Happy Friday everyone! I loved hearing all your thoughts and opinions on Renee. Some of you had some very creative ways for dealing with her. I had one reader who said she would be considered job security where she lives in Southern Texas—saying that people like Renee usually cause such mayhem and destruction in their wake that the police, fire departments and other EMS departments are always busy cleaning up their mess. And another reader who suggested I erase Renee from the story completely and make it as if she never existed. Hmm…I think we have heard those words somewhere before. LOL
A little bit of a time jump throughout the chapter. I've pointed out where it happens.
Thank you My-Bella and Hope4more, for all the time you put into the edits and re-edits and for making sure I put all those annoying commas in all the right places. You both Rock!
Disclaimer:
All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original aspects of this story—all original characters, plot, names, nicknames are all the property of the author—eternally addicted. Unauthorizeduse of such material is plagiarism. In simple terms— it's theft. I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise mentioned in this story. And of course just in case that doesn't cover it, Stephenie Meyer owns anything and everything relating to Twilight. No copyright infringement is intended.
~*Bella*~
Mid October
"Thanks again for having us over," I said to Esme while pulling the items I needed out of the fridge to help her prepare a salad to go with dinner.
"Oh, it's our pleasure, dear," she said with a loving smile on her face. They had invited us over for a barbeque to celebrate my and Edward's engagement.
Carlisle and Esme had been thrilled with our news and had wanted to celebrate sooner, but had wanted some time to recover from the fiasco my mother had pulled, as well as get settled in with Edward. We'd also decided to wait until the baseball season was finished so Emmett and Rose could attend.
It hadn't been easy to accept what my mother had done. Even though it had been nearly a month since my mother had packed up and left for Jacksonville, Florida, I still had a hard time understanding why or how she could do what she had done.
When I had been contacted by the bank handling the financing of Gran's house for the couple purchasing it, wanting to verify my mother's new address, I realized that I may never understand her motives since I hadn't even been aware of where she was going. I had been under the impression she had been returning to Arizona since she had seemed happy there during the time we had lived there. So I had been surprised when the bank had a forwarding address located somewhere in Jacksonville, Florida. All I could tell them at that point was that if that was the address she had given them, then it must be correct.
But finding out my mother hadn't even taken the time to inform me of where she was going, I realized then that I couldn't let what she'd done interfere in my life any longer or hold me back from being happy with Edward. And living with Edward, thinking about becoming his wife, made me incredibly happy.
"So have you two picked a date?" Esme asked.
"Um, no. Not yet. We've figured out where we want to have it, but not a date yet," I answered her.
"Bella wants to get married on Christmas Eve but thinks it would be intruding on our family traditions."
"Edward." I narrowed my eyes and shot my fiancé an evil glare. I was afraid that once he told his mother she'd feel obligated to let us have the wedding on that day even if it did interrupt their normal celebrations.
"Oh, Edward is getting the look from Bella. Dude, your ass is gonna be sleeping on the couch before you're even hitched," Emmett's booming voice teased having walked into the kitchen just in time to see my reaction to what Edward had said. "What?" he asked as we all snickered when Rose whacked him on the back of the head. "Didn't you see that look Bella gave him?" he exclaimed as he grabbed a cucumber slice from the counter.
"Emmett Adam Cullen," Esme scolded her oldest son while smacking his hand. He was getting it from his wife and his mother today and none of us could hold back our laughs. "Keep your hands out of the food and watch your mouth. You know better."
"Sorry, Ma. I love you," he told her as he moved around the kitchen island to pull her into a bone crushing hug and planted a huge sloppy and loud kiss on his mother's cheek.
"You're forgiven," she replied, while wiping her face off on the sleeve of her shirt. He flashed a big toothy grin at all of us until Esme added, "But only if you go outside and see if your father needs help with the grill."
"Okay," he murmured as he scampered out the back door with a dejected look on his face. You would have thought someone had stolen his puppy or had told him he had to sit out next season. Rose followed behind to take Lily out on the swing set Carlisle and Esme had set up for when their granddaughter was visiting. She was laughing at his reaction, knowing it was fake.
"Now. What was this about getting married on Christmas Eve?" my future mother-in-law turned to me and asked as she went back to slicing more cucumber.
"It's really not a big deal. I know you have always had a big family dinner that night and I don't want to interfere with your traditions. We can pick another date."
Esme set her knife down on the counter and scooped up the sliced cucumber with her hands and put it in the bowl with the rest of the salad fixings. After rinsing her hands in the small prep sink located in the island, she dried them and turned back around to face me.
Placing her hands on my shoulders she said, "First of all, we would all still be together for a wonderful celebration. So it's not like you would be interfering with that."
I nodded realizing what she said was true.
"Why don't you tell me why you would want to have it on Christmas Eve? Is it because that's when you and Edward reconnected?" she asked.
"Well, that's part of it." I could feel my face heat and knew I was blushing. How did I tell her why it was such a special day for Edward and me without revealing that we used to sneak off and make out under the mistletoe in her dining room doorway?
Sensing my discomfort, Edward came to my rescue. Coming up behind me, he wrapped his arms around me and kissed the top of my head. "What Bella isn't saying is that it had been on Christmas Eve when I had first told her I loved her years ago."
