Chapter 71 Chapter Notes
Edward has fun shopping with Bella. She buys a wedding dress, some lingerie and something to wear on her head that just confuses the hell out of him.
The chapter title belongs to Carly Simon
Chapter 71 Anticipation December 9th
We enter Seattle and I navigate to the big mall. Bella runs around the place like a little kid, all emotion of our painful discussion behind her. I run with her, finding more joy in this single shopping experience than I ever thought possible.
Of course, washing clothes at a laundromat would be fun if I did it with Bella.
I insist that she buy at least three bags of clothes, and she finds jeans and boots and socks and hoodies. We come across a funky shop that sells tee shirts with great slogans on the front. She picks out two. One says, If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem.
The next one says, Never mistake law for justice. Justice is an ideal. Law is simply a tool.
Emmett loves funky tees I buy him one that says, There is no 'I' in team, but there are three 'U's in shut the fuck up. Bella laughs out loud when she sees it. My own tee, which I proudly pull on in the little dressing room, is simply a picture of the USS Enterprise. I'm surprised, and a little hurt, when Bella doesn'trealize that it matches a pair of boxers (and socks) with exactly the same pic.
When we pass the food court, she tips her head back. "That smells good. I wonder what they have to eat here?"
Probably something with burnt cheese and tomatoes, I think ruefully. After wandering down the row, she chooses Greek, and I am able to breathe again. She orders spanakopita and a big salad, without olives. The burly cashier throws his hands up in the air and says, "No olives?" Like this is just unheard of. She shakes her head and he looks at me. "You want her olives?"
"Pass," I say, as I hold up a hand. Olives smell almost as bad as…well, any other human food, really. He grumbles something and takes my money. Bella eats with enthusiasm, and I sit back and watch her. She really enjoys her food. I'm making sure that she gets to eat as much and as many types of human food as possible before her transformation, because afterward, she only has one option, and it's red.
The vampire in the movie Love at First Bite had it right. We survive on a warm, liquid protein diet. No garlic toast, ever. But it's not like the blood won't be appetizing. The feeling of falling into a feeding frenzy will more than compensate for the lack of Pop Tarts.
After Bella escapes to the bathroom for a few minutes, we continue shopping. We turn a corner into another part of the mall and come upon a store with pretty dresses in the window. "Do you want to wear something like this tomorrow?" I ask. She raises her eyebrows and goes inside. These aren't frilly, polyester dresses. They're flowing, cottony gauze, with jagged hems and dangerous necklines.
We look through them together and she puts a few aside that might do. I wait while she tries them on. She won't show me her choice, but I see it in the clerk's mind. It clings to her slim figure and then flares at the hip, falling in layers to an uneven hem.
The scoop neck plunges perilously, almost but not quite revealing cleavage. The long sleeves are straight and tight, and the overall look is elegant and sophisticated. After it's boxed up, we find matching white shoes and a short, white faux-fur jacket.
I have fun with Bella in a store that sells women's lingerie. The saleswoman gives me a lot of side eye as Bella and I pick out bras and panties and a pair of pantyhose for tomorrow. Maybe 'fun' isn't the correct word. I'm totally turned on by the lacy underthings as I imagine them on, and then off of Bella. When she's finished, I stand with her in line to pay, but she shoos me out, fetching her debit card from her wallet.
With a sigh, I hand her my credit card. I guess there's something she wants to buy as a surprise, and who am I to deprive her? So I go sit on the bench nearby to wait, as directed.
At a little retro shop full of hippie clothes and posters, Bella finds a thing to wear on her head. I've never seen a thing like this, and don't know what it's called. It's a circlet of dried flowers with multi-colored ribbons that hang off the back. She tries it on, and it is lovely over her dark hair.
Bella insists that we go into the REIand tows me to the shoe counter. I'm sure she's tired of hearing me complain about the lack of waterproofness in so-called waterproof boots. After looking at a few pairs, we get a glowing recommendation from the clerk, who I'm sure has never forded rivers, slogged through snow or stomped around in mud, so cannot possibly know about the importance of waterproof footwear, but we choose a couple of pairs anyway.
