The Honeymoon, and how the new Mr and Mrs Cullen realise a dream they never knew they had.
There had been no fog on the mountain when the newlyweds had arrived this time. Spring had given way to summer in a big way in the two weeks they'd spent back in America. It had happened that fast. In just two weeks the temperature during the day shot up to near boiling and gone were the cool night time breezes they recalled from their first trip to camp.
They'd been huddled in the backseat of the car Rosalie had thoughtfully sent to collect them from their airport, winding their way once again up the side of the mountain when the sun made itself known to them. Already they could feel its penetrating sting.
The weather may have changed but the way they both felt about their destination hadn't. It felt more like coming home than the beginning of a honeymoon.
The flight had been exciting rather than tense or filled with worry and dread this time and that only seemed to reinforce just how special this place was for them. They'd found each other here. They'd found themselves here. They'd found love here too.
Bella had thrown herself over Edward's lap to look out the window as their car went by Crossroads. It looked the same, of course, they hadn't been away all that long. In fact, they were returning to the area just a day after they should've left, had they both stayed to see out their time at camp fully.
A few minutes later, with the camp behind them, the driver pulled the car into the driveway of a tiny cabin hidden in what Rose had always called 'the bush'. Tall gums camouflaged the little house quite well and from the road nobody would suspect that it was there at all, and that was just as Edward had hoped.
The house was just that. A tiny house in the middle of nowhere. It was owned by the guy Rose had bought the land that the camp now sat on from and it had been subdivided to exclude the little house. The guy had kept the house and now rented it out since he'd left the land and gone to live in the city.
Rose had been a big help with the planning of this trip but it would be a whole week before the couple actually met up with her, and hopefully Emmett, after Jasper and Alice arrived from their own honeymoon. Both Edward and Bella were eager to see her, and the camp, but they were more excited about having an entire week to themselves more.
The driver deposited their luggage inside the tiny house without a word and waved away the tip Edward offered him as he was leaving. It was hard to get used to not tipping.
As Rose had promised the house was fully stocked. Bella, despite her jet lag, raced through the rooms squealing in delight at all the little touches Rose had arranged for them. Flowers adorned the coffee and dining table and there was a bottle of champagne in an ice bucket on the kitchen counter that sported a huge bow and a card wishing the newlyweds well from everyone at Crossroads.
In fact there were quite a few cards on the counter. Edward stood reading them as Bella moved from room to room to check everything out.
There were two thick terry robes in the bathroom and the counter was covered in all manner of sweet smelling indulgences for use in the giant corner tub. A pair of plush navy towels were folded on the foot of the enormous bed and when Bella bent to peer at the logos she let out another excited squeal to see that they weren't logos, they'd been embroidered with hers and Edward's names on them!
The living room had a fireplace but also air conditioning and when Bella used the remote control on the coffee table to switch it on a sprinkling of silver confetti flew out of the air vents delicately. Still giggling at that she went into the kitchen to see what else Rose had done.
A huge glass bowl held all sorts of fruit on the counter but it was her husband's ass she squeezed on her way past as she moved into the kitchen properly. His soft chuckle echoed around the room but he didn't lift his eyes from the card he was reading.
The fridge had covered plates of bacon strips and sliced tomatoes doused in olive oil ready for the grill pan for breakfasts. There were bottles of milk and juice, some soda and glass pitchers of cold water. Trays of eggs sat next to a wedge of cheese on one shelf and another held covered dishes of meat ready for cooking. There were notes taped to the top of the dishes reminding them to set some in the freezer in a day or so if they hadn't been cooked. The bottom of the fridge held all manner of vegetables and the fixings for salad.
Food, wine and crackers, chocolates and even a few bags of popcorn and jubes lined the pantry. "She's amazing," Bella sighed happily as she stared at all their favourite things.
"Not as amazing as you, Mrs Cullen," he murmured into the back of her neck. "And I organised the popcorn and the jubes," he laughed, catching her around her waist and pulling her back up against his chest.
"I figured," Bella giggled, aware of how much her husband loved his treats.
"Come to bed with me," he begged, almost asleep where he stood.
She didn't need to answer because she was as beat as he was. No sleep at all on their wedding night, then almost twenty-four hours travelling and Bella was surprised her eyes were still open. She simply took his hand and led the way.
A full day after arriving they felt more like themselves. They'd shaken off the jetlag by sleeping almost the whole first day of sunshine away and had spent the night making love over and over, still not having glutted themselves nearly enough on one another.
In the morning they'd cooked, side by side, in the little kitchen and had watched a movie or two in the quiet seclusion of their little rented house in the afternoon.
Their cell phones were silent as they sat on the countertop and the only sounds around them – other than the television when they were watching something –were their quiet conversations and the chirp and hissing of the cicadas in the trees outside. The whir of the air conditioner had faded into the background within hours of their arrival and they no longer noticed it.
They weren't going to be disturbed here. There was nobody within earshot of the house and they'd made sure to let Alice and Jasper know they'd arrived on Australian soil safely, along with Esme who had been delighted to hear it. There was nobody else to bother them.
They spent another lazy day in the house the second day. They made love slowly in the morning. There was a little cooking to refuel at midday and the afternoon was spent in the living room reading the cards and letters left for them when they'd arrived.
