Chapter five

After landing, Mr. More gave me a little pleasant smile and I nodded in his direction. Renée noticed our little exchange and gave me a pointed look. I don't know why, but I felt a pull towards him; there was something about his demeanor that radiated trustworthiness. I always felt more comfortable around older men. When I was a teenager, which wasn't that long ago, I tended to feel more like myself around Charlie's friends than around my own… except for Emmett, but he's my brother so he doesn't fit in the category of "men in my age group".

We got off the plane and gathered our luggage in 40 minutes. Emmett's face was beaming once we were out through the arrivals door. He started gesticulating wildly and I almost shouted at him, "I've seen you, stop that little boy!" – but I didn't, I behaved…or at least I did until I jumped into his embrace.

"Em! God I missed you!"

"Little sis! I wanted to say you grew up in the last six months, but no… same as ever!"

"I'M NOT SHORT! You're too tall!"

"Yes, he could have been a basketball player if he could get the ball anywhere near the basket!" Emmett's wife Rosalie laughed and opened her arms to hug me. We haven't always been close, but that changed once they got married. I'm glad that the six months we were apart did nothing to change that.

"Basketball is for sissies!" he said, letting Renée out of his embrace. "Football, on the other hand…"

"You spent too much time with your father, Emmett!" Renée said. She was trying to sound playful, but I could sense an edge to her tone. Emmett shrugged, probably sensing the same but opting to ignore it. It was the clever thing to do…

Would she ever let go of the fact that he chose to live with Charlie when they divorced? He had left me a note saying he was going back to Forks to live with Charlie after three months in Phoenix. No one knows how he got out of the house, he was only seven at the time… and forgot that I was only five and could barely read. I had learned the alphabet and some words with Sesame Street, but then again, I wasn't the fastest reader at the time. When Renée had taken the note out of my hands, she had called Charlie immediately. She found Emmett fifteen minutes later at the bus stop where he was asking how to buy a bus ticket to Forks. Obviously no one knew where it was. When Charlie was finally able to get to Phoenix a couple of days later, my parents had the worst fight ever, but after the screaming and the crying dad finally convinced her that maybe it was better for Emmett to live with him. So Dad took him and I stayed with my mother. I saw her red and swollen eyes from crying and I couldn't leave her, too, although there was nothing I wanted more than to be with Emmie. In the back of my head I kept the hope that they would eventually get back together, but obviously they didn't, so Emmett and I were forced to grow apart.

"Come on, ladies, our car is parked outside. Let me help you with your luggage, Mom."

"Thank you," she murmured appreciatively, and the heavy atmosphere dissipated.

It was a beautiful sunny day. We went through the unfamiliar streets without hurry.

"I don't know if I'll be able to drive here. Driving on the left side of the road is so weird…"

"You´ll get used to it, Bella," Rosalie said, stopping at the red light.

"Nice car, Rosalie."

"It's alright I guess. Emmett wanted to buy me a Ford, but I wanted something different."

"What kind of car is this?" Renée asked.

"A Volkswagen Golf GTI."

"I couldn't drive a car with a manual transmission even if my life depended on it."

"I prefer it this way. You have a different sense of control while driving. You should give it a try, Renée. What about you, Bella, do you prefer manual as well?"

"I guess. Charlie taught us to drive in a car with a manual transmission. After you get used to it, there's no turning back," I laughed.

About twenty minutes later we arrived home. I didn't say another word. Renée spent the short car ride telling Rosalie how lucky we had been to get seats in first class and about the "ill man" I had helped during the flight.

"Welcome to Leichardt, ladies! This is the most Italian neighborhood in Sydney!"

Rosalie parked the car in the garage, and as soon as she stopped Emmett was out handling most of our luggage by himself. Their home was cozy, and seemed like it belonged in one of Rosalie's publicity ads. There was a little garden in the front of the white house that was surrounded by a wooden fence. The same feeling of coziness accompanied me after entering the house itself, although the furniture was very modern and with simple lines. The walls were painted in neutral tones, and Rosalie had mixed the central theme colors beautifully. Who knew that white, green and black could go so well together?

"I hope you don't mind sharing a room with Renée," Rosalie said, looking apologetic. "Initially there were a couple of spare bedrooms but we decided to transform one in a little library. I hope you like it. Please feel free to use it."

"I don't mind at all, thanks," I reassured her.

"Did you bring your laptop? I can give you our wireless password if you did."

"I brought my Eee Pc."

"You have one of those? I was thinking about buying one… for the battery's sake."

"And portability," I added. "Where can I put my bags?" I asked, still holding one of them. Emmett had the others and was clearly waiting for Rosalie to show us the way.

"This way, please. This is your bedroom," she said as she opened the door. It was spacious and had a big window that opened to the house's backyard. After my first quick scan, my eyes focused on a little bed in the right corner of the room.

"We decided to buy you a little bed… we thought you both would be more comfortable."

"You shouldn't have bothered."

"We wanted to. Besides this way there will be no excuses for you not to visit us often!" Emmett said, interrupting me.

"I'm so tired. I just want to have a shower and rest a little before lunch. There is so much to talk about. I missed you so much, sweetheart!" Renée said, dropping her bags next to her bed. "Do you want to go first, darling?"

"Yes, I don't feel like sleeping now. I don't want to be jet lagged for long…"

Rosalie quickly showed us around the rest of the house. It was a three bedroom home, with a very nice living room and a big kitchen. The bathroom was fabulous and although I wanted nothing more at this time than to try the hydro massage tub, I took a shower because Renée was waiting rather impatiently and knocked on the door twice in the fifteen minutes it took for me to take a shower and get dressed. After that I found Emmett and Rose sitting next to each other in a swing in the backyard.

