7. EVENT
THE NEXT DAY AS SOON AS THE SUN WAS UP ALICE WAS IN A TITTER, UNABLE TO
contain her excitement. She led all the Cullens, with the exception of Carlisle and Esme who stayed behind with the Denali clan, and Jacob to the clearing she and Edward had selected. Emmett towed the trailer, Edward carried the elaborate sound system, I held the generator, and everyone else lugged the boxes upon boxes of decorations. The ground was already covered in a thin blanket of white powder that had fallen during the night, but Alice assured us more snow was coming. She had an image of the occasion in her head, and she was a perfectionist when it came to things like this. Not even the weather would dare disobey her.
"Oh," gasped Bella and Renesmee together when we finally reached the location. I stood frozen, stunned by the beauty of the place.
"Alice, it's perfect," Rosalie breathed.
Even Emmett nodded in appreciation, "Nice."
Edward and Alice beamed. The woods we had been hiking through, usually sparse this far north, had grown thick and wild but somehow crisply majestic. They did not thin but suddenly opened up into an oblong clearing, so breathtaking we all stopped to marvel at its beauty. The clearing was about a hundred yards long, surrounded by tall black and white spruce trees, dusted in sparkling snow, reaching for the sky. An outcropping of granite boulders lay to the northwest edge. Small golden Arnicas were blooming sporadically across the open space, the flowers breaking above the thin snow covering. Above, the sky was a powdery blue, with thick gray clouds rolling through. A rainbow shone in the distance, and, as the clouds passed by it, the sun would shine in streaking brilliance upon the glittering floor. The place was stunning, like an untouched portion of the earth where man had never tread. Not even like a postcard or photograph in a calendar -- mortal eyes had never seen such a place. It was a pristine woodland paradise, as Edward and Alice had said. It was going to be perfect for the occasion.
It seemed almost blasphemous to add man-made augmentations to this place, but I had faith in Alice. If anyone could work with the natural setting of this dreamland, enhancing its beauty rather than degrading it, it was my little party-planner. Still, I felt a little guilty even desecrating the place with my footprints. I tried to walk very softly.
"So the stereo goes over there," Alice pointed Edward toward the outcropping of rocks, "and Emmett, you can set the trailer down and take out the tables. We'll put them here," she gestured to the southeast edge where we had entered. "Jazz, you can put the generator over by the stereo..."
Alice directed the placement and unloading of the many additions to the natural beauty of the clearing. Then she began decorating in a blur of systematic efficiency. Edward had, appropriately, been assigned the musical entertainment for the evening and he set up the intricate sound system with alacrity. His contribution to the evening would be more in the musical selection than the actual set-up, but no one was more familiar with the equipment than Edward. Rosalie scampered up the spruces with the agility of a monkey (though comparing Rosalie to a monkey was an almost absurd simile), hanging champagne and silver Chinese lanterns on a thin wire from various boughs. Renesmee and Jacob helped Emmett unload the folding tables from the trailer and carefully laid the delicate satin tablecloths over them. Champagne colored satin on the bottom overlapped with the delicate silvery fabric on top. I was in charge of candles -- of which there were hundreds -- so I set about, as Alice directed, grouping them in fours and fives around the outskirts of the clearing.
"Shouldn't we wait on the candles 'til after the snow?" Jacob asked as he helped smooth out a tablecloth.
"Oh, it's not going to snow again until we get here. They'll already be lit by then, and it won't be windy so we will be okay." Alice replied carelessly, sprinkling fine golden confetti all over the snow.
"You're cleaning that up," Bella muttered. Alice ignored her.
Now that the tablecloths were down Bella and Edward set about sprinkling confetti upon them as well as I placed candles in various arrays across their surfaces. Alice flitted to the table carrying an armful of crystal hummingbird figurines. Hummingbirds were Esme's favorite and had become sort of a symbol of her to our family. It seemed appropriate -- hummingbirds were beautiful, delicate, fiercely protective of their offspring, and their work was never done as they flitted from flower to flower keeping nature in harmony. Alice placed the figurines artistically around the tables, winding them in and around the candles with aesthetic precision. After about an hour of work -- a length of time only necessitated by Alice's perfectionism -- we finally packed all the odds and ends into the trailer and began the trek back to the cabin. Alice and Rosalie were ecstatic to don their new "anniversary dresses," but Bella looked a little defiant.
"At least it doesn't take all day to get you presentable anymore," Alice chided, annoyed at Bella's persistent resistance to fashion. Bella glared at her.
"I could always dig out my sweats if you'd like..." she threatened.
"Thank goodness I burned those years ago," Alice smiled sweetly. Bella growled.
"Come on, Mom, we can get ready together. I haven't shown you the shoes I found yet," Renesmee tried to placate her, linking her arm in her mother's. Bella frowned, a little more deeply than necessary.
"Oh, it's catching! Look what you've done to her, Alice!"
The girls all giggled. Emmett, Edward, and I exchanged Women! glances and rolled our eyes. Jacob just chuckled.
* * * *
As the intricately carved grandfather clock near the stairway chimed six o'clock, Alice looked up eagerly.
"Ooh, it's time!" She nearly squealed.
"Can you tie this? It always looks better when you do it," I asked, holding the bowtie out to her. You'd think after a century I could make a bowtie lie flat, but it never looked quite as debonair as when Alice did it. Her quick fingers darted around the satin, tying a perfect knot in a millisecond. She smoothed out the tie, and brushed out the length of my tux, pulling down the bottom of the jacket.
"Perfect," she sighed as she stepped back.
"Are you admiring me or your handiwork?"
She laughed. The sound of silver filled the room. "Both."
