New Moon Rewound
Disclaimer: All the characters in the story are the property of Stephanie Meyer. I have borrowed them for my entertainment and (hopefully) your reading pleasure. I make no profit from their use.
Author's Note: Thanks to all of you for your great reviews! I really do take your suggestions/questions seriously. I have dealt with a few already, but I have put off others for future chapters. For those of you worried about Charlie, please note that I have already written a warmer relationship between him and Edward/the Cullens. But we are along way off from Bella's transformation.
Chapter 28: Dragon Queens (Part 3)
The rest of the week following the dramatic announcement of our engagement was very quiet. School went on as usual, the big event over for the week. Maybe if I had actually gotten into an argument with Jessica and Lauren, or let them browbeat me into speechlessness, it would have been more fun for the rest of the students. There would certainly have been more fodder for speculation about any number of things.
But the controlled put down? No way. Saying what everyone else in the school had been dying to say to her for years? Yes, that generated some talk, but it was all about Lauren not me. And once the kids had run the gamut of their various stories of bad treatment by Lauren, the issue was for all intents and purposes dead. There were more interesting things to consider.
We weren't foolish enough to think that Lauren was just going to take my "smack down" and go away quietly. Edward told us that the wound was still festering and she was going to bide her time until the next opportunity presented itself to go on the attack. Her problem was that her thinking was transparent, and Edward heard every thought. We would be ready for whatever she tried to pull next.
By Friday night the kids are all worked up for the big football game down at Hoquiam, our big rivals. Ben and Angela invited us to drive down with them, even including Alice so that she wouldn't feel left out, but I had more important things to do. While the whole high school is down there cheering for the team, I will be calling Renee in Florida.
An unforeseen advantage to the fall out from past confrontation with Rosalie and the anticipation of the next confrontation with Renee was that we ceased to care about the guard dogs, that are still on duty every night. Edward can hear their thoughts every time we were there, but they are mostly of boredom and a growing resentment towards the council, who insisted that they be there. Conflict between the council and the pack could only be a good thing for us.
On Thursday night, the promised dinner for Charlie over at Cullens finally happened. Needless to say, he was totally blown away by the house. Luckily, his attention was diverted from its exceptional size and decoration with outstanding pieces of artwork, by the enormous flat screen TV in the living room. Trust Charlie to only appreciate the finer things in life!
Edward had already checked out the schedule and knew that there was a Mariner's game, one of the last of the season on that afternoon. Since they were playing on the east coast, the game started at 4:30, which was perfect timing. Carlisle had made a quick study of the team's stats so that he could watch in with Charlie and sound like he watched them all the time. Actually it is Emmett who is the big sports fan, but he was out of town.
Following my big showdown with Rosalie, he talked to her through the night. She managed to convince him that he was the center of her universe (absolutely true) and the only thing that meant anything to her in her present existence (also very true).
She managed to separate those two facts from the much thornier one about children, but she packaged it up neatly into a box labeled "I despise Bella Swan and I will for the remainder of my existence" and left it there. Since he could not persuade her to accept me, he decided to get her out of town. To give us all some space, he and Rosalie went out to the Cullens' big ranch in Montana "for the duration."
Before they left, Emmett made a special trip down out to the woods by my house to say goodbye and let me know that he loved me.
"But you know enough about us to know that I can only choose Rose, just like Edward can only choose you," he said. "And we still have some stuff to work out for ourselves anyway, so it's better that we do that without anyone else around, especially my brother the mind reader. It was good that he was out last night so at least that wasn't an issue. Besides, the hunting is really good out there."
It was hard to say goodbye, but I understood. And the rest of the family assured me that they were all committed to reconciling us.
"Someday you'll have a better understanding of our concept of time," Carlisle said to comfort me. "Even if it takes a decade, I know that she will come around."
I thought that I would pass out when he said the word decade, but he explained that for someone like himself who had lived for almost four centuries, a decade was very little time. In the meantime, although she never said a word, I knew that Esme wanted the whole family together for the wedding.
Alice was dying to get started with the planning for it, but Esme put the brakes on that right away by telling her that nothing would be planned until Renee was told and had an opportunity to have a say. Edward warned Esme and I that even if she wasn't the bride, Alice's plans were likely to turn her into the ultimate "bridezilla."
