Chapter Twenty Five

Carlisle

I kept in touch both with Aro and Eleazar although the report I gave varied. Eleazar knew Alice's visions were important and more vivid and reliable since she became a vampire whilst Aro was led to understand her visions were no more reliable although she had more of them since her transformation. He was disappointed of course but he believed in the larger picture and hoped in time with encouragement from us Alice might become more accurate as well as prolific.

Although Alice still only gave her visions reluctantly I could see she was slowly regaining her confidence and as the years rolled on she became just another member of the family, accepted by everyone. I had wondered if perhaps she and Edward might find something between themselves but it wasn't to be. With confidence came an almost overwhelming bubbly character, Alice was like the unstoppable force and Edward was certainly not the immovable object, none of us were. Alice found she got her own way most of the time, reinventing us all with new clothes and cars as they became more popular although Emmett refused to give in to four wheels instead investing in a motorbike which Rose who had found she had a certain flair with the combustion engine was always tuning up for him. We moved from Portland to Baltimore but eventually we were forced to give in to Esme and move back to Forks.

As we were packing to move I found Esme sitting in our room looking somewhat pensive.

"Are you alright my dear? Not having second thoughts about the move are you?"

She shook her head and turned to smile at me,

"No not at all. I'm very happy to be going back there, I love that house, the forest, the huge grounds."

"I know, it's just you looked as if something might be bothering you."

She took my hands in hers and pulled me down to sit beside her.

"Do you think nightmares, well more dreams I suppose as nothing horrific happens, ever come true?"

"Why? Are you afraid of something you've dreamed?"

"No, I don't know, maybe…..it's just I keep seeing him."

"Seeing who? Esme what's bothering you?"

"Him, The Major. Ever since I saw him in Volterra he keeps popping up in my dreams."

"I think what Carmen told you has played on your mind Esme. There's no reason why you should ever see him again. Aro keeps him busy with rebels and law breakers. Don't worry Esme, we're safe enough."

Esme

I knew Carlisle was right but it didn't stop me seeing him or the feeling of dread that stole over me every time I did. I nodded and tried to pull myself together. We were moving to Forks and I would be busy with the renovations, the present house was very old fashioned although it had been ahead of its time when we lived there. Using local contractors I had to add inside bathroom facilities although only the showers and baths would ever be used and an up to date kitchen which would never be used! For all that I liked a house that had everything a human house would, it helped us blend in and reminded us we were different from others around us.

As soon as we reached Forks Emmett and Edward went off to hunt excited at the thought of the prey they could find here in the wilderness of the Olympic range. Rose and Alice got stuck in cleaning the house and finalizing the plans for the renovations. Alice wanted large closets in her dressing room while Rose was more interested in the huge garage I had planned to house all the vehicles the family seemed to have accumulated. This would be the first house we could have everything we owned around us and that pleased everyone. As they had done in recent years the children would enroll in the local high school, feigning a younger age meant we could stay here longer than usual which was good news.

The town was as welcoming to strangers as I remembered from our last stay here and a lot of the adults now were descendants of those we had known when the town was young. I had to smile to see Mr Jarman who now ran the town's pharmacy. I had known his great….so many times ancestor when he set up shop here with a few remedies and some surgical experience. The shiny clean glass fronted store that greeted townsfolk now was a far cry from those days. The town had almost everything but not a hospital and Carlisle traveled to the one in Port Angeles to work although he also put in some hours at the clinic here in town.

We soon slotted into the life of Forks and were accepted by everyone except the Quileutes but there was nothing they could do about our presence, the treaty Carlisle had forged with their ancestors gave us permission to live here so long as we didn't hunt humans and they knew the Cullen family only hunted animals and were proud of the fact.

I suppose I let my guard down as the months turned into a year and then two with no more terrible dreams about The Major. After all we broke no laws and Aro seemed happy enough with Carlisle's reports concerning Alice. Then Alice came to me looking troubled,

"Esme I need to speak to you."

"Of course Alice, what is it?"

"I saw something and I felt I should warn someone just in case I'm right."

My mouth went dry but I tried not to show I was affected by her words.

"Well, what did you see?"

"It was Edward and he was with a girl, a human girl."

I groaned,

"Did he lose control and feed from her? If so we have to keep him away, where did he meet her?"

"No, he didn't bite her, I think he's in love with her but isn't that just as bad?"

"In love? Edward? With a human? Its hard to believe Alice. Do you know who she is?"

"No, but I haven't seen her around so maybe shes coming to live in Forks."

"I'll speak to Carlisle but please don't say anything to the others yet, it might…"

She nodded smiling wryly,

"I know, I might be wrong. At least you're thinking like that now."

I smiled and hugged her,

"Thank you Alice."

When Carlisle got home from work we went for a walk down by the lake at the bottom of the meadow that served as our back yard.

"Its good to be home Esme, sometimes I feel such a failure."

I knew from that he'd lost a patient today and every death he took personally.

"I'm sorry Carlisle, who was it?"

"Mrs. Anderson, she had another heart attack and we couldn't save her this time. I did however spend lunchtime with Charlie Swan."

"The Police Chief? Why?"

"No good reason I guess except we found ourselves together at lunch time. I was dropping off some paperwork and he invited me in for coffee. I declined the coffee but I sat with him a while. I got the idea he had something he wanted to share with me."

"And did he?"

"Yes, he's thrilled, his daughter Isabella is coming to live with him to finish school. Her mother's getting remarried and her new husband travels with his job."

He stopped looking at me puzzled,

"What ever is the matter Esme? You look like you just saw a ghost."

"Chief Swan's daughter is moving to Forks? When?"

"A couple of weeks I think why?"

"I think you'd better hear what Alice told me earlier."

He listened in silence then patted my hand,

"It might just be a coincidence, Alice might be wrong."

"And if she's not?"

"Then we'll cross that bridge when we reach it. Don't worry my love, don't you think its about time Edward found love?"

"Not with a human Carlisle. No."