She looks at the clothes and socks with me, and we end up buying a big bag of stuff there as well.
We drive out of the mall to a jewelry store that I found online. When I pull into the parking lot, Bella is confused. I open her door and in minutes, we are perusing some of the most beautiful rings I have ever seen.
"These aren't new, you understand," the snooty salesman tells us. "They are vintage items, from estate sales. Do you have something in mind?"
"A pair of simple gold wedding bands," I say. He takes a tray out of the display case and Bella chooses the ones with twining leaves etched onto the gold. "We'll take them." I turn to my bride-to-be. "For you, this can be something old. The dress is new. You'll still need something blue."
Recognizing the old axiom, she says, "I can wear my new blue underwear."
I look at her and grit my teeth playfully. "I don't think so."
Half an hour later, we walk out of the jewelry store with a teardrop sapphire that hangs from a silver rope chain. I am very happy; Bella looks like she needs to lie down.
On our way home, Bella is quiet. When I ask her what's wrong, hoping that we aren't going to replay our conversation on the way in, she says, "I can't believe how much money you just spent! I thought you gave all your money away."
"I sold a property in New Jersey that I've been holding onto."
"Yeah, but how much could that be worth?"
I chuckle. "Enough. More than enough." I don't tell her that the property was a mansion that I'd been holding onto for over forty years. The sale of that single piece of real estate put the bank account into the ozone again. I'd paid cash for the house and Bella's car, bought all the bedding and dishes and stuff, and still had more money left over than I knew what to do with.
Sometimes I think I should detail my holdings to Bella, but she won't be able to grasp it. I'm not always able to grasp it. The property in New Jersey was worth a lot more than I'd paid for it, but it was simple real estate. What I won't let go of are investments of land in the financial districts in the big cities—New York, Philadelphia, and Houston. San Francisco. Los Angeles. Chicago. They're the real money spinners.
Bella leans her head on the window. She looks tired. "So, are you happy with your purchases today? Ready for tomorrow?" I graze her cheek with my right hand. Predictably, blood blossoms under her skin and I sigh as I power my window down for some fresh air.
She nods sleepily and naps the rest of the way home. As I carry her into the house, she smiles up at me groggily. After I've tucked her up into bed, I walk around the house, taking it all in, and marveling at how things have worked out.
And I hope I don't look back on this night and wonder if I could parlay foolishness into an Olympic sport, but I think the bad times are behind us, and it will be smooth sailing from now on.
Sunday, December 10th Day of the Wedding
After Bella falls asleep, I leave to hunt. Overfeeding never really helps, but I absolutely cannot try any sexual contact with her unless my thirst is fully sublimated. I grimace, as my body has made more venom in the last few weeks than it has in the last few years. I suppose the stress and my near-constant proximity to Bella is to blame.
It worries me.
Bella begins to stir when the room subtly lightens as the sun tries to make its appearance. As usual, I'm sitting beside her, and this morning, instead of reading, I'm listening to music with my headphones. It strikes me as uncanny that I See the Light by Hot Tuna is playing. And I feel like it was written just for me.
In this world I'm living in I see the light
Sins are gone, now I know what is wrong and right
Morning came on slowly pushing back the night
It's good times now that I can see the light
On this road I'm walking on I see my way
Paradise I'm living for each and every day
'Bout the crossroads of the past, nothing more to say
It's good times now but we can see our way
In this sea I'm moving through, feel my life complete
With the one I'm living for time is, oh, so sweet
Feeling us together, living in the bright
It's good times now, we can see the light.
The last notes of the song die away and Bella's shining brown eyes flutter open. She reaches for me and I scoot down to lie beside her. We share some very arousing kisses and I say, "Well, are you ready for your big day?"
And that's it for calm, sexy Bella. She shrieks, jumps out of bed, and begins to run around the house like a mad woman. I expected her to be nervous, and I'm not disappointed. She takes a long shower and dries her hair for about an hour. Runs up and down the stairs roughly one hundred times, decides to eat, decides she can't eat, then finally collapses on the settee in the sitting room.