At the look of sheer panic on my face, Esme patted my head and told me not to give it a second thought. So I didn't, and my love for Esme grew tenfold. I had never realized that she and Carlisle were equal partners in providing the strength of the family. A crowd of perpetual teenagers was no picnic to "raise," but she did it with grace, empathy, and no small amount of backbone.
The more time I spent with her, the more she became my ideal role model. Unlike Mrs. Newton, whose brand of "backbone" tended towards abrasiveness, Esme was teaching me how to be strong while maintaining calm and dignity. She showed me that managing this fine line was all about keeping in mind the feelings of the others, even when they were trampling on yours.
Those were the two primary topics of discussion at dinner that night, the informing of Renee and scope and size of the wedding. It was the latter issue that presented itself front and center (at least in Charlie's mind), the minute we walked in the door. And it wasn't even Alice who brought it up.
Because the house was so hard to find if you didn't know the turn off, Charlie rode over with Edward, Alice, and me. It wasn't a problem since we would be going back to his place later for the night. He wasn't even two steps inside the front door when his eyes were bulging out of his head.
"My God, Bells, look at this place!" he said, in his usual forthright manner. "I figured that a doctor's family was well off, but I didn't know that they were rich!"
There was never anything subtle about Charlie. In fact, it was one of his most endearing qualities. Just like me, he was a terrible liar. He always said what he meant, and meant what he said. I never had to worry about his efforts at subterfuge or manipulation because they were too transparent to be effective.
Edward quickly ushered me out of the room to let me know what he was thinking as he looked around. Edward saw in his mind that he was thinking about how he was going to pay for any kind of a wedding worthy of Edward's family. However, it wasn't like I had any illusions of grandeur.
As long as we got married, I didn't care if we drove down to Vegas and eloped (like Charlie and Renee had done). But Edward could also discern that Charlie really wanted to walk me down the aisle. If he was going to buy into the whole marriage thing then he wanted all the perks that went along with it. And that was the one he was looking forward to the most. Therefore, he wanted to make that happen without placing a burden on his father-in-law to be or injuring his pride. All I could think was, "Could I possibly love this man any more?"
While Carlisle and Charlie watched the game, we had a quick consultation with Esme, who told us not to worry. She had already anticipated this exact issue and had a plan. Edward nodded when he saw it in her mind, but didn't want to let on to me. Then, pleading the desire to watch the game with the other men, he went out to the living room.
"He's just trying to escape the smell," I grumbled to Esme.
"Just wait until you're one of us," she replied. "You'll see how much the smell of human food bothers you."
"Doesn't it bother you?" I asked her.
"It's a small price to pay to keep my favorite child happy," she answered.
Esme made no secret of the fact that Edward was her favorite child. And since the other four "children" had mates, they never begrudged Edward the favoritism that both she and Carlisle displayed toward him. Without a mate of his own, Edward was the odd man out. He was also turned at a younger age than the others, even though technically he was the oldest, older even than Esme, in this life.
It was kind of funny thing though that the Cullens never said to me "when you become a vampire . . ." It was always "when you become one of us . . . "or "when you are like us . . . " They seemed a bit uncomfortable using the word vampire around me. Maybe they were hoping that I would forget that whenever I was with them, the scent of my blood was tempting to all of them.
That night Esme cooked London broil, French fries, and beans. It was all food that was easily hidden while they pretended to eat. Charlie liked it so much that I doubt if he would have noticed if none of us ate. For dessert she made scrumptious double chocolate brownies. The extra of which, along with the left over dinner, would be sent home for Charlie.
However, the main issue to be dealt with was Renee. Nobody really wanted to talk about it, but after a respectable amount of time, Carlisle tactfully introduced it into the conversation.
"Well, I've been thinking about it," Charlie said, putting down his fork for the first time since we started eating. "And I think that Friday night would be a good time to tell her. That way she has the whole weekend to harass you with her objections before you have to go to school on Monday. She should be able to get it out of her system by then."
"What makes you so sure that she'll object?" Carlisle asked innocently.
Charlie and I exchanged a glance, and he said, "Oh, she'll object. You just wait and see."
"And I suppose that you plan to spend the whole weekend fishing," I commented to him. "So that she couldn't reach you by phone."
"Well, the thought had crossed my mind that you could spend the weekend here with Alice again," he said. "That way Esme could have a chance to sleep in her own bed for a couple of nights. She's been at our house every night since Sunday. And poor Edward here must be sick of that little couch."