Edward, having already read them himself, rubbed circles into Bella's calves as she read them aloud for them both.
Emmett's, whom Edward had contacted the day after the engagement, was a letter and by far the funniest. He'd written a whole page reminding them of the trouble they'd gotten in to at camp and pointing out that if it wasn't for him they wouldn't now be married. Neither Bella nor Edward agreed completely but they both conceded that at least part of that was true. They owed Emmett a lot, especially Edward who had taken the guys advice to 'go for it' with Bella in the first place.
Rose had written a card and it was sweet and supportive as ever. Tyler's was a letter too and it was filled with the success stories he'd had a hand in at camp over the years. The happy couple were delighted to learn they weren't the first married couple who'd met at Crossroads.
Angela had sent a note wishing the couple well and exclaiming how excited she had been to learn of their engagement and subsequent marriage. Neither Bella nor Edward could work out for sure who had let her know, but their money was on Rose. Ben had added a footnote to Angela's note that sent them all luck and best wishes too. That made them both happy, knowing that Ben had to be somewhere in close proximity to Angela if he'd written on her note in person.
There was a card and details for a pre-booked dinner at a local restaurant from Alice and Jasper and a card from Pete and his wife begging the couple to join them in town one night for dinner at the pub. Both Bella and Edward agreed they'd go. They both liked Pete and were eager to reconnect with him and meet his wife that they'd both heard so much about but had never actually met.
They made plans to visit town the next morning and called to book a taxi to take them.
They were the picture of domestic bliss that night as they grilled steaks on the outdoor barbeque. Side by side a beer each sat open on the little table under the awning next to Edward's duty free pack of cigarettes.
Town was, of course, just as they'd remembered it. The supermarket still made them both giddy as they walked the aisles laughing and whispering about how good it felt to fend for themselves now.
They stopped by the bakery and picked up a pastry each and sat on a bench in the main street espousing how good the buttery morsels were as they watched the town come to life for the day.
They walked hand in hand along the length of the main street and looked into all of the windows of the stores. The real estate agency no longer made Edward's gut clench, instead they stood side by side and looked at what was on offer on the mountain. There were modern homes listed next to empty parcels of land begging to be built on. There were a few rental properties listed next to a few small businesses, mostly fruit or vegetable farming but a few were flower farms a little further away.
When the pub opened they made their way there and sat outside in the beer garden and nursed an ice cold glass of juice each while they chatted about their earlier visits. Talking about sitting there with the pages Jasper had faxed no longer upset them. They had both come to see that the worry and suffering they'd endured as they'd read over those pages had been a very necessary step that had led them to where they were now.
Free and married. That could be seen as an oxymoron to some, but to the newlyweds it was the truest way to describe them. Free of influences that had sought to break them and married to the one person who could keep them whole.
It was a faster stroll towards the bookstore after their stop at the pub. They were both eager to see Pete and to explore their favourite places on the mountain – other than Crossroads.
Pete greeted them both warmly, happy that they'd recently been married and had lost the look of utter despair they'd both been sporting the first time he'd met them.
Edward was quick to thank the older man for his very generous reference and Pete was just as quick to wave away the thanks, citing Edward's willingness to share his incredible musical talent with his students as thanks enough.
It didn't take much to convince Edward to go a few doors up for a tinker with the piano, so as the two men moved to take up positions behind their favourite instruments Bella wandered the shelves of the bookstore, the sounds of two musicians floating in from the other store accompanying her search for a good book.
An hour later Bella had three novels in a carrier bag and Edward had a date to play again in a few days time. Bella understood his reluctance to agree to play again. They were on their honeymoon and he wanted to spend all his time with her. He felt guilty for wanting to be anywhere she wasn't. But Edward hadn't played since the day before they'd left camp and she knew and understood the pull the piano held for him, so she couldn't resent his eventually agreeing to go to town to play again.
Besides, the things Edward promised to do to her in their bed as his 'penance' for leaving her for a few hours sounded pretty worth it to her.
At the end of their week alone a kind of depression settled over the little house. They tidied up in silence. They called and placed their order at the supermarket for extra food reluctantly. A kind of silent mourning was conducted while they said goodbye to the privacy they'd shared for the week.
That was shaken off the closer the time got that Jasper and Alice would arrive. Their plane had already touched down and a brief text message exchange was had between the two sisters and after that the excitement of a holiday together began to override the loss of the solitude.
This was Alice' first ever trip to Australia and Bella wanted her sister to fall in love with it the way she had. She wanted everything to be perfect in the little house and she relished the idea of playing host even though the two couples were sharing the cost of the rental for the following week of their stay.
But for Bella it felt as though she was welcoming her family to her home when they arrived, not merely showing them around a holiday rental.
Alice was as enchanted with the place as Bella was and the two girls had skipped through the little house giggling and squealing at all its features as they moved from room to room.
Not nearly as tired or as jetlagged as the newlyweds had been after their trip Alice and Jasper had a quick nap mid afternoon before the two couples made their way outside for an evening of laughter and storytelling about the Hong Kong visit.