"Well, may I take this opportunity to say, then, that you, my darling, are absolutely stunning." I took her hand and spun her once in a slow, graceful twirl. She was absolutely gorgeous. Breathe, I thought, remember to breathe. Alice wasn't kidding about the gown she had selected for this gala event. It was a one-shouldered Marchesa ball gown of deep wine red. The entire bodice was lace, only covering what decency dictated should be covered down the sides in raw silk. The full skirt was asymmetrical, the side of the unadorned shoulder beginning mid-calf and flowing in elegantly draped gathers past the floor. Even in the gold, crystal-encrusted stilettos she was wearing, the gown still swept the carpet.
"Thank you, Major," she stretched her delicate neck up to kiss my lips, giggling. "I love wearing heels. I barely even have to stand on my tip toes." She handed me the gold bracelet covered with half carat diamonds I had gotten her for her birthday twenty-three years ago. She loved that bracelet. "Could you?"
She held out her dainty wrist, palm up, for me to attach it. I reached around her small porcelain hand and wound the bracelet around her wrist as I kissed the bluish veins that ran up her arm, meeting her eyes with my own. Breathe, Jasper, breathe. That red was amazing on her. It made her skin look like buttermilk and her eyes like warm honey. A slight blush was apparent on her delicate cheeks from our recent hunt -- she was practically glowing. Her teeth gleamed as she smiled her breathtaking smile at me. She put her hand on my face as I straightened up, slowly caressing the length from my ear to my chin. I closed my eyes at her touch. How could she still give me butterflies after all these years?
"I love you," she whispered simply. In answer I pulled her close to me, my arms around her waist as she bent back to receive my kiss. Like Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler, I thought, smiling. I pressed my lips to hers, parting her mouth with mine. I knew better than to mess with her hair now, so I simply stroked my hand down the length of her half-bare back. I moved my lips to her ear and brushed them down the side of her neck. Unwilling for our mouths to be parted she put her hand on the back of head, pulling my face back to hers. She kissed my bottom lip as I traced her top lip with my tongue, stroking her face with the backs of my fingers. She was perfect. Absolutely perfect. Realizing we did actually have things to do, she finally pulled away reluctantly.
"How could I ever hope to deserve you?" I asked in wonder as she pressed her head to my chest. I cradled her in my arms, swaying slightly.
"Sometimes I think you have that backwards," she murmured, closing her eyes in contentment. We stood there for a long moment, just happy to be together, happy to have each other. "Of course," she finally smiled up at me playfully, "Sometimes I think you'll need to get me a few more of these to deserve me!" She turned her braceleted hand back and forth so the diamonds caught the light. I laughed.
"So are we going or what? I thought you had this all timed out..." Emmett called, pushing open our door with his elbow as he fastened a cufflink.
"Knock, knock?" I hinted. He didn't seem concerned.
"Yes, we need to get going. Is everyone ready?"
"Yup, though Rose says you should have the final say on Bella. Rose let her do her own hair."
Alice frowned, but closed her eyes and set her fingers against her temples. "Oh, she'll do. I suppose it's not worth the row--"
"No, it's not!" Bella called from down the hallway. Alice frowned again, shaking her head.
"Well let's get going, then. Almost everyone's already downstairs." Emmett strolled back out our door and sailed lightly down the stairs. Even to vampire hearing he was almost completely noiseless -- not a small feat for someone as huge as Emmett. Rosalie was already waiting, looking beautiful as usual in a violet gown with a corseted top and a flowing train. She always knew how to play up her assets, I thought, more scoffing than admiring. She smiled at Emmett, her lips a deep burgundy, her golden hair in elegant curls down her back, as she took his arm. Everyone was lining up in couples like we really were going to the Prom, ready to walk through the balloon arch to our photographer or something. I smiled. Rosalie and Emmett were closest to the door, though they had left a space for us. Renesmee and Jacob were behind them, flanked by Carmen and Eleazar, Kate and Garrett, Tanya, and finally Carlisle and Esme.
"Bella, c'mon," Jacob called up to her, "You're holding up the party!"
Renesmee grinned.
"Don't they teach you manners in wolf school," Bella grumbled as she appeared at the head of the stairs, still trying to pin a curl into place. She didn't look as "red-carpet" as Alice and Rosalie did, but I still thought she looked beautiful. I had to admit, I hadn't thought much of her as a human. I grew to love her long before she was one of us, but physically I didn't see what Edward was going on about. She looked like any other human girl. Once she had changed, though, I could understand. It was like the venom made it possible for all of us to see what Edward had always seen. She wasn't the men's magazine model that Rosalie was or the graceful prima ballerina that Alice was, but she was undeniably stunning. She wore blue, of course; a bright azure gown that Alice had forced upon her. Alice had a good eye, though, for the dress complimented her perfectly. It was a strapless gown with an empire-waist that flowed simply and loosely to the floor. There was a delicate silver patterned design at the bottom that was accented by the tear-drop diamond and platinum earrings Edward had found once Alice had unveiled the dress.
"Oh, mom!" Renesmee breathed.
"Not bad, Bells," Jacob chuckled, eyeing her appreciatively.
"You are a master of understatement, Jacob Black," Edward's eyes narrowed as he led Bella down the stairs. Bella looked down and I was sure if she could still blush she would have. She hadn't gotten any fonder of the spotlight in the last few years.
"Well, I'll do," she repeated, scowling at Alice.
"Oh, you're lovely, you know that. If we could have only done something here, though--" Alice pulled at a strand of Bella's dark mahogany hair, trying to curl it into place. Bella smacked her hand away, mostly playfully. Alice turned to face the assembled family and beamed.
"Okay, then. Ready?"
Fourteen heads nodded in excitement and anticipation. Carlisle and Esme beamed back.
"Then let the Anniversary Gala begin!"
I opened the door for her and she led us out into the frozen Alaskan wilderness, toward the clearing.
