The following day started out pleasant and reasonably uncomplicated. Bella slept in Edward's arms, as usual. Charlie left for work, leaving them time before Bella had to get ready for school. She made the most of the time by risking her safety making out with a vampire, and allowing Edward to expand his boundaries yet again before he sighed and eased away from her. She accepted his retreat as tolerantly as she could.
"Are you going to keep backing out like this after we're married?" She meant it mainly as a joke.
To her surprise, he answered quite seriously. "No, certainly not." He smiled at her surprise. "Did you still think I was merely making an excuse? No, my love, once we're married, it will be you who have to decline my advances."
"Don't hold your breath," she quipped.
"I can hold my breath indefinitely," he reminded her, leaning forward to whisper in her ear, "but I don't think I can wait for you much longer." He left her to dress for school, full of amazement at this preview of Married Edward.
The school day was ordinary, apart from Alice yanking Bella unexpectedly into a deserted girls' restroom to take lightning-fast measurements. "There," she declared. "Your dress is underway." As Bella began to speak, Alice cut in, "Have no fear, Bella, I've already looked ahead. You hated the first one I was planning - would have hated, I mean - but you'll adore this one."
"No high heels," Bella reminded her.
Alice displayed the Boy Scout sign. "Promise!"
Edward drove her home as usual, made polite chitchat with Charlie at the door. He seemed to be momentarily disturbed by something, and caught Bella's eye as if to speak, then thought the better of it.
"By the way," Chariie said, "this came for you." He handed Bella a large, heavy envelope.
She studied the ornate return address. "J A Norton University?"
"Yeah. You applied there?"
Bella recalled being talked into it by the Cullens. "Yeah, I did. Not likely to get accepted, but I thought, why not at least try?"
"You applied for one of their scholarships as well, if I'm not mistaken," Edward added.
"Right." She opened the letter and scanned it quickly.
"Acceptance letter?" Charlie asked. Edward silently took in his mixed feelings about the idea.
"Yes," Bella answered, staring at the page.
"Seriously?" Charlie took the letter and read it for himself. "Woah! And a full scholarship! That's wild! Congratulations, kiddo."
"Thanks." She grinned at him, aware that there had likely been some Cullen intervention involved, but trying not to let on. She waved a second sheet of paper. "There's this, too. It's an invitation to their open house. Next Saturday." She avoided looking at Edward, unsure whether this was legitimate, or another Cullen cover story.
"Oh, yes. Alice got one yesterday. She was trying for Norton too."
"You planning on going?" Charlie asked Bella.
"I'll think about it."
Edward made his goodbyes and left. Charlie made proud and happy sounds about his daughter, the scholar, all the while thinking of how weird it would be not to have her living there any more. "Oh yeah," he added at last, "I was going to get takeout tonight. We've got company for dinner."
"Oh, okay. Who?"
"I invited Billy and, uh, Jacob." He avoided looking her way. "And Sue Clearwater." Bella refrained from responding, not even so much as rolling her eyes. "Mariners game on tonight," he added, by way of explanation.
"Sure. Well, I'll at least make a dessert."
"Thanks, Bells."
She brought her schoolbooks up to her room, stopped to tie her hair into a ponytail and prepare herself for...company. Something occurred to her: she was supposed to be guarded at all times until Victoria had been dealt with. She went to her open window and said, in a low conversational tone, "There's a werewolf coming for dinner. Just so you don't panic at the smell."
She was startled when Emmett appeared at her window a second later. "Yeah, we heard. Don't worry, no overreaction here."
"Who's we?"
"Rosie's here with me." He nodded in a direction that seemed to refer to empty space at roughly roof level. Bella didn't ask, assuming Rose was in a tree somewhere nearby.
"Okay. Just wanted to be sure you were aware."
"Sure, good idea, but we're cool. Oh, and Alice says the Red Menace is hanging around Puget Sound for the foreseeable future. Foreseeable by Alice, that is. So nothing bad on the horizon for now."