"Well, I am feeling a little sore from it," Edward said, pretending that his neck was stiff. "But I can understand why you would want to get away from a phone. Where will you stay?"
"Actually my deputy Mark and I were planning on a camping and hunting trip one weekend this fall," he replied. "This is just as good a weekend as any."
"And if you know that if you stayed at Billy's, she would track you down there," I added.
"That too," he agreed easily. "But I'll tell you what. Since I know she's going to want to holler at me for giving my blessing, I'll be there when you make the initial call. That way, I'll give her the chance to say her piece."
"Just out of curiosity," I said. "What do you plan on telling her?"
"Well, I'm going to start off by reminding her that you are eighteen and can do whatever you want," he said. "Then I'm going to point out that you and Edward have ten months to keep talking things out and making sure that you get to know each other. That's going to get her because her first objection will be that we married too young and look what happened, but we also didn't take any time to know each other."
"You've really thought about this," Carlisle remark.
"With Renee the best defense is a good offense," he said. "But the way her mind works, she will definitely throw something at you that you're not expecting. I'm also going to tell her that I've gotten to know Edward much better and that I think he's a great kid from a great family. Now I know better than to say anything about Esme's great cooking and how well you've all been taking care of Bella because that will set her off about bribery or who knows what else.
"But the main thing that I'm going to tell her is that you and Edward are really in love and he takes very good care of you. He's not like most of those guys out there who are thoughtless and don't take a father's feelings into account when he's dating his daughter. But the last thought that I'm going to give her to chew on (if I get that far) is that with a girl like Bella, a doctor for a father-in-law is not a bad thing."
We all laughed and then he turned to Edward and said, "So Edward, what are you going to tell her?"
"Me?" he asked, feigning innocence.
"Well, I do believe that when Bella told me, you offered to tell Renee," he said. "I'm not going to let you weasel your way out of that one!"
"Oh, yeah," he said. "I forgot."
"Yeah, right," Alice muttered.
"Well, I plan to tell her that I've asked Bella to marry me and she has done me the great honor of saying yes," he replied. "I'm going to tell her that I love her with all my heart and plan to take care of her for the rest of our lives. Then I'm going to ask her for her blessing."
"Keep it short and sweet," Charlie says to himself. "Good plan, son. But it sounds to me like you've been thinking about it too."
"I was," Edward answered. "I was trying to tease Bella, but you kind of spoiled it by jumping to her defense."
We all laughed again and I playfully slapped Edward's arm.
"Well, Bells," asked Charlie turning toward me. "What are you going to tell her? You know she's going to want to talk to you about it too."
I sighed.
"I know," I said. "And I'm just going to tell her that I love Edward more than anything and I'm proud that I am going to be his wife. I won't have to say anything more than that because I'm thinking that is when the yelling will start."
"No doubt," he said. "Well good luck with that. If we call her late enough Florida time, you might not get stuck on the phone with her too long."
"Hah!" I say. "She'll stay up all night if she has to."
"You know," Esme said. "I think that I should talk to her as well, you know, mother to mother. It might help smooth things over."
We all looked at her doubtfully.
"A bit," she added. "But really. Once she gets used it the fact that she's the mother of the bride don't you think that she'll get excited?"
"You may not want that," Charlie warned. "She can be a handful. Especially if she sinks her teeth into something like that."
"Don't worry about that," Esme replied. "Carlisle and I have discussed it and we think that it would be nice to have a small wedding here at the house. I know that Bella doesn't want anything fancy. Alice and I could do the cooking and we could have a nice buffet outside for after the ceremony. And if it rains we certainly have enough room in here."
"Well, are you sure about that?" Charlie asked. "Wouldn't that be an awful lot of trouble?"
"I would enjoy it," Esme answered serenely. "I've always thought that people who mortgage their houses for these big, splashy weddings are wasting their money. It's not about the wedding now, is it? It's the marriage that counts."
"Carlisle," Charlie said. "If she wasn't already spoken for I swear I'd marry that wife of yours. How did you find such a great gal?"
"I was very blessed," he replied. "It must have been fate that brought her to me."
The look that he and Esme shared almost brought tears to my eyes. It was obvious how much they adored each other. I felt bad for Charlie whose marriage to Renee had been such a short-lived disaster.
"Well, if your son is anything like you," Charlie said, trying to keep the emotion out of his voice. "Then I'm lucky that Bella found him."
How could anyone not be moved by such a beautiful display of affection? Alice answered my question right away.
