I put this off as long as I could just because I wasn't ready to say goodbye. I've been writing these characters and The Rec since August 2017. I don't think I'll ever NOT think of them to be honest. I think I'll always be reminded of them in some way as I go about my day to day life. That's what happens, though, right? Even when I try to keep it cool, remind myself these people are fictional, it always hurts to say goodbye.

So maybe it's not a goodbye. Maybe I'll get an idea for an outtake or something somewhere down the line and I'll write something up and post.

I hope you've enjoyed this journey as much as I have. This chapter will post and then I'll quickly follow it up with a shorter epilogue and then I'll mark this story Complete.

We're back in Present Day where we left off at the wedding. We went back to reflect on their lives when Edward had given Charlotte away to Peter, right when he was passing her hand into his.

Here we go.

Remember when

We said when we turned gray

When the children

Grew up and moved away

We won't be sad

We'll be glad

For all the life we had

I had time to prepare for this day.

Plenty of time – over a year, in fact.

I had asked Emmett numerous times how he had done it. How he had survived giving away his own daughter a year before now. We were all in attendance for Rose and Emmett's daughter's wedding, as all of us and our kids had grown up together and had remained close over the years, and when I had looked at Emmett, on the surface he seemed the exact way he had been since I had known him.

He had always been very real, very matter-of-fact, and had accepted this milestone in his daughter's life as exactly what it was: another part of life.

I, on the other hand, am having a hard time accepting this new chapter in my book of life that I am moments away from turning the page to. I can't stand in my place beside Bella in the front row and not exhale the emotion I feel threatening to explode. My exhales come in slow exits from my lungs, my mantra of keeping it cool on repeat in my head but not reaching the depths of my heart that hold the love for my daughter.

I watch her standing a few feet in front of us on the altar, adorned in lace beneath the cover of a flowing veil, and besides the day she was born, this may be the most beautiful I have ever seen Charlotte.

When Peter begins to recite his vows, his words echoing the promises I have said to her since they placed her in my arms all those years ago, a slip of that emotion I've been working so hard on withholding slips through my eye and slides down my cheek.

It's Bella's hand sliding into mine that reminds me that if Charlotte's marriage to Peter is anything similar to Bella's and mine, Charlotte is about to live the best years of her life.

Those beginning years where we had barely enough money for food, let alone any other expenses. Those years when money didn't matter – the only thing that mattered was getting lost in each other whenever we had the time. Those years when we could barely control ourselves from one hour to the next, never able to take our hands off each other for that first year or two of marriage.

Bella gives my hand a squeeze, a reminder to focus on what is happening in front of us, no matter how hard it is to watch, instead of reverting to safer times from the past in my head. I nod minutely, grateful for the reminder, and smile involuntarily as I listen to Charlotte on the altar.

It's her time now to recite her vows, the words coming from her mouth sounding softer than I have ever heard from her in her twenty-five years. Charlotte, notoriously outspoken, has softened around the edges on account of Peter, and I shake my head and stare in awe at the one man who has been able to bring her back down to earth from the life she's lived within the clouds.

It makes me think of our wedding, when Bella officially became mine, when I was the one who had taken her hand from her father's. Thinking of Charlie makes me seek him out in the seats, sitting in the same row from us on the other side of Bella. She's taken on the role of Caregiver in the recent years, after Charlie's declining health and Renee's passing. Charlie's nurse has accompanied him here today, as Bella will be busy most of the day performing duties as Mother of the Bride.

It's her first and only time in this role, and she is determined to be the best Mother of the Bride there ever was. Not that Charlotte would ever complain and think anything negative regarding Bella; watching the two most important women in my life nurture their relationship as mother and daughter has been one of the most rewarding things I have ever witnessed.

I'm not the only one with tears in their eyes, I realize when Bella naturally presses her head against my shoulder, watching Charlotte and Peter exchange rings in front of their family and friends. She tries to wipe them away as best she can as not to smudge the makeup they all had done in honor of today's event.

Judging by the fumes that permeated through The Rec earlier, I think it's pretty safe to say that no one's makeup is going anywhere today.

The smile Charlotte sends to the crowd after they're pronounced husband and wife is bright enough to keep any clouds away, both of their arms raised together in the air in a fierce symbol of togetherness.

