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Chapter 16

EPOV

"Isabella, that dress is perfect baby." I told her from my position of lying across our bed with my knees bent and hanging off the edge of the bed with my feet resting on the floor. I was resting the muscles on the back of my thigh before I spent the evening on my feet. I had my knee brace on underneath my suit pants but if I spent a lot of time on my feet I would have muscle spasms when I went to bed, it had happened yesterday when we had spent the afternoon exploring the JFK library and museum. I had woken Bella up several times over the past few days from having muscle spasms in the throughout the night.

Bella was fidgeting with her dress in front of the mirror in the bathroom that I could see from my position. We were both completely ready to go but she had gotten a bad case of the nerves so she was hiding in the bathroom. "Edward, I don't want to embarrass you or your parents memory tonight." She explained as she turned round and round in the bathroom.

I thought she looked magnificent. She had her hair curled and pulled to one side with a beautiful flower clip that Esme had loaned her and a set of matching bracelets to complete her outfit. Since her dress was floor length with a small train in the back she had opted to wear her silver ballet flats so she didn't trip, stumble, or fall tonight. Her dress looked absolutely amazing on her; it was a darker silver color with diamond jeweled accents in one of the pleats on her chest and opposite hip. It hugged her slender waist, hips, and legs before trailing to the floor to pool at her feet in a slight flare. It wrapped all the way around her back hugging her tightly which was a good thing because it was strapless without exposing too much cleavage. I thought she looked amazing and elegant in the dress but I may be a little biased because I had helped her pick it out the other day when she had become frustrated shopping with the girls.

"Impossible, baby. I have a surprise for you tonight but you won't get it if we don't go." I told her as I sat up on the edge of the bed.

I smiled when I heard her come out of the bathroom. "Surprise? What surprise?" she asked as she grabbed her white jacket and slipped it on over her dress because it was winter time in Boston.

I laughed as I stood and grabbed my own jacket. "It wouldn't be a surprise if I told you now would it?" I asked her as I grabbed my wallet and tucked it into my suit tuxedo jacket pocket.

She laughed and shook her head. "Nope, but you know I hate waiting for a surprise. Are we the last to leave?" She asked as she took my offered hand.

I shook my head. "Everybody is waiting downstairs. They understand our nervousness. This is the first time I've gone to the gala since my parents died, remember? I'm just as nervous as you if not more so." I told her as I pulled the door to behind us.

I laughed as we entered the lobby of the hotel and I spotted my family scattered around the lobby in their formal attire. My brother was sitting in a chair with his headphones in his ears tapping his hand against his knee to a beat only he could hear. Emmett too had his headphones in but he was attempting to break dance on the marble floor of the lobby while Esme attempted to scold him to get him to stop even though he couldn't hear her because of the headphones. Rose and Alice were standing at the windows looking outside at the falling snow while Carlisle was scrolling through something on his phone, probably a medical file, tuning everybody out as he concentrated on what he was reading. I whistled lowly to gain all their attention and got it almost immediately.

"We're ready, are you guys?" I asked softly because I was honestly ready to get there so our nerves could dissipate. I knew I would be the center of attention when I first arrived because I had actually agreed to show up for the first time in five years but my surprise for Bella and my family would also bring some attention my girl usually shied away from.

All of the women looked amazing in their silver dresses that they had surprisingly found given the short notice. They had been extremely irritated when I had told them about the gala the night we arrived but had conceded and quickly scoured the city looking for the perfect dresses. Alice had chosen a sequin adorned dress so she could sparkly and shimmer whenever she moved through the lights, it was strapless also and a shade darker than Bella's with a slit going nearly up to her hip. Rose's was also a strapless dress in the same shade of silver as Alice's but only had diamond jeweled accent's like Bella's dress across her chest and partially down her side under her arm. Esme's was the only dress that wasn't strapless, hers had varying shades of light silver and dark silver strips wrapping around her body before the darker silver flared out around her feet.

The guys all looked the same in their traditional black tuxedos and bow ties with silver handkerchiefs tucked into our outer pockets. "Are you nervous, son?" Carlisle asked as we let the ladies into the limo we were taking to the Seaport World Trade Center.