"I see you cleaned up already…"

"If I spent five more minutes in your bathroom I swear Renée would have had to buy you a new bathroom door." They laughed out loud.

"It's nice to know that some things never change… How is she, sissy?" Emmett was serious now. Rosalie was now massaging his scalp tenderly as she always did when he was tense about something.

"I think she's better now. The first month after her and Phil's separation was very hard. She barely left the house and was picking fights over the smallest things as an escape. She still has mood swings, as you're going to be able to experience for yourself, but she's managing them a lot better. She's just frustrated about having another marriage dissolve so quickly."

"She shouldn't have married the guy, Bells. He's ten years younger…"

"But she did. And it won't do her any good reminding her of how hasty she was in making such an important decision. We had this conversation before. Don't blame her; she's already doing that herself."

Emmett inhaled deeply. "But what about going back to Forks, Bella? What were you thinking letting her do so? Do you know how Dad feels about that? About her?"

"What did you want me to do? Make her stay all by herself in Phoenix? She's in pain, Em. Maybe this is going to be a good thing, an opportunity to make amends."

"You know I love her but she made a mess out of her life so she should live with it. Maybe grow a little…"

"Emmett, you're not being very rational in this matter. What could have Bella done differently?" Rosalie interjected.

"You're right, baby. It's just that Dad never actually got over the divorce with Mom and now has to live in the same small town she does? He's not going to be able to go anywhere without finding her somewhere…"

"Well, I realize that, Emmett, but I'm not trying to make your dad's life harder. I just needed to go home, you know?" Renée was standing behind us still holding the backdoor. How much did she hear? Rosalie's eyes widened with the surprise… I didn't know what to say and apparently neither did Emmett. After a few awkward seconds she went back inside saying that she needed to get some rest.

"Don't go after her, Bella. She probably just needs to be alone for a while."

"You're probably right, Rose."

We stayed for a few more minutes soaking up the sun. None of us dared to interrupt the silence. Emmett had his guilty face on; he wouldn't apologize though, that much I knew.

"Bella will you help me with lunch? Your brother was counting the days for you to arrive…"

"Lasagna?" Emmett perked up instantly.

"Sure!" I couldn't help but smile at him. Food always brought him comfort when he was down. It was a surprise he wasn't obese considering the amount of food he ate… It was a good thing he liked to work out often.

We spent the rest of the day relaxing. Emmett ate almost half of the lasagna by himself at lunch and the morning incident was never mentioned. I knew we would have to address that problem eventually, but for now we all avoided it, not wanting to break the unspoken truce between Mom and Emmett. After lunch we all went for a walk in the neighborhood for us to get acquainted with our surroundings and to have some amazing Italian ice cream. After our little walk, I was finally able to settle myself in and unpack my scarce belongings. I went to bed early. I was exhausted and that granted me a dreamless night of sleep.

I woke up early in the morning, well rested, in time to ask Emmett to link my Eee Pc to the internet before he left for work. I spent some time answering a couple of e-mails that Angela and Ben sent me asking why I hadn't called saying everything was alright. That reminded me that I had yet to turn on my cell phone. Fifteen minutes after that, I got a call. I didn't know the number but I could see it was Australian.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Doctor Isabella Swan?" the male voice said in its perfect British accent… It took me only five seconds to recognize that soft voice.

"Yes. Mr. More, is that you?"

"Yes. I'm surprised you recognized my voice! I´m sorry to be calling so soon… Am I disturbing you?"

"No, not at all." He had a very unique voice. He could have probably made a career as a radio announcer.

"So, Bella, will you do me the honor of being my date for the day? Sort of a grandfather-granddaughter bonding type, obviously!"

"I don't know if you're old enough to be my granddad!" I teased him.

"I sure am, young lady. I was hoping I could convince you to have lunch with me. As agreed, you choose the place and the time and I'll pick you up." There was a cheerful tone in his voice that pleased me. It's not like I had much to do anyway… Renée was sleeping now. She decided to go to bed again after breakfast since she didn't sleep at all during the night.

"Sure. There's only one problem… I have never been in Sydney so I don't know where to take you…"

"You can come and have lunch in my hotel. The food is exquisite… Just give me your address and I'll send someone to pick you up."

"Well, since I can't choose the place, I think it's only fair if I get there myself."

"But you just said that you've never been in Sydney."

"I´ll get there, really! Set the time and place…"

He thought about that for a moment and decided to accept my conditions. He instructed me to meet him by the entrance to the ANZAC Memorial Building in Hyde Park.

"You won't have any problems finding it. Is eleven thirty alright for you?"

"Yes, it will be fine."

"I'll see you later then, Bella."

"See you later."

Okay, what am I wearing? I wondered. Why isn't Rosalie home? Is he taking me to a fancy restaurant? He's not… surely… Is he?

I took a long shower and then put on a pair of dark jeans and a white sleeveless button-down shirt. I left the two top buttons opened as I usually do in order not to show much cleavage and added the delicate golden necklace with a little heart that used to belong to my grandmother. I wore it daily since she gave it to me when I was sixteen. I had found it in her jewel box and was instantly fascinated by it. She had told me, "It will look lovely on you, Bella. Why don't you keep it? I haven't worn it in so long… and it makes no sense for such a fine piece of jewelry not to be shared with the world." She had given me a warm smile. "I hope it will guide and help you find true love. It surely did for me…" The look she gave me was sad but relieved, as if she were sharing a lost secret, and placed it around my neck.

AN:

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, Stephenie Meyer does…

Edward is coming ladies!! If you review I promise he'll meet Bella at Sydney in the next chapter!

Thank you Scooterstale for your editing and patience! Really!!

EAMCullen1 thanks for being you… You're great! Ladies have you checked out her story?! It's worthy of your time

Farewell Ladies!