They remind me so much of Bella and I it makes me wholly understand what they are feeling at this exact moment. I know how it feels to profess your love towards the love of your life in front of everyone else in your life that matters to you. I know how it feels to know that the hard part of the day, the ceremony, is over. The rest of the night will be a chance to dance and drink off the stress of planning the wedding, the chance to celebrate the start to a bright and healthy future.

When they've retreated up the aisle, thoughts of tripping or falling on the damn runner on the ground a lost thought to them all, the guests begin to trail after them to greet them at the entrance to cocktail hour located a little further inward on the property.

I hesitate in the front row, now empty of everyone but me. I can hear the squeals of excitement coming from down the way where congratulations and champagne are being served by the wait staff. I let the sounds of happiness echo throughout the area, shoving my hands deep into my pockets in reflection. I stare at my feet, at the way tiny spring flowers sprinkle the grass as I walk away from the crowd and towards the edge of the trees.

"Dad, you comin'?"

Benjamin's voice appears at my side, and I look up from my daydream on the grass to see he's not yet joined the cocktail hour. He's just as striking at thirty-two as he was when he was 18, the joy of the day evident in his eyes. He plans on enjoying every moment of his little sister's wedding, and we all celebrate how their relationship has matured and deepened into something beautiful over the years.

"Yeah, yeah. In a minute. You head on up," I reassure him, giving him a clap on the shoulder to send him on his way without needing to worry about me.

"You sure?" He asks, giving me one final chance to walk over with him. I nod my head, resolute in my decision to stay behind for a few extra minutes of peace before joining the rest of them.

"Absolutely."

An arm snakes its way around mine, solidifying my decision even more. Bella, still holding onto my arm, reaches a hand over to Benji's and gives it a squeeze in confirmation. "We'll find you."

Benjamin nods at both of us, knowing that we'll be in good hands with one another. He gives us each one more hug before he heads on over to join our family and friends.

When we're alone, Bella leans back into my shoulder, still holding onto my arm and lets out a well-deserved sigh of relief. I chuckle quietly in my place next to her, turning us so we have the perfect view of the guests down the property against the lines of trees that encircle this little slice of heaven we've created together over the years.

"He did good up there today. Peter."

Bella moves so she's giving me a questionable stare. "Are you implying you didn't?"

I think back to our wedding day when I was the one standing on the altar here at The Rec, hands shaking in anticipation of the ceremony. Marrying Bella was the easy part – it was doing it in front of a crowd of people that had me wishing we had eloped.

"I was nervous," I admit with a soft laugh, remembering that seeing Bella before the wedding had helped calm my jitters. I make a general circular motion in the air in front of us now. "The people."

She shakes her head and places her head back against my shoulder. "You didn't show it."

I wonder what runs through her head when she thinks back on the day we were married. I know what I think about, the sight of her agreeing to spend her life with me permanently engraved in my mind.

"I couldn't take my eyes off of you." I answer, looking down at her again the same way I did all those years ago. "Still can't."

"I know that feeling." Bella concedes, her hand tapping against my arm in understanding. We quiet ourselves for now, enjoying the sound of the trees and tall grass whistling with the early evening wind. The sounds of laughter and live music are the sounds we dreamed of hearing here at The Rec, and in the almost thirty years of The Rec being reopened, the sound never gets old.

"How did we do it?" I ask Bella, knowing that weddings tend to make me take several strolls down memory lane. Today, on the day of our daughter's wedding, I can't help but think of everything that lead us here to this moment.

"I'm not sure. But somehow," Bella shakes her head in disbelief, "we pulled it off."

The years of court proceedings, projectile vomit, flu battles, dance recitals and soccer tournaments run through our minds on a reel. First steps, college acceptance letters, broken arms and missing teeth join them for an encore performance.

"I think they'll both be okay. Happy."

Our pursuit of Benjamin and Charlotte's happiness over the years has never waned; if anything, it has only strengthened when we realized the love Bella and I share is the kind of love we want for our kids. The look on Charlotte's face today convinced me that Bella and I had done something right when it came to raising her.

"Are you kidding? Look." Bella moves a little to the left so I can have a better view. "At both of them."

They stand together next to the table reserved for the bride and groom, a photographer in front of them snapping the smiles on their faces to secure this moment in time. Peter is standing next to the photographer with an arm around Benjamin's date, Leah. Leah hasn't been around for too long, but I know she must be significant enough in Benjamin's life for her to come to his sister's wedding as his date.

