Bella

I followed Esme into the spacious kitchen. The appliances were a little outdated but that was to be expected in a kitchen where no one cooked. It was bright with a big window that overlooked the backyard. There was a table off to the side with six chairs around it. I shook my head. Vampires and their props. Esme went to the refrigerator and opened it.

"What would you like?" she asked.

I laughed. "What do you have? I guess more importantly, why is there food here at all?"

Esme smiled at me. "We knew you were coming of course, thanks to Alice. But they keep human food here anyway. Tanya and her sisters often have human guests." I flinched a little when she said Tanya's name. I hadn't forgotten her words from before. Esme noticed and smiled softly.

"Don't let her bother you. She has always had a soft spot for Edward, though he has never given her the least bit of encouragement. She is a little jealous that you have managed to steal his heart." I rolled my eyes at the thought of Tanya being jealous of a mere human.

I looked in the refrigerator and saw plenty of stuff for a fruit salad. I looked in the cabinets until I found a bowl then pulled open the drawers until I found a small knife. I turned to Esme.

"Would you mind terribly cutting up the pineapple for me? With my luck I'm likely to slip and cut a main artery." Esme's laughter echoed around the room.

After the fruit was prepared I sat in one of the chairs at the dining room table. Esme sat across from me and smiled affectionately. I could see how happy she was to have her family back together again.

"It is so good to see you again, Esme. I've missed you. You're like my mom away from home, if you know what I mean."

She reached across the table and squeezed my free hand gently. "I've missed you too. I think of you as my daughter and I am glad you are back with us. My family is complete now and it is all because of you." I blushed and shook my head.

"Bella, you don't know what it has been like around here. Emmett wouldn't laugh and Rosalie was more upset than she let most of us know. Jasper spent most of his time alone because there was so much sadness coming from everyone. Alice even spent less time shopping." My eyes widened at that and she nodded her head.

"Edward doesn't understand how much at the heart of this family he is. When we first came here, you know, after, it was so hard on him. He could tell how much his anguish at leaving you was hurting us. We couldn't do anything to make him feel better; our sympathy only seemed to make it worse. Soon he just left, gone for weeks at a time. When he would come back we were so happy to see him and so distressed at how much he was suffering. Finally he stopped coming back at all. He would call us, let us know he was ok, but we could tell how much he was hurting."

There were tears in my eyes. Edward had suffered so much. His leaving had hurt me too but hearing that he had been so distraught upset me even more. He had been trying to do the right thing by me. I had suffered but I could not be too angry at him for wanting me to be happy and safe.

"Esme, I'm so sorry. Sorry that you and Edward and the rest of the family had to suffer so much. Do you ever think that you all would have been better off if I had never come into Edward's life? All I have done is bring suffering on all of you." I grimaced at the thought of their misery.

"Bella, no." Esme squeezed my hand firmly. "Bella, you have no idea how much brightness you have brought to our lives by your mere presence." I looked at her skeptically. "I mean it, Bella." Her voice was firm.

"Before you, Edward merely existed. He traveled though his life, doing what was expected of him, but not really living it. He would have moments of happiness, of joy, excitement, but really he just wandered. Then, after he met you and fell in love with you, Bella, it was like suddenly the sun emanated from him. And he brought all that light to the whole family. He was so happy the rest of us were infected by it too. Like a virus." I smiled at the thought of viral happiness. Esme continued.

"I have never seen him so happy as when he was with you. I heard him laugh more often than I could ever remember. He even started playing the piano again, something he hadn't done in almost a decade. That was you, Bella. You caused those changes in him. He saw in you the things we have all come to see. Your kind and generous nature. How selfless and good you are, what a beautiful soul you have. And we love you for the same reasons." She sighed when I shook my head in denial.

"You don't see how special you really are, do you? Bella, from the first moment, you accepted us for what we are and loved us for who we are. That is such a rare thing, in a human or a vampire. You have such a huge capacity for love and we are so glad to have you with us, in our family."

I sat there, stunned. I had no idea that they thought that way.

"But Esme, you are all so wonderful how can anyone help but to love you?"

She laughed. "That's exactly what I mean Bella. Not everyone can love so completely, with such acceptance. You are truly special."

"Thank you, Esme."

"Thank you, Bella. I know it must have taken a lot of courage to go track Edward down, more than I can fathom. I will be forever thankful for your strength; I don't know many people who could be that strong."
"I'm not that strong, Esme. I was terrified the whole time, worried I was making a huge fool of myself. I had no idea what he would do, what he would say. I was ready to come back home. What was I doing? Chasing someone who had rejected me; I felt pathetic. It hurt me so much when he left me. I didn't know his real reasons. I thought I was unloved and un-loveable. I mean really, Edward is so amazing and I have always felt so insignificant next to him. When he told me that he didn't want me, that I wasn't good for him, it wasn't so hard to believe. How could I ever be good enough for an angel?" I laughed without humor.

"Bella, my dear sweet Bella. Please don't ever feel that way. You are the best thing that has ever happened to him. You complete him in a way I thought he never would be able to be. You are not insignificant. You fill up the holes in his soul and he does the same for you. You belong together; you were made for each other." Esme always said the right things. There were tears in my eyes again. I brushed them aside.

"Well, now that I know the reason he left I feel better. Angry but better. And there is no way I am ever going to let him get away from me again. Next time he might go to Siberia or something. If you think my Spanish is bad you should hear my Russian." We both laughed. I got up and rinsed my bowl in the sink. Esme followed and when I turned around she enveloped me in a hug. It felt so good to have her hold me, soothing away all my pain and helping me see that everything would be alright. We stood that way for a long time. Sometimes you just need a hug.