"Well, honey, no wonder it's such a special day for the two of you," Esme acknowledged with a soft warm smile on her face as she reached over to squeeze my hand.
"Yeah, it is," Edward confirmed before placing a kiss on the side of my neck. He then glanced up at his mother and said, "We may have stolen a kiss or two under the dining room mistletoe too."
"So that's where the two of you always disappeared to. Did you really think your father and I had never noticed you guys were nowhere to be seen?"
Edward chuckled at his mother's declaration and I felt my face warming again from the all too familiar blush of mine.
"It's ok, dear," Esme said, patting me on the arm. "Carlisle and I used to do the same thing. Why do you think there is mistletoe hanging in a doorway so far from the main gathering area? We might be getting up there in age, but we're not dead."
She winked at the two of us. I giggled this time while Edward cringed."Mom, please. I do not need to know what you and Dad do while you're alone."
"Well, I think it's settled. Bella, Christmas Eve is obviously a very special day for you and my son. I think it would be wonderful for you to make it even more special by getting married on that day."
"You do?" I asked. My voice had squeaked and I was smiling widely, not at all able to hide the excitement I was feeling over her approval.
"Yes. If you and Edward want to get married on Christmas Eve then you have my blessing and I am sure Carlisle will agree." She hugged me and walked across the room to grab some items to finish the salad from the fridge adding, "Just don't wait too long to decide. We do have to make preparations, invitations to send out and it's already mid October."
Edward turned me in his arms so I was facing him. "Is a Christmas Eve wedding what you really want?"
"Yes," I answered immediately.
"I do too. I can't think of a better day for you to become my wife." He leaned in and kissed me sweetly. Sooner than I would have liked, he ended the kiss so we didn't get too carried away in front of his mother. "Unless you want to runaway to Rio with me tomorrow," he teased.
"Like hell you will," Alice exclaimed alerting us to her arrival. She had apparently been lurking and listening to our conversation. "You'll do no such thing. A Christmas Eve wedding will be absolutely gorgeous. Come on," she demanded as she took my hand and pulled me away from Edward. "We have tons of planning to do. We can go with red and white, red and gold or silver, or ice blue and silver, maybe something green. Just so many possibilities. Oh, I have some old Brides magazines up in my old room. The dresses will be outdated, but we can get a general idea of the style you like."
"Save me," I begged Edward as I held on to his shirt trying to keep Alice from dragging me away.
He held tight to me for a minute and kissed me quickly again. "Just tell me if she gets too crazy and I'll book us on the first flight to Rio."
"Okay," I said through my laughter as Alice towed me away. As much as I wanted to stay in his arms, I was actually eager and excited to plan the day I would become his wife.
*X*X*X*X*X*
It had completely baffled and amazed me how fast Alice, Esme, Rose and I had been able to pull together all the details for my and Edward's wedding. It had only taken us three weeks to pull it all together.
Our first task had been to reserve the View Point Inn and the second had been to find my dress. Alice had said that once those two things were accomplished the rest would fall into place. Of course she had been right and after scouring several online sites, looking through every page of every Bride's magazine Alice could get her hands on and spending a weekend in Seattle combing every bridal shop there was, we had done it. I had my dress and had known it was the one the instant I'd seen it.
There had been a few bittersweet moments along the way though. We had all gone to Seattle on the excursion to find my gown and the bridesmaid dresses. While Alice, Rose, Esme and me had gone shopping for the gowns, the men had gotten fitted for their tuxes and had gone to the college football game at U-Dub. But when Alice and Esme talked about some of the experiences they'd had while shopping for Alice's wedding gown, I couldn't help wishing things were different between my mother and me. I couldn't help thinking that she should be there with me, helping me choose my dress and taking part in all of the planning of my wedding. And I couldn't help but wish that I could at least know that she was happy for Edward and me.
For the most part I had not let what she'd done interfere at all in my life. I was so very, very happy with Edward and I loved him so much.
However there were just times like now, when I was contemplating on whether or not I should send her an invitation that I couldn't deny how much it hurt. She was my mother and was supposed to be happy for me. Even if she couldn't be here to share in the planning, I should be able to send her pictures and call her and ask for her advice and opinions. Esme had been absolutely wonderful. She was truly like a second mother to me and I loved her as if she were. But there was still this ache in my heart that wished for my mother to be a part in all that was going on.
"Just mail it," whispered the warm velvety voice of my soon-to-be husband. His mouth was so close to my ear I could feel his warm breath on my neck.
"Do you think I should?"
"I think if you don't you are going to constantly wonder what if and it will eat at you for a very long time."
"You know me so well."
"I do. And I love you too much to let anything at all cloud our day. I want our wedding day to be one of the happiest days of your life. Not one where you second guess any choices you've made or have any regrets about." He turned me around on the swiveling desk chair I was sitting on at my desk and squatted down in front of me. Taking both my hands in his he said, "Sweetheart, at least if you send the invitation you will know you did everything you could and you won't have any reason to feel guilty. You won't have any what ifs nagging at you. If you send it and she doesn't come to our wedding then it's all on her."