"Nothing but dinner with..." Bella muttered.
He laughed. "You're on your own with that."
"Yeah. Say hi to Rosalie for me."
Emmett looked agreeably surprised. "Will do. See you later." He launched himself from the window ledge and disappeared into the distance.
Bella returned downstairs, put together a batch of her 5-minute, no-bake brownies and placed them in the fridge, tidied the kitchen and even put a cloth on the table. She examined the invitation from Norton more closely, then took it upstairs and tucked it away on her bookshelf, just in case it was something one of their guests would find suspicious, before returning downstairs.
Sue Clearwater arrived first, carrying a green Jell-o mold and smiling pleasantly. Bella observed her father answer the door, accepting a hello kiss from Sue then glancing uneasily at Bella to monitor her reaction. Bella greeted Sue as warmly as possible, thanked her for the Jell-o and stored it in the refrigerator, and made up for Charlie's nervous lack of speech by asking after Sue's two children, Leah and Seth. They settled in the living room, where Sue chatted about her kids' school experiences while Bella brought her and Charlie cold drinks. Charlie was beginning to relax when a dull thumping was heard outside, the familiar sound of a wheelchair being dragged backwards up the front steps, followed by a brisk knock on the door. Bella, being closer to the doorway, answered.
"Hey, Bella!" Billy greeted her with a wide smile.
She grasped his hand, smiling back. "Hi, Billy, come on in. Hey, Jake," she added, as Jacob followed his father into the room. She couldn't help but notice Jacob's rather flat demeanour, minus his usual wise-guy smile.
Charlie stood up to greet them. "Thanks for coming. Food should be here soon." They found their places in the rather cramped living room, where Bella found herself somehow maneuvered into a seat next to Jacob. She managed to keep the conversation light, sticking to school, weather, and movies, until the food delivery sent them all to the table. Bella set out the plates and gave Sue's lime green side dish pride of place, and took care to take the chair beside Sue's before anyone else could shove in.
Bella and Sue fell quickly into a conversation about favourite novels, expanding into rather giddy offshoot discussions, including speculation about how Jane Austen would write if she'd been born in the Pacific Northwest. Sue was also more than equal to joining in Charlie and Billy's hunting and fishing talk, and to go head to head with them on local politics. She even told jokes that made Charlie laugh out loud, not a common sight. Sue Clearwater, Bella soon concluded, was perfect for her father. She was happy for him, and still more relieved that she wouldn't be leaving him alone, but would have someone else to take care of him, after she was, one way or another, gone.
After dessert, Charlie proposed they all watch the Mariners game together. Bella resigned herself to a dull three hours, but during the first inning Jacob suggested they go for a walk. Before Bella could answer, Charlie cut in, "Sure, go on out for a while. Bella's not that big on baseball anyway." She grabbed a sweater and followed Jacob out the front door and down the cracked sidewalk that gave way to a dirt path. She veered away from the trail she and Edward had taken the previous September, and led them onto a second, one that wound through a sparse stand of trees.
"So," she ventured, "how's school?"
"Wow, you're talking to me now?" Jacob replied. She frowned at him. "You hardly said a word to anybody but Sue."
"Well, excuse me! I just found out she's dating my dad. I wanted to get to know her better."
"Sure," he muttered.
"And you may not always be the centre of the universe. If someone started going with your father, you'd want to know her, right?"
"With my dad?" he repeated, astonished by the idea. "That's not exactly likely!"
Bella laughed. "Pretty insulting to Billy, if you ask me. Why shouldn't he have a girlfriend?"
"He's...well...he's too old, for one thing." Bella gave him a look. "Okay, not all that old, but...he's in a wheelchair and everything."
"Insulting to the disabled community, too. You don't think people in wheelchairs can date?"
"Not saying that." He stared at the ground a moment. "You're not telling me...he's not actually dating anybody, is he?"