I'll have to ask him about her.

"I see."

And I do see.

I see Charlie comfortably sitting in his wheelchair at the table reserved for him. I see Heidi and Marcus sitting next to him at the same table. I see our friends making their way over to their table, Jasper and Alice, Emmett and Rose. I see The Rec looming in the distance, overlooking it all as if that is the sole purpose it was erected in the first place.

I see it all.

"Thank you." Bella sighs from her place against my shoulder, our bodies swaying softly to a rhythm only we know.

"For what?"

"For this. For this life." I feel her head shake against me. "I don't know if I've ever said the actual words."

She has, of course. She's spoken the words and she's shown me the words. In either instance, she's wrong.

"Thank you?" I question her, moving a step away so I can see her face. The wind picks up and blows a curl of hair an inch out of place, but it doesn't take away her beauty.

"You gave me a life better than I ever hoped for," she replies, and I let out a laugh before reaching to hold her within my arms again.

"Are you going senile already, woman?"

"Edward. Cullen."

I'll never grow too old where I won't enjoy teasing her like I did when were kids. I'm still a kid at heart, and at this point, I don't think that will ever change.

"I have to wonder when you say things like that." I explain, but I shake my head anyway. "It was all you, though."

"Me?"

I nod and continue. "Yup. You and that soccer ball."

"You didn't have to play," she answers with a laugh.

Imagine if I didn't play. Imagine if I had sat on the bench while the rest of them got to meet the new girl in town.

There was never a chance in hell that I could have said no.

"I never had much of a choice when it came to you. It was like you came here out of nowhere to save me. It only makes sense that I give you a life that you deserve."

"Both." Bella corrects me again for the millionth time in our life together. "That we both deserve."

We seal this conversation with a kiss and a tap on her hand, and I point us in the direction of the party that is beginning to come to life without us.

"Shall we?"

"We shall."

-tr-

"How you holding up?"

I turn at the sound of Jasper's voice later on in the night, after the speeches and food and cake have been served. Those were just fillers for when we all needed a break from dancing the night away. Weddings gave us all an excuse to cut loose; drinking and dancing and having a great time doing both of them together was a desire that never had left any of us.

It turned out to be a beautiful day from morning until night, the rain and winds holding off just enough for all of us to thoroughly enjoy and celebrate the occasion. Everything had gone off according to plan, which made Charlotte happy, which in turn made us all happy.

The bartender was the one reaping the benefits of our good moods as he kept the drinks flowing and his tip jar overflowing.

I look down at where I'm sitting, noticing that it's not my chair I'm sitting in. I'm not even at the right table.

"This chair here is doing a pretty good job, yeah?"

"Of holding you up? Barely," Jasper laughs, pushing me over a bit in this borrowed chair so I'm not slouching as much as I had been, apparently.

I blame the open bar.

"It's my little girl's wedding," I defend myself, reaching for the bottle of beer in front of me, "and it cost me a fucking fortune. I think I deserve this."

"He weeps for his bank account," Emmett's booming voice and clap on my shoulder almost sends me sliding over the edge of my chair again.

He's not lying. My bank account over the last year has taken many hits due to this wedding, but when I look around and see empty chairs and a full dance floor, my daughter's smiling face at the center of it all, I know it's all worth every last penny.

"Amen to that," Alice says, joining us at the table and sitting down in one of the vacant seats. I still have no idea whose table this is.

"Another success," adds Rose who appears at Emmett's shoulder with Bella trailing behind her. The six of us make ourselves comfortable, most likely the first time any of us have sat down in hours. Silence lulls over our group, the chirps from the crickets sounding more abundant in the late evening and the softening of the music coming from the live band. It's a comfortable silence as we all think of the successful turning points in all of our lives. As individuals. As couples. As a collective group of six.

"And again, as always, The Rec never disappoints."

It's Alice who adds in the last statement.

"Never." Emmett agrees as all of us nod our heads in unison.

I take this time to look over at the log cabin further along down the grass.

I've been staring at this building for as long as I could remember. Bella had entered The Rec as a ten-year-old in fifth grade. The rest of us had been around for longer, unknowingly jumping onto the path that would lead us here.

We had been eight.

