Greetings, friends! I know it's been too, too long so let's get started back, shall we? More at the end.
~BE~
L buzzed around the familiar rooms of 321 Meyer Lane, adjusting a chair here, a knick-knack there. She was a ball of nervous energy. Nothing seemed to be in the right place and it was beginning to irritate the snot out of her.
On top of the irritation, a general sense of unease gripped at her and she couldn't for the life of her figure out why. Was it that she had not changed physically after whispering 'believe'? She was a creature of habit, after all, and not doing something was just as much of an annoyance as doing it. Had it been because Alice had tried to convince her she'd not had a vision? Alice always had visions.
L felt anxious and that just was not normal for her. Usually after starting an Experience, she'd feel tired and downright old since she was always aged by the charm.
Until she found William Lawrence.
L gave a happy sigh, wrapping her arms around herself.
This was the first Experience after finding her Will. Her sweet Virginia farmer boy. When she had first met him, the aging process suddenly went backward. Gone was the heavy-set, sagging, frizzy-haired old woman. She eventually reverted back to her mid-twenties, still curvy and curly but fitting in so much better with the Cullen clan.
L looked down happily at her gold and black enameled wedding band. It had taken her over 140 years to find someone to erase all the hurt Mary Frances had caused in her life but now she had him, she was used to being happy and this little black cloud that followed her was quite annoying. With a huff of resignation, she headed to the kitchen and began to work on her supper. Even though it was early summer, she felt the need for soup so she began to prepare a chicken for the pot.
The sound of a door opening and then closing upstairs distracted her momentarily and she listened for footsteps to tell her who it was. She was expecting both Will and Bella and the sound of someone almost tripping on the first step told her all she needed to know.
This year was so different from last. Last year she had only known of Bella through the written word and now her cousin was one of her dearest friends even if she was a touch clumsy for a vampire.
L smiled to herself as she clamped the lid on the Dutch oven and turned just as Bella entered the kitchen, tugging at the lowered waist of her dress.
"Didn't the hobble skirt go out of fashion a few years before…" L started.
"Alice said it would be the perfect opportunity for me to introduce myself to Edward by literally falling into his arms," Bella replied, rolling her eyes.
"Sounds like a recipe for disaster, if you ask me. Wouldn't you just tear through the dress? If he gets a look at your under drawers that's just going to send him running for the hills. Edward's always been a bit…"
"Prudish. Yes."
"I was going to say…ok, I was going to say prudish. He wouldn't ever be able to look you in the eye after getting a look at your petticoats."
"I've already ripped one. Apparently Alice saw it and had two placed in my bag."
L chuckled at Bella's frustration as she tried to daintily sit on the wooden chair that sat next to the fireplace. With a huff, Bella bent down and loosened the ribbon that wove in and out around the hem of her skirts, giving a few more inches to her stride.
"Alice knows all, sees all," L said with a smile. Her grin faded slightly. "Except, apparently when it comes to me."
"What do you mean?"
"When I set Evermore back in action. She said she was kidding, that she couldn't see me. But I don't think so."
"What makes you say that? She said it was just a joke."
"I've been around them all for a long, long time, Bella. I can recognize most of their tells. There was something off. That and the fact it's been so dry here lately that the local authorities have banned fireworks."
L nodded wisely and oh so seriously. "Google is my friend."
Now it was Bella's turn to laugh.
"I really have no idea why Alice would not be able to see your future or why she'd lie about it."
"I don't know either but something just doesn't feel right."
"I think you're worrying too much."
"Now you know I never do that." L sniffed indignantly.
"Yeah, right."
"Well, maybe a little."
Bella glanced at the timepiece pinned to her bodice.
"I need to go. Edward should have 'met' his mother by now and should be enjoying a talk with her."
"Alright, dear." L stared out the window at nothing in particular, her mind going over everything that had happened the night before.
"L?"
Bella received no response.
"Liriope?"
Again, no response. Bella gently shook her cousin's arm, earning a startled gasp.
"Sorry. Just thinking," Liriope sputtered, wiping her hands nervously on her skirts. "I'll keep supper warm for you." And with that, L bustled out of the room, leaving a very confused Bella in her wake.
