Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. Stephenie Meyer owns anything and everything relating to Twilight. I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended and in order to keep it that way, No reproduction, copying, reposting, downloading, or any kind of redistribution of this story is allowed. This is to cover my arse as much as yours! And finally, the Original characters, plot, names, nicknames, songs, poems—anything I created from my very own brain—are all the property of the author of this fanfic, My-Bella. Unauthorized use of the material is plagiarism so please be kind and don't steal my creations.
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Chapter 50 – Traditions Old & New
Tuesday, August 19th
"Your first day of vacation and your nose is buried in a book first thing in the morning?" Esme questioned.
Bella looked up from her book and smiled. "Pleasure reading at my leisure."
"Edward woke you when he got up to see the sun rise?"
Bella nodded in confirmation. "I would have probably gone back to sleep if Whit hadn't burst in to make sure Edward was up for the 'first rays of the sunshine of vacation'. The ensuing excited jabbering and back slapping woke me completely."
Esme chuckled. "My boys are slightly unhinged. I'd apologize but I kind of love them that way."
"So do I," Bella admitted. "They keep things interesting." She could tell from the way Esme was leaning in the doorway that she wanted to talk so she closed her book and invited her in.
Esme came fully into the room and sat down on the edge of the bed. "I was hoping we could talk about Edward and your uncle. With Alice included of course."
"I'm happy to talk with you but Alice doesn't know about Elizabeth," Bella cautioned. "Edward's not there yet with her."
"Thank you for the warning. While he would completely forgive me for slipping, I'd rather not put him in that position to begin with." Esme reached out and took Bella's left hand into her own. "This ring looks great on you."
"I asked Edward if he was sure about me having it and he told me how he got it, how Elizabeth promised him he'd know the right woman to wear it."
"He likes to claim he never believed it would happen and yet this ring has traveled the world with us. I swear sometimes my kid is the most stubborn in the universe."
"Did he get that trait from his dad?"
"Oh no," Esme answered with a laugh. "That is a hundred percent Elizabeth. She was incredibly stubborn and entirely unafraid to be fierce when necessary. She taught me how to stand up for what's right." She leaned in closer and added, "She also taught me how to fart with my armpit."
Bella cracked up at that admission.
"She would adore you," Esme shared. "She'd admire your intelligence and heart but she'd absolutely adore you for the unconditional love you show Edward. And just between us, she'd be tickled by the way you handle him when he gets his undies twisted."
Bella smiled at the idea of being liked by Elizabeth. "My dad taught me to insist on being treated well."
"He was right to do so."
"He'd like Edward, just so you know. I think they'd have a lot in common actually."
"Loving you being chief among them."
She blushed at that.
"Carlisle mentioned you were worried some of the family might feel the engagement is too soon. But you don't need to have any worries. Calendars are for making sure we pay bills on time, not determining the depth of a relationship between two people. Plus, knowing Edward as well as we do, we know he thought long and hard before he made his commitment to you, and that he believes with his entire being it's the right choice for both of you."
While Bella had never really felt apprehensive about Esme wanting to talk, she still felt a sense of relief at hearing Esme wasn't worried they were moving too fast. "I heard that some recent smaller choices of his gave the impression he was making room for me."
"Whit and Lee don't miss much when it comes to my kid. I've never seen a friendship like the one they have and I am so very grateful for it. He grew up with a brother and later gained a sister, sibling bonds he needed and that I couldn't provide for him.
"Which leads me to one of the main things I wanted to talk to you about. Bella, I'm a mother. I love being a mother. I was completely shit-my-pants terrified my first day as a mother on my own and I still loved every second of it. It's like it's hard wired into me. I'm not always the best at it and I never have all the answers, but I'm always here for Edward and my misfits. I've jumped in a few times as a peacemaker for you and Alice but I've tried not to overstep at the same time. I'm not always sure where the line is so if you ever feel for a second that I'm stepping out of bounds with you, acting too motherly towards you, I want you tell me right away."
Bella squeezed Esme's hand and gave her a genuine smile. "I promise—not that I'll tell you anything like that though. I promise that I'll always do my best to appreciate having you to go to for motherly advice."
Esme teared up and grabbed Bella into a massive hug. "You are so damn sweet and we are lucky to have you in our family."
"I feel the same way about you," Bella promised.
"Why are we up this early on a non-work day?" Alice whined as she tossed herself onto the end of Bella's bed. "Vacations are supposed to include late mornings."
"Okay, but we were going to have a dish session about Uncle Carl. I guess we can have it without you," Bella teased.
"I'm up," Alice exclaimed while scrambling across the bed to sit beside her sister. "I've been dying to hear about your time in Florida, Esme."
Esme blushed. "I'm afraid I didn't see much outside of the house this trip."
"Ooh-la-la," Alice trilled. "I bet you saw a lot of Uncle Carl's room."
The blush on Esme's cheeks darkened. "The man quoted Gone With The Wind to me! What else was I supposed to do?"
Bella and Alice both laughed.
"Maybe we should start calling him Uncle Rhett," Bella suggested jokingly.
"Was it the kissing one?" Alice asked. "That one is such a good one."
Esme nodded and then shared the quote. "You should be kissed, and often, and by someone who knows how."
Bella chuckled. "From the smile you're sporting, I think we can safely assume Uncle Carl knows how."
"He so, so does," Esme assured them with a wide smile. Her expression and tone grew serious. "What I need to know now is how you young ladies feel about my relationship with your uncle."
Bella and Alice looked to each other and smiled, having already discussed this very topic on a number of occasions throughout the last few weeks.
"Esme," Bella said as she faced her. "We feel it's great. He's the uncle he was before our dad passed. He's happy and he makes jokes. He walks barefoot on the beach instead of hunching over a desk. We know he only worked so hard to ensure our futures through the company and we appreciate all he's ever done so much. But we couldn't help missing the uncle who loves time off and ignores schedules and watches."
Alice jumped in to say, "Uncle Carl has so much love to give and you are the type of woman who will appreciate that about him. You're the adventure to his responsibility, a mix that all relationships need. You and him together is totally a-okay with us."
