Chapter Eight: It Happened One Night

I'd decided on lemon chicken and buttered noodles with a simple salad for dinner that evening, and crossed my fingers that my father would enjoy it. He sent me a text message that he'd be home around four-thirty; I remembered his schedule coming home like clockwork: Take off work boots and leave them in the hallway; head upstairs to master bathroom and shower; change into clean clothes; lie in front of the T.V. until called for dinner. I intended to begin the preparation of dinner so, when Dad arrived home, he'd be able to smell it and not suggest that we order a pizza.

I set to work marinating the chicken in the lemon mixture and begin to hum to myself, and I can clearly see that this will be a system for the next several weeks. I'd have some time with Dad and make him dinner—and perhaps lunch if the occasion called for it—and maybe he and I could even leave the city for a day trip to Port Angeles or Seattle. Big cities were all I knew, really, and the whole small town thing was clearly something I would have to get used to, considering I was going to be here for about a year, unless I decided to move out of state and far away for college.

I remembered that Mom and I had driven through Seattle to continue along the main highway to get, ultimately, to California. The two of us had stopped for lunch in one of those impressive restaurants Downtown, and I remembered looking through the impressive windows at the skyline, and my mother telling me to hurry up. She was always paranoid then, and she firmly believed that Dad had used his connections with Chief Swan to go after us.

The forests, I figured, were comforting enough, due to my love of greener things. I quickly recalled how much I'd despised the color pallet down in California, always likening it to something burnt. Here, everything looked so fresh and clean and, even if it got dirty, a generous rainstorm would soon fix it, even though it was in the middle of summer. Rain was not a constant luxury down south as it was here and, despite my love of it, it was still rather shocking to me that buckets and buckets of the stuff could seemingly burst from the overhead clouds at the beginning of August.

I finished the preparation of the chicken for that night and sealed it with plastic wrap and set it upon a main shelf in my father's fridge. Washing my hands, I still found I did not want to call my mother, and sent her a quick text at my dinner preparation. I know it must have seemed boring but, due to the rain, I found I wanted to be a homebody that afternoon. I bit my lip and went back upstairs to my bedroom, sitting in the center of my bed and debating what to spend the rest of my afternoon doing. I'd only met Edward and Bella Cullen formally and Charlie and Sue Swan in passing; most teens in California would go down to a coffee bar or something, but I'd only really seen two small diners in town and neither of them screamed 'hip teen hangout'. I'd never describe myself as 'hip', but with a population of just over three thousand people, it's not like we were going to be getting one of those shallow teen clubs anytime soon. Not that I wanted to hang out there; I remembered my mom putting me into a skimpy outfit at fourteen and driving me to one in Central L.A., and telling me that she wouldn't be back to get me until eleven p.m. With makeup, I may have passed for sixteen, but I still felt like a little girl playing dress-up in her older, rebellious teen sister's clothes as I attempted to make my way around the black and white checkered floor in my borrowed, six-inch platform heels. I felt like a fraud; not only was I a sheep in wolf's clothing, but random guys were coming onto me, and I was a little creeped out.

The more I thought it over, the more I considered that this was only the beginning of a fresh start for me. Yes, nobody of my age group knew me, because I was not permitted to socialize with anyone but my cousins—my father's brother Ricky's kids—but they all went to school in the same town where the farm was located. I still hadn't seen them, although I knew that Dad would want to make a special trip out there. Even though Ricky was the younger brother, he'd married very quickly after graduating high school to a woman named Anna, and they'd had four kids in quick succession; my cousins were called Carson, Finn, Mackenzie, and Amber, and their ages were nineteen to fifteen, with Finn and Kenzie being twins at seventeen.

I remembered Carson not really being interested in playing with me, and he and Finn would be off somewhere playing in a puddle of mud while Kenzie and I would have some form or other of intellectual conversation. It mostly involved the two of us non-verbally reacting to all the shenanigans that the boys found themselves getting into, and our mother's praising us on staying clean. Mom and Anna got along famously, why I'll never know, but I think Anna was a rock for Mom; it was a woman her age with kids, and they were family, and despite the nearly one-hundred-mile drive, they tried to see one another every weekend, taking turns driving out.