Uncertain as to what was going on with her cousin but used to L being just plain odd from time to time, Bella shrugged it off and left 321 Meyer Lane and headed toward North Paulina Street as fast as the tight hem of her hobble skirt would allow. She nodded cordially as she passed a few people enjoying the remarkably pleasant early June afternoon, recognizing all of the faces from the year before. Thankful for the oversized parasol that matched her skirt and blouse, Bella was able to walk amongst the participants without blinding them with her vampire skin. Only once did she catch the huge ostrich feather that hung over the brim of her hat on a wooden support of the parasol.
"The key is to hold your head to the side ever so slightly while tipping the parasol the other way," Alice cheerfully instructed, appearing suddenly at her side. "So you look like Nipper, only cuter."
Bella shook her head in amusement and made the necessary adjustments.
"I much prefer my own time's fashions," she muttered as Alice caught her elbow, preventing Bella from tripping over a section of uneven pavement.
"Not sure I'd call what you used to wear 'fashion'," Alice sniffed, eyeing the house fronts as they passed.
"Don't knock the Chucks."
Alice hummed noncommittally as the two strolled toward North Paulina Street.
"I had an interesting discussion with my roommate. L thinks you lied to her last night."
"Does she now?"
Bella noticed a coolness to her sister-in-law's tone and looked over at her questioningly. Alice relented and gave a small sigh.
"She's right. I can't see her. Every now and then I get a little hint of something and then it disappears. Mainly what I see is normal, everyday stuff that I tend to ignore because really, who needs to know whether she decides to eat green beans versus corn for supper."
Bella laughed at the remark.
"But why tell her you could when you didn't?"
Bella noticed her sister-in-law's unusual silence.
"Everything ok?"
"I'm not sure," Alice responded honestly. "There is something just not quite settled and I don't know what it is. I can't see what it is."
"You're not fool-proof, Alice."
"No, but it's a little disconcerting."
"But it's happened before, right?"
"It's not totally new, but I would like an explanation."
"Is Jacob here?" Bella remembered that Alice had trouble seeing her when she went to visit with Jacob once and wondered if that was causing the problem.
"No. He's in a wedding back home and couldn't make it to Evermore. Since Lord Masen isn't part of this experience, we really didn't need a manservant. Edward Masen, Sr., may have been a lawyer but he really wasn't one for having a butler. L just didn't write Jacob in."
The two women stopped in front of 4545 North Paulina Street. Both could hear a muted conversation floating out the open parlor window. Bella smiled as she recognized Edward's voice answering questions about his day. A woman rose from a chair and glanced out the window. She nodded at Bella before and crossing the room, disappearing from their view.
"Wow, L found someone who looks just like Elizabeth," Bella said softly, nodding toward the house.
Alice's head spun quickly toward the house.
"Who?" she demanded.
"Elizabeth. Edward's mother. This whole thing was to give Edward the opportunity to court me like young men did in his day and to let him introduce me to his mother. Remember? He talked about how he wished he could have done that."
Alice stared silently at the house, a thousand emotions flitting over her face in a second. She scrambled up a tree and peered into the parlor of 4545 North Paulina.
"Alice!" Bella hissed, frantically looking around to make sure no one saw the diminutive woman in full skirts perched on a branch overhead.
"Alice?" she repeated urgently.
The shorter woman remained as still as a marble statue, her eyes studying everything going on inside the house. A few interminably long minutes later, she lightly jumped to the ground.
"Alice, you're scaring me," Bella said, taking Alice's hand in hers. "What is going on?"
"I don't know."
"Zafrina's gift…"
"Zafrina's gift is to make people see things that aren't there. It was to be an illusion of his mother." Alice pointed frantically at the house.
"That woman looks exactly like Elizabeth Masen. There's an actual person there. Don't you hear the heartbeat?"
Bella listened and sure enough she heard the soft, even beating. Her eyes grew wide.
"But…how?"
"I have no idea. But we are going to go find out. Follow the script as planned. I'll change things if I get any visions."
~BE~
I greatly appreciate everyone's patience while I finished up Hands-On History, moved (twice-shudder), celebrated 20 years of marriage with a Disney cruise (and saw a server named DeJean…too cool!), and completed NaNo. L was quite jealous I wrote 50k words on an angel and the personification of justice and not on her.
Anyhow, my plan was to complete BE before posting but I needed to get some words out there so…I have 4 chapters stockpiled and will post weekly or every two weeks and continue to write so please let me know what you think! That is my drug of choice.
Also, please log in if you want a reply. I can't guarantee I'll get to them, but I cannot reply at all of you are a guest.