I nodded as I held Bella's hand while she climbed in after Alice. "Yeah, a little bit. I have that speech to give and then I have a surprise for everybody also. The whole thing is a little nerve wracking but I am trying to keep it all together because I know that is what my parents would want."

He nodded and clapped me on the shoulder. "We are all proud of you, son. You baby will be honored to have a father like you." He said as he pulled me into a hug.

I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him tight. "Thanks, pops." I told him quietly before releasing him and climbing into the limo to settle against my Bella's side.

"Everything okay?" she asked as she took my hand in hers.

I nodded and twiddled with her fingers. "Everything is perfect."

I was a nervous wreck as we all walked through the doors of the Seaport World Trade Center, where the gala was being held. "Are you okay?" Bella asked softly as we walked into the beautifully decorated ballroom. There were themed Christmas trees every few feet and snowflakes hanging from the ceiling and white flowy fabric draping the walls and the edges of the floor to imitate snow. It was elegant and beautiful. The tables were sat towards the front of the room where the stage was while the dance floor was towards the back where the DJ station was.

I nodded and patted her hand that was hooked through my arm. "I'm fine, baby. How are you?" I asked her as people stopped to stare as we followed Carlisle and Esme to our table.

She laughed. "Always worried about me, huh?"

I sighed and nodded. "Absolutely." I told her just as someone laid a hand on my shoulder stopping us in our tracks.

"Edward Masen? Is that you? Elizabeth and Edward Masen's son?"

I smiled at Bella as I slowly turned around because I recognized that voice and smiled broadly as I saw my mother's old mentor, Dr. Whipple. "Yes sir, it's me. Bella, this is my mom's mentor Dr. Paul Whipple. Dr. Paul this is my beautiful girlfriend Isabella Brandon." I introduced them as they shook hands.

"It's a pleasure to meet you young lady. How have you been son? I haven't seen you in years." The balding short man asked.

I sighed. "I have been doing wonderful. We both graduate in May and have plans to attend college most likely in Georgia." I told the man as I watched the rest of our family and friends head towards the dance floor.

"That's great. I know your parents would be proud. Do you still play the piano? That is all your mom used to talk about. Her 'little musician' was mentioned at least in every other sentence that came out of her mouth."

I laughed and shook my head. "No sir, but I am working back towards it. I haven't played since that night but I'm hoping to change that soon enough." I told him softly.

He nodded in understanding. "We all understand, Edward. It was great to see you again. I will leave you and your lovely date alone to enjoy the ball."

I smiled and nodded as he walked away. I pulled Bella's chair out for her once we reached the table that had 'Masen-Cullen, reserved' wrote on a card sat in the middle of the table. We both sat down and I stretched my leg out beside her chair to relax my knee. We chatted with various people that came by the table to check to make sure I was really me. "Do you want to check out the silent auction tables before the speech, performance and dinner since we can't dance?" I asked Bella quietly.

She nodded and took the hand I offered to her. "Absolutely. Lead the way, Casanova."

I shook my head and took her arm in my elbow. "Are you ever going to stop calling me that?" I asked her quietly.

She giggled and shook her head. "Not a chance."

I smiled and led her towards the tables that were line up against the far wall. I chuckled as Bella shook her head at the bids on some of the pieces on the tables. "Really $1400 for a starting bid on a painting that you can't make heads or tails of?" She asked as we looked at a painting that looked like somebody just tossed a bunch of paint at it and let it dry.

I chuckled before leaning down to whisper in her ear. "It's all for a good cause and everybody who is attending tonight has the money to spare. You know my parents started this charity for families of hospital patients who couldn't afford to stay with their sick loved ones, it's really helped a lot of people over the years."

She looked at me with a quirked eyebrow. "That's great, Edward, really honorable to be able to be a part of that. Do you have the money to spare?"

I smiled and nodded. "Yes, I do and we will talk more about it when we get back to the hotel when I can just show you my bank account balances, now is not the place." I told her quietly knowing she would want to know more.