I lay back on my back then upon my bed, my head just hitting the pillow, as I stared up at the ceiling. It was a textured ceiling, resembling popcorn, and I recalled one of my earliest memoires was of me crying and demanding why I could not eat my ceiling if it looked so delicious. It was confusing, I'd said, and deliberately cruel towards children to manufacture a ceiling in such a way, for it would cause confusion about what was all right to eat versus what wasn't. My father praised my way of thinking—although I suspect it was merely because he found it amusing or he himself had wondered the same thing at some point or another—while my mother merely absorbed up my opinions like an unwilling plant. She had already begun her medication for her psychosis at that point, but it didn't seem to be doing her any good. If anything, her temper was shorter than it had been, and I feared the times that Dad would go off to work and leave me all alone with her...

I was shocked at Alice's sudden declaration—surely Jacinda wouldn't be so stupid to create something so against vampire law! Perhaps she believed that, due to her closeness to Aro, she would be able to either conceal or to seek his protection from her future major misconduct. It seemed that, regardless of Jacinda's forthcoming infraction, Bella and I would have to work doubly hard with our shields so as any activities to protect me and my father were not discovered or thwarted.

The following morning, I spent some time with Sarah; plans to put her in the autumn preschool had been stopped, for she and I would be moving to London promptly. Richard and I ourselves would be leaving in just a few more weeks—three and a half to be exact—and we still had much to do. We had to find warmer clothes, for one thing; shop for our books, enroll Sarah in a preschool there, and get a proper nanny for the boys and for Sarah as well.

The adoption, it had been decided, would have to be finalized beforehand. I explained to Sarah that she would be taking my surname, Cullen, and that she would be free to call me her mother if she wished. Sarah, enchanted with the whole arrangement, took to calling me 'Mama' straightaway, and I couldn't have been more delighted. I left it to Alice to do the shopping for Richard, Sarah, the boys, and I and, after she got our measurements, she went to Seattle for the day with Rosalie to sort everything out. While Rosalie wasn't as into clothes as Alice was, she knew my style far better than our sister and, therefore, would look out for me when it came to the world of fashion.

I'd just put Sarah to bed exactly one week prior to the adoption, when Richard came into my bedroom. It was more our bedroom now, as he never used his room other than a reading room or study room. Other than his few months at Forks High School with me, Alex, and Katherine, he hadn't had much schooling since graduating from college for the third time back in the early 1990's. Richard climbed onto the bed where I was sitting cross-legged with my new Tablet, going over various checklists for the upcoming move to London. I had secured a meeting with Rosewood Primary Academy, a local elementary school—which included a preschool—and was one of the top-rated institutions in the area, all for Sarah, in the hopes that she could manage to get in. Carlisle was familiar with the headmistress, one Mrs. Helena Matthews, and I crossed my fingers that the connection would somehow work out in our favor.

"Are you all right?" I asked him, leaning forward and brushing my lips with his. "You've been very quiet these last few weeks..."

He shakes his head. "Just concerned about Jacinda and all that..."

"I see," I reply, dipping my head back downwards to inspect the check-list once again. "I can't think why Aro would feel the need to come after us. Sure, we drink animal blood and not human blood, but that's not a crime."

"True," Richard allows, "but still..."

I raise my eyes back to his. "Still...what? We've got an eternity, Richard," I say with an easy smile his way. "Come on—I don't want our relationship centered around lies."

"When was the last time you hunted?" he asked.

I shrug. "Bella and I went out maybe three or four days ago, when Emmett insisted on that guys' trip to Denali... Why?"

"No reason—want to hunt now?"

I shrug, setting my Tablet aside and hopping off my bed. I put my jeans back on and put on a sweater, knowing that if by chance we run into some humans, we at least had to look the part somehow. It was still late summer, but there was now a nip to the air that hadn't been there since spring had begun. I pulled on my running shoes and hopped out my floor to ceiling window after Richard, taking off into the woods. I loved his company, and my heart soared whenever he looked at me with kindness and love in his eyes, and I felt like I wanted nothing more than for us to be together forever...