"You'll be missed on the boat, especially by Edward, but knowing that you're with Carlisle sharing an amazing adventure all your own will keep us from being sad."
"I meant what I said last night—I am here for all of you no matter where I physically am in the world," Esme promised.
Bella was about to hug her when Lee suddenly ran into the room panting and shouting out single words. "Upstairs. Now. Masen. Whit."
The women rushed out of the room, through the hall, up the stairs to the kitchen area, and then up another flight of stairs to the viewing deck where they found Gopher glued to a pair of binoculars.
"You just can't make this shit up," he said as he continued to take in whatever he was seeing.
Bella grabbed the pair of binoculars sitting on the chair behind Gopher and aimed them in the direction he was looking. She immediately found two yellow kayaks, one carrying Whit and the other carrying Edward. As she watched them bob along the water, she noticed the dark shadow between them and somehow knew it wasn't a shadow cast by the kayaks.
"Here," Lee said as she pressed a radio into Bella's free hand.
Bella somehow managed not to scream into the handheld while staring at the massive Great White swimming between the guys. "Edward."
He answered within seconds. "Kapu, this is amazing. I wish you could be out here with us. We're just calmly and peacefully following the current. She bumped us each once just to figure out the kayaks but it was a tiny bump and it was just the once."
Bella passed the binoculars to Esme, unable to stomach looking at the display for another second.
"Last night we set course for Kleinmond so we could start our vacation with surfing. When we got up this morning the waves were too rough for surfing so we decided to take the kayaks out instead," Lee explained. "Gopher and I went first and nothing happened. We went out, we came back, and that was it. Whit and Masen headed out and suddenly she was there. He's telling the truth too. She's been extremely calm and just seems to be hanging out with them. He wanted you to see it, Bella. He wanted you to experience this insane and magical moment with him."
"I think I'm going to throw up," Bella admitted.
"Guppy, I have to advise against that. Masen still hates puke on his boat." While she knew Gopher was joking, she was in no mood for it.
"He's okay," Lee promised. "I'd have ordered their asses back here if I thought otherwise."
"Give me that radio," Esme demanded.
Bella passed it over and then watched in awe as Esme did the impossible—she pulled her parent card and encouraged the guys. "Edward Masen and Jasper Whitlock. Do not take one single action that could be misconstrued by that shark as aggression. Take in this once in a lifetime moment and then get those kayaks turned around and get your asses on this boat as quickly and safely as you can."
Alice lowered the binoculars she'd borrowed from Gopher and looked to Bella. Whatever it was she wanted—reassurance, comfort, hope—Bella didn't have it to give right now.
"They're going to be fine," Esme assured them all. "Edward and Whit are professionals and this is not the first time something unexpected has occurred. Of course, it is the first time a shark this large has decided to travel along with them, but even so we have no need to worry. They'll be extra cautious and then they'll be back on the boat."
Bella knew she shouldn't be freaking out. After all, she'd been the one to give the speech about completing her cage dive to learn to accept unexpected encounters since sharks were possible in nearly every body of water. And yet the freaking out was continuing.
Edward's voice came through the radio in Esme's hand. "Mom, give the radio to Bella please."
"I can't talk to him right now," Bella said, backing away when Esme tried to hand her the radio.
Esme gently pressed the radio into Bella's hand. "Sweetheart, I know you're freaking out and you have every right to feel that way. I think he knows it too and that's why he wants to talk to you."
Bella gripped the radio and went over to the loveseat with it. She closed her eyes in hopes it would help with her nausea and took a deep breath before speaking. "I'm here."
"Kapu, I can imagine how scary this seems to you but I need you to look. Not just because I want you to have this memory with me but because you've worked hard all summer to be able to look at something like this and see it for the amazing moment that it is. Don't just see the shape of the shark and shut down. Look at how peaceful she's being just swimming along with our kayaks. You know me. You know if I felt even a little that this shark posed a danger to Whit and me, I'd have us on the boat already. I'd have Gopher drive Galeos to us if need be. Whit and I will be no harm, no foul. I would never let harm come to him and you know that about me. And if you can be brave, if you can put everything you've learned this summer to work for you, you can take in this amazing experience with us."
"Edward." She stopped not sure of what to say to him.
"Kapu, listen closely because there's no way that fear you're feeling will stick around after hearing this … You and I have an adventure of our own to start soon and nothing—not even a big, beautiful shark—is going to stand in the way of that."
"Be safe. Please be safe," she begged him.
"No harm, no foul," he promised her. "Trust me."
"I do trust you. It's them I don't trust."
"Just remember that you trust me a lot more than you distrust her."
He was right about Bella's trust in him and she held tightly to that while making an attempt to share in his experience like he wanted. "Tell me what you're seeing."
"There's the giant ass smile on Whit's face," he shared. "If we were on land, he'd absolutely be doing his cheerleader style jumping around."
"Hey!" Whit yelled out.
"Am I lying?" Edward asked him.
A disgruntled "no" clearly came through the radio.
Bella smiled, picturing the petulant frown she knew Whit was wearing. "What about the shark?"
"She's about seventeen feet long and just barely fitting between the kayaks," Edward shared. "She's got a pretty fresh bite mark under her dorsal fin. Could be she found herself a mate out in the bay and then came in here to be alone."
Bella stood and made her way over to Lee and Gopher. "What was it like when she bumped you guys?" she asked while accepting the binoculars Lee passed her.
"A moment of panic while keeping our asses in the boats and out of the water," he admitted. "But it really wasn't a hard bump. It just took us by surprise."
"Has she tried to bite at your oars?"
"No. Gopher spotted her just before she swam in between us so we had time to pull them out of the water. If you look through the binoculars, you can see them resting on the front of our boats."
"I don't know …" she purposefully trailed off while watching him shift his weight to accommodate for the wave that lifted his kayak.
"Compromise? You look and I'll owe you a favor to be named?"
She smiled over how hard he was trying to make this a good experience for her. "That could be dangerous for you."