The meal was a simple one, in deference to the heat, but the drink flowed freely for at least two of the four housemates. Jasper, the most temperate of the four because he knew that too much to drink was dangerous for him, played bartender and Alice cited a queasy stomach from the heat and so much travelling so it was only Bella and Edward who consumed the gifted bottle of champagne throughout the evening.
Alice regaled Bella with descriptions of the shopping to be had in Asia while Jasper kept Edward's attention explaining the differences he'd noticed in Hong Kong since their first visit.
As in love as they'd ever been Alice and Jasper seemed to be closer Bella thought as she watched them during the evening. They behaved just like herself and Edward did though the other couple had been married a decade by then. They touched whenever they could, they gave each other soft, secret smiles during their various conversations and when Jasper yawned and said he was ready for bed Alice leapt to her feet to follow her husband wherever he wanted to lead her.
"Sounds like they had a great time," Edward whispered to his wife that night as they got into bed.
"It does," Bella agreed as she slipped in beside him, her hands instantly sliding across his naked chest. "Do you think we'll still be that in love after ten years?" she asked before placing a kiss on his bicep.
Smiling to himself as he reached for her Edward could only manage to say 'of course we will' before he gave in to his lust and devoured her mouth with his.
The next day Alice found herself nervous to meet Rose but only because she knew how highly the other three members of her family thought of her. She hoped she was going to make a good impression and that Rose accepted her as part of the group even though she was the only one in the party who wasn't an ex camper.
She needn't have worried. Rose was exactly as friendly as she'd always seemed on the few phone calls they'd had. The only thing that hadn't gelled was how she looked. She was, quite possibly, the most stunning woman Alice had ever seen. She was everything Mary Alice had always wanted to be.
Tall, blonde and with an actual cleavage. But unlike other gorgeous women who Mary Alice had spent time with Rosalie Hale didn't make her feel inadequate or as though there was a competition. What she did make Alice feel was accepted. Instantly. And Alice knew it was genuine. She just knew.
It was obvious how happy Rose was for Bella and Edward's successes just as it was obvious that she detested the trauma they'd both had to endure before their triumphant marriage. Mary Alice found herself feeling very close to Rose after that. The camp owner and director did take a personal interest in her guests and not just because that would've been excellent for business. But because she cared about people and their lives. It was evident in everything she said and also in the way she looked at her sister and her new husband.
As they walked around the camp – which hadn't changed at all since Edward and Bella had left but had changed a lot since Jasper's stint thirteen years prior – Rose pointed out all the renovations she was planning to make over the coming year.
The end of the tour ended in the dining hall and saw the five of them seated at one of the round tables with a mound of food piled high in the centre of it. Rose had arranged for a huge spread in honour of her returning guests and there was all manner of cold meats and seafood to tuck in to as well as dishes of salad and the fresh baked crusty rolls the newlyweds had enjoyed so much during their stay.
The conversation was easy and it felt as though they'd all been friends for years. Mary Alice didn't have to think too hard about why Crossroads was so successful or why Jasper, Bella and Edward wanted to come back to visit.
"Have you heard from Emmett?" Edward asked Rose, his face serious in the midst of such jovial conversation.
The table fell silent instantly at the fleeting look of pain on the directors face, but she recovered her smile quickly as she answered. "I have," she said brightly and even Mary Alice, as the 'new girl', could tell that it was forced. "We talk on the phone at night after his classes but I haven't seen him since he left."
Bella's heart ached for Rose after hearing that, knowing that if she and Edward were ever separated for any reason how hard it would be to only be able to talk on the phone and not touch each other. "He's coming out with us, to the city, on Friday night," Bella told Rose. "You should come to."
But Rose was already shaking her head no. "Thank you for the invitation, but no," she said kindly. "He doesn't want to see me until he's done with his course and I have to respect that."
"You know it's not about not wanting to see you though, right?" Edward asked. He'd talked to Emmett a few times since leaving camp and every time he did the older man insisted that he was doing well and that he was determined to 'have his shit in one sock' before he saw Rose again. Edward took that to mean that he wanted to have a plan in place but with Emmett it could just as easily mean that he really did want time to put real shit into his sock!
"I know," Rose said quietly. "He's doing well," she insisted. "But he's not ready to deal with his love life with his future so up in the air. I can respect and understand that. I might not like it," she laughed heavily, "But I do understand it."
Wanting the conversation to lose its severity Mary Alice stepped in. "I'd love to see the cabin you stayed in," she said, nodding to Bella whose smile went from polite to megawatt at the thought.
"They're empty," Rose told a beaming Bella. "My new private guests don't arrive for a few days yet. I'll grab the keys for you," she said standing from the table. "I'll get yours too," she told Edward who was smiling to himself about being back in the familiar cabin. "Help yourself to sweets and I'll be right back," Rose told the table and headed back to the administration block.
True to her word Rose was back in minutes and handed over the two cabin keys with a grin. Announcing that she had work to do and that the group should take their time looking around she left them with the promise to have coffee and cake waiting in the conference room so they could all talk some more before they left the grounds.
Alice was just as enchanted with the little cabin as she'd been with the little house. Like Bella it reminded her of dorm rooms in boarding schools all around the world. Unlike Bella she had fond memories of her time away from home. Unlike Mary Alice, Bella had very fond memories of the cabin.
