Chapter Fifty

Jasper

When the honeymoon was over, which was far too soon for both of us, we returned to Boston to pick up Beau who had been left in Emmett's care much to his disgust at being abandoned by his mistress. He was so excited at seeing Bella once more that we found ourselves covered in dog hair and saliva as he showed his pleasure.

I had expected to see the rest of the family but Rose explained they had decided to take a break now Bella no longer needed their care.

"Carlisle suggested a vacation on Isle Esme and we're going to join them next week. You're invited to come along if you like but Esme thought you might want a few weeks to yourselves in your little love nest."

I was happy with the situation but I could feel Bella's disappointment at not seeing the others. I guess having a close family meant a lot to her but she soon cheered up when Rose handed her the keys of our wedding present from the family.

Her joy when she first set eyes on the small house they had bought and renovated for us on the edge of Baxter state park in Maine was wonderful to see. Of course, the house was also situated in just the right environment for Bella to learn the skills she would need as a vampire, once she transformed.

For now, though, I wanted her to enjoy her own home and it wasn't long before she had things just as she wanted them and Beau had settled in his new environment although having his own chair by the fire did not make up for being locked out of the bedroom and we were forced to put up with a few nights of his howling before he realised it wasn't going to do him any good and settled down.

I had refused to put any pressure on Bella to become a vampire, it had to be her decision when she was ready and not before, but I should have known she wouldn't wait long. Once Bella put her mind to something nothing was going to get in her way or delay her and although she knew that becoming a newborn might mean we wouldn't be seeing Beau for a while again, she decided that once the family returned from their vacation she would be ready.

As they weren't planning on coming back for a couple of months at least, we just enjoyed our privacy. Bella loved having a space she could call her own, one she could organize just how she wanted so I was surprised and rather concerned to find her sitting on the porch one day when I returned from a quick hunting trip looking sad.

"What's wrong Bella?"

She turned to look at me opening her arms to hug me.

"Nothing Jazz, I was just enjoying the peace here and I got to thinking. How does Esme bear to design a house and furnish it, live in it as a home, and then just up and leave? I hate the thought of leaving this place but I know we'll have to at some point."

"Esme sees each new home as an adventure and those she really loves Carlisle keeps, they have quite a portfolio of property that they rent out. After all, every hundred years or so we can return to a property, everyone who might know us would be gone by then."

She was quiet for a long time and I wondered what she was thinking but then she sighed.

"It must be hard leaving people you build up a connection with but I understand why the family is so much more important to everyone. The family doesn't change, you don't lose each other, I'm just grateful I get to be a part of it."

"Are you sad at the thought of saying a permanent goodbye to your human friends? I know you and Lizzie are very close."

She shook her head,

"No, not really. I made my decision when I chose to stay here with you rather than go to live with her. My life is with you, I belong here."

I was secretly pleased to hear this but I knew she would miss Lizzie at first, there were a lot of pro's to becoming a vampire but many cons too and losing all those you cared about was one. Bella was lucky in that respect, she had no close family surviving to miss and a small white lie about my taking a job abroad would hopefully be enough for her friends.

Bella decided that it would be nice to see Lizzie for the last time and we invited her to stay for a few days. As far as she was concerned the little house was rented and I told her all about my job offer in Australia which would take us away for several years. She was content that Bella was happy although there were a few awkward moments when she asked about Beau, offering to have him when we went overseas. Luckily Bella was quick enough to explain that we would be taking Beau with us.

"Won't that leave you without your assistance dog for a long time, though? I know they have strict quarantine laws just like here."

"Jazz sorted it all out with Blake from the center. Beau will only have to spend ten days away from us and Jazz will help me."

I wondered how Bella would cope when it came time to say goodbye to Lizzie at the airport but she held her smile until her friend was out of sight and then broke down and cried. I hated to see her distressed but she had needed this final time with her best friend, the one person who had stepped up to help her in her time of need. She had promised to write to Lizzie and keep in touch by email and Skype although that would only be possible for a short while. The good thing was that humans had short memory spans and new things came along to replace the old.

Rose had called to warn us the family were on their way back and would be home the next day so we drove to the house and Bella busied herself opening windows and arranging flowers as a welcome home gesture. She was so happy to see everyone and them to see her, Bella was a part of this family and I knew she was ready to make the transformation.

We stayed a couple of days to hear all the gossip, the Denali's had joined them on Isle Esme and that made me rather glad we hadn't accepted the invitation to join them. It sounded as if Tanya had been her usual femme fatale self, annoying both Rose and Edward who found her advances a little too blatant for his liking. Sometimes I wondered at the closeness of the Denali's to our family but then we were the only two covens that stuck to a diet of animal blood so it was understandable. I just wished the girls weren't quite so predatory. It would be interesting to see how vampire Bella coped with their advances in the future. Tanya and Irina had several fights with a very jealous Rose when they first set eyes on Emmett, would Bella be equally as protective of me? In a way, I hoped so although I knew it would cause trouble.

When we left Beau was most upset, he didn't like being left behind even if it was with Emmett, and I know Bella felt guilty about this but I was more concerned with how he would react when he met Bella as a vampire for the first time. Would he recognize her? He seemed to have accepted the other vampires he had met but finding his mistress changed might be a step too far for him. We could only hope for the best.

Pushing all other concerns aside I turned to Bella as we drove home.

"Are you sure you're ready Bella? There's no rush, you can take as long as you need."

She took my hand in hers and smiled reassuringly,

"I do understand Jazz, but if I don't then the Volturi will cause trouble for everyone, besides the sooner this is over with the sooner I can start my new life, my eternity with you."

Once home she spent a couple of hours calling Lizzie once more and then Sydney to tell her about our honeymoon and the fact I had landed a job overseas so we would be out of the country for some time. We could hardly risk a visit from either for some years so by telling them that we were moving abroad with my job and would be traveling a lot of the time we had a ready made excuse. Learning that long-term relationships with humans were not something vampires could afford was something Bella had already learned and seemed prepared for but then as she said, she still had lots of vampire friends which made it easier. It's not as if I'm going to be all alone, I have a whole family now."

After a final night of lovemaking as a human, I started Bella on her long and painful journey into vampirism. I would have done anything to shield her from the pain of the transformation but unfortunately, her gift meant I was unable to reach her. All I could do was to stay at her side and watch helplessly as my venom destroyed her human cells and I found it the most agonizing thing I had ever had to do.