Shadows Of Love
Epilogue
Two Years Later
JPOV
"Honey, did you get that last box?"
"Yeah, babe, it's in the car. Did you text Leah that we're done here?"
"Uh huh. She's bringing them over in about an hour."
"Okie doke. I'll lock up and be right out."
It was moving day. Ren and I had finished building our dream home on the cliffs overlooking the Pacific and Second Beach in La Push.
They were not the same cliffs that Bella took her ill-fated jump from all those years ago, but they were close by. We had gradually
purchased the surrounding property piece at a time and that particular spot now was a park with gazebos and picnic tables open
year-round for the Pack and their families. Ren and I often took the kids up there on late afternoon walks and weekend outings with
munchies and drinks.
Our children were still small though we had gotten a fairly fast start on our family. Our first child, our son Ephraim Charles, Effy, would
be one in two weeks. Our daughter, the apple of my eye and just 1 month old, was Sarah Marie. Sarah's little finger was where my heart
had anchored itself, and there it would stay I was quite certain. Both our babies had dark auburn hair and hazel green eyes. Ren said that
was her Gran's eye color and we both thought that was entirely appropriate.
I still called my lovely bride Ren most of the time. Sometimes, when we were alone and feeling frisky, I would call her Bells for old time's
sake. Two months after we married, Ren went before a judge and had her name legally changed to Belle Rennie Black. If I ever called her
Bells in front of anyone, no flags went up and our secret was safe. She never has told Charlie or anyone else who she really is. Bella's father
had finally come to grips with what had happened to his daughter and he was coping as was her mother, Renee. We decided together that
a satisfactory explanation of what had really happened would have just been too much. Charlie had fallen in love with Sue Clearwater and
finally made an honest woman of her and he had a relationship with his granddaughter that was filled with joy.
Ren continued her matchmaking campaign throughout the years. My father and Tiffany Call were an item in La Push at all public as well as
private functions. Leah and Embry had married just 6 months after Ren and me and their daughter, Lily Anne was just 2 months younger than
Effy. Paul and my sister Rachel married just 8 months ago, but she was already pregnant and expecting their first in about 4 months. Ren's
financial status had strongly affected life all over La Push. Things were definitely looking up on the Rez. Our school had doubled in size and
the drop-out rate had dropped to near nothing. I couldn't have been prouder of my beautiful girl.
The Cullen coven did indeed move to Europe where they kept a vigilant eye trained on Volterra, Italy. Apparently, nothing could have been
further from their attention than La Push and its residents. This was comforting news all round. Alice or Esme or Carlisle often emailed Ren
to ask after her health and development and the general status of the Pack and Forks. Ren's aging slowed down to way less than a normal
human and seemed to have aligned itself with mine. She looked about 22 and I looked about 25. It was working out.
Ren was teaching English Literature at the Tribal School and had weekend ballet classes full of teeny tiny ballerinas, all in pink of course. She
still studied ballet herself with an accomplished dancer who taught in Port Angeles. She also had the occasional performance that drew a variety
in the audience that consisted of arts patrons, auto mechanics and everyone and anyone in between. Her appeal was quite universal and her
beauty on the stage was unrivaled. At least it was in my eyes.
Her relationship with the Pack was as tight as it could be. Quil still called her Mee Mee most of the time, unless he was calling her to sub for his
beach football team. She took on the role of den mother to our Pack and kept us all up to our necks in brownies, cookies and pies. We all had a
sweet tooth for Ren. It was a weakness we all cherished.
My days were busy and happy. I ran the garage with Embry, Quil and Paul. I taught shop at the Tribal School two days a week and I had been
Alpha of the Pack for a little over two years. Sam still phased, but he and Emily were semi-retired and running a catering business out of their
home as well as self-publishing cookbooks and selling them online.
Our status as Vampire Central for the Northwestern United States fell by the wayside after the departure of the Cullens. A very infrequent visit
from a random nomad was never much of a problem and yet we all continued to phase. Sometimes I think it was for the brotherhood (and sisterhood)
we had established, other times I was sure it was just for the hell of it and to keep our metabolisms and physiques. When you can be in great shape
physically without any effort at all while you're packing in enough food daily to feed three normal humans, it's hard to let that go. The slowed down
aging was a perk that was tough to part with too.
