Chapter Five

Edward

Things changed after that family conference and not for the better as far as I was concerned, Esme had been furious with me and Carlisle backed her up so I had to watch what I said. It was hard when I knew what everyone was thinking but I tried my best to close my mind to them. I still wondered what was going on with Alice and Jazz but when I asked Rose she just glared at me and walked away so I wasn't going to get any backing there either. I suppose I should have expected it from her, she and Jazz were very close, anyone would think they were really twins! I regretted upsetting Alice most of all because she had always been closest to me but now her attitude wasn't as warm, she watched herself around me and often I found her blocking her thoughts with stupid poems or fashion shoots, the sorts of things that told me pretty quickly to butt out. Jasper acted no differently but then we had never really had much to do with each other, we were too different. When they all told me they had decided to move back to Forks Washington I was slightly surprised, we usually had a vote on it with everyone entitled to join in but it seems I forfeit my vote on this occasion. I didn't mind going back to Forks, I liked it there and at least we wouldn't be inconvenienced by the sun too often! After a week I saw Esme house hunting on the computer and when she allowed me to join her I knew I was doing at least enough to appease her. We found a house in the forest about five miles from the town which needed remodelling but that was her forte and the others were happy to let her loose on it so Carlisle applied for a job in the clinic at Port Angeles through Eleazer's friend while Esme and I travelled to Forks and arranged the purchase of the house.

Carlisle

Esme was happy with her new project and the others seemed genuinely delighted with our choice both of location and house especially when they saw what she had planned for it. The job was mine and the contract started in two months so Esme had time to get a lot of the work done on the house before we moved in but it was still a bit of a building site for a while. Once moved in I went with Esme to a meeting with the Tribal Elders at a neutral location in the forest. I remembered old Quil as a very young hot-headed boy when I saw him last, now he was an elderly and wise statesman. The Quileutes didn't like our being back so close to their territory but I renewed the pledge to stay off their land and only hunt animals so there was little they could do but renew it on their side too.

"Dr Cullen, your family has grown since you were here last. Can you speak for the newer members too?"

"Yes, they too will abide by the treaty Quil Ateara . Your tribe has changed too. Do you speak for all the elders and the young men?"

"I do as the oldest. I asked Harry Clearwater and Billy Black to join me here so they could meet you, they are elders too."

I nodded an acknowledgement to the two men but they just stood stony faced and unspeaking.

"Then we shouldn't have any trouble Quil Ateara . Thank you for agreeing to this meeting."

"There is just one thing that concerns me Dr Cullen. You have Major Whitlock with you and I know his history. He concerns me."

"Jasper is a different man now, you need have no concerns about him I assure you."

Harry Clearwater and Billy Black both snorted at this but Quil merely nodded his head then turned and walked away from me.

Esme

Forks was as good as I remembered it and the townsfolk were very welcoming especially as it meant a new doctor for the clinic. They were a little wary of all the teenagers we brought with us but soon found out how quiet and well-behaved they were. I joined some of the local charities and soon had a core of friends, Mrs Newton who with her husband owned the sporting goods store, Mrs Webber whose daughter was at school with Alice and Edward, Mrs Stanley who had moved here from Texas and found Forks a little provincial, and other mothers from the school. Edward kept to himself still smarting from my words I think while Rose and Emmett fitted in as best they could, he was always going to intimidate the other students with his size but he didn't seem to notice it too much, as long as he was with Rose he was happy. Alice and Jasper carried on their close relationship although they were in different years at school. At the Christmas dance at school I finally met the Chief of Police Charlie Swan who made a brief appearance just so the students remembered to behave when they left. He was a handsome enough man who lived alone and when we got talking he showed me a photograph of his daughter Isabella. I could hear the sadness in his voice as he told me she lived with her mother in Florida and he only saw her a couple of times a year,

"Yeah Mrs Cullen it's not easy being a dad when you never see your kid, she used to visit but I don't think she likes Forks much although I think that's probably at least partly her mother's fault. My ex-wife hated Forks, she's a sun bird herself, now me, I'm a real country boy, fishing hunting, and hiking."

"Oh you hike? Perhaps you can tell me some good trails, we all like hiking and the boys hunt but none of them are fishermen I'm afraid."

"Sure, the best fishing is on the Res but I don't think there will be any trouble if you spoke to the elders, they're pretty friendly. If the boys wanted to try it that is."

I smiled and nodded thinking it was just as well no one in the family liked fishing because the chances of being allowed on the Res for any reason were non-existent.

Charlie

I liked the Cullens, the Doctor was friendly and knew exactly what he was doing. Our old family doctor told me we were lucky to get such a well-respected doctor in such a small clinic. Mrs Cullen was sweet and very involved in the community, helping out with most of the activities put on for the kids, she seemed to have an affinity with children, even the little ones. I had braced myself for a certain amount of trouble with five teenagers coming to town but the Cullen foster kids were a surprise and delight. They were all well-mannered and I never had a single problem with any of them, even the huge guy Emmett who looked like he could be a handful. They stuck pretty much to themselves but that didn't bother me at all once I got used to the fact that four of them were couples. They were foster kids after all so it wasn't wrong or anything but some tongues did wag or so I heard. The thing that I couldn't get to grips with was the hatred of them by the Quileutes. None of the tribe would use the clinic and if the Cullens were mentioned there were murmurs and curses. I tackled Harry on their attitude but he just shook his head with a cryptic statement,

"We'd all be better off if they left."