Chapter 16
All the Cullens and Nessie headed towards the Cullen's house. Alice was thinking of questions she could ask Nessie to make sure that if she was Vanessa, and Alice was positive she was, that it became apparent. Rosalie was doing the same thing. The Cullens and Nessie got to the Cullen's house and climbed out of the cars. They all walked up to the door and into the house.
"Carlisle, Esme we're home!" Alice yelled. "Vanessa's with us too! She's the one I told you was coming over today." Carlisle and Esme walked down the stairs.
"Hello Vanessa," Carlisle said with a smile.
"Hello Vanessa. Well aren't you pretty," Esme said with her own smile.
"Hello Dr. and Mrs. Cullen. Thank you Mrs. Cullen," Nessie said with a blush.
"We're going to go run lines in the living room," Alice said. "Come on Vanessa." Nessie followed Alice to the living room. Esme brought some snacks and drinks into the living room. She gave Nessie a smile and Nessie smiled back.
"Rose we need you in here for the first part," Alice said.
Rosalie walked in with her script and sat down on the couch.
"Why'd you sit down? We've got to stand up to practice," Alice said with a laugh. Rosalie stood up with a laugh and Nessie couldn't help but smile with them.
"Okay, let's get started," Rosalie said. "Nurse, where's my daughter? Call her forth to me."
Now, by my maidenhead, at twelve year old, I bade her come. What, lamb! What, ladybird! God forbid! Where's this girl? What, Juliet!" Alice spoke her lines.
"How now! Who calls?" Nessie said. She knew this play by heart she had read it so many times.
""Your mother," Alice spoke.
"Madam, I am here. What is your will?" Nessie spoke.
"This is the matter:--Nurse, give leave awhile, we must talk in secret:--nurse, come back again; I have remember'd me, thou's hear our counsel. Thou know'st my daughter's of a pretty age.," Rosalie said. "Hey do we want to skip to a little later in this scene? To the part where they are speaking of Paris?"
"Sure. What do you think Vanessa?" Alice said.
"Sounds good to me," Nessie said. They all flipped to that page in their scripts. They had moved to the center of the living room before they had start so that they would have more room and they had not noticed that the rest of the Cullens had come into the living room while they were running lines. And they still did not realize they were there. Well Nessie didn't because she was so into character and Rosalie and Alice didn't acknowledge them.
"Peace, I have done. God mark thee to his grace! Thou wast the prettiest babe that e'er I nursed: an I might live to see thee married once, I have my wish." Alice started.
"Marry, that 'marry' is the very theme I came to talk of. Tell me, daughter Juliet, How stands your disposition to be married?" Rosalie spoke her lines not like a mother but with a certain detachment that Lady Capulet possessed.
"It is an honor I dream not of," Nessie said her line as she weren't speaking to a mother but a teacher or such.
"An honor! Were not I thine only nurse, I would say thou hadst suck'd wisdom from thy teat," Alice said with the proper little laugh.
"Well, think of marriage now; younger than you, here in Verona, ladies of esteem, are made already mothers; by my count, I was your mother much upon these years that you are now a maid. Thus in brief; the valiant Paris seeks you for his love," Rosalie said.
"A man, young lady! lady, such a man as all the world--why, he's a man of wax.," Alice said.
"Verona's summer hath not such a flower," Rosalie spoke.
"Nay, he's a flower; in faith, a very flower," Alice said.
"What say you? can you love the gentleman? This night you shall behold him at our feast; read o'er the volume of young Paris' face, and find delight writ there with beauty's pen; examine every married lineament, and see how one another lends content and what obscured in this fair volume lies find written in the margent of his eyes. This precious book of love, this unbound lover, to beautify him, only lacks a cover: the fish lives in the sea, and 'tis much pride for fair without the fair within to hide: that book in many's eyes doth share the glory, that in gold clasps locks in the golden story; so shall you share all that he doth possess, by having him, making yourself no less," Rosalie said.
"No less! nay, bigger; women grow by men.," Alice spoke.
"Speak briefly, can you like of Paris' love?" Rosalie continued to use the same detachment.
"I'll look to like, if looking liking move: but no more deep will I endart mine eye than your consent gives strength to make it fly," Nessie said. The next line was spoke by a servant so the three stopped the lines. They heard clapping and they all turned towards the couches where the rest of the Cullens were sitting. Rosalie and Alice smiled and laughed but Nessie blushed and an embarrassed smile slid onto her lips.
"Bravo. Bravo," Carlisle said with a smile.
"You are a very good actress Vanessa," Esme said.
"Thank you Mrs. Cullen," Nessie said blushing even more.
"Please call me Esme."
"Thank you Esme. I don't think it's that I'm good at acting, I just know this play very well."
"No matter how well you know that play, unless you have talents for acting, you couldn't do it that good," Edward said.
