Twilight belongs to S. Meyer
Many thanks to blk3660 for pre-reading. All mistakes are my own.
Thanks so much to those have reviewed, including blk3660, Kgunter34, miawmiaw and Bunch2009
When I got back to New York, the doorman at my building had two messages waiting for me. One was from Royce King, who was a colleague's brother. His law firm was a few buildings down from Lenox Hill Hospital, and while he was mostly annoying, he was always up for a drink which I found to be an excellent way to divert my attention from more depressing topics.
The second message was from I left for Vermont the engagement ring was burning a hole in my pocket, but what with the funeral and my thoughts turning to Isabella, I wasn't in a state in which I could think of asking another woman for her hand.
I had come to terms with the fact that I wasn't in love Tanya, and she knew this. She came from a long line of calculating women, and was raised to believe that marriage was more of a politically strategic move than one of loving and cherishing. I, on the other hand fully believed in true love, but I had long since given up hope in fate. I knew far too well that our actions dictated our futures, and one simple move had taken my only love from me. I couldn't imagine loving anyone like I had Isabella, so I made the decision to marry for other reasons.
Tanya's parents were wary of me at first. I was new in town, and my family was more established in the Midwest and Seattle. They quickly warmed to me however, once I earned the title of Chief Surgeon and they found out they were acquaintances of my Aunt Martha in Chicago. Aunt Martha's husband Spencer was originally from New York and his mother was a Rockefeller. Their son Peter also completed business in New York from time to time, so he was known among socialites here as well. After discussing our degrees of separation her father softened toward me and her mother gave Tanya the OK to continue seeing me.
Tanya and I became acquainted through Royce, after we met her at a charity event benefiting war orphans in Europe. Tanya's older sister Irina had briefly dated Mr. King, so they were associated through her. While Royce went out of his way to get to know Miss Tanya Denali, she appeared to have more interest in me and we began seeing each other soon after. Our relationship seemed to progress in a standard way, and we were featured more than once together in the society pages. The last two times our names were attached, the writers were speculating when we would be announcing our engagement. Tanya and I had already discussed this next step in our relationship several times.
After freshening up from my travels I returned the message from Royce, and found out that he was relocating to Rochester, New York. Royce knew that I was always up for a drinking buddy, so he was eager to introduce me to the new lawyer who would be replacing him at his firm. We agreed to Tuesday evening for drinks.
When Tuesday came around, we met at the little piano bar in the Hotel Elysée in midtown. I arrived shortly after 8pm, and took a seat waiting for Royce and his new colleague. I wasn't sad to see Royce go. His presence ensured I wasn't drinking alone, but I had to get him out of one too many sticky situations. When he drank excessively Royce lost all impulse control and was far too open to suggestion. He was caught many a time in flagrante delicto with women he met at bars, and more than once those women had other men. Needless to say, Royce was lucky that he had a lot of lawyer friends, and he was well-versed on defending himself when a little one's paternity was questioned.
I saw Royce enter with a bear of a man walking beside him. This man was lucky to be well-paid, for certainly all his suits needed to be custom-tailored. Royce seemed to be regaling the giant with a tale, for the man's booming laughter was reverberating off the walls. Heads turned to the duo as Royce, who was not a short man, appeared to be dwarfed by his friend.
"Edward!" Royce called out when he saw me. It was clear that Mr. King had chosen to imbibe before he showed up at the bar. His face was red and beads of sweat had started to collect on his forehead. Normally he had his brown hair carefully slicked back with Pomade and parted to the right, but already a few long strands had broken loose and were flapping over his eyes. His shirt and coat were rumpled, and his tie appeared crooked as though he tugged it once roughly to loosen it and hadn't given it a second thought. His usually stylish swagger was a bit off and his coordination seemed to be suffering. His acquaintance just shook his head and chuckled as Royce nearly fell over after running into the corner of a chair.
As they approached, Royce already had his hand extended toward me, and when I took it he pulled me forward into a hug. "Emmett, this is my good friend, Dr. Edward Masen, The best doctor on the east coast." Normally a compliment such as that would make me blush, but coming from Royce in his current state, I could only grimace.
The giant shook my hand, "Emmett McCarty, good to meet you, Dr. Masen." I returned the shake, told him to call me Edward, and noted that I was pleased to make his acquaintance.