I take her in my arms. "What's wrong, Bella?" I rub her back and nibble on her ear, which makes her quiver.
"I'm all right. What time is it?" She looks out the window, where it is pouring rain.
She's asked me this question a dozen times. "We're due to the church in a couple of hours. Do you need me to help you get ready?"
I'm rewarded with a smile. She takes a deep breath and after one more kiss, goes back upstairs. I hear her tearing around the bedroom, and sit down in the living room to watch a ball game. It will take me about five minutes to get ready, but I'm not bragging.
Half an hour before we're due at the church, I go upstairs to prepare. I'm in and out of the shower in one minute. After I pull on my black slacks and a blue button-up shirt, I paw through my socks, looking for a pair that are respectable and not printed with silly cartoon characters, but settle on Daffy Duck. No one will see them, anyway. I'm just tying my shoes when I hear the bathroom door open, and my bride-to-be walks into the bedroom.
And the sun walks into the bedroom, bathing me in brilliant light. I feel warmed by the very sight of Bella in her long white dress, hair pulled back into the antique combs, the teardrop sapphire hanging around her neck. It seems to give off an otherworldly glow, but that's probably just Bella.
"Oh, I forgot." She rushes into the bathroom and comes out with the thing made of dried flowers. With a trembling hand she gives it to me and I place it on her head. The ribbons twine down her back and across her shoulders enticingly. She's put on some lipstick, something I didn't even know that she owned. It's a lovely wine color, and complements her skin perfectly.
"You look beautiful," I whisper, as I hold her shoulders and gaze at her. "Wait, let me get a pic with the Nikon." After I snap a few photos, I put the camera away and we prepare to leave.
"I just have to get to the car without washing away," Bella says in a shaky voice.
I take her into my arms and we rock on the spot for a minute. "I won't let you wash away, baby," I murmur. When we break apart, I reach into my pocket and present her with a silver bracelet. "This is Esme's. It's 'something borrowed.'"
Bella takes a deep breath as she pulls the bracelet on. Once downstairs, I hold her jacket for her to slip into, then after we both don our raincoats, we're running under an umbrella to her Volvo. We arrive at the church fifteen minutes early and find not just Maya, but Charlie as well. Esme, Carlisle, Emmett and Jasper arrive right after we do.
A short, balding man walks into the chapel, two assistants in his wake. They quickly set up cameras and tripods and umbrella-looking things. I say, "Who hired that guy?"
"Rosalie." Emmett walks over to us. "She thought you might like a professional photographer to take pictures. She also contracted him to do an album for you."
"Wow," Bella says. "I thought this was going to be a simple 'I do' ceremony, but look! We've got guests and photographers!"
"And presents," Emmett says. He pulls his phone out of a pocket and after scrolling for a second, shows us a picture. Bella looks at me. "It's a rocking chair?"
I recognize it at once, although it has been utterly transformed. "It's our rocker, Bella."
She takes the phone and looks closer. Her eyes meet Emmett's and he grins at her. "We fixed it up and bought the cushions." They're a green and yellow print, perfectly matching the media room.
"I can't believe it," Bella says. "I didn't even recognize it. Thank you so much, Emmett. Thank Rosalie too, okay? Oh, is she with Alice?" He nods. She takes one last look at the phone and hands it back.
Carlisle approaches us, and after the customary greeting of a kissed cheek and shaken hand, he says, "My gift is at your home. You'll see it when you arrive, so I won't say more about it. I will say that I've never been happier, not in over three hundred years. You two are destined to be together, and whatever pain and worry you've gone through, you can put it behind you now. You're going to have an amazing existence together."
Bella leans forward and kisses his cheek. "Thank you for bringing this amazing family together," she whispers.
Before turning back to the crowd, he says, "Chief Littlefoot is up and about. I've been looking after him. He's staying on in his role. And I spoke to the Council about Rosalie and Emmett possibly reaching out to Lisle James. They got back to me yesterday and said that Lisle is willing. I was amazed. I think that our hard work is finally paying off and we're putting the old preconceived notions to rest." What he doesn't say both elates and saddens me. Lisle James just found out that she is pregnantand due in August.
