Renee accepted our engagement even more easily than Charlie did. She had been expecting it for quite some time. She seemed to know that Edward would come back, and we would 'work out our differences' eventually.
Alice cornered me in school first thing Monday morning, shoving a stack of wedding magazines into my bookbag and already wanting to plan every minute detail. I was thankfully able to at least convince her to wait until we could involve Esme, but that gave me an idea of how to get a little closer with Rosalie too.
"Alice, can I just come over with you after school today and we can talk about it then?"
"Oooh, I see what you're thinking. Perfect!" she exclaimed.
"Stay out of my head."
"I can't get in your head. And neither can Edward." she laughed. "But I'm in your decisions and that's a great one. However, please don't wear that skirt you're thinking of for tomorrow."
"And why not?"
"It's hideous." She made a face.
"Nothing she ever does could be hideous." Edward said. "I rather like the skirt."
I made a face at Alice and Edward walked me to class. He was happier than usual, perhaps as giddy as I had ever seen him. He had a new sparkle in his eyes and an improved confidence when he spoke to me. It seemed that our engagement had erased any remaining doubts in his mind about how much we loved each other, and I was incredibly glad. He deserved to be happy, and I was lucky that it was me.
Thankfully, Angela was the only person to comment on my engagement ring while we were in class together.
"So, are you and Edward getting married?" she asked with a kind smile.
"Yeah." I smiled back at her.
"I'm so happy for you! Your ring is lovely."
"Thank you! I'm pretty excited myself."
"Have you set a date?"
"June 20th."
"After graduation. A summer wedding. How perfect!" She smiled again and noticing that the topic still made me a little uncomfortable, she changed the subject. "Can you believe that we're supposed to write a ten-page paper for English this weekend? Ten whole pages!"
She was always one of my favorite people to spend time around. We spent the rest of the class period talking about school and books we had been reading. I decided to ask her to be one of my bridesmaids, though she wouldn't have to do anything but show up for her dress fitting knowing Alice. Alice was happy with my decision and didn't protest, assuring me she would take care of everything. Edward was happy too. He had always liked Angela.
After school, Edward went to make me a snack while Alice, Esme, and I sat down to start wedding planning. Rosalie was getting ready to head into the garage, mumbling something about Emmett being too rough on his Jeep.
"Rosalie?" I asked, a little nervous. Alice patted my leg in reassurance. "Would you like to help us plan the wedding and also be one of my bridesmaids along with Alice and Angela?"
"Alright." she said, joining us on the couch. It wasn't a super enthusiastic response, but it also wasn't 'no.' I would take it. Alice immediately started talking about colors and fabrics faster than I could keep up. Esme happily went along with her.
"Bella and I are going to go make sure Edward hasn't burned the kitchen down. We'll be back in a few minutes." Rosalie stood up and I followed her, curious.
Edward was just plating a grilled cheese sandwich for me, one of my favorites. I thanked him with a kiss, and he told me to find him upstairs when I was done. It seemed odd, but I went with it assuming he must have heard something in Rosalie or Alice's thoughts that would keep me preoccupied.
"You're wrong, you know." Rosalie said as I started eating. "I do like you. You're great for Edward. It warms my heart to see him so happy. I envy you."
"Me?" I asked in disbelief, "Why? I'm nothing special."
"You're human."
"Oh." Why would anyone possibly want to be human when they could be….that?
"What do you know about me?"
"Not much. You're insanely beautiful, you like to work on cars, and I think Edward said you play piano too. Obviously, I know your name and everything." I laughed nervously.
"Do you know anything about my time as a human?"
"No, except that Carlisle was the one to change you and that you were dying."
"Yes. That's right. In my time, the measure of success for a woman was how well she took care of her family. There was no greater honor than to be a mother and a wife. It was what I had always wanted. In fact, I was engaged to be married to one of the most eligible bachelors in my city. My parents were so proud, and I was excited beyond belief.
My best friend had recently gotten married and had a lovely baby boy. I stayed later than I meant to visiting with them and was walking home when I encountered my fiancé and his friends drunk outside of a bar. Drinking alone was pretty looked down upon, but they were all hammered. I tried to get away, but they chased me-" My stomach turned as I realized what she was about to tell me. "They raped me and beat me almost to death. Carlisle found me and I woke up like this. And now, no matter how much I love Emmett and am happy to be here even if just for him, my dreams are gone. I can't have children. I won't grow old with the man I love. I'm trapped, frozen, just like this forever."
"Rosalie, I'm so sorry." I had no idea she had been through something so awful. I always thought she was snobby, but I realized that she was really jealous, of me. It broke my heart.
"Don't be. But please, do consider what you're giving up. There is no going back from this. If you decide that you want children ten or even twenty years from now as young as you are, you can't have them once you choose this life. You will have to give up your family, your friends. We move constantly. It's not something I would have chosen for myself."