After a few rounds and some off color jokes, I found that I enjoyed Emmett's company far more than I did Royce's. Emmett seemed to understand his tolerance for alcohol far better than Mr. King. He was jolly with a booming voice and a contagious laugh, and I could tell that with my dry humor and Mr. McCarty's seemingly total lack of a mental filter, we could fast become friends.
As the night went on, it was clear that we needed to get Royce home. While the waitresses were accustomed to being tapped on the backside, Royce was becoming increasingly vulgar and loud in his assessments of their features, and his advances were becoming less friendly and more unwelcome.
"Well, Edward, it was good to get to know you. We'll have to do this again sometime. Listen, Royce is heading off to Rochester next Friday, how about a bit of a going away get together before then?"
"Sounds great, Emmett. I have a dinner party scheduled for Saturday, up in Vermont. I will be working late Friday…are you up to meeting next Wednesday night?"
"Perfect!" Emmett bellowed. "Same time, same place?" I shook his hand in accordance and we parted ways after Emmett ensured me he could handle Royce on his own. Apparently not only was the new lawyer taking over Royce's position in the firm, but he was also leasing Mr. King's apartment as well.
By Wednesday I had made plans with Tanya to meet for dinner. I arrived at the Denali Estate at 6:30pm to escort her to the Metropolitan Club where her family had retained membership since it had opened its doors. Tanya was very excited as just recently women members were allowed to enjoy the entire club rather than being limited to the Annex. As a special guest, it was certainly my honor to dine there.
I knocked on the doors to the Denali Mansion, and their butler Jules welcomed me in and took my coat. "Miss Denali will make your acquaintance shortly."
"Thank you, Jules."
"Certainly, Dr. Masen." Jules bowed slightly and then left me alone in the sitting room.
The Denali house was one of the finest buildings I ever had the pleasure to enter, and each time it still surprised me that it was home to just three people. At one point, when Tanya's sisters were still living at home the population of the estate had reached an astounding five family members, but Kate and Irina had since married off. Of course, the population count didn't include the private live-in maid, the head cook, the butler, and the gardener who lived in an apartment above the pool house in the summer. On top of this, there were 5-10 day servants that were employed mainly to keep the estate tidy, tend to the stables and assist with the preparation and presentation of a wide range of parties: Dinner, garden, cocktail, as well as brunches, croquet and polo tournaments, celebrity tennis matches and any and all other manners of entertaining that were dreamed up by Tanya and her mother.
The foyer of the Denali mansion was nearly the size of my penthouse loft, and I did not consider my accommodations to be small in any way. The front room was garnished with a gleaming mahogany table that would have seated 12 had it been placed there for dining and always held a large bouquet of fresh flowers in a heavy crystal vase. Beyond that, commissioned paintings featuring the portraits of Tanya and her sisters as well as their parents, Gianna and Marcus, hung on a wall that was flanked by twin staircases that curved inward toward each other, leading to the second floor.
To the right of the foyer a set of double doors led to the Dining room. Dining at the Denali home was an educational experience in and of itself. My first time at dinner, I felt as though I was enrolled in a very important class and taking the final exam all at the same time. Apparently enough of my responses were correct; Tanya continued to date me and her parents invited me back two weeks later.
To the left of the foyer lay two sets of doors. The double French doors led to the grandiose parlor, where Tanya's father liked to receive political figures and dignitaries, and Tanya and her mother liked to hold very important charity meetings on Saturday afternoons. My first time here, I was received in the parlor as a manner of formality to be introduced to Tanya's parents. The parlor was an expression of gilded mirrors and other wall ornaments, silk curtains that were apparently very important and were French in design or origin or some such, and the granite floor was warmed by oriental rugs that surely cost more than my yearly salary. Tanya's mother privileged me with the specifications of this room the third time I met her, but unfortunately my brain failed to retain most of the details.
The second door left of the foyer matched the first, and led to the sitting room which was the smaller and more intimate of the two places. It featured a large marble fireplace flanked by brown leather wingback chairs, a red velvet loveseat and a matching davenport. The walls were painted a pale green and the windows were framed by heavy red and gold curtains. The east wall was about 20 feet long, covered in dark wood bookcases and loaded with a variety of material for reading. It sometimes hurt to look at it, as it always made me wonder what Isabella's reaction would have been to see such a collection in a room that wasn't even the official library (the library, incidentally was located at the back of the mansion with enormous windows facing the back gardens, tennis courts, pool, and beyond that the pasture and stables.