We reached a clearing in the center of the woods and stood, poised, in the semi-darkness, waiting for that inevitable twig snap. Sure enough, an elk had picked the wrong time to journey out for a midnight stroll, and Richard and I made quick work at tackling the mighty beast together. When we'd finished, Richard suggested a walk up the mountain, and I agreed, knowing that we'd be able to catch the tail end of the sunset. It was around eight thirty when we reached a good cliff, and the sun was just preparing to vanish over the faraway horizon. As it hit the pair of us, I snuck a glance at Richard; seeing him sparkling just as much as I did, I felt myself filling with some sort of pride then—this man was mine, and nothing would ever change that fact.

"Beth, I brought you out here under false pretenses," Richard says, softly.

At once, fear threatens to bubble beneath the surface. "Oh," I reply, lowering my eyes. "I...I get it, really..."

"You do?"

"Yeah, I mean..." I shake my head. "Come on. I could understand you wanting to go to London with just me, but with three kids in tow, and two of them babies..."

Richard closes the distance between us then, taking my hand in his. "This doesn't have anything to do with that, Beth. I promise."

I sigh. "Okay. Just checking..."

"It has to do with the kids, sure, but that's not..." He shakes his head. "Emmett wanting to go to Denali was just a cover story."

I raise an eyebrow. "I'm listening."

"We went to Fifth Avenue in New York, to Tiffany's..."

"Tiffany's? Why? Did Alice or Rosalie or Esme want something?"

"Not Bella?"

I laugh at that. "Of course not Bella!" I say, laughing heartily. "She's compliment the cut of the jewels or say something about their history, but it's not her style..."

Richard laughs. "You're right, you're right... But no, nothing for Alice or Rosalie or Esme, although Jasper, Emmett, and Carlisle did end up buying them something... And Alex got Katherine something, too, but that's beside the point..."

"Richard?" I asked, knowing full well that I'd be flush and my heart would've been racing had I still been human.

He smiles, going down to one knee. "I won't ask you to take my name—that's not my style, not anymore. I'd take the Cullen name; and I've asked Carlisle, the man whose name you have, for his blessing, and he's given it. And as for the kids, I want to be their father; I love them all, and Sarah and I have discussed it..."

"You spoke to Sarah?"

"Yes, about being her father, and she's so excited... We spoke about it, and she claimed that it was up to you..."

"Up to me?" I ask, and gasp aloud when he removes the traditional black velvet box from his pocket. "Richard..."

He chuckles. "This was the cliff where you promised to me mine, and I swore to be yours," he tells me. "I'm looking forward to our move to London—more than anything—but I am a traditional Southern boy at heart. I was born in Charlotte but Dad's export business was based in New York, so we moved. I took to telling everyone I was from there; we moved when I was six, so I was able to drop the accent, but not the charm. When things got bad, Mom suggested I move in with her sister, Anastasia, until things got easier. She later got pregnant..."

"Brother or sister?" I ask, softly.

"A sister—they called her Ruthie," he replies. "Mom and Ruthie didn't last long, and they died just before I turned fourteen. Dad stopped writing directly after that; just sent my aunt a few letters here and there over the next few months..."

"And then you got sick?" I ask.

He nods. "Yes. I finished high school and things began looking up. I got into Duke University when I was sixteen and decided to take the opportunity it afforded me. I began studying law and began to pave a future for myself. I'd just turned nineteen when I got sick and Aunt Anastasia announced to our family that Katherine would be marrying Nathaniel Thompson, a widower who was in his thirties, and a terrible, terrible man. I was soon diagnosed as contagious and I had to go into the hospital..."

"And you couldn't protect Katherine?"

"Not anymore," he says, regretfully. "As soon as I was turned, I spent the next few months in the surrounding woods, curbing my blood lust and waiting for the proper time to snatch Katherine. I found her soon thereafter and told her that I could save her, or never see her again. She chose to be saved..."