* * * *
"Oh, Alice, Edward! All of you! It's amazing!" Esme gushed as we broke through the spruces and into the clearing. Alice and Edward had run ahead when we were a mile away, starting the generator for the Chinese lanterns and stereo system, lighting the countless candles, and beginning the musical piece Edward had selected for the "grand entrance." Esme stood with her hands at her face, her soft pink gown swaying slightly in a light breeze. Carlisle stood with his arm around her waist, silently taking in the scene before him. The sun was just setting, making the frosted snow a rosy pink. The light of the candles and lanterns was also reflected in the snow, turning the clearing into a magical space of light and color and natural wonder.
"And you're playing my song. Oh thank you! It's --" she couldn't finish. I was sure if she could cry she would be now. Even so she seemed choked up.
"This is incredible, children. Thank you." Carlisle said simply.
"It's the least we could do," Edward replied softly. Esme tried to speak again, but she still seemed unable to get the words out. Carlisle put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer to him, smiling.
"Now don't get all weepy on us, you'll ruin the rest," Emmett said gruffly. Esme just nodded.
"The gifts will come later, but here's a little prelude. This is my gift." Edward began a CD that I had been told about, but hadn't heard yet. We all stood still for a moment, just listening. It was an intricate piano melody, very sweet and soft at first. Then it thinned out into a sadder, lonelier sound. A solitary leaf floating down a wooded stream. It built up, growing louder, more passionate, full. Like waves crashing on a shoreline. Throughout it all was a sense of timelessness, of need and desire and eternity.
"Edward," Esme whispered. It was all she could manage. Carlisle held her close again but began swaying rhythmically. Slowly they began waltzing around the clearing, dancing to the song of their love, their story in melody. I would be annoyed with Edward's musical prowess if it wasn't just so perfect for the moment. It encapsulated everything I would want to say for Carlisle and Esme. All the wishes I held for them, the gratitude, the affection. Well, I might as well toss my gift into the forest.
"Show off," I heard Emmett grumble. I wanted to nod in agreement, but it was just too beautiful. All I could do was watch in complete happiness as Carlisle and Esme circled the clearing, only seeing each other, the light shining on their faces full of love and happiness and utter bliss. The snow began to fall, just as Alice had predicted, and twilight came upon the gathering.
Edward's song flowed flawlessly into another composition of his, though this one was a duet with Renesmee on the violin.
"Would you care to dance, m'am?" I drawled, presenting an old-fashioned bow.
"Well I do declare! Major Whitlock, you've got me all a'flutter!"
Alice fanned herself with one dainty hand as I reached for her other hand and we began twirling around the clearing too. We were soon joined by Rosalie and Emmett, Eleazar and Carmen, Kate and Garrett, and, somewhat reluctantly, Bella and Edward. Although Bella was just as graceful on the dance floor now as any of us, she still seemed to retain some of her fear of dancing, as though she might trip over her own feet again. She needn't have worried. Edward was an excellent lead anyhow, and they whirled around the snow covered clearing as though they were Gene Kelly and Cid Cerise. It was amazing how lithe and graceful Bella had become, especially compared to her human days...
I noticed Renesmee and Jacob swaying in a corner of the meadow. They weren't twirling like ballroom dancers like the rest of us, but they seemed perfectly content. I doubted either of them noticed whether or not they were moving at all. They really were in love. It was plain to see, but still a little strange. Renesmee was still that cherubic-faced little angel with the long ringlets and pink pout that simply held out her hand when she wanted to speak to you and puckered her brow when things displeased her. She could have turned out quite the little monster, the way we all spoiled her. But instead she was an angel still. A bright beautiful angel that was now a woman. Going to be married. I shook my head to clear the thoughts. No, she'd always be my little girl, just as she would be to all of us. We'd let her go and grow up because that was the right thing to do, but we'd cling to the memory of our child as long as we existed. Our little miracle.
The snow continued to fall, covering the company in a feather-light dusting of white. It was so fine and light that it did little to the flames in the candles, and there was no wind, just as Alice had predicted. The dancing continued for an immeasurable span of time, everyone dancing with everyone. The musical selection was more up-tempo now, not as romantic but more conducive to a family event. I practiced the Schottische with Tanya as Emmett and Alice, looking comically incongruous next to one another, Castle Walked across the width of the clearing. Even Jacob was attempting to waltz with the unerringly patient Esme as Renesmee tried to stifle her giggles from the granite rocks from which she watched.
As the clouds faded to the east and the stars finally became clear, Alice announced it was finally time for speeches and gifts. I passed out champagne flutes as Rosalie filled them (though what vampires who neither ate nor drank were going to do with champagne, I wasn't sure. Alice had insisted, though, that a celebration like this required champagne, and so the Denalis had contributed a bottle of the finest Dom Perignon to the festivities). Alice nodded to Edward to begin.
"Well, I've already given you my gift, but I also wanted to convey to you my deepest gratitude. For finding me, for teaching me, for having patience with me again and again and always treating me like a son. I have always thought of you both as my parents, and I am incredibly lucky that you deemed me worthy to receive such an amazing gift; the example of your love and compassion, your courage and honor, your undying devotion to us all. Of course you know none of us would be here now, as we are, if it weren't for you both. I can never convey the depths of my appreciation for all that you are and all you have given me. I love you both so very much." He raised his glass. All the girls seemed choked up now. I quickly swallowed the lump in my own throat. Damn Edward and his perfect orations! What wasn't he perfect at? "To Carlisle and Esme, two lights in the darkness that unite us into a single flame."
"To Carlisle and Esme," we all raised our glasses. Jacob and Renesmee took a sip. The rest of us just held ours flutes high.
"So who's gonna follow that?" Emmett groaned. Edward grinned.
"Such a showoff," Bella smiled, shaking her head.