*X*X*X*X*
*Renee*
December 1
"Renee, I swear if you don't mail that response I will," Phil told me as he watched me pick up the already filled out and sealed reply to the invitation I had been sent to Bella's wedding. I had just set it back down for what felt like the millionth time.
"You stubborn wonderful man. You would do it too, wouldn't you?"
"I would. You don't think you are the only one who can be stubborn do you?"
"No," I sighed.
"Okay. So then what's the problem? You want to make amends with your daughter, correct?" he asked while taking my hand in his and placing a soft kiss to the back of it. I was still trying to get used to all of the attention he bestowed on me. I had always known that Charlie loved me, but he was never one to openly show his emotions or attention. He had been a very private man.
However, Phil was constantly showering me with affection and telling me how much he cared for me. How much he loved me. My feelings for him had been part of the catalyst that had shown me how horribly wrong I'd been about Edward and Bella's feelings for each other and how horribly wrong I'd been in trying to make decisions for my daughter.
Phil and I had only been together for a couple of months now. We'd met a couple of weeks after I'd moved to Jacksonville, when I'd accidently backed into the bumper of his car with mine at the grocery store. It had ironically been the day I'd received the wedding invite in the mail and had been grumbling about it to myself and not paying attention to where I was going.
"Renee?"
"Yeah," I said coming out of my thoughts.
"Where'd you go just now?"
"I was just thinking about everything."
"About Bella and her wedding?"
"Yes."
"Then answer me," he urged. "Do you want to make amends with her?"
"Yes. I do," I replied sincerely. "I want to make amends with her very much."
"So then why are you still hesitating?"
I blew out a long breath and then gazed up into his blue eyes. They reminded me of the ocean waters down the path behind our home. "I'm scared."
"Scared of what, baby?" he asked as he pulled me into his arms.
"Scared of being too late. Of my apology not being enough. Scared of her not forgiving me," I admitted softly.
"I understand why you would feel that way. From what you've told me, you really pulled a number on her."
I sighed again and shook my head in frustration. I was well aware of how manipulative and conniving I'd been.
"Hey," he said lifting my chin so I was forced to look at him again. "I'm not trying to chastise you or make you feel worse than you already do. I'm just trying to say I understand why you'd be worried she might not accept your apology. But you must know you will never find out unless you try. If you give up now that you have really come to understand how wrong you were and don't tell her, what good does it do anyone?"
"None."
"Exactly. So are we going to do this the easy way or the hard way, which would be me mailing it for you?"
"I will. I'm going to walk up to the box at the end of the drive and then take a walk along the beach."
"Okay. Want me to come along?"
"Nah, I think I want a few minutes to myself."
"Okay, baby." He kissed me lightly on the lips and then headed into the kitchen.
"Hey," he called peeking back through the kitchen doorway. "I'm looking forward to meeting your daughter. Don't make me have to call her myself and accept on your behalf because some sudden gust of wind has unexpectedly sent that response flying into the ocean."
I smiled knowing he meant well even if he was indicating to me he still had doubts about whether I'd actually mail the acceptance card back to Bella.
"I'm going to mail it. I promise. I need to make things right with her."
"Okay. Love you."
"Love you too."
I held the envelope tightly in my hand as I took the steps that would lead me one more step closer to making amends with Bella. Or at least one step closer to my attempt to make things right with her.
I walked past the four houses that were between ours and the center of the cul-de-sac we lived on. There were eight houses in total on our horseshoe shaped drive where the mailbox was located right in the center median of the drive. Once I reached the box, I pulled the navy blue handle and held the envelope over the opening in the box as I dug my cellphone out of the back pocket of my jean shorts to snap a picture of it falling in.
That is if I could figure out how to use the phone camera. I seemed to repel technology and had a hard enough time using the phone itself.
Luckily it was easy to snap the picture and afterwards I even pulled the door back open to make sure it had slid down into the body of the mailbox.
There. It's done and out of my hands now. No way to get it back even if I wanted to.
After sending a text of the picture to Phil along with a short message telling him I wouldn't be long on my walk, I crossed the street and headed down the path that lead to the beach behind the cul-de-sac. My thoughts again drifted to the amount of time I'd been here in Florida and how it felt as though it had been so much longer than the two and a half months it had actually been.
I also thought about if I hadn't been so stubborn and selfish, I might have seen my mistake long before I had.
I thought back to the letter I'd received from my mother along with the papers from her attorney that had handled her will. He had been the executor of her will and had handled the finalization of the legal details surrounding the sale of my mother's house in my absence.
When I had first read the letter, I had thought that my mother had simply been defending Bella. The two of them had always been very close and my mother had been a romantic at heart as was her granddaughter. She had told me several times after my and Bella's return to Forks that I needed to stay out of Bella's personal life and her relationship with Edward unless Bella herself came to me for advice. Of course thinking she had been just a soft old woman who missed her own husband, I had disregarded everything she had said just as I had her letter the first time I'd read it. I now knew just how incredibly wrong I'd been.
The letter had contained a lot of her memories from several of her favorite moments in my childhood and Isabella's too. However she also spoke to me through her words about some observations she had made.