Bella wandered through the it with a smile plastered to her face remembering the happy hours she'd spent there, some without Edward but most with.
"Tell me about it," Mary Alice giggled as they both plonked themselves down onto the sofa.
Bella blushed but she understood what her sister wanted to know. "I was so happy here," Bella mused, lost to her memories. "It was the first place that I could be myself. And Edward was happy here too, probably for the first time too."
"I think so too," Alice agreed.
"We used to hang out in here and watch movies sometimes," Bella smiled at the thought. "And it was right here where we decided we were going to go home and break all the rules," she laughed.
"So romantic," Alice gushed.
Bella thought so too so the two women sat there on the little sofa in cabin one and Bella described as best she could all the times Edward had made her feel wanted and loved and desired. It wasn't the raucous indiscreet kind of talk that both girls had been witness to during their teenaged years away at school, no. Instead it was a proper love story filled with respect and sweet and gentle kindnesses that grew into love.
When the boys came to collect the girls they were both misty eyed and eager to step into the arms of their significant other.
A brief stop was made by Bella and Edward at cabin two while Mary Alice was borne off by an excited Jasper who wanted to show her around the lake, the special place at Crossroads where he'd broken himself out of his life of self destruction so many years earlier.
Standing in the doorway to what had been Edward's bedroom in cabin two the newlyweds stared at the tiny bed they'd shared for weeks.
"It seems so long ago, doesn't it?" Edward asked Bella with a squeeze of her hand.
"It does," she agreed. "I know it's strange but I kind of feel a bit jealous of whoever is going to occupy these cabins next."
"How so?" Edward asked as he led them out of the cabin and to their 'regular' chairs under the awning.
"Well," Bella began after accepting an already lit cigarette from her husband. "Whoever is going to live here next will be way back at the start of whatever problem led them here, won't they?" she asked a confused Edward.
"Yeah, they will he," agreed, "but you can't tell me you wish you were back at the start, can you?"
"No, not at all," Bella laughed. "I'm not jealous of that part. I never want to find myself in a situation like I was in before," she said with a shudder. "No, I just mean, I guess, the end so justified the means for me."
"I don't understand."
"It's hard to describe," she told him truthfully. "The little acts of defiance I made were accomplished right here. All the little things I did and thought for the very first time were accomplished right here too. I guess I am going to kind of miss that. I remember how it felt to decide not to get married to Jake and how it made me feel to decide I wanted to be with you. I'm going to miss feeling that way now that we're settled and I guess I'm a little jealous to think that the new guests here are going to be able to feel that again and I won't now there's nothing left for me to defy or decide."
"I'm good without the defiance part," Edward laughed, impressed at the way she'd articulated her feelings. He'd never thought about things from that perspective before. "But I think you're wrong," he added. "You're going to feel the thrill of making decisions over and over from now on. We might be settled, as in our relationship is settled I mean, but nothing else is. Not really. We have to decide where to live and where to go to school. There'll be a million decisions to be made about our house or what we'll drive or even what will be for dinner. All those things, big and small, will be a thrill, Bella. I promise."
It was Bella's turn to be impressed then. She'd never considered things from that point of view and as she smiled back at him she knew he understood her like nobody ever had before or ever would again.
They sat in silence and consumed their cigarettes and then walked hand in hand back to the administration building to find the others. The cake and coffee was duly consumed in between Rose having to rush back to her office to fix or oversee some mistake or enquiry.
"I seriously have to employ a numbers man," she muttered when she came back to the conference room the last time.
"What's a number man?" Mary Alice asked.
"Oh, an accountant," Rose laughed when she realised she was in the company of four Americans. She picked up her half finished coffee and took a sip before continuing. "I had a part time accountant who came in two days a week but she's gone off on maternity leave and I doubt she's coming back as this is her fourth baby in as many years," she said with a roll of her eyes.
The others laughed politely at the plight of the woman with four kids under four, everyone except Bella who out of the corner of her eye saw her sister put her hand to her stomach and rub it. It all clicked just then. Alice was more tired than usual. She hadn't had a drop of alcohol since they'd arrived in Australia and she hadn't touched any of the seafood at lunch.
Mary Alice was pregnant!
As Bella watched her sister and brother in law closely from then on in she saw more and more signs that she was right as she thought over the days since they'd arrived to join herself and Edward in Australia.
Alice didn't eat meals, she snacked. She still hadn't touched alcohol even though they'd had dinner at the pub on one night and lunch at a local vineyard too. She wouldn't touch seafood and she refused to soak in the spa bath in the bathroom at the house.
As if all the symptoms Bella saw in her sister didn't already confirm her suspicions her brother in law was hardly doing very well keeping what they obviously wanted to keep secret a little longer. He was hovering.
Jasper wasn't a hoverer. He never had been. But now he was. If Mary Alice stood so did he. He was at her elbow the instant it looked like she was moving even if it was just to go to another room to get something he stood at her side to help her.
He asked after her constantly too. Was she too hot? Was she still hungry? Did she want more water, more bread, more salad, a lie down? Bella had never heard Jasper do that before. Alice had always made her needs known and he had always offered to fulfil them, but now he was anticipating her needs before she voiced them.