"Well, I guess I'll have to step up," Alice grimaced, dancing forward with her tiny hands outstretched. Only Alice could "dance" across snow in stilettos and a floor-length gown this gracefully, I thought. Gliding like a wraith. She placed her glass on the table and handed Carlisle the credit card-sized parcel wrapped in stiff champagne-colored paper. Carlisle took it, looking confused. The first time I had seen her gift I had wondered what could possibly fit in a package that small, too.
"Thank you, Alice," he said politely, carefully pulling the edge of the paper back. It was, in fact, a tiny digital picture frame displaying an undiscovered Rembrandt. Though the picture was miniscule, Carlisle and Esme could see it perfectly clearly. It was an image of a young woman, uncannily similar to Esme, standing with her back to the viewer; her kind, heart-shaped face in profile, her flowing green dress trailing out behind her catching the light of an open window or door, her smooth, shiny auburn hair coiled into an elaborate twist that was popular at the time. "It's lovely, Alice," Carlisle murmured. Alice and I grinned. Of course there was more.
"It's just a photograph of the original. The real one's back at home, safe and sound in your study. I wasn't going to risk bringing it along, although finding a place for it in that room was a gift in itself." She smiled broadly, "You have no idea how difficult that picture was to hunt down!"
"Well we certainly appreciate your efforts," Carlisle hugged her, "It's beautiful."
"Thank you, darling," Esme echoed, taking Alice in her arms as well.
"Well, I don't really have a speech," Alice continued, shooting a reproachful look at Edward, "but I thought my explanation would express my feelings. You know Rembrandt was around the time of your, um, youth, Carlisle. So I thought that might remind you of home. And she does look quite a bit like Esme, so there's that. But the story that is supposedly associated with the painting is really why I went to so much trouble to find it." She smiled as everyone gave her their full attention. I had heard the tale before, but anything in Alice's beautiful, flowing, silver bell voice was worth listening to a second time.
"As the story goes Rembrandt was having quite a bit of success as a portrait painter, living in a nice house, married to a respectable girl. All of his children died, though, before they were even one year old. First a son, then a daughter, then another daughter. Rembrandt was, of course, heart broken. Finally his fourth child, a son, survived, but not long after his birth Rembrandt's wife died of tuberculosis." Carlisle nodded. Tuberculosis had been a common cause of death in his time.
"They say he sought comfort for a while in the arms of his son's nurse, but that did not end well either. So there he was, heartbroken, lost, still financially stable and professionally respected, but without any real meaning or direction to his life. He went on this way for a while and then one day, as he was driving through the country to visit a friend, his carriage happened to pass a peasant girl on the side of the road walking back home from the market. She was much younger than Rembrandt, but he was immediately arrested by her beauty. He stopped his carriage and asked for her name. Though he was often thought to have been less than, um, virtuous with the opposite sex, the story says that this was a completely pure love. Rembrandt never laid a hand on her. She was betrothed to a nearby farmer and was to be married in a few month's time. Rembrandt asked her if she would like to sit for him and have her portrait painted. Being a demure and chaste girl she cordially refused, doubtless unaware of the fame and prominence of the man before her. She politely bid him farewell and continued on her way.
"When Rembrandt returned home the next day he immediately shut himself up in his studio, not allowing the servants or any of his friends or patrons to see what he was working on. He worked all hours of the day and night, having food and drink left for him outside the door. He could certainly have sold any of his paintings for a handsome price, but a few months later this piece was delivered anonymously to the little peasant girl as a wedding gift. He had painted her from memory -- not in the dirty work clothes in which he had met her, not carrying a basket of chicken and vegetables from the market, dirty calloused hands, tangled dull hair -- but as he had seen her. As a lady.
"After that he seemed to be pulled out of his rut, so to speak. He paid more attention to his new son, he began a relationship with a maid, his painting continued. Though his professional life had not been much touched by his personal tragedy, surely he had been a lost soul, floating through existence like a specter. No real purpose, no real destination. That one chance meeting with that one unlikely woman gave him back his life. That pure love, however fleeting and inexplicable, saved him."
This is exactly as I had always seen Carlisle and Esme's love. Obviously deeper and more lasting than Rembrandt's momentary fixation, but the effects were the same. Esme glanced up at Carlisle, a deep look of understanding in her eyes. She nodded.
"Thank you, Alice. You're right. The story makes this gift all the more exceptional," Carlisle said softly.
Esme looked like she would cry again. She squeezed Alice again and whispered, "Thank you, my sweet girl."
"Well, I don't know if the story is true or not, but it's the thought that counts, right?" Alice asked. I thought she looked a little smug. Of course her gift was perfect.
After a moment of silence Emmett pushed his way through the assembly and pressed an envelope into Carlisle's hand.
"Ok, enough of this gushy stuff. Here's my present." Esme took Alice's gift from Carlisle and held it in her soothing hands. Carlisle smiled at his most boisterous son as he pulled his finger under the edge of the envelope and lifted. He reached inside and pulled out two long pieces of stiff paper. Tickets.
"When Rose and I went to Africa a few years ago we thought you two would love it. It's amazing the space out there, and there's all sorts of fun stuff to hunt--"
"And we have a wildlife guide so you'll know what's endangered and what's overpopulated," Rosalie interjected. Emmett nodded carelessly.
"Yeah. So we thought you could fly into Botswana, Sir Seretse Khama International, and then slowly make your way to Mount Kilimanjaro. Most the tourists take planes to get to the good places through there, so you guys should be fine on foot. Or," he grinned broadly, "You can rent motorcycles. Rosalie and I were going to, but we came back for Bella's birthday..." he trailed off, glancing quickly at me. I immediately looked at the ground as Edward frowned and ground his teeth. We all remembered what had happened at Bella's eighteenth birthday party. It was my weakness that had set the events in motion that led to Edward believing Bella was dead and running to Italy to ask the Volturi to end his life. Leave it to Emmett to bring up something like that now.