"You're just the right kind of danger for me, kapu."
"Said as you swim with a shark," she pointed out.
"Hey, I'm just boating here and she just happens to be swimming in the same space."
"Can't believe you would joke right now."
"Of course I would. How else would I get you to smile?"
"I love you."
"I love you too, kapu."
"Okay, I'm calm-ish now so you put your attention on that shark and be safe like you promised."
"What about looking through the binoculars? Where do you stand on that?"
She grinned as she decided on how to let him know she'd been watching for a little while now. "If you're going to wear my hat, you should at least use it for its intended purpose and keep the sun out of your face."
"Mahalo, kapu."
Hearing his happiness in his voice had her lips turning up in a wide smile.
"~~~^~~~~^~~~^~~~~^~~~^~~~~^"
"Alright, little sister. Bring it in here," Lee said, holding her arms wide open to Alice.
Alice laughed and step into the hug. "I knew you liked me."
"I wouldn't take it that far. But if anybody messes with you at that school, you give me a call."
"Can I call you just to chat?"
"Can you keep it to ten words or less?"
Alice laughed and gave Lee another hug. "See you at Thanksgiving."
Gopher set his hands on Alice's shoulders and leaned down so they were eye level. "Thumper, you stay away from boys and focus on school."
"What about Whit?"
Gopher grinned. "Whit's your man and he's exactly the reason you need to stay away from boys at your school."
"My turn, my turn," Esme exclaimed, enveloping Alice in a huge momma bear hug. "I am going to miss you, sweetheart. I know you're going to have a great semester and so much fun with your sorority sisters. Just don't have so much fun that you forget to check in regularly."
"If not by phone, I will keep you updated by email," Alice promised.
"The two phone calls a week minimum still applies, young lady," Carlisle informed her.
"It's going to be totally a-okay, Uncle Carl," Alice assured him as she wrapped her arms around him. She looked up and smiled at him. "There's so much on my schedule already and I know how much you love hearing every detail of my amazing exploits to make this world a better place."
He leaned down and kissed her forehead tenderly. "Be safe. Be studious. Be responsible. Above all, be yourself and enjoy yourself."
"He says some variation of that every time we've gone off to camp or school," Bella whispered to Masen.
"Internships too?"
She grinned. "Internships get a couple extra 'be safe' pleas and one 'commit to the experience' charge."
"I'd say you took that last pretty seriously based on your work and progress."
"I had a really great mentor." She followed her declaration with a kiss that left him wanting more but he had to keep his hands to himself with her uncle standing just a couple feet away. He glanced at his watch and saw the goodbyes needed to come to an end.
"If we want Whit and Alice to make their flight, we need to leave now," Masen announced.
"Call me as soon as you land," Carlisle said to Alice as everyone made their way toward the front door.
"And call when we get to the house. I know the drill," Alice replied.
"Mrs. Cope will be there waiting for you," Carlisle continued. "She's stocked the fridge with your favorites. And remember, if living at the sorority house isn't working out, you can go home whenever you want."
Alice looked over at Esme. "Make him stop worrying about me, okay?"
"That's not within my powers, but I do promise to make sure it's not all he does," Esme told her.
Carlisle pulled Bella aside and Masen couldn't help himself from eavesdropping. "Make sure she knows she really can tell us if things aren't going well. There won't be any disappointment and we'll help her fix it."
"She's Alice, Uncle Carl. She's going to do it her way no matter what we say. But I will remind her for your sake."
"Thank you, Bug." Carlisle lifted his head and looked directly at Masen. "Drive safely please."
"Absolutely," Masen promised.
"I don't mean wait until you're out of sight for your lead foot to take effect," Carlisle warned. "Drive the speed limits the entire way."
Masen nodded in understanding while Bella giggled over her uncle busting him.
Esme grabbed Masen's arm and tugged him to her. "Kid, make sure you give Alice a real goodbye at the airport. You'll regret it later if you don't."
He grinned and asked, "Wasn't warning her she had to return Whit enough of a goodbye?"
Esme pressed her hands against his cheeks until he was forced to make the fish face. "You soaked up far too much of your mother's smart ass gene when you were baking in her belly."
Masen laughed and pulled her hands away, trapping them against his chest. "Don't forget all the lessons you gave me in dishing out smart ass with class."
"Sure, sure. Blame me for all your bad behaviors."
He laughed again then planted a loud kiss on her cheek. "Love you. See in a couple hours."
"Bella!" Esme yelled out.
She poked her head out of the backseat of the Bronco. "I've got him, Esme."
"That's my girl."
Masen ignored them both, climbed into the Bronco, and started it up.
Whit popped in one of the CDs Lee kept in the truck and once the sound of AC/DC started pouring out of the speakers, he pointed at the road and said, "Hit the highway, bro."
"Don't you want to turn that down so you can hear what the ladies are saying in the back?"
"Nope. This is their time together before they're separated. We have no business listening in or interrupting so a musical screen is required."
"Is this Lee's declaration?"
"Yeah but I fully support it." Whit reached into his carryon bag and pulled out his plane ticket. "So wanna tell me why this ticket has me flying out of Orlando days after I'm already supposed to be gone, and landing in Panama?"
Masen shrugged. "Didn't make sense for you to spend all that time on a plane to Florida just to turn around and get on another flight. This way you get a couple days in Florida and then you meet up with us when we hit the Panama Canal."
Whit grinned and playfully punched Masen in the shoulder. "You softy."
"This is purely logical. What good are you to me if you've got the jet-lag from hell? This way you get time to recuperate and the flight back isn't as long."
"Not to mention I get time with the lady I love before an extended separation."
Masen bit back his smile. "Huh. Never occurred to me, but that's a pretty good side effect."
"You don't fool me, Mase. You never have and you never will."
Masen glanced at him and finally let himself smile. "Maybe I figured it wouldn't be the worst thing for you to have some fun with her to tide you over until you can see her again."
"This is big for you. Normally all you'd be able to see is the fact that I won't be around."
"Yeah, well, I guess we can blame it on all of your nudging this summer."