And then there was the touching.
She'd noticed it the first day they'd arrived but it was more pronounced now because Bella was one hundred percent sure her sister was having a baby. Jasper took every opportunity to touch her now. Always affectionate the couple seemed more than ever to want to be in physical contact. But it was the type of contact that made Bella so sure of herself.
Just as Bella was about to try and remember the exact times and types of touches Jasper and Alice had shared in the two days since they'd arrived at the house her brother in law all but proved that her sister was pregnant all by himself.
The rest of the group were all talking animatedly about the renovations to the camp again, Bella excluded because she was busy watching her brother in law slide his arm around her sisters waist. That was normal enough in and of itself. Edward did that to her too. Then Jasper rubbed Alice' belly and a soft, dreamy smile lit up her sisters face.
"Are you ready to go?" Edward asked Bella for the second time, worry creasing the space between his eyebrows at her lack of response both times. "Bella?" he asked again, reaching for her hand and squeezing it.
"I'm sorry, what?" she asked, snapping her eyes around to search for his.
"Are you ready to go?"
"Um, oh yeah, sure," she replied with a little shake of her head to clear it.
"What's wrong?" Edward insisted as he turned her to face him and put both his hands on her shoulders. "You've been staring off into space for five minutes. The others have gone outside already but I couldn't reach you at all."
"Oh its nothing," she answered hastily. "Just lost in thought about our time here I guess. I'm going to miss this place again," she told him as they made their way outside to join the others who were admiring Rose' recently repaired car.
"Me too," Edward agreed.
The two couples slipped into their waiting taxi only after making promises to Rose that they'd visit again before they went back to the States and receiving a promise from Rose that she'd set aside a night to come to the little house down the road for dinner before they vacated it.
The foursome traipsed through a vineyard the day after their visit to the camp and ate at a lovely farm that had a tiny wood-fired open air restaurant that night. Again Mary Alice abstained from having wine with her meal citing the heat of the day made it go right to her head. Bella wasn't fooled and of course Jasper knew the real reason, but Edward was oblivious.
Alice looked positively green on the cab ride home that night but until she, or Jasper, said something Bella kept up the pretence of worry that her sister had consumed something that didn't quite agree with her at dinner.
Edward was worried for her too but was assuaged by Jasper's insistence that his wife always took a few days to get used to the local cuisine in new places. After that he was patient with her but not worried that anything untoward was wrong. The rest of the evening was passed inside with the air conditioning on full power with the four of them laughing their heads off in front of a movie.
But the next morning the jig was up. There was only one bathroom in the little house and even though the two bedrooms were at either end of the house, with the bathroom around a corner further along a short hall, nothing could disguise the sound of Mary Alice vomiting up what sounded like everything she'd ever eaten.
"Rose said the camp doctor was local," Edward said in a panic as he leapt from the bed and began throwing on the day befores clothes. "I'll call her and get him out here, or we can take her to town if he's there."
"No," Bella said as firmly and as calmly as she could without giving the game away. "She'll be fine. You heard Jasper, he said she gets like this when they're travelling."
"That isn't 'adjusting to the local cuisine'," Edward scowled, using his fingers to make the air quotes and then pointing in the direction of the bathroom and the awful retching sounds coming from within it. "That's the sound of someone seriously ill."
"It's not," Bella insisted as she too got out of the bed. "Go and talk to Jasper. If he says she needs a doctor I'll help you organise one, but talk to Jasper first," she said sneakily as she drew on her own clothing.
Edward didn't say another word. He simply marched out of their bedroom and down the hall to the other couples room. He knocked on the door and was told he could go in. Jasper was reclining on the bed, fully clothed, half sitting up against the headboard, with his hands clasped casually behind his head and his ankles crossed over one another. That was strange enough Edward thought, considering the guys wife was probably expelling a kidney from her body down the hall. But what struck him as even more odd was the smug grin on the guys face.
"She needs a doctor," Edward all but shouted, pissed off that Jasper didn't seem to give a shit about what was wrong with Alice.
"She really doesn't," Jasper replied, his grin still firmly in place.
"Why do you people keep saying that?" Edward huffed as he ran a hasty hand through his hair.
"Us people?" Jasper asked, amused. He got up from the bed and strode to where Edward stood in the doorway. He clapped him on the shoulder, chuckled a little and then made his way down the hall to the bathroom. He knocked once and after a groan from his wife he began to speak through the still closed door. "Edward's insisting you go to the doctor, Sweetpea," he said pretty calmly Edward thought. "I've told him you don't need that but I don't think he's buying it," Jasper chuckled.
"What the fuck?" Edward hissed, still standing in the doorway to the other couples bedroom.
"Can I tell him, darlin?" Jasper asked with a chuckle, "he looks about ready to burst a blood vessel."
"Just tell him and leave me alone," Edward heard Alice groan before the horrible sound of retching started up again.
Jasper, relieved to be able to tell someone, called for Bella – who he was sure already knew but didn't want to exclude from the announcement – to join him in the living room and then he tossed his head in Edward's direction so the other man would follow suit.
"My wife and I are going to have a baby," he said proudly.