"And here you are," I reply.

He nods. "Here I am." He runs a hand through his hair. "I'm a traditionalist at heart, Beth. I was taught that certain things were not done before a certain time..."

"And?" I ask.

"I was brought up with the notion that marriage is what you must do in order to live with someone properly," he says slowly. "While I want more than anything to be with you in London when we attend Oxford," he says, "I want to be married to you first," he continues, kneeling and opens the black velvet ring box flawlessly with one finger.

I feel my eyes widen at the ring—it was a heart-shaped diamond, wrapped in the center of a bed of smaller, circular diamonds. The cut was perfect, the diamond flawless, and it was all perfectly placed upon a platinum band. I knew that, had I been human, my knees would have weakened—how on earth had someone guessed my dream ring...? "Damn Edward," I say, softly, my voice choking with emotion around the laugh.

Richard laughs. "Yes, damn Edward," he says. "Elizabeth Vivien Cullen, I love you more than words can say. From the moment I met you, I knew you were different than any other girl I'd met. I never knew if I even wanted marriage before I met you, but my thoughts on the matter have changed. Will you marry me, and be my lifelong companion?" he asks me, his eyes alight with hope. "Will you become my wife?"

I find myself wanting desperately to cry, but, of course, I cannot. "Yes, Richard Walter Kingsley, I will marry you," I reply.

Richard slips the ring onto my finger and springs to his feet, grabbing me around my waist and spinning me around. He lets out a shout of joy and I do the same, our shouts quickly intermingling in a moment of pure happiness. While we had as much love as any couple should, we had one thing that many of them did not: Time. Richard and I would live for years and years, something many couples wished to have but didn't. As I envisioned our years of wedded bliss, I felt perfectly wonderful. I then dart from his arms. "Race you back!" I cry out, and charge down the mountain. I find I let out a little shout as Richard immediately tears after me, the massive boulders crumbling around us we just manage to dodge. I love the feeling of being (technically) seventeen forever and having my nineteen-year-old fiancé running after me down this mountain side as we head into the woods. It grows dark around us, but it does not turn us off from our terrain as we jump over more rocks on the forest floor, getting closer and closer to the Cullen house—our house.

"Only Edward knows, as well as Alice," Richard whispers as we near the clearing between the edge of the woods and the house itself. "And I did as Carlisle for his consent..."

I whip around then, my eyes widening. "You asked Carlisle?" He nods. "Yes. I felt that, since he is one of us, it would be far simpler to ask him such a thing than your own father," he says. "Perhaps your father would have given his consent—I don't know. What I do know is Carlisle; he created me, thus giving me the ability to be in your life. He saved you, thus giving you the ability to be in mine." He takes my hand. "Because of that, I shall be forever grateful to him."

I lean into him then, feeling comfort in his arms as the last rays of the sun vanished, which shrouded us completely in darkness. "Well, I'm sure they're pressing their faces against the glass wall," I say softly, ruefully. "They're bound to suspect that something is going on between us..."

Richard chuckles, his hot breath delicious on my neck. "I'll bet you're right."

"Come on." I pull back from him, and feel delightful as he wraps his hand around mine. We approach the house, opening the back door, and head through the kitchen and into the living room. As we enter, I see Carlisle and Esme engrossed in a game of chess; Emmett and Jasper are nose-deep in a football game; Rosalie is looking through some magazine; and Alice is arranging a vase of flowers on Esme's dining room table. "Where are Edward and Bella?" I ask, knowing that they should be there too.

The front door opens from downstairs then and, instantly, Edward and Bella have joined us, a knowing smile on each of their lips.

Richard has his arm around my waist, and I find myself perfectly at ease as we stand there, in the center of the living room, around our family. Looking up, I find myself grinning as Alex and Katherine come downstairs and look expectantly at the two of us. I turn and look at Richard, my love, my fiancé, my everything, and find myself swelling with pride as he turns to smile at me.

