Hope everyone is enjoying so far! Don't worry, they'll be traveling soon. Forgot to say before, but obviously I don't own any of these characters, they are all the creation of Stephenie Meyer.
Our family understood that we had to go explore on our own for a while, becoming our own family, but that didn't stop them from making a few demands. With Renesmee's second birthday only three weeks away, there was no way that we were going to leave without giving her a proper birthday party, Alice informed us. Esme was satisfied that she would be able to have a big celebration and threw herself into planning with Rosalie and Alice. They wanted it to be a celebration for me as well, but though I was happy to celebrate my child, there was no way I was going to willingly sit through another event with attention focused on me. No amount of time was going to stop that. I still suspected Alice had something up her small, designer sleeve though, since I was in no way allowed to be part of the planning!
In the mean time, Edward and I drew Carlisle and Jasper into the planning of our trip. We had plenty of time to do that since Jacob just wanted to spend as much time with Renesmee as possible before we left.
All three of us decided that it was best to stay within the Americas. We did not want to attract unnecessary Volutri attention, which left the majority of Europe out. To meet Jacob's demands, we wouldn't go to any continent farther than South America, ensuring we would always be able to keep in contact with him and our family, should problems arise.
Edward suddenly became worried in the middle of planning, "Won't people ask why she isn't in school? She does look like she is of school age. What will we tell people?"
"Hmm," Carlisle thought. "Why don't you just tell people that it is a fall break of some sort. Or perhaps that your family is new to the area and you haven't been registered for school yet." He smiled sadly. "People will obviously not believe that you are Renesemee's parents, so you'll have to pretend that she is a sister, or a cousin if you like."
I stood and walked over to the window, gazing out at the forest as a stab of pain shot through where my heart used to beat. I knew that it would have to be that way. No one would believe that an 18-year-old girl could possibly have a 12-year-old daughter. It still hurt me that I could never recognize what a wonder she was and publicly take pride in her. My sadness must have read on my face, as Edward put a comforting arm around my shoulder.
"We'll know" he said softly, showing his unique ability to read my thoughts though mine were the only ones he couldn't know for sure. "We'll know that she is ours and that she is special."
"This is the only way" Carlisle added as Esme looked up at me with a look of sympathy.
I nodded stiffly and turned away. "It's the way it has to be." I choked out, clenching my jaw to hide my sadness. "Where next?"
At the end, we decided to be gone for just over six weeks. We would fly to visit Denali before driving back across Canada and the US, hitting the Midwest and Northeast during the cloudiest, rainiest fall to winter season. Then we would fly to Chile, and wander up the coast until we went into the Amazon and seek out the Amazonian women, Zafrina, Senna and Kachiri. Along the way there were other nomads with whom we could talk and develop ties. Though that wouldn't be our primary concern, we knew, better than any other vampires, the importance of having alliances in place.
In the mean time Edward thought my education was slightly lacking. With all the extra brain power I had, he felt it was a shame to waste time! Two days after talking with the family a huge box arrived on the doorstep of our little cottage. I looked skeptically at Edward who smirked crookedly at me. I tore through the wrappings to find books, and CDs, of every single South American language I had ever heard of, plus several I had never seen in my life and definitely couldn't pronounce.
"I didn't want to be the only one speaking while we were traveling," he explained innocently. I gaped at him in return.
"How am I ever going to learn all of these?" I exclaimed. The only very dim memories I still have of learning language was years of Spanish lessons. Pretty much the only thing I remember from those was Tengo que ir al baño, I have to go to the bathroom.
Edward smiled wider at my dismay. "Don't worry! I'll help you, my love" he laughed.
And so we set to work. In the countless hours in our never-ending days, we studied together. Though I dreaded the experience, I could not have found a better teacher. Edward was always patient, creating endless sentences for me to memorize. I was surprised, though, how easy it was. I could read a book once and recite it back verbatim. In two days I could speak Spanish better than years of schooling. To help me out with my accents, the only thing that Edward said was not yet up to par, the whole family started conversing only in the languages we were learning. They had already learned these languages, of course.