My mother had explained to me in the letter how she had felt that I had been running from life since Charlie had died. She had said that it had begun when I'd taken Bella and moved to Arizona after he had been fatally shot. She had told me how she understood that living in Forks was a painful reminder of his life and his death, but that she didn't understand how I had shut myself off and hadn't let myself form any emotional attachments to anyone other than Bella.
She'd gone on to explain that while she understood that I'd needed time to grieve for Charlie and to move past his death, she didn't like that I had essentially closed my heart off and had failed to see that I was still a relatively young woman with a lot of life yet to live and that I shouldn't condemn myself to spending it alone. That while Charlie may have been the love of my life, there was no reason to believe that I couldn't love and be loved again.
After that she had told me that if I continued to cling to Isabella as my only emotional attachment in my life that I was going to cling too tightly and in the process I was going to push her away.
While I had enjoyed reliving the memories my mother had written about, I blew off everything she had said about my and Bella's relationship and about how she had perceived me to be living my life. When I now thought about the time I wasted and all I had missed out on because of it, it made me sick to my stomach. If I had heeded my mother's words, I could have fixed things between Bella and me sooner and I could have played a part in helping her plan her wedding. Those were experiences I could never get back and it was something I would have to live with for the rest of my life.
It was actually quite scary to think that it had taken me thinking I might lose Phil to realize what a mess I'd made of my life.
My heart hurt as I thought back to the day it had all hit me. Phil was the catcher for the minor league baseball team located here in Jacksonville. I'd been sitting behind home plate in the seats reserved for family members when the collision had occurred. He had just caught the ball thrown in from the outfield and was blocking the plate to prevent the runner coming in from scoring. The runner had slid into him so hard it had sent him flying backwards and somehow the force of the runner hitting him caused his helmet to fall off and his head had smacked the ground so hard he had been out cold instantly.
The horror of watching his limp body being carted off the field by the paramedics and then sitting at his bedside praying for him to wake up had been what had woken me up and had opened my eyes to what I had done to my daughter.
I remembered feeling so helpless and so full of shame thinking that I was going to lose another man that I loved and that this time it was all my fault. I had been certain I was being punished for how I had treated Bella.
At that point in time Phil had been aware I had a daughter but he hadn't had any idea what had taken place between us. All I had told him was that she had remained in Forks with her fiancé. He had asked a few questions about Bella—her age, when they were getting married and just general things. I had answered them all and had told him they hadn't set a date when I had left, which was fortunately the truth as far as I had known at the time.
I had been sitting at his bedside, crying and begging him to wake up and promising if he did that I would tell him everything and that I would also do whatever it took to make it up to Bella. I had promised while crying that if I had to get down on my knees and beg her for her forgiveness then that is what I would do.
Once Phil had been released from the hospital, I had done exactly as I had promised. I told him the whole story going all the way back to the first Christmas when I had manipulated Bella into not going to Forks. And when I was finished and he had asked me why I'd done it, the only answer I could give him was that I had been afraid of losing her too. He had then told me he thought I had still had issues of Charlie's death and when I had allowed him to read the letter from my mother, he had said all she'd said made sense to him and asked me to think about seeing someone.
I stopped and sat in the sand, letting the surf wash up over my feet as I remembered reading the letter for the second time. It had been later the same night as when I had filled Phil in on everything. I had been sitting on our bedroom balcony while rereading the letter. As I did I had finally seen what my mother had been talking about. So many emotions had washed over me at once. Guilt, shame, self loathing and self hatred had been few of them. Not only had I been ashamed of what I'd done, but I had been mortified by what Charlie must think of me if he had any inkling from where he was.
I had realized Phil was right, I needed to seek professional help so that I could fix myself before I attempted to fix things with Bella. I didn't know how to do it on my own and I wanted to do it right.
That had been mid October and that night I promised Charlie that I would never let his—our baby girl down again if I was granted a second chance at being a part of her life.
Kicking off my flip flops, I wiggled my toes in the water while I thought about what my therapist had explained to me.
It was her belief that when Charlie died, I let my grief over losing him eat me up until it consumed me and dictated everything I did in my life. In the process I had become paranoid I was going to lose Bella too and had clung too tightly to her. As a result I began to manipulate her life in any way I could in order to keep her as close to me as possible. My therapist had helped me see that in the process of holding on too tightly, I pushed Bella away by trying to control every aspect of her life. I became a manipulative, controlling, conniving person and it cost me the one person I loved most in this world. My daughter.
I wiped away a few tears that trickled down my cheek as I prayed again that Bella would be understanding and would give me another chance to be her mother. The kind of mother she deserved. One who was caring and loving and who supported the choices her daughter made and was there for her if they didn't work out.
Although one thing I was certain of now more than ever—Bella and Edward had the kind of love that lasts forever. I knew because I was now getting to experience that kind of love for the second time in my life. I would never say that I loved Charlie or Phil more than the other, but because they were two completely different men, my love for them was different too, while still being that all encompassing kind of love.
I noticed it was getting dark and realized I had been gone a lot longer than I had intended to be. I got up to head home so Phil wouldn't worry. When I stood after brushing the sand off my backside, I looked up to find him standing in front of me.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you," I apologized as I stepped closer to him and placed both my hands on his chest.