"So, everyone, Richard and I have some news," I say, turning back to everyone and looking them over in turn. "Carlisle, Edward, and Alice know about it already, but the rest of you should know about it, too."

Richard gently takes ahold of my left wrist and holds it aloft, my diamond glinting in the fashionable lights of the living room, specially picked out by Esme. "I've asked Beth to be my wife and she's accepted," he says proudly.

"We're getting married!" I cry out.

It is exactly a fraction of a second before Alice, Rosalie and Esme squeal with delight; that is quickly followed by Bella and Carlisle applauding; Jasper's nod of approval comes next, and Emmett throws his fists into the air and whoops. Richard and I are immediately pulled away from one another and thrown into a giant mess of hugs. I can see in Alice's eyes that she fully thinks that she will be planning the wedding, and I bite my lip, searching the crowd for Edward, and quickly convey to him that I want to plan my wedding on my own. I feel immense relief when he gives me a quick nod—so quick that even the rest of the family will have missed it—that he will speak to her.

"Who's going to be your Maid of Honor?" Alice asks then, eagerly, and immediately puts herself forward. I give an uncomfortable grin; however much I loved Alice, I knew full well that I wanted Bella to be my Maid of Honor—or, in this case, Matron of Honor—but I just shook my head at her. "Haven't decided yet," I reply, and Edward scoffs, lowering his eyes, and making a supreme effort not to laugh as he shakes his head; I could also swear that he mouthed "good save" under his breath.

Alice looked a little disappointed, but clearly understood that Richard and I weren't taking questions at this point and backed off considerably, allowing the rest of the family to step in and embrace us. After the excitement died down, everyone wanted to know where Richard had asked me and what my thoughts were on the ring. Next, they wanted to know what he'd said, and we gave them the edited version—I was sure that Edward would sift through my mind at some point to discover the full truth himself. After all that rather private information was exchanged, Edward and Bella returned to the cottage while Alex and Katherine, Rosalie and Emmett, and Alice and Jasper went upstairs. Esme went up soon thereafter and Richard went as well, leaving me alone in the living room with Carlisle, his medical textbook marked with his index finger.

"Richard told me that he asked for your blessing," I say softly.

Carlisle smiles. "That's right. He's traditional—I like that."

I nod. "I'm sure you said 'yes' to him. He really respects you; I don't think he would go against you like that."

He chuckles. "Yes, I did tell him he could ask. I also explained to him that it was ultimately up to you; he shouldn't expect anything, you know."

"Of course, you're right," I reply. "Listen, I know my dad knows that I'm alive and everything but I don't feel comfortable having him involved in my life," I say quietly. "I mean...with everything so different now..." I bite my lip. "Would it be selfish of me to get Richard to wipe his memory?"

Carlisle looks philosophical. "Is that something you would want?"

I sigh. "Don't get me wrong—I love my dad—but there comes a time when it's time to let it all go. I mean, fifty years from now, everyone of that generation will have died. Fifty years for us'll be over so quickly—it almost doesn't seem fair to anyone involved."

He nods. "I see your point." He shuffles from foot to foot. "Is that really what you want? I understand the hurt it could cause when he passes away but wouldn't fifty years be better than nothing at all?"

I am relieved at this moment to be a vampire, for now I don't have to hold back the inevitable tears which would fall. "I had to raise myself since I was a kid," I reply. "I don't even know if my father was a good parent or not. I don't even know if he really loved me. I mean, maybe he was just devastated at the thought of my death because maybe he thought he owed me something..."

"Did he know?" Carlisle asks. "Did he know what Andy and your mother did to you when you were a child?"

I shake my head. "Not that aspect of it, no," I reply. "Just that they both knocked me around now and then."

"Could he have suspected?"

I shrug. "Not very bright," I say quietly.

"Not like you?"

I chuckle. "Nobody in the Reece or Partridge family was ever anything like me," I reply. "I mean, none of them could live forever and kill people without consequences."

Carlisle remains impassive, studying me. "Are you happy?"