"I understand. I will consider it. Thank you." I said sincerely, not going to change my mind, but going to weigh more heavily everything that I would be trading for a life with Edward. It did strengthen my resolve to see to it that my family and friends knew I loved them and that they were left cared for, without worrying about my sudden death or disappearance if possible.
Rosalie returned to the living room and I finished my sandwich and stood up. Esme appeared, not daring let me wash my own plate, and gave me a hug. "You will do what's right for you. It's important to consider what Rosalie said, and you should. But I also wanted to tell you that as much as I wish my baby boy hadn't passed on, I have never regretted this life, nor have I doubted Carlisle."
"Thanks, Esme." I hugged her back. She always knew what to say.
"Any time, dear. Alice went to her room to look at wedding invitations. Why don't you go relax with Edward for a bit before he has to take you home?"
I nodded and walked upstairs. Edward took me in his arms the second I stepped inside his door. "I missed you." he said.
"I was just downstairs." I laughed.
"So?" he smiled, and we kissed. "My lovely fiancée. I have waited such a long time for you."
He dazzled me and I forgot how to talk, which only made him smile more, which in turn made my heart flutter and a blush warm up my cheeks. He stroked my face with his cold fingers, and I relaxed, completely happy to be his.
Edward drove me home and I made dinner for Charlie when he got off work. My dad and I mostly just talked about school while we ate. He helped me wash dishes after.
"Bella, are you sure this is what you want?"
"I'm sure." I answered, knowing exactly what he was talking about.
"You have your whole life ahead of you. There's no rush. Marriage doesn't change anything that you can't change before then."
"I know."
"Why the hurry?"
"We want to be together."
"You're together as is." He insisted.
"Yeah, but we're going to graduate school soon and we're ready to spend the rest of our lives together."
"And you need a piece of paper to prove that?"
"No, not at all. But it's the next logical step. And it would make us both very happy."
"I thought you weren't interested in marriage."
"I wasn't. Not before Edward, but he's it. He's the one."
"Alright." Charlie said, shaking his head as he dried the last plate. "I won't try to change your mind. I'm sure you've thought about it thoroughly."
"I have."
"Are you two being safe?"
"Dad!" I shouted, blushing furiously.
"Hey, it's a valid question. Do you need me to take you to the doctor or-"
"Dad, no. It's not like that. I don't want to have this discussion."
"I just want to make sure you kids are being careful. If you don't want to see the doctor-"
"Hey, no. Mom had this talk with me a few years ago. We're good. Besides, Edward is very old-fashioned."
"What's that mean?"
"He doesn't believe in sex before marriage."
"Oh, that's why you're getting married!"
"No!" I lowered my voice. "No. We love each other. That's it. There is no other motive. This is what makes us both happy. We want to be together for the rest of our lives. We're ready to commit. And then, we're going to go to college together."
"You two still intend to go to college?"
"Yes, we've already been applying places." Charlie looked relieved. "I appreciate your concern, dad, really. I know that you love me and that you and mom regret getting married so young. There's a time when I would have said no to Edward for that reason alone, but I love him. This is different. I'm different. Maybe if you get to know him a little better, you will feel differently about him."
"Alright. I'll try. Does he like fishing?"
"I don't think so. The Cullens do these crazy athletic hikes, but most of his hobbies are more like mine, reading, music. He plays piano."
"I've spent so much time hating on the kid for dating you, and then hurting you leaving like he did. I hardly know anything about him. What do his parents think of all of this?"
"They also told us that there was no rush, but they said that Edward is the most responsible of all of their children and they know he won't ever change his mind. And they told me that they loved me and would be glad to welcome me into their family."
"It sounds like your mom was pretty enthusiastic too?"
"I wouldn't say enthusiastic, but she definitely wasn't surprise. I was probably more surprised than her."
Charlie laughed. "Yeah, I can see that. She always seems to just know things. Billy and Jacob are coming for dinner Friday night, why don't you invite Edward?"
"I'll ask, but I think he said something about camping this weekend."
"Dr. Cullen must get a ton of vacation time from the hospital."
"He hardly ever takes a day off otherwise. Plus, with five adopted children I think some absences are expected."
"True." Charlie said.
I said goodnight and went upstairs to 'do my homework.' There was no chance that I wanted to be in the same room as Jacob ever again, let alone force Edward to be. But it was clear that we would have to find another way for him to spend a little time with Charlie.
Author's Note: I've been hesitating on this chapter for a while not really sure how to take the story that would make it different from the other New Moon pieces I've written but I've got a good plan now. I wanted to go ahead and give a short update to let everyone know that it wasn't abandoned. Sorry for the delay!