"Not that I know of." She laughed again at his apparent relief. "You're such an ageist. Don't write off everybody over thirty." Including, she thought, people over a century.
Jacob snorted, reluctantly accepting a joke at his expense. "So, haven't seen much of you lately." Bella shrugged, knowing better than to argue about days and times. "Been too buy with them?"
"Kind of. And I thought you might be a little too busy with them." At his puzzled look, she added, "You know. Those. The pack. The big guy, and the small one, and the angry one, and the only female one."
He grimaced. "Smart aleck."
"At least I normally use their names."
"I know their names, too," he growled.
"Then if you want to talk to me about the Cullens, use their names."
"Fine! So Edward doesn't let you come visit any more, I guess?"
"Jake, I'm allowed to visit any time I want, unless my dad objects. I was there not long ago, and I'm having dinner with you and your father today, right?"
"Yeah. And I can smell them hanging around the house."
"There's always one or two nearby right now. Victoria's still at large, as you keep forgetting."
"You should let us deal with the...with Victoria."
"If you guys can take down Victoria, then do it, by all means. I can't imagine why you haven't done it already." He glared at her. "I know. She's not that easy to get to. So don't begrudge me my bodyguards, okay?"
"Fine. But look, come by and see us. Rachel was asking about you the other day."
Bella braced herself. "Tell her hi, but...I was thinking maybe we shouldn't hang out for a while."
"Why? Because of them? The Cullens?"
"No, because...I just think there's kind of a misunderstanding between us, Jake. I think you got the wrong idea, and I don't want to encourage it." He spluttered incoherently a moment, and she added, "Never mind Billy, you should find yourself a girlfriend - not always be, um, hanging out with somebody else's." There, she thought; that's as clear as I can make it without being mean.
He walked along in silence a few minutes, moodily kicking at sticks and stones as he went. "Yeah, well...maybe. But I miss us hanging out together like we used to. You're still the best friend I've had in a long time."
Bella's heart cracked. "You're my friend too, Jake. You know that."
"How about if you come by one more time, for old time's sake, and all that? I can give you back your Star Wars, at least."
She laughed, a little relieved he hadn't put up more of a fight. "Sure, and I can give you your socket wrench. I found it in my backpack for some reason."
"Great. When?"
Remembering the upcoming wedding, possibly overlapping somehow with a possibly fictitious university open house - she'd have to get the lowdown on all that - Bella said, "I'm pretty busy right through Monday. How about after school, some day early next week?"
"Perfect."
They started back the way they'd come, returning to the house, Bella relieved that Jacob had accepted her proposal to wind things down between them, and brushing aside her concerns when he held her hand on the way back.
At school the following morning, Alice greeted Bella with a brusque, "After school, today. And the answer is the Wade-Davis Bill." before moving on.
"What was that all about?" Bella asked Edward.
"That was my sister's less than courteous way of asking you to stop by our house after school," he explained, glaring after Alice, who, Bella assumed, must have thought something funny back at him, as he chuckled. "The cousins arrived very early this morning."
"They did?" Bella experienced the familiar nervousness that came with meeting new people.
"Yes. Alice also has plans for a final dress fitting, it seems."
"Oh, man. She didn't go too overboard, did she?"
"Not at all, at least by my standards."
She caught the faint smile. "You seem happy with the bridal gown."
"I confess I am. I haven't seen it in person, only Alice's vision of your future self wearing it, but it's a very pleasing image."
"Then I'll try and be open-minded about it."
"I'm very much obliged."
"What will you be wearing?"
"A blue suit, chosen by Alice. She assured me you would have no objection; but if there is anything you'd prefer I wear, you have only to say the word."
"No, I'm sure you'll look very handsome. And very, er, marriageable." He laughed. "And the Wade-Davis Bill?"
"The correct answer to our teacher's first question in today's class," he explained, as they took their places and the bell rang.