I smile. "I've been given a tremendous gift by our enemy," I reply. "If Aro has his way, I—as his creation—will be forced to join the Volturi. Alice hasn't said anything of any new developments or anything like that but she's assured me that me, Richard, Sarah, and the twins will be safe in London. Who knows? Maybe once we have our degrees and come back things will be all right..."

"Do you think so?"

I shrug. "Hey, maybe Richard and I will be nomads or something," I reply. "Can't expect you to look after us forever, can I?"

Carlisle crosses to me and pulls me into his arms, but not completely, so as he can stare into my eyes. "I'm going to say this one more time, Beth, just one more. You are my daughter, and in however long to your wedding, Richard will be my son. Even when you take his name when you say your vows..."

"No." I shake my head. "Richard and I have discussed it. He's going to take our name and become a Cullen."

Carlisle smiles, clearly touched. "Is he?"

I nod. "He is. He wants to adopt Sarah and the boys alongside me, and then they'll be Cullen's, too."

Carlisle pulls me into his arms. "After you get your degrees—your medical degree and Richard's degree in law—you're more than welcome to keep living with us. Who knows, Beth? Maybe Richard can join Jasper in counterfeiting with his knowledge of the various laws here as well as in England..."

For the first time, I allow myself to feel secure at the thought of my immortality—I had almost anything and perpetually seventeen-year-old girl could want: A supportive family; a drop-dead gorgeous, respectful, loyal, intelligent fiancé; magical abilities... The list went on. I was also pleased at the fact that I could have it all; a full scholarship to my dream overseas university, a house overseas, and said fiancé moving there with me... Plus, I would soon have three adopted children... What more could I possibly want?

I raise my eyes to Carlisle then, wishing in that moment that I could cry. "You've given me everything," I tell him. "Aro may have created me, but you have truly saved me. However much I loved my father, he couldn't have kept me away from my mother forever. She and Andy were so emotionally manipulative that I would've fallen back into their trap sooner or later." I shrug. "You're my dad, and Esme is my mom, and I will be forever grateful to the both of you for shielding me from everything that needed to be."

"Esme and I couldn't be more proud to call you our daughter," Carlisle assures me. "If you and Richard ever have need of us, you know where to find us."

I nod. "That's the thing..."

"What is?"

"Part of Richard's proposal was his explanation of how traditional he really is," I tell him. "I understand that the house in England is seven bedrooms but..."

"But?"

"Well, I'm sure it'll be enough," I reply. "One for Richard and me, one for Sarah, a nursery for the twins—and then their own bedrooms, depending on how long our degrees take; then a place for the nanny to sleep..." I shrug. "Richard told me that he and I have to be married and Sarah and the boys have to be adopted before the move..."

There is a slam from upstairs then and quick feet upon the stairs, followed by Alice all but stampeding into the living room. "Did I hear you right?" she wants to know. "Do we have exactly four to six weeks to arrange all this?"

I look to Carlisle. "What...?"

"The house is all ready for you, and you and Richard are all registered online," Carlisle tells me patiently. "Plus, the tickets you booked are open-ended. Alice has easily managed to finish shopping for all of you, and you and Richard have rushed your book orders to be taken directly to the house. Despite not living there, I took the liberty of employing a full-time housekeeper slash cook to keep the place running smoothly, so your books will be safely inside when the time comes."

"I also told the housekeeper slash cook of all of your styles, so all the bedrooms will be prepared per those rules," Alice puts in, putting herself forward again. "Do you honestly think you could plan a wedding in four to six weeks?"

I sigh. "Alice, I love you, but I've been doing full-time adult things since as far back as I can remember. Just like you and Jasper, I fully intend on marrying Richard only once. I'd like to plan it myself. I hope you can respect that."

Alice sighs. "All right..."

I reach out and brush her shoulder with my fingertips. "Hey, it's okay," I tell her. "If I run into snags of any kind, you're first on my list to call."

Alice brightens at that. "Thank you," she replies before turning on her heel, as graceful as a dancer, and returning upstairs.

