"Hows the hand?" my father asked, eyeing Jacob closely.
"Dad, it's been fine since Carlisle reattached it."
"Honestly Edward, it's been a week.. drop it" Alice complained. I had used the hand excuse to get out of wedding plans for a few days. I wasn't sure how, since my hand was fully functional, and I had no doubt Alice knew that. Jacob and I had been good since then too. No arguments or minor disagreements, just a comfortable silence had wedged between us. I was comfortable with the silence, and Jacob for once, seemed to be too. It was my father who couldn't stand it.
"Edward, lets go for a walk" my mother suggested. That'd been her way of getting my father out of my hair, and I appreciated it more than she knew. I loved my dad, but he was driving me insane.
"Ness.. have you gave more thought to the moving out thing?" Jacob asked me later on that day.
"A little bit." I said simply.
"And?"
"I don't want to go far away from them Jacob. They're my family.."
"So moving to La Push wouldn't be an option?"
I sighed, "I don't know Jacob. Maybe in the future. The thought of splitting up like that, it's unfathomable.. I can't imagine not seeing them every day" I said honestly.
"ok. I just thought I'd see if you've given it thought." He said, returning to the book he was reading. This time it was on legends from other tribes claiming to have morphing abilities such as his. He'd found a tribe who had claimed they were part of an Eagle tribe, and a few of them had the ability to change into the animal. Sam and Jacob were planning a trip to visit this tribe to see about getting some information from them.
"What about if they moved back to Forks?" Jacob suggested.
"Jake.. come on, think about that. Carlisle would have to be pushing 40.. he can barely pass for mid 30's as it is. We have to be very careful about the timing of our return to Forks."
"You're right.. I just.. well, it was in idea.."
"I know honey, we will figure something out before the wedding. I promise."
"Alright. That's not too far from now Ness.." he said quietly, hoping I wouldn't hear. Of course, it didn't get past me, but I chose to ignore the comment anyway.
"Renesmee, I think we should plan a trip into town for some serious shopping. Bella's wardrobe is in serious need of updating.. and yours is a bit under par as well. And if that dog is going to be in the house, he needs to at least look the part" Rosalie said, glaring in Jacobs direction. He didn't dress toobadly, but his sense of fashion was not a top priority. He went through clothes quickly, especially when he phased quickly. Rosalie was right, we needed a shopping trip.
"Rose, I wish you would show Jacob a little more respect. He's going to be your nephew before too long.." I said, watching with amusement the twisted look on her face. Jacob laughed too.
"Do you want to go or not Renesmee? Esme is going, and I'm sure Alice will want to go too. If all of us go, we'd be sure to get your mother to come along.." Rosalie said, thinking aloud.
"Yes, count me in Rose. Jacob do you want to go?" I ignored Rosalies snarl.
"Nah, I'll let you girls have fun . I'm going to go hunting I think."
"Suit yourself. Special requests?"
"Whatev" he shrugged.
My mother and father returned an hour or so later, and after a little bit of convincing, the girls were off to go shopping. The closest mall was a good hour drive (going the speed limit.. for us, well, we cut that time in half) so the drive was spent discussing wedding plans. Alice had a hidden motive, today she wanted me to pick out my wedding dress. It was an especially cold (according to the weatherman, I found it comfortable) day, with snow forecasted all day so we ran no risk of exposure. When we finally arrived to the mall, we parked towards the front and headed into the nearest department store. Rosalie wanted to look at accessories with my mother, which gave Alice ample time to steal me into the lingerie department. Esme followed my mother and Rose, and I reluctantly went with Alice.
"Alice.. I don't need any of this.." I complained.
"I know, but it's cute, and pink. Buy it! Ooooh, and this one too! Oh wow, this one is pretty!" Alice was throwing clothes (if you could consider them clothing..) at me left and right. By the time we cashed out, I had spent $500 on lingerie I was sure I would never wear. We met up with everyone else, who'd also made their purchases and went about from shop to shop. I was able to find myself some really cute new outfits and shoes, along with a bunch of new clothes for Jacob. I bought him seven new pairs of sweat pants and four pairs of jeans, with a few relaxed casual and formal casual shirts to match. He wouldn't like those, but I would, and that's all that really mattered. Across the street from the mall was a bridal store, and Alice insisted we go inside. I hadn't picked out the bridesmaids dresses yet, and since my bridesmaids were all present, they felt it was the perfect time to do so. I eventually settled on pink and green dresses. The dresses were a very pale pink with a green sash that tied around the waist. With our pale skin, it was almost hard to tell where the dress and skin met. Everyone however, looked ravishing. I was at a loss when it came to my wedding dress though. Although I'd tried some on before, I hadn't found one that just screamed "pick me!". I looked browsed slowly through the dresses and by the time I found one dress to try on, Alice had picked out nine. So, with the girls as my audience, I provided them with a wedding fashion show. After I tried them on and gathered mixed opinions on each, I returned to the racks to continue browsing. Then I spotted it. The most beautiful dress I'd ever seen. It had a halter style top that flowed into the bottom of it. I picked it up and Alice immediately fell in love with it.
"Renesmee, that's it. I see you wearing that dress in May." She said excitedly.
"It is pretty…" I replied, taking my hands and moving them over the soft material.
"Try it on Ness!" Rosalie urged.
"Okay, okay. Patience.." I laughed. I took my time slipping into the dress. I was afraid to look at it, I didn't want to hate this dress as much as the others I'd tried on. But when I turned and looked into the mirror, I was stunned. I looked amazing. More than amazing, I looked like a whole different person. The dress hugged every curve perfectly. I didn't notice any alterations that would need to be done to improve it. It was perfect. I stepped out and heard the awe's and ooh's of my family. Alice immediately stood up and started prodding at the dress.
"Alice, what are you doing to my dress?" I whined.
"Your dress huh? It just needs to be taken in a few centimeters here… and shortened here… and we should probably take the bow on the back of it off. It ruins the dress. You'll need some tall shoes too.. Jacob is so much taller than you. He is going to love you in this dress" she said. I smiled, after all, none of this was for my family. It was all for him.