June 20th, 2005

Dear Bella,

it seems weird to call you that. But, one day you and Edward came to me and told me that Edward thought that we should start calling you Bella instead of Isabella because Bella means beautiful. It killed both Edward and I that you did not think that you are or want to believe it. You eventually wanted to try to believe that you are beautiful since Edward and I agreed that you are. Some kids tried bullying you into thinking that you are anything but beautiful and Edward nearly got arrested when standing up for you. Ever since that day, everyone has called you Bella instead of Isabella. I think it is a great name for you.

To be honest, at first, I was not a fan of the change. You have always been my Isabella. I did not like Edward dictating the name you are going to be called. But, once he explained it to me, I was more than okay with the change and his reasoning of helping you. That was probably the first time that he has ever been that way other than your safety. I am grateful that he is the man that you have chosen to be your boyfriend throughout high school and the man that you have decided to be your future husband.

Today is Edward's nineteenth birthday and your combined graduation as well as his birthday party. As you know, he should have been out of high school last year, but when he was out of school because of the car accident, it was decided that he would stay back a year. He would have you in his classes and that was going to help. It actually made him very happy that you could possibly be in his classes once he moved here. You were also really happy about it.

You both became competitive over grades and it did wonders for you both. You could have been valedictorian if your gym teacher Coach Clapp did not give you that low grade after your car accident. But, second best is still amazing! You and Edward taking AP courses actually was one of the better things that you could have done. You both got full-ride scholarships to several colleges. You both got accepted to the University of Washington, Dartmouth and Yale, which made Carlisle, Esme, Evelyn, and I so very proud. You decided over the summer to take summer classes at Yale to get more ahead so you both will be even more ahead then you are now. You both decided on different fields of study, not to our surprise. You want to be an environmental lawyer and he wants to be a doctor, what kind is still to be determined. He is thinking about Neurosurgery, possibly Peds. He would be great at that. Or really anything he does.

I was planning on giving this and all the older letters to you before your graduation party but decided to wait and see if you would answer Edward's question the way that everyone thought you would. And sure enough, you said yes!

If any other boy was asking me to marry you, especially at this point in your life, I would not have agreed. Edward, over the entire time he has known you, has been nothing but a gentleman and a protector for you. As much as I would rather you both wait to get married, I understand that you want to get married before going to college because you have been waiting for marriage for...I really don't want to think about it.

Thank you, Bella, for respecting yourself enough to stay on the right path. For going to school, working hard, and getting a full ride to college with your new fiance. I am more proud of you than words can say. You could have ended up like Jessica Stanley and Lauren Mallory. Jessica has twin boys with Mike Newton who are seven months old, Caden and Camden, and they just barely graduated. Lauren has a daughter and a son, Lakelyn Mary, who is almost two years old and Larken Morgan who is three months old, and there is no telling who their fathers are or if they have the same one. She did not graduate. She got her GED, which is better than nothing. Someday, I want to be a Poppa, but not any time soon. Get your degree, help save the lands of La Push and have Edward be the best doctor ever.

By next week, you will no longer be Bella or Isabella Marie Swan. You will be Bella or Isabella Marie Swan Cullen. I have nothing but pride in the fact that you will be a Cullen and not a Masen after the man that tried to kill Edward and his sister Eden. That was a cluster of clusters. I was so happy when Esme and Carlisle got custody of both Edward and Eden after those idiots lost their rights and Edward and Eden both changed their last names from Masen to Cullen. It will make your lives so much easier. Especially if Edward ever decides to be a doctor, especially around here.

The funniest part is that between Esme and your friends Angela and Alice, I have no doubt that you will have a great wedding. Even if it's a quick one. Pastor Webber is going to officiate thanks in part to Angela, his daughter. I am told that you are borrowing Granny Evie's wedding dress and veil. I have seen pictures of it and I think you will look amazing in it. Granny will be so happy to hear that you are wearing it, I am sure. Nobody told me the details, but I am sure that you will be the most beautiful bride in the world.

It will be sad that Renee will not be there. It makes me sad that her choices made it so you lost her as a mother when you were a baby. I wish that I could have changed that for you, but then you would not be the beautiful woman you are today.

What these years have taught me is that nothing in life is promised to us. We have to make the best of everything we are given and pray it is enough. I am grateful to the years I have been given with you and the memories we made and will make in the years to come. People ask me if I wished that I had a son. Not a snowball's chance in hell! I got the child that was meant for me to have and that child was you. And in a few days, I will be adding a son to the list. The two of you will be a great couple who will weather all the storms of this life. Whether you want to or not. You have been each other's half since you first met.

Contrary to what Jacob used to say.

Speaking of Jake, he is finally fully on board with your relationship. He met a girl who seems to make him think that what he had for you was not an imprint. It was pure lust. He is lucky that I did not kill him. That girl, Vanessa, has her work cut out for her, that is for sure! Pray for that girl, she needs all the help she can get!

On that note, I am off to bed. I am sure that there will be a lot of women here tomorrow trying to sort this wedding out. I mean, it's like what. Four days away? I think that is what you said to Esme. It's been a long but great day. I love you, my darling Bella.

Love always,

Daddy