"I wasn't worried; I've been about twenty feet behind you for a while now."
"You were? Why?" I asked him, wondering if he had really doubted me so much and had thought he'd have to watch me to make sure I had mailed the invitation.
"Because I had a feeling you'd need me. I wanted to be close in case you did." He wrapped his arms around me and hugged me close to him. "So how are you?"
"Still scared. But I know for now it's out of my hands."
"It is. But remember, she did make the first move in sending you the invitation. I think that says a lot about how she is probably feeling," he told me as he slid his hands down my arms and then linked his fingers with mine. He tugged me gently, indicating he was ready to head towards home.
"I just hope I'm not too late," I sighed.
"Just remember one thing."
"What's that?"
"I will be there for you no matter what. We'll deal with it together."
*X*X*X*X*
*~Bella~*
December 16, 2011
"Ugh," I groaned. "Why does she do this to me?" I asked myself out loud as I dropped both pairs of shoes to the floor.
"Who is the she you are referring to, Love?" Edward stepped out of the bathroom in nothing but a pair of boxer briefs that clung to him deliciously in all the right places. "Bella? Bella?"
"Huh?" was all I could manage to get out. I was still confounded by the sight of him in his current state of undress. Looking at his body and knowing he was mine, was something I'd never get tired of.
He walked across the room and watching him certainly didn't add to my current mental state. He sat down next to me on the bed. Wearing a smirk that told me he knew exactly the effect he had on me, he stated, "I asked you who it is that has you so frustrated."
"You mean other than you?" I replied with just enough playful sarcasm in my voice to let him know I was on to him. He knew how I reacted to seeing him naked or even just barely covered like he was now. And he also knew that I knew he loved evoking that reaction from me. More often than not it led to some fantastic love making, but we didn't have time right now and he knew that as well.
He leaned over and gave me a quick kiss. "Yes, besides me." He chuckled and kissed me again.
"The who I was referring to is your sister."
"What has Alice done now?"
"She gave me a choice."
"You are gonna have to help me out here, Sweetheart. I have no clue what you are talking about."
"Shoes. She should know better than to give me options. She gave me two pairs to choose from and I have no clue which ones to pick. I like them both."
"Bella? Edward?" Rose called from somewhere upstairs.
"Put your clothes back on, you can christen your new house later," Emmett called. His words along with the sound of their footsteps grew louder as they neared our room.
Edward quickly grabbed a t-shirt and his pants and pulled them on.
"Which room are you guys in?" Rose queried from the hall.
It had only been a week since Edward and I had moved into our new house. Emmett and Rose had taken Lily to Disney World as an early Christmas present and had yet to see it. They had gone early to avoid the crowd of all the other families who would also be taking their children there for Christmas.
"We're in here," Edward replied as he opened our bedroom door.
"See, Babe, I told you they were getting busy. Eddie here is not even dressed yet," Emmett commented as he and Rose entered our bedroom.
"Yes, because I 'get busy' as you put it while I'm fully clothed, Emmett." The sound of my voice caused him to take notice of the fact that I was completely dressed.
"You're such an ass, Em," Edward said as he grabbed his dress shirt off our closet door.
I bent over and picked up both pairs of shoes from where I'd dropped them on the floor in my frustration over choosing. "Black or silver, Rose? If you help me pick which pair of shoes I should wear, I'll be happy to show you around so Edward can finish getting dressed."
"Silver," she said without hesitation.
"Thanks," I told her and then added as I slipped the shoes on, "If your husband can behave, he can come too."
Emmett got a shocked look on his face. "What?" I asked him as I stood and took a few steps towards him until I was able to reach up and pinch his cheek. "We all know you aren't the angel those dimples of yours would have everyone believe."
Rose and Edward both erupted in laughter at my teasing of Emmett.
"If I've never said it before, I will now," Rose said leaning over to hug me. "You fit perfectly in this family. I'm so happy for you and Edward."
As I returned her hug I caught a glimpse of Edward from over Rose's shoulder and saw a beaming smile on his face. He winked and mouthed the words "I love you" to me.
"Let's go. I'm excited to see the rest of this gorgeous house you guys have before we have to go to dinner." Rose linked her arm around mine and looked back over her shoulder. "Come on, Emmett. Leave your brother alone so he can get dressed."
Since our master bedroom was close to the stairs leading to the main floor of the house, I took them back upstairs first so that by the time we got back down to the lower level, Edward would be dressed and I could show them our whole room and master bathroom.
Our house sat on a hillside with a north facing deck and covered porch that gave us an amazing view of the Port Angeles Harbor along with the Canadian mountains across it.
As we reached the landing of the main floor, we found ourselves in the main living area of the house. It was a wide open space that encompassed our living room, dining room and the kitchen. Esme had told me when she was helping me decorate that it was often called a great room.
The space had a high vaulted ceiling with warm rustic beams and a stone fireplace in the living room.
"I love how you have everything right here together and how bright it is from all the light that is streaming in from the windows," Rose said as she strolled from one area to the next.
"I do too. Everything is basic and simple, but yet still warm and cozy."
"It really is. Esme is great at what she does."
"She is," I agreed. "I could have never pulled this place together without her."