Ren and I drove up to our new home with the last bits of our belongings from the apartment we had occupied for the last two years. Leah and Ren
had decorated the house and left chunks of the interior empty of furniture so it could be filled gradually with pieces that we loved and acquired together.
I was currently in the middle of carving a four poster bedstead for my wife's comfort and my 'ecstatic exercise', as she called it. As I came out to the
car to get the last box, Leah and Embry drove up in their van with three car seats lined up across the second row behind them. As Leah released Lily
and gathered her to her hip, Embry reached in and unbuckled Effy, setting his feet on the ground already digging in running gear to get to me. I
scooped my son up and settled him on my shoulders as he wrapped his little arms around my head. Leah called out to the house for Ren.
"Belle Rennie Black, get out here and get your youngun'! She's about to pop her top to see Mommie."
Ren came out the front door and down the steps at hyper-speed, skidding to a stop in front of Embry as he lifted our tiny girl from her seat. Ren cradled
Sarah and stuffed her nose into the blanket to take a big reacquainting sniff of our daughter. Over the years, Ren had adopted quite a few mannerisms
that were part and parcel of Pack relationships. 'Welcome Home' and 'I've Missed You' snuffles were what we called the scenting demonstrations. We
all did it subtly and subconsciously with each other, but with our children it was completely in the open and obviously filled with affection and love. I
walked over to my wife and buried my face in our little girl's tummy, drawing in a deep breath of her sweet babyness.
"There's my wee lass. Did you have a nice time with Auntie Leah and Uncle Emby? Were they good for you, Lea?"
"You know they were. All our littluns are perfect angels all the time. Just ask us."
"I like the way you think Lea. You're so profound."
"Why thank you B.R. I try."
"You guys are staying for supper. I won't take no."
"I guess that's cool. Emb?"
"Are you kidding? Supper at Jake's Bar and Grill with custom desserts by Belle Rennie? Umm, let me check my calendar. Nope, nothing more important
anywhere on the list."
"Good deal. Lea, pass Lily Anne to her daddy and come upstairs with me to put Sarah down, then we'll adjourn to the back veranda to watch the rest of
the sunset while Jacob plays grillmeister. I've kept it simple, hot dogs and burgers and chips. I've already got the fixins ready in the fridge. Oh, and Emb,
if you don't mind, as y'all pass through the kitchen, take the pan of brownies out of the oven and turn it off, please? Just set them on top to cool. And no
testing while they're still molten. Jake that goes for you, too. I'll be watching."
"Aww, I love you baby, even if you are a spoilsport."
"I love you, too, babe, but no messing up the brownies until they've had a chance to stop crackling. You got me?"
"Okay, okay. Come on Emb, you heard the lady."
"Yeah, I heard the lady talkin' to her whipped hubby. Hey! Watch it now, I'm holdin' a kid."
"Yeah, I see her. You see this thing on my head dontcha? This isn't a coonskin cap ya know. Come on little man, let's go check on Momma's brownies."
"You know there's gonna be a whole corner gone out of that pan of brownies by the time you get back to it, right?"
"Of course I know that, Lea. That's why there's another pan in the fridge ready to toss into the oven. I'm highly experienced by now in the 'ways of the
wolf'. I expect you to dig into it when we head out back too, ya know. It'll still be pretty warm. And there's an extra 2 gallons of cold milk in the fridge."
"I swear B.R. you're one of the most brilliant ex-hybrids I've ever met."
"Gee, thanks Lea. I'm the ONLY one, right? Just like Tigger?"
"You know it. And you can call me Piglet."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SOL~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mr. and Mrs. Call and Lily Ann lounged on Mr. and Mrs. Black's back patio until the stars came out and twinkled down on the happy family gathering. They
talked of happy times, sad times, the future. They talked of the blinding joy of children and how cuteness warred with intelligence for top billing. They
talked of how focused and prejudiced parents could be. Then they grew quiet, cuddled their mates and their little ones and relaxed into the comfort of
the evening.
Leah, Embry and Lily Anne headed home after helping to clear the cook-out mess and tidy the kitchen. Everyone was stuffed with love and brownies by
then and so were fat and happy. Ren and Jacob moved up the stairs together, Daddy cuddling a sleeping bundle of Effy to his strong chest. Their baby
boy snuggled against the heartbeat that set the rhythm for his whole world.