She gave me a tight smile but nodded her head anyways. "Sounds like a deal to me. Oooh, a trip to Venice, all expenses paid, first class seats, and a private suite in a five star hotel. That sounds amazing." She said as we came to a stop in front of two airline tickets and vacation brochure.

"Venice, huh?" I asked her as I picked up the tickets to look at the dates on the tickets. I groaned when I saw that they were for mid-May. We would be concentrating on finals and graduation preparation as well as preparing for the baby's arrival. "I would love to explore Venice with you, Isabella. I have heard that it is beautiful and majestic. Maybe we can go when the baby is a little older because these tickets are for right around his due date." I told her quietly as we scooted on down.

"That sucks but maybe someday. A spring break or summer vacation or something." She said as we moved on down the line. There were luxury cruises, spa days, shopping sprees, and a bunch more stuff that companies and people had put up for the auction.

"Okay, I will hold you to that. When the baby is older and we will actually be able to enjoy a vacation we will go." I told her quietly.

She smiled and nodded. "You know, he needs a name. We can't just keep referring to him as 'the baby' he deserves a name when he is talked about." She said just like an expectant mother would, she was going to be an amazing mother to our son.

I nodded in agreement because he did deserve a name. Now that we knew he was indeed a he we could start brainstorming names back and forth. "I have a few ideas, do you?"

She smiled and nodded. "Absolutely. I like Aaden and Owen."

I hugged her tightly to me as we stopped in front of an auction item that caught my eye. "Look at this, baby, this would be amazing to get." I told her as I pointed to the auction item I was interested in.

I caught the twinkle in her eye as she looked at the pictures laid out in front of us. "Where would we have this done at? We have so much to decide before we get to the nursery planning stage that it's not even funny, Edward. When are we moving? Where are we moving? Where are you going to take him when you bring him home? My house? Your house? An apartment of our own? Chicago or somewhere else? This item is awesome if we knew where we were going to be." She said concerned about our future.

I sighed. "We can always get it and figure everything else out within the next few weeks. I know it's overwhelming but I want your input in all of this too, I don't want it to be just my decision. He's our son not just mine." I told her as I picked up the pen to write down an amount and sign my name to the sheet.

Bella gaped at the amount I wrote down, I was sure to win it. "Really, Edward? thirty-five grand is the starting bid for a personalized child's room?"

I smiled and nodded. "Remember, loaded." I pointed to myself. "For a great charity." I pointed to the sheet.

She shook her head but sighed. "Fine. You have a lot of explaining to do tonight when we get back to the room, mister. How is your leg?" she asked concerned as I signed my name to the tiny card and the amount I was willing to pay and slipped it into the box. We wouldn't know if we won it or not until tomorrow.

I grimaced. "It's a little sore but I will be okay." I told her just as an impressively dressed man stepped up onto the stage and cleared his throat. I didn't recognize him from when I used to visit my mom at the hospital. "Can I have everybody's attention please?"

I steered Bella back to our table which just so happened to be close to the stage. "Having fun?" Jasper asked as we sat back down.

I shrugged my shoulders. "I would rather be in my pajamas resting in bed than in this monkey suit any day but yeah." I told him honestly which caused the entire table to erupt in laughter.

"A little over five years ago we lost a very special part of our teams not only at Boston Children's Hospital but also over at Boston Medical Center. Dr. Elizabeth Masen was a wonderful and caring wife, mother, and doctor. Her husband, Dr. Edward Anthony Masen, Sr. was an amazing neurosurgeon over at Boston Med, an amazing husband and father, too. We lost them both in a horrific accident a little over five years ago but they left behind their son who everybody knew about if you've ever worked a day or spoken to either of them. I would like to allow their son, Edward Masen, Jr., who is finally attending for the first time since the accident to come up and say a few words about his wonderful parents that we all knew and loved." The man said as he pointed to me while the people around us stood up clapping and cheering me on.

I smiled, stood up, kissed Bella on top of the head, squeezed her hand for support and headed to the stage. I had known this was coming and was prepared for it but was still kind of nervous about it. I smiled as I stepped into the spotlight behind the microphone.

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