Whit chuckled. "The role of nudger has been quite fulfilling for me."
"While I can't say I didn't benefit from it, it'll be nice to have you return to your original role of best friend and sounding board."
"I've never let go of that one, bro, and you know it. So why don't you tell me what's on your mind?"
"I know logically there's no reason to be mad at me because you and I didn't plan for that shark to show up this morning, but I feel like maybe Bella is and has a right to be and just doesn't know how to tell me yet."
"She's not mad, bro. She's probably confused and still a little freaked out by the whole thing, but she's not mad. Whatever it is she's feeling, she'll let you know when she has it all figured out. That's her thing. Just like you coming to me and talking until you figure it out is your thing."
"That's got to change, doesn't it?"
"When it comes to stuff about your life with her, yeah. You've got to let her be your sounding board for most of that stuff. But everything else, I'm still here for you."
Masen looked up at the rearview window, finding Alice and Bella with their heads bowed together and big smiles on their faces. "We got really lucky this summer."
"We found our true homes, bro. We can be anywhere in this world and so long as those two are with us, we're home."
"Is that what that feeling is? That ability to feel at peace even at work underwater in a shark cage?"
"That's the one. No matter how unsettled the rest of our day might be, we are completely settled with them."
"Hey, now that you conjure things up from your dreams, how about you focus on some lottery numbers? You could finally get your dad to retire from the surf shop."
Whit guffawed. "That man is never going to retire. He loves talking to people way too much for that. And honestly Mom would not go for him being home all day and being under foot."
"Speaking of moms, what are we going to do about Lee's? Her flair ups are gaining in frequency and intensity. That's hard on her and Lee's dad."
"I figure you, me, and Gopher will head over there and do a bunch of stuff around the house for them. Cut the grass, clean out the gutters, finally hang those shelves she's been wanting to display her tea cups on."
"I was thinking I'd get with Lee and we'd put our engineering skills to use to figure out a way to reduce the steepness of the front steps. I know there are only three of them but that's a lot when all of your joints are hurting."
Whit gripped Masen's shoulder and gave it a shake. "See? Softy."
Masen shrugged his hand off even as he smiled. "Asshat."
Whit slid across the seat and put his head on Masen's shoulder. "But I learned it all from watching you!"
"Get off!" Masen yelled, using his elbow to push Whit away. "I don't want your cooties."
"Too bad, so sad. I snuck them on you on day one of our torrid love affair."
"You're such an ass," Masen said through his laughter.
"Right there with you, bro," Whit replied through his own chuckles. After they'd both calmed down, he seriously said, "You know, this is going to be the best adventure yet."
Masen smiled as the image of two eleven year olds standing in a school hallway came to him—their first adventure. He held a fisted hand out to Whit and asked the same question from that day. "You in?"
Whit grinned and pressed his fist against Masen's. "All in."
"~~~^~~~~^~~~^~~~~^~~~^~~~~^"
Edward's groan pulled Bella out of her book. "What?" she asked.
"Your sister," he said, passing his phone to her.
Masen, thank you again for the hug and the phone number and for the extra days with Whit. I'm so glad you're not the Grinch after all, with a heart that's two sizes too small. Hugs and kisses, Alice.
Bella giggled and looked up at him. "We both know you secretly love this text."
"If that were true, then it wouldn't be much of a secret."
She gripped his face in her hands and brought his lips to hers, giving him a kiss of thanks and love. "I'll keep your secret," she promised.
He snorted. "Right until you see my mom."
"Yeah, I'm just going to go ahead and remind you that your mom and Whit and Lee are all skilled at taking one look at you and just knowing stuff. I'm the one that has to ask questions and hope you'll answer."
"I think I've been pretty good at giving you answers lately."
"You really have." She leaned into him and kissed his cheek.
"What was that for?"
"The way you were so understanding of my bad reaction this morning; that meant a lot to me. I don't think I would have been able to take part if you hadn't been calm with me and talked me through it."
He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to him. "I'm sorry I wasn't the mentor you needed me to be that day at the Ocean Center, and I promise you'll never see that kind of reaction from me again. Not with you or anyone else."
"One of the reasons I've always been able to trust you is the way you own up to your mistakes. Even when you act like an infallible jackass, as soon as you realize you were wrong, you apologize. And you don't just say the words. You put forth the effort to fix hurt feelings and bruised trust. I appreciate and admire that about you."
"Thank you. And I appreciate and admire your willingness to forgive and to give second chances."
Bella smiled teasingly and said, "Ugh! All these compliments passing back and forth. We are so in love with each other it's sickening."
Edward barked out a laugh. "You're ridiculous."
"Hey, you laughed."
"Out of surprise for how much that sounded like a Lee comment."
"I have picked up a few pointers from her," Bella teased.
He smiled as he tucked her hair behind her ear, giving him a clear view of her face. "Have I ever told you when I first started to suspect you were 'ohana?"
"Nope. Tell me."
"You'd been with us all of five days. You'd come out onto the deck and startled me, almost knocked me right out of my chair. And then you teased me about it as if we were already friends. As if we'd never had any rough moments between us. You owed me nothing and yet you gave me everything by wanting to be my friend. Through everything this summer, you never shut me out, even those times I forced you to shut me down. Mahalo."
Bella felt her love for him so strongly in that moment that she had no words to express it, only her kiss. When they finally came up for air, her curiosity took over the conversation. "Do you know you switch to Hawaiian when you feel something very deeply?"
"It's been pointed out to me many times by my family. It's why when I kissed you for my birthday, Esme and Lee didn't blink over the kiss but were shocked when I called you 'kapu'."
"Promise you'll never grow tired of calling me your kapu."
Edward smiled and pressed a kiss to her temple. "That's a silly promise to ask for. Almost as silly as thinking I could ever grow tired of loving you, because that's the only reason I'd ever stop calling you kapu."
Lizzy's bark sounded off in the room.
"That's her walk bark," Bella said as she sat up straight.
He got up from the bed and scooped up his puppy. "Would you want to come with us?"