"I'm going upstairs to do my homework," Alice declared petulantly. "Before I gag!"
"Alice . . . " Carlisle said. "Remember your manners."
"I'm sorry," she answered barely repentantly. "Goodnight Charlie! I'll see you in the morning."
She then stomped off to her room.
"What's her problem?" Charlie asked in confusion.
"Alice was planning a huge wedding with all the trimmings," Edward explained. "Even though she knew we didn't want that. I believe that as Esme was speaking, she saw her plans disappearing into thin air, you might say."
Charlie laughed as heartily as the rest of us, not realizing that Edward meant that she literally saw her vision of the future disappearing and being replaced with Esme's vision. The rest of the evening was jolly, mostly because we didn't see Alice again. But Edward had to live with her recriminations until she was out of his hearing range.
Now we are on our way to the police station so that Charlie can follow us back to the Cullens. He might know every road in the county like the back of his hand, but the turn off for the Cullens' house is easy to miss. Even though he was there recently, admitted that because he wasn't driving he hadn't been paying much attention. Alice is still giving me the silent treatment and complaining to Edward through her thoughts.
"Oh, Alice," Edward says. "Will you just give it a rest? The whole thing was Esme's idea, not ours."
"But if Bella had told her that she wanted the biggest and best wedding in the world then she would have agreed to it," she whines out loud for my benefit.
"Alice, no offense, but right now the wedding is the last thing on my mind," I answer. "My immediate concern is how badly Renee is just going to take the engagement."
"Well, I can't tell you," she pouts. "Because she doesn't know about it."
"Okay, we're at the station," Edward says. "Could you try to behave for Charlie? If you don't, he's going to scold you again."
"I know!" she answers sharply. "You just saw it in my head!"
This morning, when Alice stopped at the house to pick us up, she walked in with what Charlie called a really bad attitude. He then proceeded to give her one of his cop lectures on respecting your parents followed by one of his dad sermons on not behaving like a spoiled brat. Both of these totally pissed her off because she is not used to being treated like a child instead of an adult.
But Edward's warning must have worked because when Edward opened the window to talk to him, she had a bright smile on her face and was very polite.
"Glad you finally sweetened up, kiddo," he says. "I didn't want to have to make that speech again."
As soon as he is out of sight, she sticks out her tongue.
"Oh for crying out loud, Alice!" I say. "Why don't you just grow up?"
Edward looks over at me with the funniest look on his face. Then he looks into the rearview mirror at Alice, who is doing her best to maintain her grumpy face. Finally they both burst out laughing.
"Why don't I grow up, Bella?" she asks. "Because I can't! I don't age! Remember?"
"Obviously not," I say, laughing at my own faux pas. "There are just so many things that I'm going to have to learn how to rephrase when I talk to you all."
With Alice finally mellowed out, the rest of the drive is peaceful except for Edward mumbling under his breath about driving at the speed limit. Only being followed by the chief of police would force him to do that. Charlie was so distracted last night that he got to cheat a little.
"Actually," I say. "You can drive up to ten miles over the limit without penalty."
"What?" he asks.
"That's the margin of error on a speed gun," I tell him. "But I guess that doing 45 in a 35 mile zone isn't going to be fast enough either."
His response is to roll his eyes and push the needle up to 44.
"That's my margin of error," he remarks as he turns into the driveway.
When we reach the house, Carlisle is standing on the front porch waiting for us.
"Hello," he says. "I'm afraid that I got an emergency call from the hospital. So I can't be here."
"Lucky you," Alice mutters.
"Lucky nothing," Charlie says as he turns toward her. "There was a speeding accident involving two vehicles that got called in right before I left. Injuries?"
"Motorcycle yes, the folks in the car are fine, but the cyclist?" Carlisle says gravely. "I'll do what I can."
"Death machines," Charlie replies. "Those things never turn out well. Helmet?"
"Yes," answers Carlisle as he runs out to his car. "Thank goodness."
I freeze again. This is another coincidence. I took the motorcycles to Jacob in my dream so that he could fix them. Charlie always called them death machines. I was trying to get an adrenalin rush by racing around on one so that I could hear Edward's . . .
"Bella! Bella!" Alice is saying anxiously. "Snap out of it. Are you really that afraid of talking to Renee?"
"No, I'm uh, yeah, I guess," I reply, stumbling over my words. "I think I need some tea."
