Update: July 6 2010
BPOV
"Isabella tell us what is it that you do?" Tanya asked.
"Well Tanya while I have many interest cooking and classic English literature being just to name a few of them. I have no job but I did have one back home until the bosses son became a pervert and hit on me anytime I worked with him."
"Why didn't you tell me Bells?" Dad asked.
"Because of how the Newton's act like they own the town." I said. "And there is no doubt that Mike would have spread vicious rumors about me around school."
"I'll be keeping an eye on that boy when I get home. I do not like his behavior."
"Would that not be considered stalking Mr. Swan?" Mrs. D asked sipping her wine.
"Actually Mrs. Dunn that would not be stalking in Mr. Swan's case as he is a member of law enforcement." Jasper said. "In fact he is the chief of police in our little piece of the world and quite good at it too, besides he said keep an eye on him that doesn't mean he will be watching Mike all the time."
"You and Isabella are from the same town?" Edward asked.
"Yes we are." I replied. "If you have heard of that twilight book you have heard of our town all though it is bigger than the book implies."
"I have heard of that saga. It was okay." Alice said. "But the relationship between main characters rubbed me the wrong way. No girl or woman should put herself through that. Especially for man."
"But they were soul mates." Tanya said.
"Then he should have treated her as such." I replied.
"Besides even a soul mate isn't worth that." Charlotte said.
"You ladies can debate that later. We are here to enjoy a meal not pick apart a fictional relationship." My dad said.
"I could not have said it better myself." Mr. Boscastle said digging into his plate.
The rest of the meal was alright until Tanya started to flirt with Edward. He did not seem to reciprocate it one bit. He remained polite throughout the rest of dinner but left before desert had been served because he had an early meeting the next morning.
"Mr. Swan how did you become chief of police?" Mrs. D asked during after dinner coffee. "You seem like the type of man to go farther a small town police chief."
"I was appointed to the position when the previous chief passed on and I was offered a position with the FBI when Bella was two but I turned it down since I had so little time as it was with her."
"You can reapply now that I am going to college and if David Rossi can do it so can you Daddy."
"I have entertained the idea but I love Forks."
"Forks can always be your home base." I replied. "Rossi has a home in DC and one in Los Angeles but hardly has time to spend at either one because of his work with the FBI and his book tours."
"I will think about it but I have the town to worry about." My dad said. "I can't leave them high and dry just to go chasing after another job may not get."
"Very noble of you Mr. Swan. I know a few men that could learn a thing from you." Mr. Boscastle said.
The conversation between my dad and Mr. Boscastle took off so quick that even Peter who also speak quickly also could not keep up with them. He just laughed and turned to speak with his new wife and his mother both of whom barely let him get a word in. I just sat back with Jasper and watched it all happen.
"Isabella could you escort your father to the Duke's Gala on the twenty-first?" Mrs. D asked.
"I could but I am not much of a dancer. Since I have two left feet and all." I replied.
"Well that is a shame. Your father certainly can't go alone." She said. "It would not be proper for him to do so."
"The Duke does it all the time." I replied.
"He is of Noble birth and has to do so if he wants to find a suitable wife." Mrs D said adding the last part a she looked at Tanya.
"Who says he is looking for a wife?" I asked just to push her buttons.
"That is totally impossible. A man as good looking as Edward can't be gay." Tanya said.
"Well there are a lot of good looking gay men out there. You would have to be stupid to think all gay men were unfortunate looking."
"And with that I think Tanya and I should take our leave." Mrs. D said. "We still have to find her a dress for the Gala."
"Oh well thank you for joining us tonight." Mrs. Boscastle said.
"It was good to get out of the house and of course to see Charlotte again." Mrs. D said. Her lying was clear to me.
"I am sorry Mrs. Boscastle. I didn't mean to start an argument like that. Tanya just..."
"Bella dear it is alright and I think we can all say that the girl needed to be put in her place." Mrs. Boscastle said. "Pity that it wasn't in public because that would have really knocked her down a peg or two."