Bella squealed and bounced on the balls of her feet clapping and shouting before she flung herself at her brother in law and congratulated him over and over in between hugs and kisses to his cheek.
Edward was stunned for a second and then felt like an idiot. Of course she was pregnant! That's what pregnant women do. They puke and they don't drink alcohol!
"Jesus," he managed to mumble before he made his way to Jasper and stuck out his hand. "I never thought of that," he laughed as his hand was shaken firmly by his brother in law. "I'm sorry she's sick but congratulations," he told a now beaming Jasper.
"I'm sorry she's sick too," Jasper added. "And she's already seen a doctor. Back in the States, the day of the wedding," he grinned. "Everything's just fine so you don't need to worry. He says this will pass in a couple of weeks."
This was news to Bella who had been at the house with her sister almost every second of the day before and the day of the wedding. Almost. She hadn't seen a doctor arrive, though. And then she remembered. "The morning of the wedding. She went out for an hour," Bella mused as the two men looked on, one grinning, one with his eyebrows creased. "She was all nervous and giggly and said she had to go to the hotel and make sure that everything was set up the way she'd instructed. I thought she was just going to give the hotel staff hell," Bella giggled.
"She did," Jasper confirmed with his own chuckle. "But she did it by phone from the doctors waiting room."
"That sneaky little..." Bella trailed off. "Hey, why didn't you tell us right away?" she accused.
"On your wedding day?" Mary Alice trilled. Nobody had heard her finish up in the bathroom, or enter the living room behind them. "Nobody gets to upstage the bride on her wedding day and especially not to announce they are having a baby. It just isn't done," she smirked.
"But you've been drinking with us," Edward groaned as he thought about all the times they'd sat outside on the terrace sipping wine. "And at the wedding you had champagne. Oh god," he moaned thinking about all the ways she could've harmed her child simply to celebrate his successes.
"It's okay," Mary Alice assured him as she went to him and put a hand on his forearm. "It was all non alcoholic at the house. We kind of suspected I was expecting the week you two came home but then things happened so fast for the two of you and I didn't have a chance to find out for sure. So we figured it was better to be safe than sorry and I bought non alcoholic stuff and hoped you guys didn't notice that it was only me who was drinking it," she giggled.
"But at the wedding," Edward argued but was cut off.
"All prearranged," Jasper said. "None of what she drank at the wedding was alcoholic."
"Oh," was all Edward could say in reply. As usual they'd thought of everything.
"This is where you congratulate me," Alice hinted, nudging him with her elbow. "You can kiss me, I've brushed my teeth," she grinned.
Another round of loud congratulations was had, followed by another twenty minutes of retching from Alice, and then a sort of normalcy settled over the little house on the mountain.
A mid morning brunch was eaten outside under the awning though a still slightly pale Mary Alice declined much more than a few strips of bacon and half a slice of toast.
They had plans to spend the day in town. Looking through the shops, introducing the others to Pete and for Edward to play a little. But it's so hot and nobody thinks it's a good idea for an expectant mother to walk all day, especially in the burning sun. Alice assures everyone that she feels fine and it isn't until she reminds them all that she's pregnant, not dying, that it is agreed they'll continue with their plans.
In the taxi that takes them to town she reminds them all that she's managed to keep up with them all up until now so a few hours window shopping in town wouldn't hurt her. When Bella begins to look as though she's going to argue Mary Alice reminds her sister that she's just spent a full week in the humidity of Hong Kong, shopping all day, and she was perfectly fine there too.
True to her word Mary Alice does well. Her stomach settles as the day goes on, just like she promised the newlyweds it would, and they have a fun morning ducking in and out of the stores that line the main street of the little town. Both girls, having similar tastes despite their age gap, are lost to the stacks of books and after half an hour the guys are bored so they head to the music store, shouting to the girls to join them when they're ready.
Pete is as welcoming as ever at the music store and after Edward proudly introduces Jasper as his brother in law the two men spend a little time haunting the long rows of vinyl before Edward can stand the pull of the piano no longer.
"I'm going to head next door," he tells Jasper who has his head buried in the sleeve of a record. An uninterested 'yeah' is the only answer Edward gets as he leaves one store to go into the next.
Edward begins his warm up exercises by craning his neck and then stretching his fingers using the edge of the piano bench. He gives his ankles a roll each, leans backwards as far as he can to loosen up the muscles there and then he's moving up and down the scales at a lightening pace.
Back in the music store Pete is smiling at the sound. It's hot so both doors are open, the one to the store itself and the one next door for the music school section. When Edward begins his regular practise piece Pete begins to hum along behind his beloved coffee machine.
The gurgling and hissing of the steam seem to blend in perfectly as Edward hits his stride and pretty soon Pete is tapping the metal coffee grinds apparatus against the metal lip of the rubbish bin in time with where the drums and the deep, booming throatiness of the double bass should come in.
"What's this?" Jasper asks, pointing upwards as he makes his way to the counter to pay for his chosen records.
"It's not a recording," Pete chuckles as he takes the vinyl and rings up the total. "That's your brother in law next door."