Renesmee also took a part in my learning by becoming a fellow student. For a year and a half, Esme had devoted hours of time each day to Renesmee's schooling. Edward told me one evening that she had not only schooled all of her adopted children, she had been a school teacher for young children when she was human. Of course my daughter learned far faster than other children but Esme and Carlise researched to find appropriate materials for her reaching intellect, filling it with the classic school fare, math, science and history, while also adding some of their own interests, art, theatre and literature. Of course Emmett did his part by trying to engage our daughter in every sport that ever existed, and Alice and Rosalie taught her about fashion, make-up and all the 'girly' pursuits that I so abhorred. Nessie took to them with much more attention.
For our part, Edward and I took the time to do what we saw as the most important teaching. In the times when she wasn't running with Jacob, dressing with Alice and Rose, laughing with Jasper and Emmett, and studying with Esme and Carlisle, she had discussions with us. We wanted to instill in her the right sense of morality that we so valued from our parents, adoptive and not. We talked with her about philosophy and what we were. It was a constant struggle for her to find her own place in between two vastly different worlds. The biggest struggle was the need for secrecy that she knew was so important. A conversation when she was just over one year old resounded in my mind, making me fear for her future place in the world.
"But why mom?" she pushed, "why do you have to keep what you are a secret? You can run faster than a regular human, hear better, and you don't even show anyone! I want to show people what I can do!" She pouted, an expression that normally got her whatever she wanted from her spoiling family.
"Because honey," Edward reasoned, "other people can't understand. They can't do what you do and get scared when they see something that's really different from themselves."
"But you met mom in school didn't you?" she asked.
"Yes, I did, and I'm so lucky that I did. But your mom was special." Edward looked lovingly at me and I smiled back, thinking of those first dreams and conversations when I confirmed all that Edward was. Nessie didn't seem to want to listen and so we had the same conversation many times, each to the same slightly unsatisfying end. I was worried, did she understand the importance of keeping our secret quiet? Of course she knew of the threat of the Volturi. No matter what, that threat had always been a real one, but besides the physical threat, I wasn't sure she understood why we had to be her little secret.
The day of the party dawned bright and beautiful. Edward and I left Nessie sleeping in the cottage with Jacob as a careful guard outside in order to help set up decorations. Alice and Rosalie had, of course, spared no expense. To break the gloom of what Alice saw as a cloudy day, lights were hung on every tree surrounding the house. We helped her hang crystals from the ceilings so every surface sparkled. In addition there were hundreds of flowers covering every surface in beautiful arrangements. The theme was fashion, of course, now that Alice had finally found someone to dress up just like her!
In the morning, we woke her up to have some family time where Edward and I could give her our present. Our daughter loved reading and literature, a trait she gained from all her family. So, to encourage her own ideas, we bought her a small, portable computer that fit in her designer backpack so that she could record ideas anytime she wanted. Edward couldn't help himself and had stocked it with thousands of songs. I just wanted her to have internet access anywhere. I knew that she would miss Jake, her best friend too, after all, and so bought her an internet card that would allow her to email him anytime she wanted.
We invited Charlie and Sue to be part, along with Jake's pack. Each brought something special. We didn't specify an age, knowing it would alarm Charlie even more, so made it a going-away celebration as well. Renesmee received every traveling item she would ever need. On top of the backpack which Alice had picked out, she received beautiful seed pearl bracelet from Carlisle and Esme, a starter make-up kit from Rosalie, a set of DVDs from Jasper and Emmett which fit into our car for the drive and a suitcase full of travel clothing from Alice. Jacob gave her a necklace with a wood carving of a wolf howling at the moon. I recognized the enormous craftsmanship of it and gave Jake an extra squeeze. For a final gift, Edward had clearly conspired with Charlie and Sue, giving Renesmee, Edward and I tickets to a Broadway show for our time in New York.
After opening presents, cake and a feast (mostly eaten by the pack), it was time to say goodbye and accept well-wishes for our trip. It was bittersweet to say goodbye to them all, but comforting to know the great family we left behind. Besides, what bad things could happen in just six weeks?