"Is Alice still miffed you didn't let her help?" Rose inquired.
"No. She didn't like it, but she understood. She was busy with the wedding still when we'd found the place, that helped distract her. Besides, Alice's ideas on decorating and mine are way far apart. I knew Esme would listen to what Edward and I wanted while also making suggestions of her own."
Rose nodded in agreement before turning to look around some more.
"Hey. What's out here?" Emmett asked as he opened the large French doors leading outside.
I walked across the room and flipped the switch to turn on the outside lights.
"Damn, look at this deck. You and Edward can host some kick ass parties out here, little sis."
"I promise we'll have you over for barbeque in the summer, Em."
We left Emmett to finish checking out the deck as Rose pulled me towards the front of the house in her eagerness to see the rest. "And I thought Edward had a lot of books," Rose said as we made our way into the sitting room near the front of the house. "I'm not as big a reader as the two of you, but I do love the reading nook. There was one in your bedroom too right?"
"Yeah. Most of our books are here. But we have some of our favorites in our room."
She sat down on the window seat and patted the space beside her. "Sit. There's something I wanted to talk to you about and I hope that you won't think I'm sticking my nose in where it doesn't belong."
She had a slightly uneasy expression on her face and I wanted to put her at ease. I was pretty sure there wasn't anything she'd say that would offend me. Rose and Emmett had spent a lot of their weekends in Forks since the baseball season had ended and Rose and I were growing closer. It was great having another friend besides Alice. Not that I didn't love Alice to death. It was just nice to have someone else.
"I am sure I won't think that. So shoot. What's on your mind?"
"Well, Emmett told me that you had, had a bit of a hard time accepting Carlisle and Esme's offer to give you the down payment on the house as a wedding gift."
"Yeah I did at first. But it didn't take long to see they weren't going to give up. Why are you bringing it up?"
"I just wanted you to know that I had a hard time at first too, when they made the same offer to Em and me. They also did the same for Alice and Jasper."
"That's what Edward told me. It was one of the things that eventually led to me being okay with it," I admitted to her.
"You know, Bella. I don't know the whole story about you and Edward. But I know that Carlisle and Esme think of you like their own daughter. You may have been gone for six years, but you were certainly not forgotten. You were still mentioned from time to time and it was clear how much they all loved and missed you." She paused for a second and then took my hand in hers and said, "Especially Edward. I've never seen him as happy as I have in this past year. So I just wanted you to know that they offer the gifts they do because they love you."
"Thanks, Rose." I swiped away a few tears that had fallen and hugged her tightly. "I love them and you too just as much."
It had been hard for me to accept so much money from Edward's parents. I had the money from the sale of my grandmother's house and it was way more than enough to cover our down payment. But in the long run I had seen that they were doing it out of love for both Edward and me and by them doing so, it allowed Edward and me to furnish and decorate the house in any way we wanted to, plus take a real honeymoon near the end of the summer since for now we were going someplace local. I didn't know where, all Edward would tell me was that it wasn't far.
"What do you say we go find those men of ours?" she asked as she stood and smoothed the lines of her red satin dress.
We made our way through the rest of the upstairs, which held an office big enough for Edward and me both as well as the main floor restroom. We then headed back downstairs where I took Rose through the four bedrooms. One was set up as a guest room, one was the master bedroom, which we had allowed Esme to decorate for us, and the other was filled with my old bedroom set from Gran's and some other items that I had decided to take as a memory of my grandmother. The last bedroom was empty since we hadn't done anything with it yet.
"What are you going to do with this room?" Rose asked. "It'd make a great nursery since it's next to your master bedroom."
"That's eventually the plan," I told her.
"Eventually?"
"Yeah. Edward and I have no doubts about our love or the fact that we want children. But aside from this past year we were apart for a long time and we want a little while to ourselves before we begin the next phase in our lives."
"Makes sense," she offered. Then she turned around and shot me a wide grin. "Just don't wait too long. Carlisle and Esme are already hinting that they are ready for another grandbaby."
"Oh really. Got some news to share, Rose?" I asked smiling just as widely at her.
"We're trying."
"Really?"
"Yes. But we haven't told anyone yet. I had a hard time getting pregnant with Lily so we're keeping it to ourselves for now."
"My lips are sealed," I promised as we headed back to my room to find the guys. We hadn't seen Emmett since we'd left him on the deck and assumed he had found his way back to aggravate his brother some more.
"Are you done primping yet, Cullen? Your soon-to-be wife and I are hungry and we still have a two hour drive to Seattle. Knowing your sister, she is tapping her foot wondering where the hell we are."
We were all going to Seattle for the weekend. Rose's parents were keeping Lily for the next couple of days so Carlisle and Esme could take us all out to dinner tonight and then tomorrow night, Edward and I were being taken out separately for our bachelor and bachelorette parties. I didn't know which one of us I was more scared for. There was no telling what either the guys or the girls would do.
*X*X*X*X*
Three hours later, we had checked into our hotel, dropped off our luggage and had met up with Carlisle, Esme, Alice and Jasper at the restaurant Esme had chosen.
