Surprise

Part 2

"What are we going to find Edward in a fancy restaurant?" I asked Alice for about the thousandth time in ten minutes. "Some leftovers or something?" She didn't respond. She had stopped after about the third time.

You really need a new car was her response. "I'm getting very tired of having to actually go the speed limit."

"If you tell me what's at the restaurant, I'll let you get me a new car for Christmas." I offered, hoping the temptation of getting me a new car would over throw her excitement of knowing something that I didn't.

"How about I get you a new car for Christmas and you sit there and be quiet until we get to the restaurant where you will find what you are looking for?"

"You are so mean." I replied and sat back in my seat in a huff. Alice turned back toward the road and smiled at herself, satisfied at her own intelligence.

When we did finally get to the restaurant, I practically lunged out of the door and sprinted faster than I could ever remember, toward the door.

"Hold on." Alice said, grabbing me by the shirt neck from behind. "This is a fine dining restaurant, remember? You have to pretend that you have some manners while we're in there. And don't say anything, I'll take care of it."

"Gotcha." I said and tried to proceed to the door.

"Why don't you, let me go first?" she asked. "I know them."

"Them?" I asked, confused. "Who's them?" But she didn't answer, just kept going; I followed.

When we got to the front desk, Alice started talking to the seating person in a different language; French I'm assumed and then he led us to a table, in the middle of the room, right by a huge grand piano. Someone was playing it, but not as good as Edward would have.

Alice ordered some food while I admired the piano player. The more I watched him, the worse I felt about leaving Edward home alone on his birthday. Sighing, I turned to Alice one last time and asked, "What are we doing here?"

"You will find out in ten minutes." She replied and went on sipping wine. I checked my watch out of curiosity; in ten minutes it would be seven. So, I sat impatiently, waiting for the ten minutes to pass.

"Well?" I said, once eleven minutes had gone by. She kept looking at her glass, but then looked up at where the piano man had been and nodded for me to look.

The man that had taken us to our seats was standing by the piano, looking extremely worried. "Go ask him what's wrong." She insisted. "Then you'll find out why we're here." I gave her a strange look, but did what she said nonetheless. I had learned to listen to Alice when she ordered me to do stuff.

"Is there something wrong?" I said when I was standing next to the man.

"Nothing you can help me with." He replied hotly.

"Please, tell me. My friend said I might be able to help." I persisted.

"Oh? And who is this friend of yours?"

"She's sitting right over there?" I said, pointing toward Alice who was sitting at our table all by herself, looking like a princess.

"Oh, Mademoiselle Cullen." Eh said, surprised.

"Yes." I nodded.

"Well. Our piano player just quit because he said we weren't paying him enough and I have a huge party coming in and no piano player." He blurted out.

My eyes grew to twice the size of their normal size. This is what Alice had been talking about. I could call Edward and ask him to come and play. It would be great for him to play in front of an audience, he would love it.

"What if I were to tell you that I could get you someone to play, someone even better than the last guy you had here?"

"I would say you were nuts. But out of curiosity, how fast could he be here?"

"At his fastest, twenty minutes, max." I replied confidently.

"Do it." He said and walked away to seat another customer that had just come in the door.

"What did he say?" Alice asked when I came back to our seat.

"Like you don't know." I replied, a huge grin spreading over my faced.

"Now all we have to do is come up with a story that will get him here at record time." She said, looking off into space, trying to think of an idea.

"What if we told him I ran into a light post and are unconscious?" I offered.

"No." she said. "He would tell me to just bring you home." She replied and started to think again. "I got it. Do we even have to tell him what happened? Why don't we just say that you are hurt and he needs to come right away."

"That sounds awesome." I said. "But do it quick. I told that guy he'd be here in twenty minutes."

She nodded and went off to who knows where to call Edward. She returned a couple minutes later.

"He's on his way." She confirmed and sat down, right as our food came.

Half an hour later, there was a loud screech outside the restaurant; car tires. "I think he's here." Alice said.

I nodded and ran for the door to get him. He had probably followed Alice's thoughts here, her helping him immensely.

"What's going on?" he asked, when I came running out the door to meet him. He looked utterly stunned.

"Happy Birthday!" I shouted, giving him a huge hug. "I have a surprise for you."

"How did you know it was my birthday?" He asked. "Did Alice tell you?"

"No." I said quickly. "I found it in an old newspaper."

"Really." He replied skeptically. "Whatever you say.

"Don't scare me like that ever again." He said, as we walked in the front door of the restaurant. "I thought something really bad had happened to you."

"Alice is a very convincing actress." I said. "Now for your surprise. Are you in a piano mood?"

"Why?" he asked.

"Because they had a last minute cancellation and need a new player."

"Really?" He asked, excited.

"Yes and I thought you might like to show the world your talent."

"This is great." He said and gave me a long kiss on the lips. "Thank you so much Bella. This is one of the best birthdays I've had in a while." I smiled, happy that he was happy.

We went to waiter man and Edward was playing his first song within minutes. It was the lullaby he wrote for me and once he started playing it, the whole room went silent. People from other rooms also came into our room to listen to the heavenly music. Waiters and waitresses stopped serving just to listen to Edward and his song.

When the lullaby was done, people looked around in confusion, as if they hadn't even noticed that they had ceased their conversations. And then he started the next.