My eyebrows shoot up and he gives me a sad nod. Yeah. Gordon's baby. She must have conceived days before his death. Bella looks curiously at me, familiar with my unspoken communication with my family. "Tell you later," I say in a quiet aside.
"Bella, can I speak to Edward privately for a moment?"
She nods happily and walks into the small crowd, blushing at Esme's complements on her dress. Carlisle says in a low voice, "I don't know if you've heard, but there was a stir on the reservation yesterday. A dog dug up the remains of the woman that went missing from her yard after Victoria's attack. Apparently, she was buried in the woods behind the house. I examined the body and it was too decomposed to reveal much, other than the neck was twisted until it snapped. The two men are still at large. The reservation has decided to hold a memorial for them and compensate the families."
I'd met Carlisle in La Push the morning after the attack and we'd combed the reservation, but living Quileute must stink as bad as dead ones, and neither of us could pick out anything. Really, it's one big layer of smelly yuck. I don't know how Carlisle stands to stay there, day in and day out. But he works with human blood, after all.
I wonder what happened to the two men, if at some point in the future they'll turn up, or if they're gone forever, covered over in a landfill, buried under mounds of trash, or dumped at sea. No way to know. Their families must be frantic.
Just when I think that he's done with the revelations, Carlisle says, "Also, the Chief wanted me to tell the family that old Quil died last night. He thought Jasper would like to know, because he was close with Emery, who is the grandson, of course."
Of course.
He pats my arm and melts back into the small crowd. Finally. Bella rejoins me. She is absolutely glowing. I've never seen her look happier. When Jasper walks over to us, I'm furiously trying to imagine what his gift might be. I mean, he'd done the floors in the house, top to bottom. That's gift enough, but I'm sure he will adhere to tradition. And I'm not disappointed.
"My gift is at your house as well," he says. I see it in his thoughts, although I don't let on. When our eyes meet, he goes on and on about how sorry he is for the mistakes he made, how he feels responsible for the Quileute's decision to banish us. I wave those regrets away and shake his hand. After the customary kiss to Bella's cheek, he too walks back into the small throng of guests, thinking one long continuous thought about Alice. It almost feels like he's blocking me, but I don't know why.
The door creaks open, and a well-groomed Jacob Black walks in, looking gargantuan beside the individuals in the human-sized crowd. Bella's eyes light up. "Jacob!" she cries.
He gives her a chaste hug and a kiss on her cheek. "Hey, Edward," he says, and shakes my hand. He hands Bella a box and steps back. She smiles and rips off the paper, and after pawing through the Excelsior, finds a figure of a wolf, carved from wood. It's about four inches tall, sitting, looking into the distance.
"This is lovely!" she says. "Did you carve this?" He nods and Bella passes the wolf to me. I examine it carefully. It really is amazing craftsmanship. We thank Jacob and he turns into the crowd, chattering happily.
Esme approaches us. She kisses Bella's cheek and mine, then hands me an envelope. The family mills about for a few minutes but I notice that Charlie and Maya are standing off to the side. Charlie is ashen and I hear that he's in a lot of pain. And not just physical pain. The man is hurting.
Maya is striking in a long fuchsia dress, and of course, her signature pink lipstick, but her thoughts are bleak. Charlie is adjusting poorly to his new circumstances, and she's worried.
When Mr. Webber walks into the chapel, he greets us all warmly and takes his place at the altar. He spends a few minutes shuffling through his papers as everyone takes their spots.
Charlie takes a few steps to stand before us. "I'm giving you something precious, Edward. Promise me that you'll take care of her." His eyes plead with me.
"I promise, Charlie." Bella squeezes my hand and kisses his cheek. Maya stands beside him. Jacob joins them, while my family gathers beside me. I look at Bella, her face shining with happiness, and my heart overflows with love.
With our families beside us, we'll take our vows to be married and begin our lives together. Charlie knows about the family, his wound is slowly healing, and he's grudgingly accepted the inevitable.
I mean, it's all perfect. What could go wrong?