"Okay, love," says Edward grabbing my arm. "Let's get you inside."
"I'll go tell Esme," Alice says, forgetting all about her earlier tantrums.
"What is it, Bells?" Charlie says anxiously. "Did you eat enough for lunch? I know you slept well last night."
And I did. I hadn't had a nightmare since Sunday. But if this call didn't give me nightmares, nothing would.
"Yes, she did," says Edward. "Come on, honey. Talk to us. Is this about the call to Renee? We don't need to make it now. We can call tomorrow."
I try to answer, but my brain feels like it's fogging up with the memories of the nightmare that are floating up from my subconscious. Then Esme is at my side with a cup of tea.
"It's all right, Bella," she says softly, as she strokes my hair.
Once again, she is able to neatly balance the cup in one hand, but at least I don't burst out laughing. Any normal human can hold a cup like that in one hand. It's just a total spaz like me that can't. After a few sips, I can talk again.
"I'm sorry," I apologize. "I guess that I just got stage fright there for a minute. But we should call Renee and get this over with."
"Only if you're sure," Edward says.
"I'm sure," I say as I pick up my phone, press Renee's contact number.
"Hello, Bella!" Renee says cheerfully.
"Hi Momma!" I reply. "How's it going?"
"Oh, it's going just fine," she answers, and then begins a monologue about how she is substitute teaching and Phil is looking for a job in the off-season.
One thing about Renee is that she is capable of talking for about a half hour without coming up for air. As she rambles on, the tension in the air is mounting. Finally Charlie has had enough and gives me the cut sign across the throat.
"Um, Momma," I say. "Can I get a word in edgewise?"
"Of course, dear!" she says. "Leave it to me to go in and on without thinking that you must have had a reason to call other than to hear my voice. What is it Bella?"
Now my courage fails, and I bail out.
"Edward would like to talk to you," I say.
"Oh, really?" she says with disapproval in her voice. "Put him on."
Despite the fact that she behaved very well on my birthday, she had not maintained that good will over the past two weeks. She was suspicious that something was going on behind her back. As usual, her intuition was on target.
With my heart in my mouth, I hand the phone over to Edward.
"Good evening, Mrs. Dwyer," he says pleasantly, putting the phone on speaker so that we can all hear.
"My daughter said that you wanted to speak to me," she answers tersely, as if she is daring him to say whatever it is that he has to say.
"Mrs. Dwyer," he answers smoothly. "I would like you to know that I have asked your daughter to marry me and she has done me the great honor of saying yes. I love her more than my own life and I promise to take care of her and make her happy for the rest of our lives. I am hoping that you will give us your blessing."
There is silence on the line, but the minute that the words "marry me" came out if Edward's mouth, we could hear Renee starting to breathe heavily. I am just starting think that she has hyperventilated when her voice comes over the line filled with scarcely controlled fury.
"Put Bella on now!"
He hands me the phone apologetically.
"Hi again, Momma," I say in a small voice.
"So young lady, what do you have to say for yourself?" she asks, her voice now cracking with anger.
"Momma, please," I say. "I love Edward more than anyone in the whole world. And I know that we are going to be very happy together."
"Does Charlie know about this?" she asks, not commenting on what I just said.
"Uh, yeah," I say.
"And what does he have to say about?" she says.
I look nervously over at Charlie, who knows that he's on deck. To my surprise, he gets a humorous expression on his face, points to Edward and I and makes the sign of the cross. Alice almost falls off her chair as Edward slaps his hand over her mouth so that Renee can't hear her giggling. This would not be an opportune time for her to know that she has an audience.
"Charlie gave his blessing," I manage to squeak out as I shrink back waiting for the explosion.
"PUT THAT GOOD FOR NOTHING BASTARD ON!"
Crap! This is a million times worse than I thought. I hand the phone over to Charlie and retreat behind Edward. I know it's a pointless gesture, but my natural instinct is to run when things get confrontational. And I've heard Renee go at Charlie before. This is not going to be pretty."
"Hey, Renee," Charlie says affably. "How's tricks?"
"Charlie Swan, I always knew that you were an irresponsible son of a bitch, but this time you really take the cake," she yells. "How could you give your blessing to this completely hair-brained scheme of our daughter's?"
"Well, it's not like you've never had any hair-brained schemes before, Renee," he says, giving me a wink.
