Chapter 72 Chapter Notes

The day is finally here! And you know what comes after a wedding, right?

Yeah. A honeymoon.

The chapter title belongs to Billy Idol

Chapter 72 White Wedding December 10th

Mr. Webber begins, and I'm struck by the heartbeats pounding on Bella's side of the aisle. They're so loud and insistent that I imagine the weight of them, tipping the room on its side.

Bella's face shines as she concentrates on Mr. Webber's words, about the sanctity of marriage, its historic significance, and how it benefits society. I glance at her and I am again overcome with the perfection of this moment, how difficult the path to get here, and what was almost lost.

Mr. Webber looks at me and gives his head a nod. I pull my iPod out of a pocket and after the touch of a button, Neil Young's Cinnamon Girl plays from a speaker behind us. Bella blinks a few times and her mouth opens in surprise.

I wanna live with a cinnamon girl, I could be happy, the rest of my life, with a cinnamon girl. A dreamer of pictures, I run in the night, you see us together, chasing the moonlight, my cinnamon girl.

I've told her often that she smells like cinnamon to me, and when I played this song for her months ago, she knew it. We listened to it often. It is our song. After I left, during the long, empty miles in the car, I must have played it ten thousand times. Somehow I need another chance… That line. It's what I longed for; what I knew I would never get.

And here we are.

As the song plays, Bella and I hold hands and simply gaze into each other's eyes. Is she thinking the same thing? Was she wishing for another chance? I hear Emmett sigh quietly and swallow a grin. He is so Emmett.

The song ends and the ceremony begins. We decided to go with the traditional vows, right up to 'till death do us part'. At the end, Bella says I do, and Mr. Webber pronounces us husband and wife. I slide the band of gold onto her finger, my symbolic claim to her, but she was already mine. From the first day I laid eyes on her, she was mine. And I was hers.

I just didn't know it.

There was a straight path from then until now, and I chose to take the detour, thinking it would be safer. But here we are. Finally.

With a trembling hand, she slides the matching ring onto my finger. There's a moment of stillness, just a few seconds, where nobody does or says anything. And it's like Bella said. Something just clicks. I think it must be our little part of the Universe, sliding into place.

I sweep Bella up in my arms and swing her around. And around and around. And I feel that thing in my chest again, that I'd felt after my return, that breathless feeling that I can only approximate to what humans feel before they cry. I feel the sobs coming on and let myself go. And Bella and I stand and we cry together.

When we part, she looks up at me in awe. My face and my eyes are dry, but hers aren't. I wind my arms around her and pull her close to me. "I love you, Bella." And I take her face in my hands and bend to kiss her, undistracted by thumping human hearts, quiet asides from my Immortal family, and the incessant clicking of the cameras behind us.

"And I love you, Edward." Bella absolutely glowswith happiness. We break apart and turn to cheers and loud clapping. Emmett ducks down and tosses a huge handful of yellow rose petals in the air. They drift down lazily, causing everyone to look up, trying to figure out where they came from.

Esme catches my eye and murmurs too low for the humans to hear, Today is the first day of the rest of your life. Her expression of tenderness almost feels like a private moment, until Emmett chortles loudly and she elbows him into silence.

The guests crowd around us, shaking my hand, kissing Bella's cheek, and everybody is talking at once. Carlisle hands Mr. Webber an envelope, and with a chuckle, I wonder what the going rate is for a Methodist preacher to marry a vampire to his human fianceé.

Bella steps aside and turns her back, fiddling with her phone. A minute later, the area is filled with a slow, sweet song called Lullaby by the Dixie Chicks. The guests all stop talking and listen to the song—this time—Bella's gift to me.

They didn't have you where I come from, didn't know the best was yet to come, life began when I saw your face, and I hear your laugh like a serenade. How long do you want to be loved, is forever enough, is forever enough, How long do you want to be loved, is forever enough, 'cause I'm never, ever giving you up.

I've heard this song, and in possibly the corniest move two people could possibly make, Bella and I begin to sing the chorus to each other. Others join in, singing softly, and the moment is so perfect, I don't want it to end.

But end it does, and the crowd applauds. We'd decided that we didn't want the fuss of a meal at the reception, since half of us don't eat, so Maya took control of the refreshments. Bella and I cut the wedding cake, and I'm struck dumb by the cake topper. It's uncanny. A slightly-built female with long, dark hair standing with her ice-white groom, who has an untidy shock of butterscotch hair. I look around and Jasper raises his eyebrows. Looks just like ya, he thinks with a smile.

The humans enjoy the cake and drink something called Hawaiian Punch. It looks like blood, but doesn't smell nearly as appetizing. My family mills about, absent cup or saucer in hand, to odd looks from Mr. Webber. Nobody pays any attention to him. Today, we're all on a 'special diet'.

Two figures are absent from the chatting throng: Charlie and Maya. He's trying to have a good time but his physical and mental pain stand in the way. The best he can manage is to not start crying, but it's a near thing. They stand, somewhat awkwardly, next to the refreshment table.

I nudge Bella and whisper in her ear, "I think Charlie needs an excuse to go home. He's looking a little green."

She glances around and we walk over to them. Bella's eyes take in her father, decked out in an immaculate tux and polished shoes. The image is marred by his complexion, normally pink and healthy, now the color of bread dough. His firm lip trembles with emotion.

I glance at Maya and give her a tiny nod. Take him home, I want it to say, and she seems to understand. She smiles her brilliant pink smile and says, "I think Charlie needs to get off of his feet, but we wanted to give you this." She picks up a wrapped box from the table and hands it to me.

I grin in anticipation and pass the box to Bella. She rips the paper off and lifts the lid to reveal an expensive color lithograph of Pooh and Piglet, walking in the woods. Pooh is looking down at Piglet, saying, As soon as I saw you, I knew an adventure was going to happen.

We thank her and Charlie clears his throat. "Maya and I had Grandma Swan's desk refinished for you, exactly the way I remember it from her pictures. It's at your house right now."

We both thank him, but he doesn't respond. He seems to have something stuck in his throat. After a moment, he swallows and takes our hands in his. He's upset, so I can read him more clearly. He's mourning the future he'd anticipated with Bella, but he doesn't begrudge her anything. "Take care of each other." He places our hands together and kisses Bella's cheek and pats my shoulder.

He turns to go but Bella rushes forward and embraces him. She whispers in his ear, "Thank you for letting me come here, dad. For putting up with me after Edward left, and for understanding my decisions." He stands stiffly, pain and loss radiating from him in invisible waves. He nods reluctantly. "I love you, Charlie," she continues. "You and Maya are going to have an amazing life together."

When they break apart, his eyes are wet. Maya embraces us both and waves as she leads him away. Charlie's emotional state seems very fragile and Maya wonders if it's the injury, the medication for pain, the revelations that have changed his life, or a combination.

My money's on the fact that he knows his convalescence will be long and painful. That returning as the Chief of Police is far from a certainty. Carlisle said that according to Dr. Lund, he might not make a full recovery.

I haven't shared this with Bella. He might be fine in a month or two. But his range of motion has been severely curtailed, and looking at him now makes me think two words: early retirement.

My family congregates around us, and we're all talking at the same time. They throw rice on us as we run to the Volvo. Our moods soar and I take Bella into Port Angeles to eat. I want to run with her, to show her the world, but all she wants is Italian food.

Tomatoes. With burnt cheese. I sit with her and hold my breath, happy to gaze at her, wordless, while she enjoys her food.