author's rec, and I am addicted to it. I read it twice, actually! Do read it, review it and tell her I sent you there. Seriously, don't miss it!