"You three rocked that scene," Emmett said with a laugh. Alice, Rosalie, and Nessie laughed too. Nessie was beginning to feel more comfortable around the Cullens. She walked towards the coffee table and picked up one of the brownies Esme had made.
"Yum. This is a really good brownie," she said after taking a bite.
"I'm glad you like it," Esme said with a smile.
Bella couldn't take her eyes off of Nessie. She looked at her eyes, her hair, her face, the way she moved, the way she talked, even the way she ate. "So Vanessa, what brought you to Rock Dale?"
"Well my uncle wanted to be closer to where he grew up that way we could visit his family more often," Nessie said.
"Where did he grow up?" Bella asked.
"He grew up on the La Push reservation." All of the Cullens counted that as a tally as to why Vanessa was Renesmee in their head.
"What's your uncle's name?" Edward asked.
"Jacob." Another tally. "He was my mom's brother. Well by adoption. She was adopted and that's why I don't look like Jacob or Billy. Billy's Jacob's dad so my grandfather but he has me call him Billy."
"I love your hair color," Rosalie said.
"Thanks. It's actually not this color naturally but I've dyed it since I was 10," Nessie said with a laugh, eating another brownie.
"What color is it naturally?" Rosalie asked.
"Brown."
Yet another tally.
Edward concentrated on Nessie's eyes and knew that they were Bella's eyes. He counted that as another tally.
"What happened that made it so that you live with your uncle?" Rosalie asked.
"Rosalie, don't be rude," Esme scolded.
"Oh no, it's okay. I'm fine with talking about it. It happened so long ago that it doesn't effect me anymore. Before I was even a year old the house that my parents and I were living in caught on fire. My mother told my father to save me and that she would get out on her own. Well he got me out of the house and then he realized that my mom was still in the house so he had one of the neighbors that had come outside hold me and he went back in to save her. But the roof of the house collapsed and they were both killed," Nessie said.
"Oh I'm so sorry," Alice said with sympathy in her voice even though she was positive that that couldn't have actually happened because Vanessa had to be Renesmee.
"My uncle Jake says that they were high school sweethearts. He told me that my dad's family moved to Forks during my mom's junior year and they started dating not long after. Jake says he didn't like my dad at first and it took him awhile to actually start liking my dad. But he says the love my parents had was the real thing. That they were soul mates and their love couldn't be destroyed by anything. I love when he tells me stories about my parents. He has more about my mom than my dad which is natural since my mom and him were siblings." Nessie had a dreamy look in her eyes as she spoke of the love that her parents had shared.
"That sounds wonderful," Bella said, smiling at Nessie then looking at Edward and smiling at him. They could both tell that this was their story, only slightly switched.
"What were your parents names?" Jasper asked.
"Well my parents actually had the same name as two of you," Nessie said with a laugh. "My mom's name was Isabella but she went by Bella and my dad's name was Edward."
Another tally. The tally that showed that this had to be Renesmee and all of the Cullens knew it. Bella could barely contain her excitement at the fact that they had finally found her daughter, her Renesmee.
"It's getting late. Why don't I give you a ride home?" Carlisle suggested. He wanted to talk to Jacob to see if Nessie remembered anything.
"Okay. Thank you," Nessie said standing up. "It was a pleasure meeting all of you. Thank you for the snacks Mrs.- Esme."
"You're welcome Vanessa and it was a pleasure meeting you too. You're welcome here any time," Esme said with a loving smile.
"Thank you. I guess I'll see all of you tomorrow at school." Nessie grabbed her book bag and her script and followed Carlisle to the door.
"Bye Vanessa," Alice said.
"See you in drama tomorrow," Rosalie said.
"Goodnight Vanessa," Edward said.
"See ya," Emmett said.
"It was nice to meet you," Jasper said.
"Goodbye. If you want to, you can sit with us at lunch tomorrow," Bella said.
"Thanks but I've got to sit at my normal table tomorrow. I've got to-work on something with Stella," Nessie said.
"Well the invitation's always open," Bella said.
"Thanks. I'll make sure to remember that," Nessie said with a smile. Nessie and Carlisle walked out to Carlisle's car and Carlisle drove to her and Jake's house.
"Thanks for the ride Dr. Cullen," Nessie said.
"Please, you can call me Carlisle."
"Okay. Thank you for the ride Carlisle," Nessie said as she started to get out of the car.
"Would it be okay if I came in to talk to your uncle?"
"Sure. Come on in," Nessie said. Her and Carlisle got out of the car and walked up to the house. Nessie pulled her key out and unlocked the door. "Jake someone wants to talk to you."
Jake came out of the room that he had converted into a home gym in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. "Who is it?" he asked. When he saw Carlisle he stopped and his eyes got big.
"This is Dr. Carlisle Cullen. He's Alice and Rosalie's dad," Nessie said.
"Why don't you go to your room and get everything ready for tomorrow or write or something while Dr. Cullen and I talk," Jake suggested.
"Okay. Goodbye Carlisle," Nessie said with a smile before walking upstairs to her room.