Normally she would have stayed to read more of her book but tonight she could tell he really wanted her company. Maybe being outside in the open air might calm him enough that he would tell her why he'd been fidgety all night. In just the past hour alone he'd started and stopped five different books, packed his half of the closet, and played with his phone. The last was clearly out of desperation because he no more cared for his phone than she did for hers.
"I'd love to come with you guys," she said, giving him a genuine smile. She grabbed the holder from the night stand and scooped her hair into a ponytail while following him to the front door.
They walked hand in hand along the beach with Lizzy prancing through the sand a few feet ahead of them.
"You'd think she'd have a favorite spot picked out by now," Bella mentioned. It was partly out of curiosity and partly in hopes a neutral topic would loosen his tongue.
"She has one, she just likes to take the long way around to it. She likes to go behind the little dune right up ahead, but not until after she's investigated as much of the beach as I'll allow."
"Do you two share long talks during your long walks?" Bella asked, only partly teasing.
Edward snorted. "All the time. She rarely shuts up about her favorite bones."
"Well sure. She has to carry the conversation since you're so quiet."
He studied her face in the moonlight for a moment. "What's up, kapu? What's on your mind?"
"Trying to figure out what's on your mind. You've had ants in your pants tonight. You haven't sat still for more than five minutes in hours. You've started and stopped reading books, packed nearly everything that's yours in our room, and played with your phone. I've never seen you play with your phone before."
"If I was interrupting your reading so much, why didn't you say something?"
"Just because I noticed what you were doing doesn't mean you were interrupting my reading. And that is really not the point. Something is obviously bugging you."
He gave a small shrug. "It's not that I'm bothered. It's that I don't have a plan."
"A plan for what?"
"For the first night of vacation, Whit and I always go out for beers and we talk about the highs of our season. But he's not here. Lee and Gopher have been in their room all night. Esme's out to dinner with Carlisle." His eyes widened and a guilty expression appeared on his handsome face. "Don't take that to mean I don't want to be with you, please. I love being with you. I'm just … I'm not sure what to do with myself without that tradition."
Bella smiled, feeling like she'd caught on to what he was trying to say. "It's your cue. It's what helps you start to transition from team lead to just another member of the family. You relax in a way that's not allowed during the season while you have one more big work talk before beginning your adjustment into vacation mode. So let's do that then. I'm not much of a beer drinker but I'd love to have a glass of wine. We can sit out on the patio and compare our highs."
"Really? I would completely understand if it's not anything you're interested in so please don't feel obligated."
"I really want to, Edward. It'll be good for us to see things from each other's eyes. We might even have a few highlights in common."
He smiled for the first time tonight. "And I can cook. I know you like to have something to eat with your drink. What are you in the mood for?"
"Do we have any of the burgers left over from last night? Those were amazing."
"I think we have a few left."
"So let's heat those up and add bacon and cheese?"
"Turkey bacon?"
She grinned at the worried look on his face. "Real bacon," she assured him.
"I like the sound of this," he said, smiling wide. "Maybe if we both have fun, then maybe this becomes the new tradition?"
"Maybe so." She moved in closer and put her arm around his back, curling her hand around his side. "We didn't have a lot of traditions—Carlisle, Alice, and me. It was a little weird for me at first to see how many traditions your family has, but now that it's my 'ohana too, I'm really starting to like the thought of participating in old ones and building new ones."
"Then we'll build our first tonight," he promised.
"~~~^~~~~^~~~^~~~~^~~~^~~~~^"
Esme's POV
Esme headed inside while Carlisle went back to the car to get the leftovers they'd forgotten in the backseat. The only light on was a lamp in the far corner of the living room—just enough light to make shadows of the two people spying through the kitchen's cut-through.
She snuck up behind Lee and Gopher. "What are—"
"Sshh!" Lee admonished with a flap of her hand. "He'll hear us."
Esme lowered her voice to a whisper. "What are we watching?"
Gopher snorted. "It's the Masen-corn roaming outside of his normal circumstances yet seemingly functioning well."
"As soon as I realized what had happened, I just knew he'd be leaving his footprints all over the beach," Lee shared.
"What are—" Carlisle began before getting hushed by Esme and Lee.
"What are we doing?" he asked quietly.
"Lee and Gopher are spying on our kids," Esme answered.
"And just what are you doing?"
She looked back at him over her shoulder, wearing Edward's shitty grin. "Checking on the well-being of our kids, obviously."
"Obviously." His agreement dripped of sarcasm and it made her smile even wider. A life spent with this man was highly unlikely to ever be boring.
"I still can't believe he's not wired for sound and pacing the beach," Lee mentioned. "He is Whit-less and missing out on a tradition."
Esme sucked in a breath between her teeth. "Oh, that's right. First night of vacation is beers and bragging. How could I forget?"
"I forgot too," Lee admitted. "I think Whit's absence threw us all off."
"Mase doesn't seem to be thrown off," Gopher pointed out. "From what I've seen so far, he's having a damn good time cutting up with Guppy out there."
"How long have you two been spying?" Esme questioned.
"Ten minutes. At the most. Absolute max," Lee promised.
"Then that's plenty. Go on and get out of here. Get back to whatever you were doing before my kid became your entertainment."
"But, Esme, how can we not look?" Lee argued. "He seems so relaxed and happy and that's always been so hard for him on the first vacation day, to suddenly just not work."
"Let's just be thankful that he is enjoying himself, and give him his privacy so he can continue," Esme replied. She shooed Lee and Gopher away, promising to tell them if anything "major" happened. She was pretty sure all the major things had already happened since Bella was wearing Elizabeth's ring.
With the gawkers gone, Esme took a long look at her son for herself.
Carlisle wrapped his arms around her from behind. "My love, didn't you just say Masen needed privacy?"
"I did and I'll give it to him. I just want to see him this happy for a moment longer. I want to make sure it becomes a lifetime memory in my mind."
"You are such an amazing mother," he said as he pressed his head against hers. "And after seeing these two this way for myself, I'm afraid I'll have to copy you and make this a memory of my own."