"So, anyway, I thought you would enjoy it. And the view from the top of Kilimanjaro is incredible. Especially if you take the Machame trail. You might have to stick to traveling by night, depending on when you go. It's a popular trail. But it's so...gorgeous," Emmett continued quickly. He seemed to get caught up in his own enthusiasm speedily, though, and Carlisle and Esme were eager to keep the conversation flowing. Alice placed a soothing hand on my arm.
"That sounds wonderful!" Esme gushed, giving Emmett a huge hug. He lifted her up off the ground in one of his typical bear hugs.
"We've still never been to the summit of Kilimanjaro. And perhaps we could take a detour to see Amun and Benjamin, if we're so close. Thank you, son," Carlisle smiled. Emmett gave him a rough hug, too, patting Carlisle gruffly on the back.
"Well, mine sort of goes along with Em's," Rosalie said, stepping out from behind Emmett to give her gift. There was a large rectangular gift box tied with an elaborate velvet bow and a flat package about the size and shape of a piece of paper, though perhaps a little thicker, on top. She handed these to Esme. Esme passed Alice's gift back to Carlisle. I rolled my eyes and took both small presents and the abandoned wrapping paper from Carlisle's hands and set them on one of the tables. I placed one of the hummingbird figurines on top so they wouldn't blow away, just in case Alice had overlooked a breeze. Carlisle smiled in thanks.
Esme gracefully pulled the wrapping off the paper-shaped gift first. It was a fancy-looking deep green paper folder with the words King's Pool Camp embossed across the top in looping golden script. Esme opened it and looked inside. There were a number of pages, most with writing, some with photographs.
"It's the best hotel in Botswana," Rosalie explained, beaming, "Well, it's called a 'camp,' because it's open to the outdoors, not a big building like a hotel. It was booked for four months when Emmett and I were there, but we snuck a look inside. It's gorgeous! And we got you the honeymoon suite. Of course, the availability's a little limited, but they assured us they would accommodate us the best they could..."
"They'd better for what we paid," Emmett grumbled under his breath. Rosalie elbowed him without taking her eyes off Carlisle and Esme, who politely pretended they hadn't heard him.
"It looks gorgeous," Esme agreed, holding up one of the photographs, "Right on the river? And the animals really come right up to the rooms?"
"Some of them," Emmett grinned, "This elephant popped up right behind Rose on a balcony -- nearly scared her to death!" He guffawed at the memory. I chuckled too. I would have liked to see that.
"Not any more than I scared him," Rosalie retorted sourly. "Nearly woke up the whole place with his trumpeting. We had to jump into the river to avoid being seen--"
"Oh yeah, and you were wearing that white cotton dress--uh!" This time Rosalie had stomped on his foot. I imagined those heels would be sharp enough to make her point, but Emmett grinned, looking unapologetic.
"Well I'm sure it will be wonderful," Carlisle said quickly. He may have more patience with them than the rest of us, but Carlisle knew how ... distasteful we found Emmett and Rosalie's constant allusions to their love life.
"Open the other one," Rose pressed, a glimmer of mischief and anticipation in her eyes. Esme pulled the velvet bow off and pulled off the gift box's lid. I sighed and took the ribbon and lid from her and placed them on the table as well. Esme pushed the silver tissue paper aside and gasped. She pressed her lips together to keep from smiling and quickly pulled the tissue paper back over the contents. Not before Carlisle had seen it though.
"Thank you for that, too, Rose. I'm sure we'll, uh, put it to good use." Carlisle took the lid from the table and swiftly replaced it on the box. Esme looked embarrassed, and I was sure if she could blush she would be bright red by now.
"I know lingerie is usually Alice's area, but I couldn't resist," Rosalie giggled, answering the eleven curious faces that were turned to her. Bella, Renesmee, and Jacob looked embarrassed too. It was obvious they had not been living in the same house as the rest of us for very long. Even though I didn't like to think about my parents, or brothers and sisters, in that way, it was a bit inescapable when you were all under one roof. At least Carlisle and Esme tried to be discreet about it. That was much more than I could say for Rosalie and Emmett.
"Well, moving right along then," I cut in quickly, trying to spare Esme as much as I could. "This one's from me."
I handed them a squared velvet jewelry box, about six inches wide. It was an antique, and the faded silver latch and hinges looked a bit shabby. Esme took it curiously and unclasped the latch, folding back the lid to reveal the contents.
"This was my mother's," I said, reaching in and pulling out a silver brooch with a large yellow garnet stone. The brooch was shaped like an elaborate rose, with ornate leaves that curved up around the blossom and a thick stem. The garnet rested inside the heart of the rose.
"A yellow rose of Texas," Esme smiled. I returned her smile as I pinned the brooch to her dress, just below her left collarbone.
"And this one belonged to my father," I continued, pulling out the matching lapel pin. I pinned this one on Carlisle in the same place. "They were married for over fifty years. These were an engagement gift my father bought for them when they were only teenagers. They wore those pins over their hearts every day of their lives for fifty-two years. Even after my father died, my mother continued wearing hers. My great-great-grand-nieces were about to pawn them, but I made them a deal. They had no idea, of course..." I trailed off. I didn't have too many memories of my parents, but every one I did have had those pins in it. I couldn't picture either parent without them. "My father used to say it was so their hearts would always be connected, no matter what. And," I looked at the floor, emotion getting the better of me. Emmett would never let me live it down if my voice broke now, "I consider you both my parents now. I like to think that their hearts and your hearts are connected, too. I love you all."