I had just turned fifty eight years old not too long ago, and if my alcohol enhanced math skills are accurate, that would mean that I had been here, at The Rec or some form of The Rec, for the last fifty years of my life. I don't count the years between the end of Felix's reign and the start of mine as time away from The Rec because even though the doors were closed and locked and windows sealed left to decay, The Rec was still a huge part of our lives.

Not only was The Rec a backdrop for us and all of our rites of passage, but it also remains open to repeat the same history in others here in this little town of Forks, Washington. The legacy of The Rec remains intact, no matter the renovations or additions it has had over the years and will have in the years to come. The Rec ended up becoming the missing piece in this mountain town, and I know firsthand just how important a place like this, where everyone can gather together on equal ground, can be in a little kid's life.

So does Benjamin.

I watch him now, still on the dancefloor with his birthmother, Heidi, and I smile knowing that he is here because of this dream of inclusion. He is here because we believed each child should have a place of comfort, no matter where or who it belongs to. This safe place, this haven for a sense of belonging, continues to prove time and time again that home is where the heart is.

The Rec is a home for all of us.

But my safe space, my haven, is sitting comfortably in my lap, her role as Mother of the Bride eventually getting the better of her. Her shoes disappeared hours ago, replaced by a simple pair of flip flops that have led her in many dance moves for the evening. She drapes herself across me like she's meant to do it, and I concede and agree that, yes, she is made for this.

Made for me. Made to be the matriarch of our content and perfect family of four. Made to be the one who brings it all together.

"You guys taking the shuttle to the hotel?" Bella asks sleepily, stifling a yawn as the music begins to fade.

"Yeah, the next one leaves in a half hour or so." Rose answers, tapping Emmett so he can stand next to her.

"You can stay here," I offer, following suit and standing up like the rest of them as the dance floor fills up again for one last song, "there's plenty of room."

They all politely decline, having already paid and reserved rooms down at the hotel for the evening. We had hired a shuttle service to take guests to and from the hotel as needed for the evening so no one would have to drive after all the opportunities of indulgence offered this evening.

"One last dance?"

We all look at each other at Jasper's suggestion, knowing it holds more meaning than just dancing to a song to end the night.

It's another thank you to The Rec, to the place that will always connect us all, no matter where we are or how far apart, we may be.

The six of us head onto the dance floor, staying close enough as a group to enjoy each other's company for these last minutes but also far enough apart so there's a separation for each couple.

My eyes close as a fresh wind blows from the trees, wrapping my arms more tightly around Bella so she doesn't get too cold.

"Can we cut in?"

Bella and I open our eyes to see Benjamin and Charlotte standing in front of us, eager to split us up for one last twirl on the dance floor.

"Of course." We make the switch easily, Benjamin careful not to pull Bella too hard into his arms. I'm just as careful when I take Charlotte into mine.

"What'd you think, baby?" I ask a few minutes into our song. "Was it everything you wanted?"

"More," she breathes into my chest, her arms circling around me even tighter. "So much more."

I let out a sigh, kissing the top of her head in relief.

"Good."

We sway together in silence for the remainder of the song, each of us taking in the beauty and madness of the day. Like Bella had said earlier, somehow we managed to pull off another major event in our lives and here at The Rec.

"Thank you, Daddy." Charlotte whispers from her spot against my chest. The song is almost at its end, the crowd preparing to take their leave. "For everything."

I know she's not talking about tonight. I know she's talking about the last twenty-five years. I know we're both entering a new phase tonight, and it's her way of acknowledging that even though things will be different from here on out, some things will never change.

"Always." I answer, squeezing her again one last time. When we pull apart, I keep my arms around her to ask her one last question. "Do you still have the letter I gave you?"

It seems like a lifetime ago I had given her the letter I wrote to her even though it was just hours before. I had wanted to save it for after the wedding, give it to her now instead of earlier, but I had caught one look of her earlier today and had felt compelled to give it to her then.

"Of course. Pockets, remember?" She jokes and reminds me, tapping the side pocket of her dress where my letter remains untouched.

"How could I forget?" I admonish myself with a laugh, remembering how having pockets in a dress was supposed to be revolutionary or something.

"I'll read it. I promise."

"I know."