Strangely, I could tell Tanya's intentions for the evening based upon the room in which I was received. When Tanya was more focused on her image a socialite and her work therein, Jules would lead me to the parlor to meet with her. When I was received in the sitting room on evening such as this, it meant that our outing had a more personal meaning for her.
Not long after settling into a leather chair a small young maid entered the room and offered me my choice of drink. I hadn't yet met this maid, so it was my assumption that she had previously been working for one of the cooks and had been training to work outside the kitchen. Tanya's family kept very strict, traditional rules for all their staff. Even though this young girl was now allowed to be seen outside the kitchen, she would never use the front staircases, and at this point it would be unlikely she has seen more of the house than the dining room and parlor. Unlike most modern families which hired day servants exclusively, the Denalis still insisted upon one live-in maid each to be available at their convenience, and live-in cook, Norma. As per standard with such employees, Norma took Thursdays off, and one of the maids took over cooking duties.
I requested a scotch from the new girl, and she bowed her head as she left the room and returned promptly with my request drink.
After my drink had been finished, Tanya's entrance was announced by Jules and I stood as she came into the room. Tanya was always dressed impeccably in a black velvet evening gown with satin gloves that extended just beyond her elbow. The dress fell to the floor, but I was treated to the sight of the sliver of her leg peeking from the slit that ended just above her knee. A fan of fashion, Tanya was always dressed well and was accustomed to attention, so she didn't bat an eyelash when I kissed her cheek and whispered to her how stunning she looked. To be honest, I was somewhat offended. I would think a lady might have some sort of reaction from her almost fiancé.
Instead, she took a step back and eyed the drink that I had been offered, "I hope she wasn't too much trouble for you, Edward."
"I beg pardon?"
"The new girl servant, what is her name again? Brenda? Brigitte? No, those are too long. It's a strange name anyway…Bree! She's normally just here in the day, and works in the kitchen with Norma. For some reason or another Norma requested today off instead of her usual Thursday. That's why we're going out tonight. I can't trust that little girl to prepare an edible meal for me. I just hope she didn't mix up your drink order."
"No, darling the drink is fine. Is she new working with Norma?"
"She's been working here only six weeks. I believe she's been sent over by some agency or another. Up until now, she has only assisted in the kitchen, so I'm not used to seeing her face in my dining and sitting rooms." Tanya's brows furrowed slightly in a scowl, and for the briefest moment her lower lip sagged in a pout before she fixed a smile upon her face.
Unlike Tanya, I hadn't lived with such formalities around our staff. Our head cook Geraldine had been like a second mother to me and the few staff that worked under her were equally as affectionate. Without a similar experience I had nothing to add but a small smile and a nod.
Shortly thereafter I assisted Tanya with her silver colored cashmere wrap and matching muff for her hands, and we left with her car and driver, arriving promptly at the gates of the Metropolitan Club. Being with Tanya in public like this was a heady experience. While I was raised in a wealthy home, it was an entirely different level to associate with the same people that had seen Tanya being raised from diapers to debutante. Her interactions with them were flawless, and I was pleased that Tanya was happy with how I comported myself at the club. Throughout the night, her hand never left my arm, and as the evening wore on she slowly inched closer.
During the meal, I mentioned to Tanya that I would be heading to Vermont during the coming weekend once more. She appeared put out by my plans and I found out that she had arranged for us to make an appearance at the premiere of the film "Black Narcissus" Starring Deborah Kerr, who was reported to be making an appearance. When I mentioned that I was acting upon a favor for an old family friend, she said she understood, although she bluntly declined to be my date for the event, scoffing at the idea of 'trampling around in the backwoods'. Luckily, she seemed to accommodate my schedule conflict well enough, and we continued on with our dinner in companionable silence.
By the time we left the club, Tanya had enjoyed several glasses of champagne and was leaning on me and brushing my lips with hers as her driver took us back to her home. I didn't fail to notice the seductive looks she was giving me as she looked up at me through her eyelashes, and that she licked her bottom lip several times. She was indeed a vixen when she had the mind to be such.
