In His Words

Bella returns home from Europe after a six-month work-study. She takes a

psychology class at UDub dealing with romance and erotic relationships. All

throughout her textbook, there are written comments from its former owner, and

Bella feels drawn to his words, as she tries to find him.

pen.

A/N: Frannie, I love you. Your Beta skills rock my words!

Chapter Thirteen: And the Beat Goes On.

EPOV:

Once we settle into Uncle Kyle's private dining room, Emmett excuses himself to "go to the powder room." I roll my eyes at him. As he walks through the rounded archway, I turn to Bella. "Are you okay with all of this?"

She runs her fingers through the top of my hair, brushing the strays out of my eyes. "Yeah, surprisingly, I am."

I exhale and sigh, "Sure?"

"I think Emmett's a great buffer. I like him." She looks around. "Besides, this room is very cozy."

There are five private dining rooms throughout the restaurant, but this one is for the family. Its circular shape of no fine-point lines and angles widen the perspective. The steeple ceiling rises over thirty feet showcasing each section of five triangular, stained-glass windows and depicting the delicate beauty of colorful roses in a garden scene. As the evening moonlight draws prisms around the room and down the clear, crystal teardrop chandelier, the background darkens, and sparkling figures dance upon the walls. The center of the room hosts a large round table with a seating capacity for fourteen people. To give a homey feel, my uncle has a large-screen tv on one side, with two, soft-cushioned settees sofas of plush-gold velvet and service counters on the other. There's a private bathroom in a hidden alcove, which makes me wonder why Emmett left the room.

With a grand entrance, Uncle Kyle, in his chef's attire, walks through the archway. He claps his hands together as he greets us. "Welcome. Oh, Edward, you finally made it to my establishment." He quickly grabs me into one of his bear hugs.

I rapidly blink in surprise.

Uncle steps toward Bella, grabbing her hands in his. "Aw, you are the divine Bella." He smothers her knuckles with kisses, looking up at me. "Edward, she's a beauty."

Cue Bella's torching blush.

My poor girl is up in flames. She huffs a puff of air, whispering a 'thank you,' scooting closer to me.

He grabs both of our shoulders for a group hug. "I'm pleased as punch you decided to come here."

Once he releases us, I gently rub Bella's shoulders.

With arms extended, he dramatically declares, "This will be a wonderful feast for beasts and fair maidens." Clearing his throat and standing straighter, he begins, "To start, we will have a nice Bouillabaisse with toasted baguettes dripping in clarified butter."

As he rambles on about his butter technique, he moves to the side, waving his hands above his head. I catch Bella's attention and mouth a 'sorry' to her. She smiles and squeezes my hand with a wink.

Emmett finally strolls into the room. Seeing Uncle, he stops short, pointing. "Did you change your uniform?"

Uncle becomes flustered and explains he was a disastrous mess. "I had to change with all the stains on my coat. How could I meet the lovely Bella with dirty whites? That's unacceptable, Emmett."

"Oh, perish the thought, but you were wearing purple," Emmett sarcastically responds.

I frown, staring at Uncle.

He continues, "Emmett has told me so much about you, Bella. I truly hope I can view your etchings." He broadly smiles. "I'm sure they are as lovely as you."

"Whoa, Uncle Kyle, that's a bit frisky," Emmett claims. He begs me, "I swear I didn't tell him anything …" He slowly speaks in deep thought, staring at our uncle. "Wait a minute."

And at that moment, my mother and, I think, my father step into the room. I watch the unusual circus unfold.

"Really, Carlisle? Must you dirty one of my uniforms?" Uncle Kyle boldly shouts.

Yeah, caught in the act, Dad confesses, "Okay, I wanted to meet Edward conquest."

I stiffen. "She's not a conquest," I look at Bella. "I have never thought of you as a conquest."

She bites her lip, holding back her laughter.

Dad continues, "But you brought her here."

"To have a quiet dinner, not a bizarre opening of Ringling Brothers."

Mom gives the fake chef the evil eye, and there is silence.

Emmett bellows, "What the hell is going on here?"

My mother sighs, folding her arms across her chest. "Really, Carlisle? What was your plan; impersonating Kyle?"