As we entered Amore Infused, I took in the beautiful romantic and classy atmosphere of the restaurant. The lighting was low creating a warm glow to the room and the windows were covered in soft billowing white shears that were pulled back to give you a view of the city outside and each table had a single red rose in a vase for a touch of simple romantic elegance.
As we followed the hostess to our table, I noticed that the restaurant was divided into two separate areas. There was the dining area that was what you'd expect to find in a classy place like this, but there was also a separate theater area where live music and entertainment was performed.
You could hear the soft jazz notes of the tune currently being played, as they floated into the dining section of the restaurant.
Our waitress brought water for all of us and looked around the table as she introduced herself while handing out menus. She looked a little flushed and dazed as she excused herself to give us a few minutes to decide on what we wanted to order and I could have sworn I saw her shake her head slightly as she walked away.
"What's so funny?" I asked Alice and Rose as they tried to hide their giggles.
"Well, partly the look on your face, the fact you are completely oblivious and the rest is the waitress's reaction. It happens all the time," Alice said through the giggles she was still trying to contain.
"Well she just looked so…I don't know…dazed I guess you'd say. But what do you mean I am completely obvious? To what?" I asked as I picked up my glass and took a sip of water.
"Edward, you really should take Bella out more often. And not to just those small little restaurants in Port Angeles," Rose suggested.
"Bella and I actually enjoy staying home and cooking together. We go out from time to time. We just prefer staying in or if we're in Forks, we'll head to the lake for a picnic." He took a drink of his own water before twisting his lips into a lopsided smirk. He then winked and teased his sister-in-law by saying, "Not all of us get to live the glamorous life of being married to a major league baseball player."
"It's a tough job, but someone has to do it," she replied with a smirk of her own, knowing he was teasing her.
"Would someone please clue me in?" I asked still not understanding what they obviously did. Just what the hell was it that I was oblivious to and why did it matter how often Edward and I went out to dinner and where?
"Sweetheart," Esme said as she patted my hand. "I think what the girls are referring to is the fact that we are sitting at a table with four extremely handsome men. They tend to catch the eye of women all around them by themselves. But when you put all four of them together well…certainly you can see where it would be a bit overwhelming."
"Oh," I answered as I began to process what she'd said. "Ohhh," I then said as it suddenly clicked in my head. I unintentionally let out a snort and found myself giggling just as Alice and Rose had been.
I quickly covered my mouth and stifled my giggles as I noticed the waitress heading back to our table. Edward leaned over and kissed my temple lightly and rested his arm on the back of my chair, while his thumb brushed back and forth across my shoulder.
"Do you know what you want to order?" he asked.
"Yes."
Before I could say anything else, the waitress had arrived at our table. She took our orders and then left after refilling our water. Carlisle had ordered a bottle of wine which was served just before our meal arrived.
While eating our dinner, we made light conversation that drifted from my and Edward's upcoming wedding to the next baseball season and various other topics.
Stuffed from our dinner, Edward and I opted to share a piece of apple pie with a large dollop of ice cream on top for dessert.
As Edward slipped the last bite into my mouth, he waited for me to be finished. "What do you say we go dance? It's been far too long since I've held you in my arms."
The others had already made their way into the other section of the restaurant to dance, claiming that Edward and me were taking too long because we were too busy making googly eyes at one another as we fed each other the tasty treat.
Maybe it wasn't just the warm slice of pie that was causing the ice cream to melt.
I leaned over and kissed him sweetly. "I'd love to, but you might literally have to hold me up. I ate way too much food."
"Small price to pay for having you in my arms, Love."
Edward stood and held his hand out for me to take. Once I did we joined the others.
We walked hand in hand to the dance floor, where he raised our arms that were connected by our hands up over my head and spun me before pulling me into his arms.
We danced slowly, swaying in time with the music for the rest of the song and through the next one.
"I love you," Edward whispered, leaning in to place a soft kiss next to my ear.
"Huh. Oh love you too."
"What were you daydreaming about, Love?" he asked. "You never hesitate when telling me you love me."
"Sorry. I really do love you. I was just lost in my thoughts."
"I know you love me. You okay?" His hand skimmed up my back and across my shoulder until he was gently cupping my face and caressing the apple of my cheek with his thumb.
"Yeah, I was just wondering if now would be an appropriate time to ask your dad that question we talked about the other night. I'm kinda running out of time with our wedding only being a week away."
"It's almost here. I can't wait."
He leaned down and kissed me softly, languidly, but the emotions he conveyed through the kiss were so powerful it left me feeling breathless and almost as if I was drunk. But feeling as though I was drunk from his kisses was one of the best feelings in the world. There was no alcohol in the world that could compete.
I smiled widely as I gazed into his eyes and slid my hand up his chest to pull him back to me for another kiss. "Me either."
"I think it's fine if you want to ask him now. How about I go steal my mother from him and give you a chance to talk to him?"
"Sounds like a plan."
He spun me around quickly causing me to giggle as he led us in the direction of his parents.
Once we were swaying back and forth next to them, Edward leaned closer to and asked, "Dad, any chance you might let me have a dance with my beautiful mother?"
Carlisle twisted his lips into a smirk that reminded me so much of the one I loved on Edward. Only Carlisle's wasn't off kilter and lopsided like Edward's.