I raised my eyes again. Perhaps it was a selfish gift, but I liked to think that my old life and my current life were connected. Though my parents were only human, and their love was only a human love, it had been stronger than most. They had married for convenience but somehow they had fallen in love all the same. That was another thing that used to make me believe in fate, maybe believe in it now. How could two people without the free will of choice have worked out so perfectly? There had to be something more guiding their lives. Maybe it had been blind luck, but I didn't think so. Alice and I were proof of that. We hadn't chosen to meet either, but we were undeniably a perfect match. True love. Carlisle hadn't found and courted Esme, she was simply thrown in his path, and that match was perfection. Rosalie and Emmett, Edward and Bella, Renesmee and Jacob -- all these soul mates were simply put in each other's way, and something had caused that. We couldn't all owe our happiness to luck. That thought, the pure inescapability of all our loves, was a part of the gift. My parents were meant to be, Carlisle and Esme were meant to be, Alice and I were meant to be, and, somehow, it all joined together, all connected. Our family was meant to be. The pins symbolized so many things for me: past, present, love, fate, family ... me. I was giving a part of myself to them. I hoped they understood. I knew I couldn't explain it properly in any case, but I certainly wasn't even going to try with Emmett so close by.
"Jasper--" was all Esme could say. I smiled sheepishly at her.
"You like them?" I asked, though I could feel the warmth and overwhelming emotion rolling off of her. She only nodded as she took me in her arms. I knew most of my family viewed me as the "tough one," the warrior. I was usually the practical one, calm and collected, cool. I didn't show my emotions too often, except to Alice. It wasn't that I thought the showing of emotions was somehow ... not masculine. I wasn't the chauvinist Emmett could be. It was just that, as a soldier, you learned to separate yourself from your emotions. Feelings did you no good in battle. They were a weakness, a chink in your armor. When it came down to do or die, to kill or be killed, Jasper the lover, the brother, the son clicked off, and Jasper the soldier turned on. Like a robot, I thought. Like the Terminator -- one track mind. I always felt, somehow, that my family expected me to be the strong one. They looked to me to be calm, collected, and cool. I wouldn't allow them to worry or fear when I could help it. That usually translated to suppressing my emotions in the most difficult times when most people would wear theirs on their sleeves. If I crumbled, so would my family. The least I could do for them all was keep up my end, be what they expected me to be. A rock. I slipped behind the gathering now, hugging Alice close to me. I may be a rock, but sometimes even rocks needed a moment.
Bella came forward shyly, then, to offer her gift. She handed Carlisle another flat, paper-sized present, though this one was obviously thicker and heavier than Rosalie's. She handed Esme a tubular parcel, like a rolled-up poster.
"This is really from Edward too. He picked it out. I figured he would know what you liked better than I would --"
"No, this was all your idea, love. I merely did the leg-work." Edward interrupted.
Bella smiled at her in-laws bashfully. "Well, anyway, I hope you like it."
Carlisle carefully ripped the creamy white paper, almost the same color as his skin, and pulled it back to see the present. It was a picture frame. He looked at it curiously. Bella grinned; we were all about the representative gifts in our family. But really, what could you get people who had lived for a century -- that they didn't already have -- that would fit in a gift bag? The options were limited.
"It's a house! Well, it was a bed and breakfast originally, in the twenties. It's only a couple miles from the house Edward bought in Hanover. I know how you like to remodel things," Bella turned to Esme and motioned to the parcel in her hands, "So I thought this would be a perfect project for you, as we're all moving soon. It was a bit last minute, of course, so I'm not sure if you can get it ready in time for the first semester, but at least we'll have it eventually. Those are the floor plans," she gestured again to Esme's package. Esme's face brightened and she pulled the paper off the cardboard tube. "The rooms are a little small for your tastes now, but Edward thought if we took out a few walls..."
Though the other gifts may have been more emotionally significant, this one certainly evoked the most enthusiasm from Esme. She was practically glowing with excitement as she pulled the blue and white plans from the tube and held them up to look them over.
"Oh, this will be perfect!" She cooed, "Carlisle and I can take this room on the third floor -- it will have a view of the woods, Carlisle-- and Rose and Em can have those corner rooms on the first floor, we'll just need to take out those walls..." She continued her calculations almost breathlessly. I thought quickly that it was very wise planning to put Rosalie and Emmett on the first floor -- no one would have to hear them down there. Carlisle passed around the photograph of the house for everyone to see. It was a large place, slightly bigger than the one we had now. The size was maybe a little extravagant, I thought, if neither Edward and Bella nor Renesmee and Jacob were going to be living there. Still, there was nothing wrong with more room. The place had three stories and looked very much like the historical landmark it probably was. It was a dull, peeling white with ivy climbing up the sides. There was a small porch on the front of the house and huge dark wooden double doors, covered by aristocratic eves. Though the place was clearly rundown and in need of repairs, it still looked elegant, refined. This was the sort of house I would have wanted for Alice, if I had known her when she was human. I could just imagine her there in her drop-waisted, straight dress, a long string of beads around her neck, short-shorn hair cropped in close curls around her face, maybe watching some children play on the lawn from a rocking chair as I leaned against the wall in my pinstriped three-piece suit, twirling my watch chain. Very nineteen-twenties. I squeezed my arms around Alice's waist as I rested my chin on her head. She wrapped her arms around herself and traced her finger down my encircling arms in response.
"More room means a bigger closet," she whispered to me, grinning brightly.
"Oh, no," I sighed dramatically, laughing as I shook my head. When everyone had gotten a look at the future Cullen residence, Renesmee spoke up.
"Well, mine seems kind of small in comparison to everyone else's," she said as she touched her hand to Jacob's cheek and he dashed away into the trees. She used her own gift much less frequently now than she had as a child, but it was still useful. "But I did get it ready just for you. I didn't record it or compose it, like my dad, but..."