Emmett shakes his head, answering, "My guess was to give Bella the third degree, blaming it on his poor brother."

"Pshawww … I've done nothing of the kind. I was making us interesting."

Mom says, "Bella's going to think you're a mental case, Carlisle." She smiles at Bella. "I apologize for my husband. He thinks he's an actor."

Emmett mumbles, "More like a mental case."

Dad turns to him. "I heard that." He turns to Bella. "I am an actor."

Finally, I question, "Em, were you part of this?"

He raises his right hand and pats his chest with the left. "I promise you I had nothing to do with any of this crap. I came to meet Mom and Dad. We had planned to go elsewhere and give you space. But Mom didn't want to show up, so she canceled."

Esme adds, "I didn't want you to think we were spying on you, dear."

Kyle explains, "I have to take the blame for this. When Emmett came into the kitchen to plan a menu, I thought it would be nice to set you up in the private family room. Your father called, telling me he was on the way. I had no idea he was planning a switch-a-roo."

Emmett growls, "Yeah, Dad has this thing about impersonating his twin. The thing is, he usually gets away with it."

Carlisle mumbles, "We are identical."

Esme crosses her arms and taps her foot, "Not in everything."

Silence.

Bella raises her eyebrows and stares at me.

My mother places a hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry, Edward. I really didn't want to interfere with your evening. Your father, Emmett, and I will leave."

She looks so sad.

Bella saves my hide. "Mrs. Cullen, you're already here. There's no reason why we can't have dinner together."

Bella smiles at Dad.

Mom deadpans, "Dear God, don't give him the encouragement for expansion of his ego."

We laugh.

Uncle Kyle points to the table. "So, family. Go take a seat, and I'll have the first course sent in."

I ask, "Are we going to have Bouillabaisse with toasted baguettes dripping in clarified butter?" I wink at my dad. He scoffs.

Emmett adds, "With the Viognier?"

Our uncle nods. "Sit."

Mom asks, "What about you? Can you join us?"

He glares at Dad, "Why? I'm already here."

Dad does a thumbs up.

Mom slaps his arm and drags him to the table. "The rest of the evening, you are to behave. You're not on stage. No one's going to give you bouquets and applause."

Emmett and I chuckle while Bella's eyes look the other way.

But we hear, "I'll give you yours on Friday, my love."

Mom kisses his cheek. "Please, be a good boy."

We gather around the table, as a waitress enters through the door, pushing a cartful of food.

As we wait to be served our soup, Emmett takes the heat off Bella and me. "Mom, Bella has a friend she wants to set me up with."

Mom perks up. "Really?"

Bella hands Mom her phone and points out Rose in the picture.

Mom brings the screen closer to her face. "Oh, she's lovely, Bella. Does she attend school with you?"

"Rose used to work in the Administration office."

Emmett interjects, "She just lost her job."

"Can you find something for her, Emmett?" Mom asks.

The dimples are deep. "Yeah, I do need someone."

Dad looks at Rose. "Oooh, that's very convenient. She's quite the looker." He gives Bella her phone.

"She used to model, but that wasn't her thing. She's not one of those girls who looks in the mirror."

Dad comments, "That's very rare."

Bella adds, "She's not full of herself. She's a great friend to Alice and me."

"Now, who's Alice?" Mom directs to Bella.

Bella beams. "She's like a sister. We've known one another since diapers."

"And she goes to school with you?"

"Yes, she's the one who found Edward's class book for me," Bella explains and smiles at me.

"While you were in Paris, I understand," Mom continues.

"Ah, yeah. And I almost didn't make it to the first class."

"Why was that?" Dad asks.

"I had a delay in New York, which cut my time of arrival." She chuckles. "My father is the chief of police in Forks, and he called in a favor to the chief in Seattle to get me to class on time."

I ask, "I didn't know that. How did you make it?"

"He had a police helicopter sent to escort me, the one they use for traffic control."

"He sounds great; I can't wait to meet him."

Dad grabs Mom's hand and whispers loud enough for all of us to hear, "He wants to meet her father." Dad looks around. "Sorry."

Emmett finally lifts his head from shoveling soup. "He likes to fish, right?"

