Rosalie glared at the overly friendly host who was blatantly flirting with Bella. It's not that should could blame the poor guy but it was very obvious they were on a date. She gritted her teeth and pushed him out of the way when he tried to pull out Bella's chair for her.
At his surprised look she told him with a low growl."I can get the chair for MY girlfriend if you don't mind. She doesn't need you or your help!"
She felt a sense of satisfaction when the boy gulped and stammered something about a waiter coming soon. As she took her seat she saw that Bella was giving her a smile.
"What? He was hitting on you. We are here together. He should keep his flirting to himself." As Rosalie realized what she said she began to apologize. "I'm sorry I shouldn't have done that. I'm not trying to claim ownership of you or trying to imply you can't take care of yourself. It's my vampire instinct and I've been trying to keep it in check but it's becoming harder and I'm really sorry" Rosalie stopped talking when Bella raised a hand.
"Rosalie stop worrying so much. I think it's cute that you get all worked up trying to protect my honor. I would rather you be rude than murder someone and as I've told you before they are just human. They don't know any better. Maybe it's because I grew up feeling never quite human myself I can forgive them."
"I thought you didn't know you were a shifter until you were ten?"
"I always felt different from the other kids. First because of my looks then later when I realized who my family was. I've never been treated normal in my life. My grandparents were very understanding and always told me that it was human nature. They told me that I was meant for greater things than being a plain boring human girl. Even though they didn't know I was going to be a shifter they always treated me as I was something better than what humanity had to offer. That sounds like I'm conceited. I mean in the way that my differences made me unique and dwelling on people liking or disliking me wasn't worth the effort. That doesn't mean I don't understand your frustration. If I took a moment to really think about it it would probably bother me just as much as it does you. As for your natural instincts don't suppress them if you can express them safely. You need to be true to yourself even if that truth means you're rude and a little over protective. I like those parts of you and that's what they are a part of what makes you you and I happen to like you very much."
Rosalie gave her a grateful smile. "Thank you and I happen to like you very much also."
"You like cats of course you like me." Bella said giving her a wink.
"What are you going to get? This menu looks impressive."
"I didn't even think about the fact that you don't eat. Are you going to even get something? I don't want you to force yourself to eat it."
"I thought of that." Rosalie said proudly. "Since you have a shifter's appetite I thought that you could pick out two meals and when you finished yours you could just eat mine."
"I don't know if I should be flattered or insulted that you notice how much I eat." Bella said. "But since I know you meant well I'll go with flattered."
Just then the waiter came up and asked for their order.
"I'll have the mushroom ravioli and she will have the New York strip rare with mixed vegetables and potatoes." Bella said handing the menus over and dismissing the waiter.
"What were your grandparents like? You said your grandfather was a senator and that he never wanted to be president." Rosie asked.
"My grandpa Arthur was an amazing man. He was a senator for over 6 terms. Politics was all he ever knew and he was very proud to carry on the family name. The reason he didn't want to be president was me. He had been offered the chance by his party many times over the years and had been planning on running after my mother finished high school. It was only four months after she graduated that she found out about me."
"So why didn't he want to be president?Your grandparents could have still raised you or was it to much of a scandal with your mother abandoning her child?"Rosalie asked fascinated with Bella's family history.
"Raising me was the exact opposite of a negative scandal. My grandfather's supporters loved the fact that he stepped up and took care of me. It showed the kind of character he had. Taking on such a responsibility in his 60's. There were two reasons he didn't want to be president.One he didn't think it was the right environment for a newborn to be raised in the White House with secret service. We lived in a fish bowl already with having the last name Shurlong adding that on top of it would have been to much for a growing child." Bella stopped to take a sip of water.
"What was the other reason?"
"My appearance." Bella state simply. At Rosalie's confused look she elaborated. "I told you they heard the legends of the white tiger being born of the only daughter. They weren't sure as they thought it was going to be a boy but when I was born looking the way I do they wanted to take precautions. It wouldn't be safe to have a young shifter learning how to control themselves while living in a government building with the whole world watching."
"Wow. Did your grandfather ever regret not running?"
"He said he didn't and I believe him. A few months after my first birthday he retired from congress and we lived at the estate in Arizona full time. My grandma would tell me how blessed she felt that I came along because it brought the man she married back to her."
"What happened with your mother? It's seems like your grandparents were good people. How did she end up on her path?" Rosalie couldn't figure that part out. Bella had turned out so wonderful but her mother was the total opposite.
"I'm not sure to be honest. It wasn't something that was really talked about. It was just something that was if that makes sense. I heard my grandmother crying many times after my mother would visit or call and she would always ask my grandfather what did they do wrong with her but exactly what happened I don't know. I don't think about it to much. When I first went to live with her I thought she was grieving just as badly as I was and felt grateful we still had each other. It was a naive thought of a child looking for comfort. I learned pretty quick that she only thought about herself and I tried to stay out of her way."
"That must have been so lonely. My parents were distant with me but I still had friends.I even had a best friend named Vera."
"What was Vera like?" Bella asked happy to change the subject.
"She was wonderful so full of life and happiness." Rosalie smiled at the memories.
"Did she know your secret?" Bella asked.