Once Effy was tucked in and Sarah Marie had been checked by both Mom and Dad, the Blacks settled into their first night in their new master suite, wrapping
themselves in soft linen and each other's bodies. Ren's recovery from childbirth was rapid, but not rapid enough for her sweet but horny husband. He'd been
chomping at the bit to ravish her to prove that she was still as beautiful as the day they'd wed. After a long, satisfying round of passionate love, they settled
into the pillows and each other. Jacob pulled her back to his chest, wrapped her in his arms and murmured words of love into her ear. They were both soon
sound asleep.
And then they were walking along together, hand in hand, each holding a child. Jacob had a sleeping Effy cradled in one arm, Ren had Sarah clasped to her
shoulder with her arm under her soft, diapered bottom. The place where they strolled was not quite featureless but not quite real either. There were blurry
hints of forest and moss-covered ground in front of them, fuzzy muted sounds of surf and seagulls over a pebbly beach behind them. Everything seemed
shrouded in an unearthly mist that their sight could not at first penetrate. They looked at each other, questions in their minds, unspoken and unanswered
until two figures approached.
Sarah Black and Gran stopped directly in front of Ren and Jacob. Smiling broadly, they each lifted a hand to a sleeping babe and gently stroked the feather-soft
hair. They glanced at each other, then back to the parents, who stood silent, stunned and expectant. There were simply too many questions flowing through
their minds to just choose one and dive in. Sarah touched the petal-soft cheek of her namesake and looked at Ren.
"Well, Bella, you made it through your education didn't you? You faced your trials, your penance and your challenges with grace, passion and honor. We're both
so proud of you. We thought maybe you and Jacob would be interested to know about the influence of the imprint on your combined destinies."
Ren and Jacob each gasped as the implications rang through them.
"My imprint on Renesmee was a gift from Taha Aki. She's my other half. It's as simple as that...isn't it?"
"Not exactly, my dear boy. Don't forget, this is Bella. You imprinted on the person inside, not the body outside."
"Oh Mom! Are you telling me I imprinted on her BECAUSE she's Bella?"
"That's what she's saying Jacob. My granddaughter was, is and ever will be your soulmate. Your imprint wasn't formed during her first lifetime because she
had chosen to move down the wrong path. She made the mistake of loving the wrong...'being'...and it moved her out of your reach. Once her situation had
run that course and the correct path was again accessible to her, she moved into your world again. She was where she was meant to be, within reach of your
heart. The natural path was then available again for the two of you to travel together."
Jacob looked down at his beautiful imprint. He looked at his son, sleeping in the crook of his strong arm, and his daughter, safe and content on her mother's
shoulder. He looked up to the two women standing in front of them and moved forward to wrap his mother in a hug that he had longed for since he was a
little boy. The warmth and brightness that seeped from her into his heart brought peace to his soul. He released her and turned to Bella's Gran and embraced
her as well. Each woman then came to Ren with open arms and held her close for a few joyous moments. As the mist began to grow thicker, obscuring their
vision, Sarah and Gran addressed the Black family one last time.
"You have both made us proud. You have done well and started your lives together with your future wide open with possibilities. Be happy and safe and revel
in the love you hold in your arms as well as the love you hold for each other. We will always be with you, watching. Let your hearts guide you forward."
Ren and Jacob each startled awake at the same moment, tightening their grasp on one another. At first they each thought the other had awakened them by
moving in their sleep. When their eyes met, they immediately understood, they had shared the dream and had come home together. The baby monitors on
the bedside table both crackled to life at that moment. Within minutes, Effy's blanket had been untangled and Sarah's diaper had been changed and she was
contentedly suckling from Momma's bounty. For some reason, they brought both children into the master bedroom with them. With no words of agreement
necessary, the two babies were nestled between them for the remainder of the night. Jacob caressed his wife's cheek and kissed her lips softly.
"Sometimes, the shadows cover up important things in their darkness. But sometimes, the love shines through them and reveals what our hearts most desire."
A/N: Thank you so much for reading. I hope you have enjoyed the journey as much as I have. Until next time...love, mama.