As we drove away from the club, Tanya had made it clear that she would rather spend some time at my apartment before heading home. Preferring to have her in my bed than face her wrath at feeling rejected, I directed the driver back to my place.
As we made our way toward my apartment in midtown, I was still bothered by the emotions conjured by the funeral I attended the weekend past. I began to realize that I had no one with whom I could share my feelings. In fact, the only person who had heard the story in its entirety was Liam, the barkeep in Bennington Vermont.
The driver dropped us off under the awning of my building, which provided us with some discretion so that our whereabouts wouldn't be published in Monday's society pages. The last thing that Tanya wanted was for all of New York to know that she was seen entering her boyfriend's building at such a late hour. After reaching my apartment, I took leave to the guest bathroom to freshen up and allowed Tanya to use my master bath. When I entered my bedroom, the lighting was dimmed but for the small lamps lit on the side tables that flanked my large four-poster bed. Tanya was laid sideways on the navy blue coverlet of the bed, her pale contrasting with the dark furnishings. Tanya was wearing nothing but garters and black stockings, high-heeled shoes and a ruby red glittering mask that covered just her eyes, accented with a red ribbon that curled and hung low between her naked breasts.
Despite the depressed state I had been carrying on since the weekend past, my pants tightened immediately to see her body laid before me. I approached the bed quickly and willed away my sullen mood.
Crawling onto the bed, I met her lips immediately and closed my eyes. I cupped her cheek and ran my fingers through her hair, and then pulled her body close. Tanya, who was already lost in passion, wouldn't notice that my eyes were closed almost the entire time.
For her last birthday I purchased her a bottle of perfume that smelled like freesia and strawberry. This was the closes scent I could find to Isabella. With eyes firmly ensconced in darkness, I envisioned my hands running through thick chestnut locks as my other hand slid up Isabella's stomach to cup her breast. I ran my fingers in a pattern from her nipple to her hip, until I flipped her onto her back and envisioned a pair of dark brown eyes staring back at me.
Before long, my clothing had been removed and thrown somewhere in the room, and her hands had grasped my penis and were stroking expertly. I imagined that this is what it would have been like if I had been with Isabella for the past twelve years. I could envision how she would have become less inhibited with my body and hers; how she would have known how to touch me perfectly and I would have learned the secrets to pleasuring her like no other would. I would have been hers, she would have been mine and together we could have played each other like fine instruments made only for each other.
Before long, she was moaning as the pleasure I gave her with my fingers took over her body, and I leaned over her and entered. We were not even officially engaged, and we were careful that our relations did not result in an unexpected child. Although illegal, she personally did not find a pessary immoral, and I knew that she would have placed it inside herself before we met up in her room.
With long, fast strokes, I remembered what being with Isabella had been like. The feeling of being inside of her had been the most intense experience of my life, and it was with this memory that I came after I heard Tanya cry out in pleasure and felt her walls clenching me tightly. The one time I had been with Isabella I had pulled from her before I spilled my seed, so I enjoyed imagining what it would have been like to let go inside her body.
After we were finished, I lay beside Tanya while her head rested on my shoulder and felt my chest clench with emotion. After 12 years, I still had to imagine a ghost before I could come with a woman. While I once felt deep sadness, and then anger for having to remember someone who was passed, I now only felt one thing after bedding Tanya.
I felt like a traitor.
Before drifting off, my eyes wandered throughout my surroundings. I found it strange that even though I had a woman in my bed with her bare arms draped across my chest, I didn't feel warm in her company. I felt cold and lonely, a stranger in this setting. I had been living in this apartment for almost two years, but I never thought of it as home. I hadn't had a home for a long time.
It occurred to me that home was how I might describe how I felt at the Cullen residence. I had been there only once, but I had felt a strange sort of comfort while I was there, and a kind of magnetic pull to return. I had been a long, long time since I had felt that in any sort of place. 12 years and 2 months, if I were honest. As I lay with my lover and future fiancée, I could only think of returning to the odd house in the woods that held more love than I had known in more than a decade.
A/N: Trivia, does anyone know the name of the now famous "piano bar in the Hotel Elysée" in New York? It became much more popular and earned its current name in the 1950s; a decade after this story has been set.