"She practically glows with her love for him, Carlisle. And Edward … Elizabeth would be beside herself with excitement. That look on his face—love, devotion, and a deep down happiness. He's not in his head—he's completely with his kapu and it's beautiful."
"Is that anything close to how I looked tonight?"
"Very," she assured him, reaching a hand up to pat his cheek sweetly.
"Do you still want to tell them tonight?"
"No, we'll let them have this night to themselves. We'll tell them first thing tomorrow morning."
"This wouldn't happen to be a way of getting a night to think over your decision, would it?"
Esme turned in his arms, giving him her best scowl. "Carlisle Cullen, how dare you!"
"You answered me so quickly," he defended. "How could I not consider the possibility that you finally realized this, and that you should put some thought into such a major life decision?"
"You know damn well how much thought I've put into this and that it started long before there was a question. Our relationship is the one I've been waiting half my life to experience. There's balance and passion and adventure, and mixed with all of that is family. You accept not only me but every one of my misfits. It's everything I've ever wanted and we make it so much more than that every day we're together. To assume there could ever be more than one answer to your question was fool-hardy on your part, and questioning my answer is just insanity."
Carlisle's smile filled his entire face and made the kiss he tried to give her completely unsuccessful. "I love you too, Esme."
She reached up with her left hand, her new ring shimmering in the lamplight, and grabbed hold of his jacket's lapel. "You have a lot of making up to do for insulting me so, my dear future husband."
"I am willing to make every amend you need, my love."
They both took one last look out the patio door at Edward and Bella, and then they disappeared into their room, not to be seen again until well into the next morning.
"~~~^~~~~^~~~^~~~~^~~~^~~~~^"
Wednesday, August 20th
"Alright, Lizzy," Masen said as he followed his barking, jumping puppy toward the patio door. "I'm following you. You can calm down now."
Masen opened the door to let her out and found Esme sitting alone at the far end of the table. "So you are awake," he said, his lips pulled into a smirk. "Must have been some dinner to make you sleep in so late."
Esme mirrored his smirk perfectly while lifting Lizzy into her lap. The puppy promptly curled into a ball and proceeded to fall asleep. "Dinner ended early in the night. It was the dessert that kept us up into the wee hours of the morning."
Masen chuckled at her while settling into the chair beside her.
"What's it matter anyway? You left me zero packing duties."
He smiled while rubbing at the bridge of his nose. "Yeah, I figured I owed you for cutting your trip short to be here for me and Bella on her first cage dive."
"I did what any good mom would do."
"And I did what any good son would do." He quickly asked her a question to keep her from arguing. "So where's Carlisle? Is he still trying to recover from you?"
"Of course," she answered with a sly grin. "But that has nothing to do with his absence. He's inside taking a business call." She bit at her lip for a moment and then leaned her arm onto his chair. "Hey, Kid, can we talk?"
"Yeah, sure. We've got almost an hour before we have to get back to the docks."
She brought her left hand into his view and wiggled her ring finger. "Carlisle proposed last night."
Masen's momentary shock was immediately replaced with a suspicious survey of her face. "Why are you just telling me this?"
"When we got home last night, you were out here with Bella and we didn't want to interrupt. And I am very sorry that I forgot all about your tradition with Whit."
"It's okay. I mean, it wasn't at first but after I talked to Bella about it, she made it okay. I still missed my best friend, but I liked my night with her too. It was eye-opening to see this whole summer from her point of view. But this conversation should not be about me. Mom, he proposed to you."
"He did," she confirmed, her smile filling her face and brightening her eyes.
"Over dinner?"
"No, it was after. We took a moonlight walk on the beach together. I was telling him all about what to expect from life in Hawaii and he said that if he was going to live with me, then he was going to do it the right way. He pulled a box from his pocket, showed me the ring inside, and then asked me to marry him."
"That's great. That's really great."
"Do you really think so? That this is right for us?"
"You've never been this happy before, Mom. How could it be anything other than right?"
She smiled and pulled him into a hug. "We're so lucky. I'm going to marry a wonderful man who will be there for us in every way, and you have found your kapu."
"And when she's ready, we'll have a wedding of our own."
"Because it's logical?" Esme teased.
"Because it's what I want more than anything else."
"Good answer," she said as she hugged him tighter.
"So full disclosure," Masen said as he sat up to watch her expression. "Was the proposal really that romantic and perfect?"
Esme snorted. "Hoping not to be the only awkward proposer in the family?"
He shrugged.
"The proposer was perfect. It was me who carried on the tradition of awkwardness."
He couldn't stop himself from chuckling. "What did you do?"
"When a man asks a woman to marry him, generally he's not expecting 'Holy Crap' to be screamed at him."
"Mom," he exclaimed with a snort.
"Kid, it gets so much worse. I started off with the initial holy crap and then devolved into this little diddy … I don't mean holy crap as in oh shit why is this happening. I mean it in the best, absolutely positive version that I can't possibly be this lucky. So it's a good holy crap. A great holy crap even. At that point, my brain realized what my mouth was jabbering and I shut up, stuck my hand out, and nodded. Carlisle—sweet, lovable, amazing man that he is—he pretended there had been no word vomit, slipped the ring onto my finger, and then gave me a moonlight kiss that saved the whole thing, taking it from an awkward moment to forget and turning it into a priceless lifetime memory."
Masen had a variety of ways to respond to his mom's confession but in the end he decided to show her the same compassion she'd shown him after he'd bungled his proposal and just barely saved it. He hugged her tightly and sincerely congratulated her. "We've always been good at finding a way to feel lucky about our life, but this summer … It doesn't seem like an appreciative enough word anymore."
"Words fail us because this is all about feelings."
He nodded in agreement and then reached for her hand. "Alright, let me see this ring." One glance was all it took to have him whistling in appreciation. The ring was so unique and beautiful that the only way he could describe it was to say that it was perfect for his mom.
"There's so many diamonds on it," Esme half-whispered. "I feel like it's too much but at the same time, I've never seen anything like it and I completely love it and will never return it."