Carlisle looked down at his lovely wife and said, "I think he wants something."
"I think you're right. He's buttering us up for something," she replied.
Carlisle then swirled his wife and took a few steps away from us as if they were trying to get away. Edward chuckled and turned us to follow them.
"Can't a guy, who is her favorite son by the way, just want to dance with his mom?"
"No," they both chimed at the same time with smiles on their faces. They were enjoying this way too much.
"And you know neither of us have any favorites among our children. So what do you want?" Esme added, playfully scolding her son.
Edward glanced down at me and then placed his right hand flat on his chest, over his heart, as if he were about to take some sort of solemn oath. "Me?" I saw his eyes quickly dart back down to me again. "I don't want anything more than to dance with my beautiful mother."
His parents must have gotten Mr. Not-so-subtle's hint since Carlisle then kissed his wife on the cheek and passed her to her son, teasing, "Don't step on your mother's toes."
A cross between a giggle and a snort shot out of me as I remembered Esme trying to give a younger Edward dance lessons. It had been shortly after they had moved to Forks. Alice and I had been coming down the stairs from her room, and had stopped on the stairs and watched when we'd seen the two of them. Alice and I had been forced to keep our hands clamped tightly over our mouths in order to smother the bursts of laughter we were struggling to hide at the sight. He had stepped on her toes many times. Given the fact Edward was seventeen at the time, her toes had been left a bit bruised and battered by his oversized feet.
Remembering that day made me briefly remember the jealousy I'd felt a couple of weeks later when Alice and I had sat in nearly the same spot on the stairs and had watched Edward and Jasper both escort two blonds whose names I now couldn't remember to the homecoming dance. I smiled to myself knowing it didn't matter anymore. He was mine and in just a few days we'd be permanently tied to each other for the rest of our lives. And that thought reminded me of why I was now dancing with my future father-in-law.
"Thank you for this wonderful evening, Carlisle," I said to him, trying to break the ice and get to the question I needed to ask him.
"You are quite welcome, dear. I hope you know how thrilled Esme and I are for you and Edward." I nodded letting him know that I did know how happy they were for us. They had gone above and beyond to show their support for us. "How are you dealing with your mother's decision to attend?" Carlisle asked next asked.
"Confused and anxious mostly. She said in the letter she sent that she's changed, she's realized her mistakes, and is sorry. But it's only been a few months. I find it hard to understand how she could have had such a tremendous change of heart in such a short time. I just can't imagine what could have happened to make her see her mistakes."
"It must be very difficult for you. I can see that you want what she says to be true, but yet you're terribly afraid to trust her and open yourself up to being hurt by her again if you do."
"That's pretty much exactly it. She said some horrible things before she left and it's hard to believe she doesn't feel that way anymore," I explained.
"Just remember what I said before. Esme and I are here for you. You might not officially be a Cullen yet, but we already think of you as one of our own. We'll do anything we can to help."
"Thank you. I do know that. Edward and I both do. In fact that's…um… sorta why Edward asked to dance with Esme. I um…need a favor."
"Sure. Just tell me what it is and I'll help in any way I can."
"I, well, I…" I paused and chewed on my lip for a minute thinking how to best phrase my question. It wasn't that I was scared or nervous to ask him what I needed to, it was just hard for me because it made me miss my father so very much.
However Carlisle must have taken it as a sign of nerves because before I could utter another word he was asking me, "Bella, is everything ok? Are you pregnant? Do you need me to refer you to an obstetrician? I can understand how it might be difficult for me to be your doctor."
"No, no, it's nothing like that," I assured him, wishing I could bury my face in his chest and hide because I was certain I was as red as the Santa suit Edward had donned last Christmas. "I mean we want kids, just not yet." I remembered Rose's words from earlier and didn't want him or Esme to think that I didn't want to have children with Edward and I guess given he was an obstetrician it made sense that he would think that was why I needed to talk to him.
"That's okay. I think the two of you need some time for your selves first. You've been through a lot. Now why don't you take a deep breath, relax and then tell me what it is you need," he suggested in a warm fatherly voice.
I did exactly as he said and then blew out the long breath I had sucked in. "I know that you and Esme used to be really close to my parents before…well…before. So…I was um…wondering," I paused again and took another long breath to steady my emotions. "I was wondering if you'd walk me down the aisle and give me away? You know…since my dad can't." The last few words had come out just barely more than a whisper. I hadn't missed my father so much in a very long time as I did right now.
"Sweetheart," Carlisle stated softly as he stilled our motion on the dance floor. "I'd be honored to walk you down the aisle and give you away." He then hugged me tightly and next thing I knew I felt Edward's arms pulling me to close to him. It shouldn't surprise me that he'd know I'd need him after talking to his father and that he'd be right there for me. In his arms was where I always wanted to be. It was my most favorite place in the world.
I can't wait to hear what all of you think about this chapter. I have to admit I am a bit nervous given the hate that has flowed so freely for Renee. Not that she didn't deserve it, because she did. Still, I am anxious to hear all your thoughts.
There are pictures on my blog of Edward and Bella's new house as well as what all the ladies wore for their dinner in Seattle. I hope all of you have a very, very safe and Happy New Year!
Thanks for reading!
EA