At three o'clock, Bella was escorted to Edward's Volvo, as Alice waved gleefully from across the parking lot. Bella waved back, trying to prepare herself for the daunting task of meeting five strangers.
"There's no problem with you coming home a little late?" Edward asked as he started the car.
"Nope, Charlie's at the station until at least 5:00 today." He nodded and pulled from the parking lot. "Are they all okay with this? With us getting m...married?"
"Of course." He looked at her in surprise. "Carlisle has been in touch, and they're aware of our relationship. He and Esme both spoke very highly of you. Besides, they have no reason to oppose either our marriage, or your joining our family."
"Good."
He took her hand. "Don't worry, love." She nodded. "And you should be prepared for the discussion that will likely follow."
"The...? Oh! Yes, they're here to talk about Victoria."
"Exactly. Bear in mind that they will set out everything that could conceivably go wrong, in order to head it off. The actual battle is likely to be very straightforward."
"I hope so," she whispered. He looked concerned, and she added half-jokingly, "What, you're the only one that can get overprotective?" He just chuckled and kissed her hand, warmed by her sentiments, however unnecessary.
Bella took a deep breath at the Cullen doorway before following Edward inside. She heard a musical voice exclaim, "Ah, there she is!" and found herself faced with an array of perfect faces, one male, four female, all turned toward her.
Esme approached and gave her a gentle hug. "Hello, Bella dear. Let me introduce you. Here are Eleazar and Carmen." She gestured toward a dark haired couple; the woman smiled at Bella, the man bowed. "And here are Tanya, Irina, and Kate. This is our Bella." Three lovely blondes looked toward her, and one of them, the one Esme had called Tanya, approached and took her hand.
"Hello," Bella managed. "It's very nice to meet you all."
"And it's nice to meet you, little Bella," Tanya exclaimed, looking her over. "We were all eager to meet the woman who finally managed to catch Edward." She released Bella's hand and slipped her arm into Edward's with a warm familiarity he did not seem to return. "What an amazing creature she must be, we all thought." Tanya looked her over more intently than was comfortable.
"Well, no," Bella replied nervously. "I'm very ordinary."
"Oh, surely not!" Tanya exclaimed, catching Edward's eye. He looked, Bella noticed, a little annoyed. "The only one who could please him, after a century? She must be very special." The implication was clear: Bella didn't seem to her like anything remotely special.
Bella quickly took in the vaguely uncomfortable reaction of some of the Cullens; the slight smirk on Emmett's face; Edward's glare at Tanya, and it sank in. Tanya had made a play for Edward, and had been turned down. Her sense of inadequacy threatened to make an appearance, but she looked up at Edward, remembered how certain of him she had finally become, how sure of his love; she recalled his words when he'd given her his mother's ring - something Bella had never thought to feel sentimental about, but she knew how much it meant to Edward. She knew, as surely as she knew her name, that she was part of this family, and that Edward loved her as he could never love anyone else. She was filled with an unaccustomed emotion: absolute self assurance. It may have been helped along by Jasper's efforts, but the original emotion was all her own.
"Maybe," Bella told Tanya calmly, "ordinary was exactly what he was looking for."
Tanya raised an eyebrow, gave a little laugh. "Perhaps so."
"Maybe I was what he was looking for," she went on, "and that's why nobody else would do. For a century."
Tanya tilted her head, staring at Bella in some surprise. "You could be right, I suppose."
"Then maybe," Bella concluded, still politely but with a slight edge to her voice, "you should take your mitts off my fiancé."
Bella heard the snickers from more than one Cullen, and even from Tanya's sisters, as she watched Tanya disengage herself from Edward and take a step or two back. She felt Edward put an arm around her shoulders and kiss the top of her head. At least, she thought, she hadn't offended him, or any of the Cullens. They all seemed to be on her side - and that made perfect sense to her.
"Well?" Rosalie remarked. "Won't she make one hell of a vampire?"