"Charlie! She's eighteen years old and she's getting married!" she shouts. "And you've given her your blessing. What the hell do you think that you're doing? And to that young man who put her in the hospital last spring! What are thinking?"
"Now in all fairness, Renee," Charlie says coolly. "She put herself in the hospital. And before you try and deny it, you have to admit that it wouldn't have been the first time. Besides, I thought that you really liked Dr. Cullen. Don't you think that it's a good idea for Bella to have her own personal physician in the family?"
"Are you crazy? Dr. Cullen and his son are two different people!" she shrieks. "That boy is obsessed with her. I told you how he would never leave the hospital room! And Bella was just as unreasonable. The mere suggestion that she might come to live with me in Jacksonville and I swear that she almost put herself into cardiac arrest!
"Charlie they are too young! What does either of them know about love? I can't believe you. I just can't believe you! After everything that we've been through in the last nineteen years! Can you tell me one good thing that's come out of it?"
"Bella," he says quietly. "We have Bella, the most wonderful girl that any parents could want for a daughter. And I would do it all over again, if it meant having Bella in my life."
He pauses, waiting for the next barrage of words, but there is none.
"Now I know that Edward and Bella are very young," he continues. "I'm not stupid. But they both are very mature for their ages. And it's not like they've run off and eloped on the spur of the moment either. They still have ten months to figure all of this out. And if it's not going to work, well, better a broken snagged end then a broken marriage.
"And Edward is a great kid. He's an excellent student in school and a real gentleman. He treats Bella real good, much better than a lot of these other yahoos up here treat their girlfriends. He's serious too, and I like that. He comes from a real good family with strong family values, if you know what I mean. They do things together and you can tell that they all love Bella a lot already."
"SHE'S TOO YOUNG!" Renee blasts back.
"Well, technically speaking, she's legally old enough," he answers. "So she can do this without us if she likes. But I would rather swallow my own mixed feelings back and support her. You know? I want to be there to guide her. Carlisle and Esme feel the same way . . . "
"Technically speaking, my ass! And Carlisle and Esme have nothing to do with this!" she shrieks.
I know that tone of voice. She has reached the end of her limit with regard to rationality. Charlie has been doing an awesome job of keeping himself in control, which is a marvel in and of itself, considering all the battles they have fought over the years. Charlie knows where this is going and looks over at me and shakes his head sadly.
"Carlisle and Esme have everything to do with this," he says patiently. "Edward is their son and they are every bit as involved as we are."
"Their son, you idiot!" she shouts. "There's a world of difference between having a son and a daughter . . . "
There is silence on the other end for a few seconds, while Renee processes her own last words.
"Here it comes," Charlie mutters.
"PUT BELLA BACK ON!"
I gingerly take the phone and hope that the floor swallows me up before she says what she is going to say. Edward puts his arm around me.
"What is it, Momma?" I ask in a low, trembling voice.
"You better be scared of me," Renee shouts. "How many times have I talked to you about safe sex and birth control? How could you go and get yourself knocked up before you even get out of high school? I thought that you would at least learn from my mistakes."
The tears are silently falling down my cheeks. I have no answer for her. I guess the only good thing is that it took her so long to figure it out. Esme looks at me and wordlessly takes the phone away. I turn and bury my face in Edward's shoulder. I can't believe my reaction. I knew this was going to happen. I've already faced down Lauren and Rosalie and held my own. Why couldn't I do it with Renee?
"BELLA! YOU BETTER NOT HAVE HUNG UP ON ME!"
"Of course not, Renee," Esme says in her gentle, soothing voice. "This is Esme Cullen, Edward's mother. I don't believe we've met. Bella is extremely upset now and she can't talk."
"Then put Charlie back on!" Renee shoots back. "I'm not finished with him."
"Well, I'm not finished with you," Esme says sweetly. "The accusation that you have just made that Bella is pregnant is completely out of line and unfounded. My husband is a doctor, so he should know. Now Bella and Edward have assured us that they have not engaged in any kind of sexual behavior. I choose to believe them."
"That makes you an idiot too," she sneers. "Put Charlie back on."
"I don't think so," answers Esme. "Renee, I believe that you need to take some time and think about this before you say anything else that you will regret. Bella is a lovely girl and I am pleased to welcome her into my family. Carlisle and I have given our blessing to this match because we truly believe in it. And we will be watching them closely over the next couple of months.