Masen snorted. "Pretty sure Carlisle has a strict no-return policy with you, Mom."
"Yeah, he's pretty great that way."
"And he's getting a pretty great woman in return. An amazing mom. A supportive friend. Definitely a woman priceless enough to wear an equally priceless ring."
Esme chuckled and playfully pinched his cheek. "There it is. There's your father's flattery."
"Nope," he argued, putting an arm around her. "That's the absolute truth."
She squealed as she lifted her hand so they could admire her ring together. "I'm going to marry a total fox."
Masen laughed long and loud while hugging her, feeling happiness and relief that a man worthy of her had finally come into their lives.
"~~~^~~~~^~~~^~~~~^~~~^~~~~^"
Lee smiled as she picked up her favorite photo from this summer—the new MMR team. Guppy and Masen were in the middle, the core of it all, with Esme squeezed in between Whit and Masen, and Lee standing between Guppy and Gopher. Their team and their family had grown this summer, a call for celebration for damn sure.
As happy as she was for Masen—and she truly was with her whole heart—she couldn't help but be baffled by how quickly his love life had come together. As similar as the two of them were, she'd expected he'd take at least as long as she had to figure out how to let go of the logic and give in to the heart's desires. He'd gone from being stubbornly sure he'd be alone to an engagement—with his mother's ring. How could he be that sure that quickly?
She smiled to herself, realizing the answer as soon as she'd asked the question. Because he loved his kapu. He loved her as much as Lee loved Emmett. With a love like that, there was never a question in the first place.
Emmett's laugh had her looking out the bedroom doorway, spotting him packing the entertainment trunk with Bella. She wondered what he thought about the engagement. She knew he was a believer in marriage and that it was a lifetime commitment no matter what. One of his favorite stories to tell was of how his grandparents had married at sixteen and were still madly in love with each other today. His parents had met in college, his favorite uncle and his wife were high school sweethearts, and his oldest little sister had just gotten engaged to her high school boyfriend. He was also one to say that "when you know, you know".
He knew. He'd known she was the one for him so quickly and she'd taken practically forever in comparison. Maybe that was why he hadn't proposed after three years together. Maybe he was afraid she would take forever to answer again. She didn't think she would. She was pretty sure she'd say "yes" right away. She certainly couldn't picture her life without him so "yes" was both the logical and the heartfelt answer to give.
But what then? What if marrying Emmett meant the end of her career with MMR? What if he wanted marriage to mean settling down in one place? She was well aware that his joining MMR was initially for her, and though he did love their work, it wasn't a part of his identity the way that it was for her and Masen.
She knew none of them would be able to do the research end forever, but she also wasn't ready to let go of it. She loved it too much. But she also loved the idea of being a wife and a mother. Could a baby be raised aboard a boat? Was it too big of a risk?
And what about Masen? How would he feel if she stepped away? They had built this company together and they were far from reaching the goals they'd set for themselves. How would he feel if she gave up on their dreams to pursue her own singular ones with Emmett? How would she feel if he did the same to her? Only, she knew he would never do the same. Masen would lead MMR until both she and Whit decided to step down. He could never trust anyone else to watch over them.
Lee took a deep breath, realizing she was falling into her bad habit of overthinking her life. Emmett loved her and he was not going anywhere. That was the truth to hold onto and focus on. All other trappings of life were just bonuses. If he got it into his head to propose at some point this year, then she'd be thrilled. If not, then she could start the new year off by asking him instead. They had always been ones to follow their own paths more than traditional ways so it wouldn't be a big stretch for her to be the one doing the proposing.
Still, she did love the romance of it all and it would be amazing to have him ask in some romantic way she could gush about forever. Emmett's romantic gestures had never failed to make her swoon, and she had never been one to turn down a good swoon.
Masen's unusually loud laughter had her putting down the picture to go investigate his rowdiness. Lee stepped out of the patio door to find him sitting beside Esme, staring at her raised hand. Shock froze Lee's feet while her stomach dropped. Another engagement that wasn't hers.
Lee immediately shook off the disappointment and indulged in her happiness for Esme. Her own squeal alerted the others and it wasn't long before everyone was on the patio congratulating Esme and Carlisle while Lizzy barked and bounced between them.
Another engagement. Another happy couple.
Lee smiled to herself as Emmett hugged her tight the way she loved. She might not be engaged yet, but she was part of the original happy couple. That was a pretty damn fine thing to be able to say. Right now wasn't her time but she had every reason to believe her time would come. And like she'd decided earlier, if she needed to give it a little push, she would. For now though, she'd just luxuriate in being loved by one of the universe's most remarkable men.
"~~~^~~~~^~~~^~~~~^~~~^~~~~^"
Thursday, August 21st
"Lee, I need a second opinion over here," Masen called across the engine room. "I think this seal might have a touch of dry-rot."
She didn't respond.
And it wasn't the first time she hadn't responded to him today. Lee was always, always a complete professional during the engine room check so whatever had her distracted today had to be major. It also had to be talked about, the same as she would do for him and had done many times.
Masen found her staring at one of the pressure gauges, rhythmically tapping the end of her pen against her lower lip. He watched the gauge himself for a moment just to make sure she wasn't actually recording an oddity in its numbers, and then he squatted down beside her.
"You expecting the numbers to change for some reason?" he asked.
Her lips curved up in a smile. "They better not."
"What's on your mind, Lee-Lee?"
She waved her hand to indicate the entire room. "Work."
"If work was on your mind, you wouldn't still be on the fourth line of your checklist."
"It's nothing, honestly. Just thinking about my mom."
"I'm sure your mom is on your mind, but it's not what's festered in your head right now. So talk."
"Mase, we have a lot to do today and no time for this," she said as she scribbled the numbers from the gauge onto her checklist.
He swiped the clipboard from her and held it hostage behind his back. "After all the shit I've had to fess up about this summer, no way in hell are you going to clam up on me now. Talk."
"It's silly. I'm being a silly girl for a change and we are both better off ignoring me and getting back to work."
