Chapter Seven: This Is A Tradition We Will Always Uphold.

I was a wolf again, running through the trees. I was going as fast as I could, heading back to the tree I had ditched my shoes in. I reached it and changed back to human. I dressed quickly and started running for the clearing.

When I got there, the Cullens were explaining how to play baseball to the Amazonians. Nessie saw me and began running in my direction. She kissed me before pressing her hand to my cheek and sharing with me what I had missed. I could tell she had missed me a lot while I was gone. I nuzzled her affectionately to show that I had missed her, too. Even though I could tell her that, I didn't need to. She knew without words being necessary.

I wrapped my arms around her and whispered in her ear, "I love you, sweetheart."

"I love you, too." She whispered back and buried her face into my chest. We stayed like that for a short time until we heard Emmett's voice.

"Ok, let's choose teams. Edward and I are captains." He boomed. "I choose Rosalie."

It ended up that I was on Edward's team with Bella, Nessie, Garrett, Kate, and Zafrina. Everyone else besides Esme and Senna were on Emmett's team. Senna was sitting out and Esme was acting as referee as usual. Edward and Emmett flipped a coin to see who was at bat first.

"Ok, Edward won the coin flip. We will play until the game is over or 2:30, whichever comes first. Batter up!" Esme announced.

"Wait. You forgot. The memorial." Nessie called. She was talking about the tribute to Charlie we started with before every game.

"Oh, right. Everyone follow me, please." Esme called and everyone got up and followed her. She led us to the memorial we set up for Charlie. A picture of him in a waterproof cover was placed on a large, smooth stone. On the stone, Bella had carved Charlie's full name, birth and death dates, and a short inscription. It read, "Here is the place where the world lost a fine police officer, a beloved father, and loving grandfather. We will always remember him." The memorial was in the exact place where Charlie had died.

Carlisle moved to stand beside the stone and faced the rest of us to speak. "I will explain this before we begin the memorial. Ten of us here know why we have gathered here. For the rest of you, listen to the story and you will understand. Right here, ten years ago, we gathered here for a game of baseball. Charlie Swan was with us. He was Bella's father and Nessie's grandfather. He came to watch us play and be with the family. Charlie was human and middle-aged. We got into the game and forgot about him. It was Bella's turn at bat and she hit the ball very far out. Edward and Jacob left the clearing to catch the ball. When Edward got back, he froze in anguish. Jacob was next to him and heard him whisper Charlie's name. Jacob started running toward Charlie, shouting his name. We all ran to Charlie but it was too late to do anything. He had suffered a severe heart attack. All the stress of our world and having his only daughter a vampire with a half human-half vampire daughter of her own finally got to him.

"There was nothing we could do for him even if he would have let us. He refused to let us save him by becoming a vampire himself. Charlie died right here on this very spot July 18th, ten years ago. Now, every time we play baseball here, we pay our respects to Charlie first before we start." As Carlisle spoke, I kept my arms around Nessie. It always made her incredibly sad to hear this story.

I kept one eye on the others as during Carlisle's explanation. The Amazonians clearly had no experience in honoring the dead. They probably had never lost a loved one but the Denali's had. I could tell that they were remembering Irena because Eleazar was holding Carmen and Garrett was comforting Kate and Tanya. I wondered what they did to honor her. The other Cullens looked like they were grieving Charlie's lost. Carlisle stepped away to take his place at Esme's side.

Edward came with Bella when she moved to take Carlisle's place next to the memorial. Edward had a comforting arm around Bella. She looked like she would be crying if she could. Her grief at the loss of her father had not subsided very much in the last ten years. She gained control of herself and started the memorial.

"We are gathered here again to honor my father. This is a tradition we Cullens have upheld for ten years now. Every time we gather in this clearing, we begin here to pay our respects to Charlie. My father will always be remembered by the ten of us here who saw him fall and watched him die. Baseball was always Charlie's favorite sport and it is very appropriate that we have a game here to honor him. We will always remember Charlie in this way. He would be proud and a bit embarrassed to see so many gathered to horror him. My father was a modest man but he loved his family very much. And now, if you will all join hands and form a circle around the memorial please. It is customary that we do this and think of memories of Charlie." Bella gave her speech in a solemn, devoted voice and moved behind the memorial, dragging Edward with her. He was holding her right hand and I was holding her left. On my other side, I held Nessie's hand. We all did what Bella told us and locked hands around the stone.

"Now we shall have a moment of silence to honor Charlie and keep him in our thoughts." Bella announced and we all fell silent. I rubbed my thumb against the back of Nessie's hand as I thought of memories of her grandfather. She squeezed mine as she thought; she would probably share her memories with us later.

"Here is the place where the world lost a fine police officer, a beloved father, and loving grandfather. We will always remember him." Bella said after the moment was over. She raised her head, smiled at us and shouted, "Now, let's play some baseball!"

We all dropped hands and headed for the baseball diamond. It was a really good game. Zafrina was a really good player. She was responsible for five of our eighteen points. We beat Emmett's team fifteen to eighteen in the end. It had been a while since Emmett was on the losing team and I knew he hated it. it was satisfying to watch Emmett angrily punch a large tree to splinters. The man was a raging bull; he really hated losing.

At 2:30 Esme ended the game and we all headed back to the house for cake and my surprise for Nessie. I was nervous about what I was about to do. It was a big step but I was ready. I had the ring, a plan, and the words ready in my head. Not to mention all the love in my heart for my soon to be fiancée. I was ready.