Jasper is floored, just like everyone else who hears Edward play, and can only stand there with his mouth hanging open as the piece plays out to its end. There is barely a full minute from when that piece ends to when the next begins and then Pete is humming away again. Jasper hands over his credit card in silence and takes the carrier bag he's offered without a word. Pete understands. He's used to the stunned appreciation of his customers when Edward's next door so he just goes back to tapping his foot and humming along as Edward really cranks up the speed and races through the next movement.
"Christ," Jasper whistles as the notes triple in speed.
"Yeah," Pete agrees, "he's really something. I wish he was staying around here. I had students bribing each other to get the chance to be taught by him while he was at camp and now they're all telling me that they're too depressed to play now he's gone home," he laughs.
"He took students?" Jasper asked, incredulous.
"Oh sure," Pete admits. "Not strictly legal, though," he whispers conspiratorially. "He didn't have a working visa or anything so I paid him cash under the table and he only saw two or three every afternoon for a few weeks."
"There's money in it?" Jasper asked, not caring whether or not it was legal, even though as a lawyer he probably should.
"Plenty for the right kind of person, yeah," Pete said as he came around the counter to stand by the door and listen with Jasper. "I could've had his lessons booked solid from dawn to dusk every day of the week if he'd wanted to do it. But by the time I met him he'd already met Bella and I guess he didn't want to spend that amount of time away from her," Pete trailed off.
"I guess not," Jasper agreed quietly, deep in thought. "Who takes the lessons now?" he asked.
"I used to but since Edward came along my classes just don't seem to cut it anymore," Pete laughed wryly. "But we're the only music school for miles so it's a pretty captive audience if you know what I mean. They'll be back. The love for the music and the instruments themselves always draws them back."
Jasper nodded but didn't say a word. Like the other three in their group he'd been brought up in a strict home where music lessons were as important as good table manners and good grades. Never musically inclined himself Jasper had never excelled at any of his lessons but the time he'd spent hovered over the piano and gripping the neck of a violin had taught him an appreciation for the depth and complexity of classical music.
As the last few notes of Edward's chosen piece began to slow towards its inevitable end Jasper turned hurriedly towards Pete. "I'd like to talk to you about something," he whispered, "but it needs to be done in private. Will you meet me in the pub at opening on Friday morning?" he asked hopefully.
"Is it something to do with that?" Pete asked, pointing in the direction of the music school. At Jasper's nod he stuck out his hand and promised to be in the pub at opening on Friday morning.
Jasper nodded in agreement and then went next door to listen some more and to wait for the girls.
Bella nudged her sister in the ribs as they made their way towards the music store and school. "Hear that?" she prompted and when Alice acknowledged that she did indeed 'hear that' Bella informed her that was Edward playing.
"No way!" Alice squealed and sped up just a little. "He's good," she said with a proud smile.
"He really is," Bella agreed, a proud smile on her lips too.
"What does he want to do with all that talent?" Alice asked as they came to a stop by the door to the music school.
"He wants to teach," Bella said wistfully as she watched her husband's muscular back sway this way and that as he brought the simple piece to life.
Bella motioned to her sister to keep quiet by pressing a finger to her lips. Jasper was sitting on another piano bench, a few feet away from where Edward played, and his eyes were closed as he listened. He was as lost to the music as Edward was.
Pete stood at the back of the small room that made up the main teaching part of the school. Though his eyes weren't closed he didn't notice the two women at the door either. He was too busy watching Edward's fingers fly over the keys as his own fingers made the notes on an imaginary guitar.
From somewhere in the street a shrill voice could be heard to shout 'he's back' and then after a brief stampede of footsteps Edward had a larger audience. Two young girls and a boy a little older had their faces pressed up against the glass of the schools front window and were grinning from ear to ear at the sight of Edward at the piano. Bella placed her fingers to her lips once again and all three of the teenagers nodded to show they understood to be quiet.
Pete sought Bella's eyes and after a nod in the direction of his acoustic guitar and then a raise of his eyebrows at her he shrugged in Edward's direction. Realising he was asking her opinion on whether or not he should join in Bella nodded enthusiastically.
Edward balked only slightly as Pete began to play along and then the sound was amplified three fold as the boy from outside slipped in through the door and took his place behind the massive double bass that sat right by the window.
Edward didn't balk this time as the rumbling boom of the bass came in. He simply adjusted his speed to accommodate the younger man's ability.
"Can I?" the taller of the two girls asked Bella as she too slipped inside.
Bella could only smile at her. It wasn't her decision to make really. The girl took that as a green light and she rushed into the school and took up a long, slender black and gold oboe from its case beside where Jasper sat.
And then the music that filled the little school soared as the exquisite sound emanating from beneath Edward's fingers was added to by the haunting charm of the new instrument. Bella watched enthralled as the girl closed her eyes and pursed her lips around the oboe. She swayed, just as Edward did. As the piece sped up so did the movement of her hips as she felt it. When it slowed she brought the oboe downwards, almost resting it on her belly as she blew.
The other girl didn't bother seeking permission to join in. She ran inside, tapped Jasper on his sleeve and nodded to the upright piano he was sat in front of. Catching her meaning instantly he vacated the bench and moved to the front of the school to stand by his wife as the young girl took her place at the bench.
The sound was different than what Edward was producing from the miniature grand. It was tinnier in contrast to the deep resonation of his, but she coaxed from the upright a bolder, more contemporary sound that leant yet another layer to the piece Edward had chosen.