Bella answers, "Yes, and he's a huge Seahawk fan. Rose, too."

Mom gasps. "Two for two." She whispers to dad, "Grandchildren."

"I'd give up my acting career for that."

"Carlisle, you don't have one."

I shake my head.

Bella and I survive the next few courses, which are worth waiting for Uncle Kyle to join us for dessert. He brings in a cart of Crème brûlée, mille-feuille, chocolate soufflé, and assorted French cookies. A waitress brings in coffee and teapots, while another carries a champagne bottle. He serves each plate and hands everyone their dessert. Mom and Dad have coffee. Emmett has a glass of the bubbly, while Bella and I have tea.

Bella tries to hide her yawn, but I see she's tired. I lean closer and ask, "You want to go?"

"Only if you want to," she answers.

"Well, it has been a fun evening, but we're going to go." I stand.

Bella follows, "It was so nice to meet all of you, Mr. and Mrs. Cullen, Emmett, and Uncle Kyle."

Mom says, "Oh, it was a pleasure to have met you, Bella. And please, call us Esme and Carlisle."

Bella nods. "Okay, Esme and Carlisle."

Uncle Kyle shakes my hand, "Don't be a stranger, Edward."

"I won't." I hand him the money for the staff, and he smiles.

"Thank you, my boy."

He hugs Bella. "I hope the dinner was satisfactory."

"It was wonderful and reminded me of Paris. I'm a big fan of French cookies."

"Well, allow me to wrap a bunch for you to take home."

"That's not necessary, Uncle Kyle."

He nods to the waitress, and she leaves the room.

Emmett complains, "Hey, you never send me home with cookies.

"That's because you eat your share while you're here."

~~~IHW~~~

Bella and I walk to her front door, and I hand her the box of cookies.

"Uncle Kyle didn't have to do this." She raises the box.

"I like it that you call him Uncle Kyle."

"It honestly felt right."

"Yeah, he's easy like that."

"But your dad is hysterical."

"I could call him many things, not sure than would be one. Are we still on for Friday night? Emmett's dinner thing?"

"Oh, of course. I can't wait to fix him up with Rose."

"I'm sorry we spent our special night with my family."

"I'm not, Edward. We had a wonderful time. And it was very easy to figure out your Broadway trivia knowledge. Your father is a walking encyclopedia of musicals."

"Oh, you have no idea. Wait until he wants to duet with you. Growing up, Emmett and I were his backups. Fridays, Mom got flowers, and we got sheet music."

She giggles with the most beautiful smile.

"I love your smile." I lean in for a kiss, and she responds.

She broadly smiles with a Fuschia blush. "Thank you."

There's a bang against the door.

Bella sighs, "Really, Alice?"

She opens the door. "Sorry."

"No, you're not."

"That's right; I'm not." She smiles. "Did you guys have a good time?"

Bella looks at me. "The best."

A/N: Now, could you handle meeting a guy's parents on your first date?

Explanation of desserts:

Crème brûlée: rich custard with a caramelized , burnt topping.

Mille-feuille: flaky pastry layered with vanilla custard and topped with a sugar glaze of vanilla and chocolate.

Chocolate Soufflé: a dessert made from chocolate sauce, egg yolks, beaten whites bakes until it puffs.

assorted French cookies: Macaron: meringue-based confection filled with frosting or jam.

Madeleine: Very small sponge cakes shaped like a shell.

Palmiers: French pastry in a palm leaf shape.

RECS:

Hide and Drink by Savage7289

: s/ 13795120/1/ Hide-and-Drink

Out the Window by Savage7289

s/13795788/1/Out-the-Window

Smoke and Mirrors by Evelyn Mae

s/12960960/1/Smoke-and-Mirrors

Lost Without Each Other bu addict-writer

s/13798152/1/Lost-Without-Each-Other

Blood and Bruises by Planet Blue

s/13781718/1/Blood-and-Bruises

Closure by Fragilelittleflame

s/13806389/1/Closure

A/N: A reminder: Fran has done some remodeling with her Facebook group 'Pay It Forward.' The name has been changed to 'It All Started with Twilight' … If you would like to join us for fun, fic, and friendship:

:/ groups/ 896806390388220/