"Oh no we never talked about that kind of stuff. Anything to do with intimate relationships was considered crass to talk about. Left to the men to talk to each other about as men do of course."Rosalie smiled."Vera had a husband that she loved very much. It was obvious that he loved her just as equally. A few months before I was changed she gave birth to their first child. A cute chubby little boy. You've never seen two prouder parents."
"You said you wanted children when you were human. Do you still want them?" Bella inquired
Rosalie gave her such a sad smile that Bella felt her heart break. She reach out and took Rosalie's hand and gave it a squeeze.
"Getting married and having children was always my greatest dream. I thought being married to someone who loved me regardless of how different I was and wanting to have children of our own together was the greatest thing that could ever happen to me. I wanted to have a child that I could love with all my heart and raise them better than my parents raised me. Now that idea is what it originally was just a dream."
"Why is it just a dream?" Bella asked confused.
"Bella I'm a vampire. We are frozen in time. We can't reproduce because our bodies don't change. I can't have any children no matter how much I wish I could."
"I still don't understand." Bella said. "What about adoption of artificial insemination? Yes you are a vampire but what if who you marry isn't?"
Rosalie hadn't thought of that. Was Bella saying she wanted to have children with her? Could they actually conceive? Of course she knew the methods but would she feel comfortable raising a baby that wasn't biologically hers. She looked at Bella and realized the answer to that question was yes because the baby would be part Bella. They may even be a tiger shifter. She stopped herself in the middle of creating a new dream of hunting in the forest with Bella and their child in tiger form stopping to play with the mountain lion and cubs. She was getting a little far ahead of herself. This was their first date. Plus Bella was 17 and still had to finish high school and there was no guarantee that she actually was Bella's imprint or that Bella felt the mate bond.
"Do you want to have children?" Rosalie asked.
"I've always wanted to have children yes. Regardless of the life I had while living with my mother my childhood was happy. There was more love and laughter to spread around to everyone. I would like to not be the last of Gorgen's descendants. Even if I am the last tiger shifter , I'm proud of what my family has done for the human world. It would be nice for that to continue however possible."
Rosalie couldn't stop the big smile that spread across her face even though she tried. She didn't want to get ahead of herself but Bella had just opened a door she thought long closed. Bella really was perfect to be her mate. They still needed to talk about that but now wasn't the time. She wanted to focus on their first date and they had already focused on some deep topics.
After the waiter dropped of their food and refilled their drinks Rosalie restarted their conversation.
"You are the last of the Shurlong line? Surely you have a least a great uncle or some second or third cousin."
"The line has been diluted enough that I'm the only direct decent to Gorgen except my mother.Anyone still alive would be a ninth cousin or further. My grandparents and myself have been sued numerous times by people trying to claim part of the estate as a birthright. So unless I have children Gorgen's legacy will die with me. I hope that won't happen though." Bella said starting her food.
"I hope it won't happen either"Rosalie said giving Bella a smile.
"What about your family? Are there any Hales left in this world? What happened to your brothers."
"Yes actually their are some Hales left. I have 3 nieces and 2 nephews who had children of their own ,who had children of their own also. One of my brothers Timothy followed after my father's footsteps and worked at the same bank as him. He never got promoted to a very high position and from what I've learned it caused quite a bit of contention in his marriage. He died when he was 56 of a heart attack. My other brother Bradley didn't really amount to much. He lived off my family's money and never married although he had three different children with three different women. He died young in a similar fashion as myself. He was stabbed in an alley after getting into a drunken in fight with some shady fellows."
"And your parents?"Bella asked as they traded plates. Bella then starting on the steak.
"Alice kept an eye on all of them over the years. She told me my parents were actually pretty miserable for most of their lives. Their sons whom they had so much hope for didn't really pan out to much and my father was pushed out of his job for a younger man that married the bank owner's daughter. Royce's sister actually. They died a couple years apart during the 1960's. They no longer had the vast fortune they once did. My brother helped to spend much of it and with that gone so was the large townhouse and social standings. In the end they were just a depressing older couple who tried to hold on to the little dignity they had left and they had little."
"It's seems rude and uncaring for me to say they should have gotten a worse fate than that but maybe I'm feeling a little rude tonight. For what they did to you alone they deserved worse." Bella told her.
"Them losing their social standing was a fate worse than death for them so I think they suffered greatly for many years of their life. With your help, I've recently been coming to terms with them not being that great of people. It will take time to get there though."
"I'll be there when ever you need a reminder.I'm by your side.We are a we now so that means we share each others burdens together. It especially means that you aren't alone any more Rosalie. I'm always going to be with you. Until the day you send me away." Bella promised.
"I would never send you away Bella and if you ever did go I would follow you and not give up on you or us no matter how hard you tried to convince me otherwise because you're right I'm not alone anymore and that means neither are you." Rosalie reached across the table to wipe the tears falling down Bella's cheeks.
Bella laughed through a sniffle. "Am I supposed to cry this much on a date? I know I don't have any experience but I'm sure your not supposed to cry on a date."
Rosalie joined in her laughter. "I think it's ok if it's happy tears. They are happy tears right?" At Bella's nod Rosalie added."Then it's perfectly fine. Are you going to want dessert of are you full? Our movie starts soon so we should get going."
Bella thought about it."No I'll get some candy at the theater. Thank you for dinner. I had a great time even with all the crying."
"My pleasure." Rosalie said signing the check and motioning Bella towards the door.