Transfixed Bella could only stare as her husband whipped that impromptu band into a frenzy. The girl at the upright had to work hard to keep up, her body moving fast from left to right to make the reach of the notes to match Edward's much longer wing span at the grand. The girl on the oboe had a sheen of sweat on her brow as she blew and blew, her foot tapping and her hips swaying in perfect time to the bass' thunderous beat.
Pete, ruing his decision not to attach a strap to his guitar, now had his foot propped up on an amp in an attempt to rest his aching arms as Edward drove them all higher and faster.
Edward's shirt was drenched and the hair at the base of his neck dripped each time he flung himself sideways to attack the keys in either direction. His feet pounded the pedals to dampen his sound to make way for the upright. His fingers ached, his shoulders were on fire and he was in heaven. The pain only made it better as he listened for the bass' steadying beat as he brought the piece to its rapid decline.
The last note echoed around the little school until at last it faded away and he could bring his hands back to his lap for a rest. His chest was heaving with the effort to keep all the other instruments in check and maintain the integrity of the piece. He was covered in sweat and he'd bitten his bottom lip so hard in concentration he could taste the blood. And he doubted he'd ever felt anything so thrilling.
The applause came next, breaking him from his thoughts as the school erupted. As the reluctant leader of today's band he stands and takes his bow and then holds his hand out so that each member and their instrument can be acknowledged. The pleasure on the faces of those who played is mirrored in the faces of his family.
Jasper stands, hands clapping thunderously, telling him how amazing it all was. Alice is sobbing, tears streaming down her face but she waves his concern away, telling him it's hormonal and he was brilliant, they were all brilliant.
And then there is his wife. Her eyes are filled with tears too but none spill down her lovely cheeks as she claps and claps for him and for them. He bows lowly in her direction, his sparkling eyes thanking her for her praise.
And then he's mobbed by his former students. The girls launch themselves at him, hugging him tightly and vying for his attention. The boy, Dylan, waits until the girls are done and have released their hero from their clutches and then he's hugging Edward too. Only he does it in the time honoured way of teenage boys who are too self conscious to show emotions in public. He claps Edward hard on the back as they shake hands but the look on his face and in his eyes speaks volumes to his teacher.
"You've graduated," the teacher praises his student.
"I've put on three kilos and Pete said I could try," Dylan says proudly, earning another shake of his hand from his hero.
"Pete was right," Edward agrees with a nod in Pete's direction as thanks. "Another few inches and you can give the bow away completely. You'll be striking like Dizzy in no time!"
Dylan accepts his praise with a deep nod and then steps aside to let his band mates have their turn.
"You've been practising hard, Chrissy," Edward praises the girl who'd played the oboe.
She blushes delicately and looks down at her feet to reply. "Pete makes me come twice a week now," she says.
"It's paying off," Edward praises. "Just remember what I told you," he teases, his finger pointing at Dylan who ducks his head. "Kissing isn't the same thing as breathing exercises," Edward admonishes playfully.
Dylan holds his hands up in surrender and promises to let Chrissy do her exercises unhindered, sometimes, maybe, he laughs.
"And you!" Edward says, pulling the other girl to his side and tucking her under his arm. "You've conquered your dip, Ellie!" he tells her proudly though nobody else other than Pete understands. "And your form was flawless, even on a spinet!"
"I've been thumb wrestling with my brother just like you said I should," the girl replies between giggles. "It's really helped, look," she tells an amused Edward who watches patiently while she bends her thumbs and then holds her hands up while he inspects the skin between her fingers and thumbs.
"You'll have the spread for a concert grand in no time," he assures her.
"I hope so," she sighs and gets the exact same look on her face as her mentor does at the thought of a full sized concert grand.
After a short conversation with Pete to thank him for the use of the school Edward brings his former students towards his family for introductions. The girls giggle when Edward tells them that he's back on the mountain for his honeymoon and that Bella is now his wife. Dylan ducks his head when he's introduced to Mary Alice but straightens up and shakes Jasper's hand like a man.
The kids beg Edward to play with them again before he leaves and after a quick look in Bella's direction he promises to try. Bella, for her part, makes a mental note to make sure he does. He's truly happiest in the little music store even though he's been smiling almost every second of every day since leaving her sister's house to go to the hotel that first time. But here, surrounded by instruments and students he's positively beaming.
Goodbyes are shouted back and forth between Pete and the students and then between the foursome as they make their way away from the school back down the main street. Edward accepts everyone's praise with real pleasure. The girls duck into the supermarket and collect a few bits and pieces that will be needed for dinner while the guys cross the street to wait in the shade and call the taxi to take them home again.
Edward made the call while Jasper looked in the window of the real estate agency. The girls rejoined them with only seconds to spare and once they were all piled into the cab with all their belongings they set off back to their little house on the mountain.
Each of them had something on their mind but not one of them was ready to voice it.
A/N: I suppose it's obvious where this is heading. I'm sorry if it's contrite, or too obvious, but it's how I always imagined this story ending.
Not too much to go now, then a couple of epilogues (for each pair in this story).
Thank you for reading.
Please review.