Everyone had cracked up laughing at her statement. Not because she had said it but because we could all see how true it was.
I did not go back to the Dunn home that night. I stayed in one of the Boscastle guest rooms just like my dad did because he had too much to drink and did not feel fit to drive, not that I would have let him.
EPOV
"Edward are you alright?" Alice asked.
"Oh Alice, I am fine just a little tired. That Tanya girl was grating on my nerves." I said. "Fran Fine from the Nanny wasn't that annoying."
"I agree with you but that Isabella is quite the breath of fresh air."
"Bella." I said without thinking.
"Huh what did you say?" Alice asked.
"I said Bella. It is what Isabella likes to be called." I replied.
"Okay I know that but Isabella slips out every now and then. Now tell me you have to tell me how you know that Edward. Tonight is the first night we've had dinner with her?" Alice said.
"I first met her at a book store several months ago. She stopped talking to me after she found out I was a Duke and her picture ended up in the papers." I replied. "She had no idea I was a Duke until then and she hasn't spoken to me since that day."
"Edward you sound quite heartbroken over that." Alice said.
"I do not know what to call it. I did like her and she didn't chase me for my looks, fame, money or my title."
"She sounds like the type of girl you need in your life."
"One problem she wants nothing to do with me." I said. "And I see how I can change her mind about it."
"Well I think that you should take a Que. from one of her much loved English literature novels and write a letter to her telling her how you feel." Alice said. "That would speak to her far more than a bunch of roses would at least I would hope so."
"Alice I would have to know and understand what I feel for her first. I don't have a single idea about that." I said. "You know that I would make a fool of myself otherwise."
"Edward you need to take a few days and sleep on it and then write the letter to her. I forbid you to use texting or emails."
"I do not know what her number or email are so no problem with that."
APOV
I left my dear cousin alone in his room still slightly buzzed from all the wine he had to drink with dinner. I only had two glasses of wine before switching to water if I was going to keep an eye on my cousin.
I still find it hard to believe that an eighteen-year-old American girl had made a big impression on my cousin and even myself in such a small amount of time. Not to mention the countless other people she has met since arriving here in England.
Once I had changed in to my night clothes I grabbed my laptop and started to work on another entry. I had started the blog years ago as a project for school. It started off as fashion advice and turned in to general advice after a couple of weeks. So I changed the name from 'Ali's Fashion Ideas' to 'Ask Alice' it was simple but it worked for me.
I also picked out a key word to serve as the theme from week to week. Sometimes the words were repeated but I always wrote out new replies (even if the questions had been asked and answered before). I hated to repeat myself but no matter how hard I tried I did and good advice is good advice and should not change.
CPOV
I woke up long after all the other dinner guest had gone home. My head was throbbing like a hundred trumpeters marching around inside my head. I walked to the bathroom connected to my room and found a generic pain medication for my headache. I swallowed them down without water as it seemed easier that way.
Once I had my headache taken care of I went to check on Bella. She maybe old enough to care for herself now but I will never stop worrying about my child, even when she is eighty and I am a hundred. I refuse to be like her mother who left her when she could no longer handle small town life.
I opened the door to find Bella asleep with all the covers but the top sheet thrown off of her. I smiled at her. She had come so far without her mother's help and myself barely helping her because she so rarely asked me for it.
I closed Bella's door and walked back to my room when Bella rolled over to her side. I honestly did not want to leave her when the time came but Bella needed this time alone. She needed it to grow and flourish, something she could not have done if she was stuck in Forks and because of how her peers treated her. But Bella had still been able to see a bit of good in anyone but Mike Newton but I can't fault her on that one.
Since I could no longer sleep I took my laptop out and logged on to check my email. Most of what I received were work emails from my deputies letting me know how out twenty open cases were going. It was the last email of the twenty that caught my attention. Not because if what it said but because of what was attached to it. It was an article about the arrest of one of Forks highs most popular athletes.