I turn back to Carlisle then. "Listen, I was wondering if you would like to walk me down the aisle the day of?" I ask him, flashing him a smile. "Since I won't be having my dad there, I figure..."

Carlisle reaches out and embraces me again. "There's nowhere else I'd rather be," he assures me happily. "Now, I think you have some other questions to ask other members of our family..."

"What?" I ask, pulling back.

He smiles. "You have to ask the whole Maid of Honor question... I know how some of these wedding regulations work..."

I shake my head. "Really wish we all didn't have such good hearing." Instead of verbalizing it, I motion to Carlisle that I'll be asking Bella, to which he nods.

"Better that way, I think," he tells me. "Go with your gut." I nod to him and slip out of the house, making my way down the footpath and back into the woods. I skip over the stream, not going very quickly now, and make my way through the last of trees before happening upon the cottage. I cross my fingers that Edward will hear my thoughts as I close in, and I reach out to knock, only to find that the door opens for me, and I slip inside the living room, rather like a casual hunting lodge. I hesitate for a moment in the living room; I dart over to the bookshelves, enjoying the crackling of the fire, looking at Bella's impressive collection of Shakespeare plays.

"Beth?"

Turning, I see Bella standing in the doorway, her jeans still on, but she is no longer wearing a sweater, merely a simple T-shirt, and she has absconded with her shoes. "You're missing The Merchant of Venice," I tell her, pointing to her bookshelf.

She nods. "Yeah, I haven't replaced it yet," she says. "You'd think, being immortal, that I'd have done something that tiny a long time ago, but..." She shrugs.

"Guess that's something I'll have to get used to," I tell her.

Bella smiles. "Clearly," she replies. "What's going on? I would've thought that, after the engagement, you and Richard would be celebrating..."

I shake my head. "Soon," I reply. "Just doing some quick planning."

"Yeah? Like what?"

"Well, I asked Carlisle to walk me down the aisle," I say.

Bella smiles. "I'm sure he loved that."

"He did. He was really happy."

"Is Richard with you?" Bella asked. "Edward told me he read his mind and he claimed he was on the short list for Best Man..." Her mind seems to click then and she smiles. "Did you come here to ask me to be a Bridesmaid? I'll totally do it..."

"Why would you think you'd be a Bridesmaid?" I ask, not unkindly.

"Well, because we are sisters, by marriage, at least," she says with a lighthearted chuckle my way. "I mean, I know I'm probably the one you're closest to—you met me first; Edward and I took you for your first hunt..."

"And if I hadn't seen you two, I probably wouldn't be here..."

Bella smiles sympathetically. "Still sorry."

I shake my head. "I'm not. I was taken out of a really bad situation—I wouldn't go back for anything at all."

She nods. "Well, it's good that you're taking it so well—we all know that Rosalie wasn't as receptive to it."

"She'll be a Bridesmaid," I tell her, "and Katherine."

"And Alice'll be your Maid of Honor?" Bella guesses.

I shake my head. "No, actually... The reason why I came here is because I wanted to ask you if you would be willing to be my Maid of Honor...if you want."

Bella smiles. "Yes, of course. I mean, if you want me to."

I nod. "Of course, Bella. You're my sister."

She crosses the room and hugs me, clearly pleased with the situation. "I'm touched, really, Beth; you always know just what to say and how to say it."

"So, that's a 'yes'?" I ask her.

Bella pulls back from me and smiles. "Of course, Beth. Of course it's a yes! It means a lot to me that you asked me of all people."

I sigh. "I just hope that Alice is okay with just being a Bridesmaid. I love her, and I don't want to hurt her feelings, but..."

"But it's your wedding," Bella assures me. "You can't make everyone happy on that day. I know everyone says you're supposed to cry at weddings, but at this point, maybe there won't be any legitimate crying..."

I shrug. "I know I'll be inviting Theo, and he'll probably invite Chadwick, but other than them, I can't see me inviting many humans..."

"Invite who you like," Bella tells me. "Your choice."

I nod. "Thanks," I tell her. Turning, I see that Richard is just stepping out from the back hallway, Edward just behind him, and I raise my eyebrows. "Hello you."