He couldn't let his friend suffer in silence. He moved so that he was sitting on the floor with the clipboard laid down behind him, making it clear with his actions that a conversation was going to take place. "Remember that first semester together and all the inside jokes we had that drove Whit insane? Especially our 'of doom' bit? That's still my favorite. Everything sounds better when you add 'of doom' at the end. Well, maybe not everything. We can both agree 'shark of doom' doesn't sound that great."
Lee smiled a little and kicked his foot with hers. "Don't say that around Guppy."
"See what I mean? You give me great advice all the time. Just this once, let me give you some. Tell me what's bothering you."
A snort escaped her. "Mase, I know you like the back of my hand. Life advice is not your area."
"That has been true in our long, storied history, but with all you and Whit and Esme have taught me this summer, I'm betting there's something I've picked up that will work for you."
"You really want to have this talk?"
"Yes." And then his straight face melded into a goofy grin. "Let's have the conversation of doom."
Lee sat silently and tapped her fingers along the edges of her shoes for a few minutes before looking straight at him. "Out of the two of us, I've always been the one to adapt quicker. I've always had an easier time at recognizing and correcting my habits while you've needed yours pointed out and explained. So how is that you're the one who's engaged?"
"That's your worry? That Em hasn't proposed to you yet?" Masen couldn't wrap his mind around such a ridiculous idea so she was definitely going to have to explain it to him.
"I know I can be as big of a pain in the ass to live with as you have ever been. And Em has always accepted that about me. But what if I just assumed he accepted it? What if that's what's holding him back? Because he knows he can't put up with me forever?"
"Lee, when you are a pain in the ass, it's over and done just as quick as it started and there's always a reason for it. What we see on the daily from you, it's love and understanding. It's a shit-ton of support. It's the absolute fact that if we need anything and you can provide it, you will give it. So no. Your occasional flair ups are not what's holding Emmett back."
"Then why hasn't he asked?"
"It has to be because he hasn't finished prepping for it yet. The man loves big productions. Look at his treatment of birthdays. And every year I watch him celebrate your anniversary like it's the biggest national holiday. Hell, half the time I get suckered into helping him with whatever scheme he's dreamed up. He can't do anything big when we're out to sea. For all you know, he's cooking up something major for when we get home. But even if he's not, it doesn't mean he doesn't want to marry you. It just means he hasn't decided when to ask you. And trust me, the when is very important because us guys have to feel certain you women are going to say 'yes' to putting up with our bullshit for the rest of our lives."
The shine in her eyes told him she wanted to believe but was scared to fully commit to something based on feelings and not logic. "What if you're wrong?" she whispered.
"If you really think I'm wrong, then ask him outright. Emmett always says exactly what he thinks and means. There is no subterfuge with him. No sugarcoating of any kind."
She gave a half-hearted shrug. And then she looked directly at him. "How did it fall together so easily for you?"
Masen barked out a laugh. "Easily? Are you fucking kidding me? Lee, you were standing right beside me for some of the biggest fuck-ups I committed this summer. How the hell could you possibly think anything about this summer was easy for me?"
"You're engaged, aren't you?"
"I am," he agreed with a nod. "But not because any of it was easy. My stability and happiness with Bella is owed completely to the loving family that I have. If it wasn't for you, Whit, and Esme, I wouldn't even have her as a friend. You guys gave me the support and tools I needed to make her my kapu, and the confidence to ask her to marry me. None of it has been easy and I don't expect that to change anytime soon. But I know I belong with her. Just the same as you and Emmett both know you belong together. Engagement or not, you two are going to spend your entire lives together.
"Think about it, Lee. When it comes to relationships, we would both agree Emmett is better at it than both of us put together. Hell, look at how long it took me to stop fighting my feelings for Bella."
Lee snorted. "Are we talking initial attraction or when you finally removed your chastity belt?"
"See! That's exactly what I'm talking about. When I finally admitted I cared for Bella, I turned right around and instituted that stupid line, convinced I was right and all of you were wrong because the logical way to handle things was to protect the company and our careers above all else."
"Jeebus, you were so damn frustrating at that point. I wanted to smack the hell out of you."
"I know. And I also know you never gave up on me. You kept telling me I was being an idiot and explaining why you felt that way. You told me that story about the first time you told Emmett you loved him and how hard that had been for you. You warned me not to repeat your mistake and I listened. It didn't go as smoothly as the logical plan I had come up with, but I did tell Bella I loved her. The point of saying all of this is to remind you how much smarter Emmett is than me when it comes to relationships. He's not going to let you go. He knows he has everything he needs and wants with you."
"Be honest," Lee said, her lips curled in a smirk. "How much does it chap your ass to say he's smarter than you?"
"About as much as it's chapping yours not to be the first one in our group to do something. I know you really are worried about how Emmett feels, but I also know there's a layer of competition there too. Like you said about me, I know you like the back of my hand."
"You really think he's going to ask me someday?"
"I would bet on it and you know how I feel about betting."
"It'll be the 'bet of doom'," she joked with a happy laugh.
Masen snorted and reached over to drag her into a hug. "Just because the goon marries you doesn't mean he gets to keep you. You were my family first. You're always going to be my Lee-Lee."
"And you'll be my asshat," she said, chuckling and patting his cheek. "Love you, Mase."
"Love you, too." He reached behind him, snagged her clipboard, and dropped it onto her lap. "Now stop worrying about stupid shit and make sure my boat's sea-worthy."
"Excuse me, but this is my boat. I keep this engine pristine. You just get to drive her around sometimes."
"Whatever you have to tell yourself," he said as he got to his feet.
She grabbed his hand and gave him a genuine smile. "Thank you."
"Whatever you need, whenever you need it," he promised just as he always did on those rare occasions when he was the one helping her.
"~~~^~~~~^~~~^~~~~^~~~^~~~~^"
A/N:
We hope you all enjoyed this chapter. We've put up pics of the visiting shark and Esme's ring our blog page at masenmarineresearch at blogspot dot com
Next chapter will have Bella meeting the extended family back in Hawaii!