Later that night, when all the guests have gone home, Bella and I rest in our bed for the evening. The bed overlooks a window that has been with us on this ride through life since the very beginning. We leave the curtain open so we can see it all; every last star and speck appearing in the night sky above the trees does not go unnoticed to us. We stay that way for a while, both of us bone tired, on the brink of exhaustion, but we don't think about closing our eyes and succumbing to the weariness this day has brought us.

Instead, we hold each other beneath the sheets, beneath the stars, beneath it all. We stay that way until neither of us can take it any longer, our dreams pulling us under and away from our perfect little world.

We sleep.

We sleep until a few minutes before the sun rises, neither of us wanting to forget the way it looks this morning, the day after our daughter's wedding. After the sun has risen and the world is blanketed by its arrival, we doze back to sleep for a little longer.

When do wake up again a little while later, we can hear the clambering of pots and pans in the kitchen down the hall, but it doesn't pull us out of this spot just yet.

We savor it for as long as we can.

We listen to the morning sounds of The Rec, the forest surrounding us offering a live show of its natural beauty. We enjoy a breakfast with Benjamin and Leah, who I can tell feels at home within these walls and within our family.

We like her.

"You'll be by tomorrow?" Benjamin says a little while later when Bella and I are walking towards our car. The three of us stop when we reach the end of the gravel driveway where our car is parked. Benjamin continues, opening the car door for Bella after giving her a hug goodbye. "I'm expecting a delivery and can use some help."

I nod in agreement. "Yeah, of course. What time?"

"Does seven work for you?"

I give him a smile, knowing that he already knows the answer I'll give him. "I'll be here."

"Thanks, Dad. Love you."

"Love you, too."

I give him one last hug before he turns to go back inside his home.

Inside The Rec.

The decision had been easy when I felt the time was coming a few years ago.

Benjamin knew The Rec like I did. The Rec had been a part of him in the same aspects The Rec was part of me, and when I had begun to catch the bug for travel after our trip to New York for Christmas a few years before that, I knew it was time to make the decision about continuing my duties at The Rec.

I had given it my all, sometimes even more than that, for the majority of my life. It was time to pass on the tradition to my son, who had sobbed in my arms when I had presented the idea to him. He cried for the days he spent here as a kid, he cried for the years as a teenager when I made him clean the bathrooms here after an event, he cried for the sense of purpose this place had given him.

He cried knowing that now he was in charge of providing others with the same joy The Rec had given him.

It's a job he doesn't take lightly, and he has been pouring his heart and soul into it these last three months since I had stepped down. Bella and I had found a tiny, simple cottage overlooking a quiet and secluded lake where we would spend the rest of our years together. It was close to The Rec, still in Forks and within driving distance, as I could not picture ridding myself of all things having to do with The Rec just yet.

Benjamin had moved into The Rec when he had accepted my offer, and we had spent the last three months living together under one roof, which definitely had its drawbacks at times. But it also allowed Bella and I to have one last night together beneath the ceilings, in front row of a morning sunrise, surrounded by walls that we had constructed ourselves over our lifetime there.

We had rebuilt it in our twenties, falling back in love so quick and so fast amongst the ruins. We rebuilt it again when our family grew from two, to three, and then to four. We rebuilt it when the guests of The Rec grew and grew, as well.

It would rebuild again.

It always would.

With each turn of the page and each close of a chapter, The Rec would be there, waiting on the next page.

I grab Bella's hand as we slowly disappear down the driveway, both of us turning one last time to look back at a part of our lives that would never really and truthfully be over.

We prefer it that way.

The Rec had brought us a life so beautiful we had no choice but to reflect on each and every part.

As hard as it was to leave it behind, we had each other.

The Rec would always be our home, no matter where we lived.

It would live on in our children. In their children. In forgotten children like Benji and I.

In all of the children.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for reading this. I hope these characters have brought you happiness in the same way they have brought it to me.

When I had marked The Rec complete, I felt there was still more story to tell. Well, this was it. Now I can mark it Complete and feel that it is truly that. Complete.

I hope you all stick around for a while. This mind of mine never stops. I'll be in your inboxes again.

Try out my new one, The Muse in the Shadows, if you're up for sticking around with this crazy mind of mine. Join my Facebook group, Lily Jill Fics, for teasers and other friendly discussions.

More importantly, stick around for the Epilogue.

I'm sure you want to know what was in Edward's letter to Charlotte.

3 Jillian