High School Football Star Arrested
18-year-old football star Michael Newton was arrested for assault and illegally growing Marijuana for sale. Mr. Newton was below the legal age limit to use grow or sell the drug. He was charged with assault when an unnamed 16-year-old male reported the assault to the Forks Police Department with the aid of his parents. There is no word from Newton or his own parents.
The article was hard for me to read. I could not believe that Mike Newton had fallen so far and gotten into that kind of thing but it would explain a lot of what Bella told me about him.
I sent an email telling Mark all I knew. I asked him to look and see if Mike had pulled anything similar or worse with other girls from town or communities nearby. I logged off and tried my hardest to get back to sleep so I would be awake furring my outing with Bella tomorrow... well later today.
EPOV
I did not sleep all that much after leaving dinner with the Boscastle family. It was one Bella Swan that had my brain in scrambles. I had not felt this way since grade school and I had a crush on my teacher Mrs. Ellison and even that wasn't as bad (not that it was a bad thing). I know that there is a big difference between having a school boy crush on a teacher and what I am feeling for Bella now and I don't even understand it.
By early morning I had given up on trying to get back to sleep. I decided to get out if be and get ready for my meeting with James's father. I know like James he was likely to ask for money. But I was not going to give him any amount of money. He wasted previous loans from me on business deals that went sour and caused him to lose more money than what he had put into it.
"Edward you are early." My uncle said.
"My internal clock would not let me sleep in any later than what I did." I said. "What is it that you need?"
"I do not want you to give my son any more money. He doesn't need it." He paused. "That Victoria woman will… is bleeding him dry and will continue to do so if you continue to give my son money."
"I haven't given him a single pound more than what our grandfather stated in his will. In fact, he only has about two or three payments left before he has none left."
"I hadn't realized that. I guess it's a good thing now that I can see how stupid my own son is with his feelings for Victoria."
"I think we can all agree that James isn't the brightest bulb in the box." I replied.
"True but it's not someone you want to say about your own child." He said "But I have to tell you that your aunt and I have cut James off as of the first of the new year. He does not know yet and will surely come to you and beg for money. I beg you please do not give it to him."
"As I said moments ago the only money I have been giving him was the amount stated in our Grandfather's will." I said. "He has nearly depleted all of it just like you have yours."
"I know and your aunt and I plan to use what is left of it to move to Paris or the United States we have not decide yet." My uncle replied. "Your aunt loves Paris but I think it will be too expensive."
"Paris maybe expensive but we do have small apartment there." I said. "You can stay there while you save money up for your own place and keep the promise of cutting James off."
"I will have to speak with your aunt and see what she says but I don't see her passing the chance of living in Paris full time up."
"Neither can I. I will have my lawyers to write up a rental contract that you and auntie will sign." I said.
"I thought the apartment would be free?"
"It's just a small charge to go to the care of the apartment."
"I didn't think of that." Uncle replied. "I can't thank you..."
"I got it now please leave. I have more meetings today." I replied. "And you are not privy to what happens during those."
Not even twenty minutes after my uncle had left his wife (my aunt) showed up at my home. She was dress as she believed a lady should be prim and proper no matter what the situation called for. The only thing that didn't match her state of dress was the red rims around her eyes.
"Auntie are you okay?" I asked the moment I saw her.
"Oh I'm fine. I just came to see about that apartment in Paris."
"It is available for rent. I just told your husband about it."
"We won't be living in it together. Not after the video I just received."
"What did the video show?" I asked. "If you don't mind telling me that is."
"It was him and a young woman in a sexual nature. The girl couldn't be more than eighteen." She said. "I can deal with his drug or gambling habit but I will not stand by and let him cheat on me."
"You had a pre-nuptial agreement right?"
"Father insisted upon it. His lawyer has a copy of it I believe."
"Okay. I will contact him so we can look into it. I'm guessing you are looking into a divorce?"
"Oh most certainly."
I quickly wrote down the name, number, and email address of my Grandfather's lawyer so my aunt can contact him.
"Here. You can contact him on your own." I replied. "It might be better that way but you should call my mother or father to go with you."
"I'll wait until he and James leave on their hunting trip next week."