"If there is any sign that this is not the right thing for them to do or that it is too soon, we will counsel them against it. But as Charlie said earlier, they can act with or without our advice. We would prefer to stay in the loop, so to speak. There has never been a divorce in either if our families and we do not want our son to be the first."
About halfway through her speech, I look up with my mouth wide open. Alice is madly grinning and Edward is smirking. But Charlie's face is the most amazing. He is looking at Esme with a mixture of admiration and adoration. No one to his knowledge has ever stood up to Renee when she worked herself up into a fury like this.
And like Rosalie, she only became angrier as everyone around her remained calm. I look questioningly over at Alice and from behind Charlie's back she points up the stairs. Of course! Jasper is above us keeping the emotions in the room stable. No wonder Charlie hasn't ripped into Renee the way he normally would. She's still spoiling for a fight and is frustrated to no end that she is not getting one.
"Are you passing judgment on me?" Renee asks, immediately (finally) on the defensive.
"I'm not passing judgment on anyone," Esme says coolly. "I am merely pointing out a few facts. Now unless you have something new to tell us, we really need to get to dinner."
"I'm finished for now," Renee answers, apparently having lost steam. "But I will call again."
"Would you like to say goodbye to Bella?" Esme asks.
"No!" Renee replies and the phone clicks off.
"Well," says Charlie breaking into the silence. "I do not miss the good old days of phones that could be slammed down. Esme, once again you astonish me. How did you think of all that just now?"
"I told you that I wanted to talk to her," she replies. "And I had my own points that I was prepared to make. But don't think that this is the end of it. I'm sure that she will call again."
"So am I," I say. "I'm just glad that this call is over."
"Yes, well I meant what I said about dinner," she says. "Charlie would you like to stay?"
"No thanks, Esme," he answers. "I'm meeting my buddy to go camping and hunting in a few minutes, so I have to be on my way. Have a good weekend, Bells! Sorry I'm bailing out on you."
"Don't think twice about it," I say. "Have a good time. I'm just glad that you were here for me tonight."
"I'm always here for you, baby," he says, and leaves before he can get too emotional.
As soon as the car drives away, I yell up the stairs, "Jasper! Get down here!"
Jasper is by my side in less than a second smiling widely.
"Thank you so much!" I say.
"I wasn't much help to you I'm afraid," he apologizes. "It was all that I could do to keep Charlie and Esme under control."
"You too, Esme?" I ask in surprise.
"Bella, when are you going to realize that I already think of you as one if my children?" she scolds. "She completely infuriated me with her attacks on your character, not to mention Edward's. I know that the last line about the divorce was cruel, but I couldn't help myself. From everything you and Charlie have told me, it sounds like no one has ever told her off before. It was time."
"Well, actually there are a few people that have told her off," I admit. "But no one had ever done it as well as you just did."
"Jasper, that was a fine piece of work," Edward says, clapping him on the shoulder. "Especially with Charlie. Like most humans, the minute Renee starting going after him, all the arguments that he had prepared went flying out of his head. But once you calmed him down, he was able to remember them."
"It was very interesting to compare his emotions with Esme's," Jasper says. "He was scared to death of her. Esme was just plain angry. Bella, you were scared to death of her too. I don't understand why she inspires so much fear in you both."
"I don't know," I say. "I'm kind of afraid of both my parents, Charlie less so now than before."
"That's interesting," he repeats. "From what I can tell, both of your parents are what you might call paper tigers. And as the point has been made already, you're eighteen and can make your own decisions. What are you so afraid of?"
"That they won't love me, I guess," I say. "Maybe that's why I fell apart when I was talking to Renee, and not Rosalie and Lauren. It means more to me that Renee doesn't love me than either of the others."
"Well, I want you to know that I'm sure that Renee loves you," Esme says. "I suspect that whenever we finally get her to the point where we can have a reasonable discussion with her, you might find that she is the one who is afraid of losing you. This fuss and bluster is just a cover for hurt feelings."
"That might be a good idea," Edward says.
"What?" I ask.
"Esme just suggested that it might be worthwhile to fly Renee up here for a family conference, just the six of us," he replies.
"I can't see that happening," Alice says, shaking her head.
"No," Esme replies. "You don't see it happening. But there's no reason why it can't happen."
"If you say so," Alice says.
Esme goes off to the kitchen as Alice and Jasper go upstairs. Edward walks me over to the piano and we sit down together. I rest my head on his shoulder and let the sound of my lullaby wash over me like a cool, calming rain.