Jacob returned with the guitar case Esme and Carlisle had given Renesmee for her birthday. Apparently she and Jacob had stashed it in the woods during our set-up. Renesmee opened the case, took out the guitar, and walked over to sit down on the rocks. We all moved toward her, almost unconsciously, waiting with bated breath to see what she would play. It would probably look silly to outsiders, seeing how intent we were on this insignificant action, but we were all so proud of and engrossed in everything she did. And, I had to admit, I was curious to see how perfect she would be on this newest instrument. She had had it for three weeks now, after all. That was longer than she usually needed to perfect something. To perfect anything.
"My dad told me this was one of your favorites, Grandma, from when you and Grandpa first met." She strummed a warm up chord, though I thought that was more for our benefit than hers, and began. I recognized the tune at once. Carlisle would play it for Esme on the antique Victrola every so often. The record was by Henry Burr and the song was entitled "All That I Want Is You." By nowadays' standards the song sounded a little silly -- the quavering tenor voice was certainly not considered fashionable now. But Renesmee had made her own improvements to the song. She had fleshed out the melody and she sang in a clear, beautiful soprano.
Esme and Carlisle stood with their arms around each other, swaying in time to the music, smiling. Esme seemed to be watching Renesmee, but also be seeing things far away and many years ago. This song had been popular in nineteen twenty-three, around the time Esme had been changed. I wasn't sure if the song had been a favorite of hers before or after she had begun her life with Carlisle. It seemed unlikely she would truly remember a song from her human days, but it also seemed improbable that she would have felt ... controlled enough to be listening to music just after her change. Not everyone could be like Bella, after all. Either way, they seemed to truly enjoy the present. Renesmee probably could have juggled some pine cones and we all would have thought it was wonderful, though. There wasn't much that girl could do that we wouldn't think was amazing, I thought. Our little miracle.
I began to straighten up as the song came to what should have been its ending, but to my surprise -- and Carlisle and Esme's -- it continued. Renesmee had added her own verse. It was very sweet. If I hadn't heard the record before, I wouldn't have known the verse did not belong.
"You'll need to record that right away when we get home," Esme insisted, pulling her granddaughter into a tight embrace.
"I didn't think anything could take the place of the original in my heart, but somehow yours does. It was beautiful," Carlisle added, hugging Renesmee next. Renesmee beamed at their appreciation, Bella and Edward beamed in parental pride.
"It's not too hard to improve on the original," Jacob muttered before Renesmee kicked him quietly in the shin.
Finally the Denali clan came forward to offer their gift.
"I have to say, finding something for you two was almost impossible," Tanya said in a melodramatic fashion, gliding from the back of the company where she had been watching Renesmee. "If it weren't for Eleazar's brilliant idea, we would only have had our congratulations to offer you."
"That would have been quite enough," Carlisle assured her. Garrett snorted.
"No, no," Kate grinned, pushing in beside Tanya, almost unaware, to get a better look. "You know we couldn't stand to be completely outdone."
Eleazar and Carmen pressed forward as well, both smiling broadly in anticipation. Tanya held a heavy, ornately carved, wooden box in her arms. It reminded me of the box Aro's wedding present to Bella had come in, though it was not nearly as grand. The wood was darkened with age but it had once been light. Pine? Or maple, maybe?
"Eleazar remembered a story about Katherine of Aragon, Henry VIII's first wife, that was told in his village in Spain. Carmen had never heard it, so, like Alice's story, we're not sure if it's true, but it's a nice story."
"You tell it, mi corizone," Carmen said to her mate, pushing him forward lightly. Eleazar looked at Tanya, who nodded encouragingly.
Eleazar began a story about the one-time Queen of England and her servant friend, Sebastian, who became her only real love throughout the years. Although Katherine died having only given herself in body to King Henry, the story was that she only ever gave herself in love to Sebastian. Inspired by the practices of "courtly love" that were popular in England at the time, Sebastian had used his meager savings to purchase a small chunk of marble from a quarryman and then used the battered smith's tools at his disposal to carve a gift for his love. When he had finished, he carved a box to house his gift from the trunk of a beech tree near Katherine's palace in Aragon. He had brought the present to her and offered it as a token of his love and loyalty. As Eleazar's story went, Katherine kept Sebastian's gift in her chambers until the day she died, when she returned it to her only true love to keep in trust. Sebastian died not long after Katherine, and his gift passed out of historic memory -- if anyone had ever really known it existed in the first place.
"There is a small church in the Pyrenees mountains that was said to hold this gift from Sebastian to Katherine," Eleazar explained, "I had heard the tale of true but unrealized love from my childhood, so I knew where the carving was supposed to be. When Alice first told us of the upcoming celebration, I thought of the story. A bit tragic, but the purity of their love, the sheer enduringness of it, the way in which they were never parted, despite the mountains of things in their path -- all these made me think of you two." Eleazar looked from Carlisle and Esme to Carmen. It was clear this story made him think of his love, too. If he had grown up with this tale, it was probably a metaphor or symbol for all the love stories in his experience.
"So this is the actual gift?" Esme asked in disbelief.
"Yes," Carmen chimed in her soft cashmere voice, "or so the monks at the church told us. It was in storage in the basement of the building, covered in three inches of dust. Eleazar felt a little guilty about taking a 'national treasure,' but I'm sure they hardly miss it."
"Besides, you'll take better care of it than they did. A sixteenth-century artifact kept in a damp church basement? I'm surprised it's still in one piece!" Kate added reassuringly. Tanya finally handed the wooden box to Carlisle, a slight dimple showing in her chin as she smiled in anticipation. Carlisle pulled back the plain iron hinge very slowly and folded back the lid of the box.
