Chapter 41 – Plans and Plots

Bella

I was the first one up just after sunrise, and I was glad to see the snowplows had been busy during the night clearing the roads. I started the coffee and breakfast, excited to have so many guests to serve this morning. Edward soon joined me in the kitchen and began pouring batter into the two hot antique waffle irons Poppa had found for Grammy at a junk shop. The aroma of fresh coffee brought everyone stumbling into the kitchen, my mom and dad entering last. Mom looked at me and Edward, grinning from ear to ear.

"So, did you two have a good night?" she asked innocently, picking up my left hand to get a closer look at my ring. Alice, Esme, and Rose noticed my mom holding my hand and surrounded me, trying to see what she was looking at.

"Is that an engagement ring?" Rose squealed, grabbing my hand to look at it closer. "It's beautiful, Bella!" Everyone gathered around Edward and I, hugging and congratulating us.

Esme smiled widely, as she hugged Edward. "I wish your mom could be here for this," she whispered. "She would've loved Bella very much, I'm sure of it. Your father, too."

"I know they would've," Edward said, nodding with a wistful smile. Jasper and Carlisle shook his hand, but Emmett grabbed him up into a huge brotherly hug.

"My buddy's getting married! Man, I can't believe it. Finally!" Emmett laughed, hugging Edward again. "You know what this means, Bro. Bachelor party!"

Edward turned red, knowing what Emmett was capable of, and he began laying down the law about what he would and wouldn't be a party to, which was definitely putting a damper on Emmett's enthusiastic planning.

"We haven't even set a date yet," Edward insisted, glancing over at me. "Bella?"

"I hadn't even thought about it. I don't really want anything big or elaborate, unless you do," I answered. Edward just shook his head, as he looked around the room.

"Most of the people I'd want to invite are right here in this room, and a small wedding is all I want, too," Edward agreed. "How about next weekend?"

Alice was on her feet, jumping up and down in protest before anyone could say anything else. "Oh, no you don't, Edward Masen! Even if it's a small wedding, it should still be planned out properly," Alice growled at him, making Edward chuckle. "Bella has waited this long to wear white, so she should have the cake, the dress, the flowers, the whole thing, even if it is small scale!" Mom, Esme, and Rose were standing right behind her, nodding in agreement. I could tell this was going to get out of hand in a hurry if we didn't put some boundaries on it.

"Fine, but seriously, guys, nothing extravagant. Give Edward and I a chance to talk through what we want, and we'll let you know how much torture you're allowed to inflict on us," I offered, scowling as they seemed to be ignoring me. "I mean it, Mom," I glared at her.

"Bella, dear, whatever are you talking about?" she cooed at me, and I feared we were screwed.

With breakfast finished and cleaned up, everyone was preparing to leave. Alice and Rose were planning on getting together later with their guys to start Christmas shopping, and they invited Edward and I to come along. Anything involving Black Friday retail the day after Thanksgiving was not mine or Edward's idea of fun, so we conceded to joining them early Saturday morning at the mall.

Carlisle had to check in at the hospital for a while, so Esme and my mom were going to take their girls shopping. Mom wanted to start looking at wedding stuff, so they left for the craft store. That left my dad at home to happily enjoy a day's worth of football and newspaper in peace.

Edward and I spent the next few hours working around the house and putting out the rest of the Christmas decorations. As we worked, we talked about the kind of wedding we would prefer. We agreed that we would like to have it here in the house. Neither of us wanted to wait and suffer through endless months, so we decided on the second Saturday in February, which was Valentine's Day. If a simple and modest homespun wedding couldn't be pulled together by then, we were prepared to elope.

Finished with our chores, we wandered into the parlor, where Edward sat down at his piano and began softly playing Christmas carols, while I sat next to him, both of us deep in thought.

"This used to be my Grandma Hettie's favorite carol," Edward said, as he began a beautiful rendition of Silent Night. "She used to sing it every year at the church Christmas party. She had an amazing voice," he whispered, blinking back the moisture in his eyes. I wrapped my arms around him, and he stopped playing and pulled me into a tender kiss.

"They would've been so happy, Bella. I know they would've loved you as much as I do," he murmured into my neck, holding me close to him.

"They're here, Edward, I can feel them, and they'll be at our wedding, too," I smiled up at him. Edward seemed to remember something at that point.

"Bella, do you know about an old trunk in the attic that was your grandmother's?"

"Maybe." I vaguely remembered an ancient trunk in the corner of the attic with some old picture frames stacked on top of it, but I had never looked inside it. Edward had never entered the attic, so how did he know about it?

"I think you might find your wedding dress in there," he winked and went back to playing. Totally confused, I raised an eyebrow at him, waiting for an explanation. He just grinned at me and shrugged, so I got up and went to find my dad.

"Dad, do you know anything about an old trunk of Grammy's in the attic?" I asked, still wondering how Edward would know anything about it. Dad laid down his paper and thought about it for a while, and then he smiled.

"I think I know the one you're talking about, and what's in it." He was grinning from ear to ear now. "Come with me."