"This one just asked me to be his Best Man," Edward says, putting an arm casually around my fiancé's shoulders.

I smile at that. "Did he?"

Edward chuckles, and he and Richard proceed to wrestle for a good five seconds or so before breaking apart. "Of course, I told him I'd do the job. This means that it's my turn to plan a bachelor party..."

"Your turn?" I ask.

"I second that question," Bella says.

"Whenever Emmett allows Rosalie to go through with another wedding, Emmett... Well, he always asks Jasper to plan everything..."

I raise my eyebrows. "But Emmett met you first..."

Edward shrugs. "Doesn't matter. It's up to him, as a groom, to pick, and Richard, my friend, you have picked well." He claps a hand onto his shoulder. "I hear you're taking our name on the big day."

"You heard right," Richard replies.

"You'll live up to it," Edward tells him with a smile as he gives him a good-natured shove and darts out the door, Richard at his heels.

"So, I have a thought," Bella says.

I turn to her. "Yeah?"

"Well, as your Maid of Honor, I'm permitted to give advice, and since we're short on time, I thought I'd give you an idea about a honeymoon..."

"You know, when I was human, I said I wanted to honeymoon in the United Kingdom whenever we played the 'what if wedding game', but we'll be living there for crying out loud. Change of scenery? Please," I say, nodding for Bella to continue.

"Edward took me to this private island that Carlisle bought for Esme," Bella says. "It's called Isle Esme—that's where I found out that I was pregnant with Renesmee. Other than the illness I felt at the end, the vast majority of it was wonderful..." "Vast majority?" I ask. "Did something else happen besides your pregnancy that you didn't intend on happening?" I want to know. I valued Bella's opinion, of course, but if something bad happened while she was there, I felt I had a right to know. Besides, I figured if she was still human during the honeymoon, then perhaps something could be said about the reported activities Edward planned for them...

"Well, let's just say that Edward had some regrets at what transpired the day after the wedding night," Bella replies.

I shake my head. "He wasn't satisfied, or...?"

Bella laughs. "No, far from it—it was wonderful, but vampires are so much stronger than humans that he..."

"That he...?"

She sighs. "Well, let's just say that I looked more like a domestic violence victim than a happy wife," Bella replies, sighing again and shaking her head. "Edward felt so guilty that he swore that he and I wouldn't make love until after I was changed. I managed to get him to break that 'promise' soon thereafter..."

I nod. "Fortunately, Richard and I aren't human," I reply. "Although Richard has only agreed to share a bed with me—very little physical contact, strictly PG-13—until our wedding night. He claims that that one time in Aspen was a fluke and can't possibly happen again."

I sigh. "Well, I'll speak to Richard about talking to Carlisle about Isle Esme..."

"You know, maybe you should surprise him with it," Bella suggests. "Let the bride plan the honeymoon for a change..."

"I'm already planning the wedding..."

"I can help you," Bella replies. "Look, we have similar styles and I actually take 'no' for an answer. Besides, I know what you like almost as much as you do."

I nod—she was right. "Okay. I'll go over the wedding party things myself and then you and I can figure out a game plan."

"Sounds good," Bella replies.

"Should I come here tomorrow?" I ask.

Bella nods. "Probably—I feel bad at excluding Alice, but she'll just take over and not give you what you really want."

I smile. "Well, maybe once we have a theme down, we can give her parameters and maybe she can choose her own dress."

Bella laughs. "Maybe," she says.

With another hug, I slip out of the cottage and back into the night. I pass Edward on my walk back to the big house, and he manages to convey to me Alice's thoughts: That she's picked up that I really do want to be planning my own wedding, and that she could tell I wanted to ask Bella to be my Maid of Honor, and she's fine with it. I give him a swift hug and thank him before journeying inside and upstairs to my room. As I place my hand on the doorknob, I find that I am happier now than I have ever been, and know that I am making the proper choice when it comes to my destiny. Turning the knob, I step into my bedroom, one of the first steps to the rest of my life.