"Oh!" Everyone gasped in wonder. The marble, like the wood, was darkened with age. It was a bone color, almost yellow. The carving was a flat round disc about two inches thick and about seven inches in diameter. The bass relief showed a castle turret with a beautiful young girl leaning out of it -- Katherine, I assumed, though the image reminded me of Rapunzel -- and a young man clad in simple clothes of the period upon a horse looking up at her. In his outstretched hand he held a folded parchment and the lady held a rose to her breast. Though he was looking straight up at her, she seemed to be looking out the window past him, not seeing. A small figure was at the heels of the horse, but some of the marble had chipped off so it was difficult to tell what it was. It seemed to have four legs and a tail -- a dog maybe? Remembering my artistic symbolism, that made sense. Dogs symbolized fidelity, loyalty. The rose was a symbol of the House of Tudor, but roses also meant many other things -- youth, purity, and love among them. Behind Sebastian on his steed was a swaying beech tree; another symbol? Trees meant the connection between earth and heaven, in a sense the will of God upon man. Or, another way of looking at it, fate. And beech trees might be a symbol of Aragon.
"So that's Sebastian?" Emmett asked, looking over Carlisle's shoulder now. He didn't seem all that impressed. I was sure he'd missed the subtle symbolism in the carving.
The gift was certainly priceless. I wondered fleetingly what Carmen and Eleazar had given the monks to convince them to part with such a treasure. If it was lying forgotten in a basement, maybe a new roof or tax money seemed a more advantageous acquisition than a forgotten tribute to a forgotten love. It was better off with Carlisle and Esme. At least they would appreciate it.
"It's incredible. Thank you, all of you," Carlisle nodded to the Denalis as he continued to hold up the carving for everyone to see. Tanya beamed and exchanged smug glances with Kate. Carmen stroked Eleazar's arm, as if telling him he had done well. Eleazar smiled bashfully.
"Tanya said you'd like it. I'm glad she was right."
"So, that's everyone, right? What's next on the agenda, little sister?" Emmett looked to Alice, seeming bored with the gift-giving now.
"Um, actually, I have something too. Something small," Jacob spoke up, moving to the front of the gathering now, "It's just a little token of my respect and gratitude to you both, for everything you've done for me and for the packs and all..." Jacob trailed off as he pulled a small object from his breast pocket. In the years since the renewal of the Cullen-Quilieute treaty, Carlisle had become the werewolves' doctor of choice. Any problem they had led them straight to our door. Many of the members had even taken to bringing their ill human loved ones to Carlisle; Quil had brought little Claire when she had caught chicken pox and was running a high fever, Jacob had insisted Billy be seen when he had fallen out of his wheelchair and dislocated his shoulder -- even Sam had asked Carlisle to oversee Emily's prenatal care and delivery of their daughter Sarah a few years ago. No one -- well, no doctor anyway -- knew werewolves better than Carlisle did.
Jacob handed his preferred doctor a small object wrapped in a dark woven cloth. Carlisle pulled back the corners to reveal a small wooden figurine. It was a wolf, much like the tiny charm on Bella's bracelet. This one was curled protectively around a small child, though. A child with ringlets and a rounded, cherubic face, holding her hand against the wolf's neck. The detail was incredible. Even with our superhuman eyesight it was hard to find a flaw in the figurine.
"Did you make this, Jacob?" Esme asked in awe.
"Well, yeah. I used a branch from one of the spruces near the house. I thought that would make it more personal, you know?"
"My very own Sebastian," Renesmee chuckled, patting Jacob's arm.
"It's beautiful," Esme breathed. She gave Jacob a tight hug. He no longer recoiled at the touch of our cold skin or the sweet smell of our bodies. He'd gotten used to that long ago -- or at least used to hiding his discomfort.
"Thank you, Jacob. It's a wonderful gift. Nessie looks exactly the same as she did," Carlisle added, also giving Jacob a warm -- figuratively speaking -- embrace.
"Back when she was cute and sweet," he laughed. Renesmee punched him in the kidney, but the corners of her mouth turned up in a smile. Edward, however, ground his teeth.
"Well, that is everyone, isn't it?" Alice asked, looking around the company. Everyone smiled and nodded. "Good. Well, we did have a few other things planned for tonight, so, shall we?"
The night continued with a "reading" from one of Carlisle's favorite poems (though, of course, Rosalie had it memorized), more dancing and music, laughter and reminiscing. It was a wonderful evening. If someone had told me a hundred years ago I would ever have such an evening, such a family, I would have suggested they be committed. Such happiness and contentment and kinship were not something I would have thought I'd know. There just hadn't been anything like this with Maria, maybe not even with my biological family. I couldn't really remember. I did have more happiness than I could ever deserve to have. As if Alice was not enough, I had Renesmee and Carlisle and Esme and Edward and Bella and Emmett -- even Rosalie had a prickly place in my heart. And as if all that were not more than I deserved, we had our extended family, our cousins: Tanya and Kate, now Carmen, Eleazar, and Garrett. No wonder the Volturi resented us. For all their "adoring" followers, they could never hope to have the bonds we had. They could never be a family the way we were. I couldn't imagine many people could.
I saw Edward nodding in agreement, I assumed to my thoughts. I squeezed Alice around the waist and looked down at her elfin face, alight with excitement.
"You did a wonderful job, my dear. Everything was absolutely perfect."
"It was, wasn't it? I'm so glad. That will be us one day," she nodded toward Carlisle and Esme, who were again lost in each other's gaze, oblivious to the rest of the world. "I only hope we can share it like this."
"We will. Of course we will."
"Then again," she grinned up at me. I could see where this was going, "There's something to be said for alone time. I feel the need to 'hunt' again tonight, don't you?"
"Well, I never did get my wolf," I grinned back. Irrepressible Alice. My darling, gorgeous, irreverent, angelic little vixen. I kissed her cheek softly as I breathed in her ear, "How did I ever get so lucky?"
"It's quite the mystery, isn't it?" she giggled, and stood on her tip toes to brush her lips over my left eyebrow. Breathe, Jasper, I told myself. Remember to breathe.