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Word Prompt: Harness

Plot Generator—Phrase Catch: Easier said than done.

Taking Charlie down from his shoulders, Edward opens the door and ushers us inside.

"Is this church, Mom?" Charlie asks dubiously, glancing around.

I get where she's coming from. It doesn't look too much like the churches she's seen.

"Kind of. I mean, yeah." I tug on Edward's arm. "Hey, go ahead and see what needs to be done, okay? I need to chat with Charlie for a sec."

Once he's gone, I bend down, taking Charlie's hands in mine. "So...you know I love Edward. A lot. And you love him, right? And he really loves us, too, and we're going to get married."

"Yah, Mom." Seeming to sense my seriousness, she maintains eye contact although I'm sure she'd rather be looking at everything else.

"But this is a special wedding today. For you and me and Edward. Our little family."

"A little family." She nods, pushing my hair from my face the way I always do hers. "I need a flower."

"You'll get the flower. But listen... this is our secret. Because we're still going to have the big wedding back home, right? Where everyone gets dressed up?"

"Like two birthdays," she says sagely. "Two parties."

"Exactly." I hug her, hoping she keeps "the secret" but knowing she might not be able to. I mean, she's four.

Edward joins us as I rise. "The marriage license complicates things. They said we could do a commitment ceremony, though."

"What's that? Like a wedding without a marriage?"

"Kind of," he laughs. "It would be official for you and me, just not in the eyes of the law. Which is kind of pointless..."

"It's not," I say, taking his hand. "Not for me. This is..." I swallow, shaking my head. There's so much I want to get across. That while this was spontaneous, it's no less significant. For so long, it's been just me and Charlie. It seems almost appropriate that adding one more to our little family be between just us. Well, us and the rest of Las Vegas. "Perfect. For us."

Eyes softening, he nods. "I just want to be with you, Bella. I want to wake up next to you..." He glances down at Charlie. "And, I guess Chuck...since she's a bed hog...for the rest of my life."

Overcome with sappiness, tears prickle behind my lids. Another couple, dressed in matching baseball jerseys, passes by, smiling broadly. "Congratulations, guys!"

They leave before we can really respond, and we burst out laughing.

Needless to say, we're not the only couple getting married today.

One wedding party is going all out, the bride and groom in a traditional dress and tux, flanked by their bridesmaids and groomsmen. Others, like us, aren't even wearing fancy clothing.

"Is this your first time?" An old lady asks me, right before we head into the Crystal Chapel.

"Yes," I say. "Are you...getting married, too?"

"Oh no, honey." She beams at the silver haired man to her left. "We were married here in 1961. We just renew our vows here."

"Every year?"

"Every year." Her husband smiles serenely at us, nodding.

"That's...wow. Happy anniversary," I say, in awe of their life together. I want what they have.

The old man reaches up to pat Edward's shoulder. "Take care of each other. That's all. That's the promise. Talk to each other, take care of each other."

Edward nods, clasping the man's wrinkled, freckled hand between the both of his. "We will. Thank you."

Their names are Emily and Samuel, and they make up the small group of witnesses inside our chapel. Our ceremony is pretty basic. We secure small bouquets of roses for Charlie and me, as well as a photographer to capture it all. Edward's eyes turn red, which of course makes me cry. Even though our union will only be recognized legally with a marriage license, which we'll deal with in March, the vows are the same. I'm committing my life to Edward, and he's committing his to me.

It's one of the best days of my life.

"You think she'll keep it a secret?" Edward asks later, when we're sharing strawberries and champagne in bed. It seemed like an appropriate, if not awesomely corny, way to end the day.

"Easier said than done." I glance down at my favorite of today's photos, the three of us cheesin' it up in the Crystal Chapel. We've already decided to return next year to renew our vows at the Drive-Thru Tunnel of Love. Maybe it'll become an annual pilgrimage, like the elderly couple we met today. "Sometimes Charlie mentions things I didn't realize she even knew about, and then other times it's like it never happened. I have no idea...and I almost feel bad for even asking her to keep it a secret."

"Really? She seemed excited about it."

"Maybe." I shrug. "Like I said, you never know with Charlie. I don't regret it, though. I feel like...I don't know. I always put others first. And it's fine...no regrets. I think I've made good choices. But today feels like it belonged to us. When we do this for real it's going to be...huge. It'll be for everyone else. And I'm okay with that. I'm just glad we did this."

"Today was for real," Edward says, cocking his head. "We don't need a piece of paper to tell us what we already know."

In any other context, his words could feel like a cop out, but I know exactly what he means. And I couldn't agree more.

Early the next morning, we fly back to Seattle. Charlie's ruthlessly energetic, as small children tend to be, while Edward and I remain subdued, thanks to a long night of celebrating in bed. The champagne probably didn't help.

Sandwiched between a sleeping Edward and a little girl engrossed in cartoons, I spend the flight lost in thought, thinking about the ways my life has reinvented itself over the past year.

I think of Tyler, wondering what he's up to these days. Wondering if he ever thinks about the child he doesn't know. Wondering if he knows what he's missing. I doubt he does.

I think of Charlie and how her feelings for Edward have morphed from a baby crush to genuine love and affection. And how his have grown from fascinated amusement to true devotion.

I think of Esme, and how hard I'll work to make her happy with our upcoming wedding. She just wants to be involved, so how can I begrudge her? I'm excited about it too, even though I'm secretly relieved we got to share our vows privately first. God works in mysterious ways, so it's probably a good thing we couldn't get the marriage license in time. The two ceremonies will share equal significance to me, but other people might not see it that way and rocking the boat is just not something I want to do.

Grandpa Charlie...he's the easy going one. He'd probably prefer not having a fancy wedding at all, but that's not happening.

Sorry, Dad. I'm going to have my cake and eat it, too.

The real estate agent sweeps her arm dramatically. "And just look at all of this space. Look!"

Oh, we're looking all right. This house is a dump - definitely not the way it looked online.

I try my best to maintain a neutral expression, but Edward's a little more direct. "Not sure this is what we're looking for, Victoria, but thank you. We'll be in touch."

She hides her disappointment well, ensuring we have her contact information before we go our separate ways. In the car, I sag against the window.

"I really hoped...that would be the one."

"I know; me too."

It's the fourth house this week. I know house hunting takes time, but I can't help but feel disappointed. I want to hurry up and do this - start this next phase of our relationship. Our life. For someone who spent years being cautious and taking things meticulously slow, I find myself anxious to take chances. Leaps of faith, I guess.

Edward's going running with some of his teammates, so he drops me off at Em and Rose's, where my car is.

Rose answers the door seconds after I ring the doorbell, motioning for me to come in. We haven't had much time to chat since I got back from my "birthday weekend", so I'm looking forward to a little down time with her. She's on the phone right now, though. I have about an hour before I need to pick up Charlie, so I pour myself a cup of coffee and sit down, appreciating the rare quietude.

Emmett, whose arm is fully back to normal, is out catering a banquet with Mike and the team. I text him, asking how it's going, and he responds a moment later, letting me know it's great, that everything's going smoothly.

Rose joins me a minute later. "Sorry, Bella. That was Makenna's dentist...there was a mix up with her appointment. Anyway. How was the house?"

"Not cute."

"Aw, really?" Wrinkling her nose, she sits at the table with me. "That sucks."

"I know." I sip my coffee, blowing on the steam. "Back to the drawing board I guess."

"We'll find something," she says. "And then we can take turns hosting barbecues...and I use 'take turns' lightly, because you know how competitive Emmett is..."

"Oh, I know." I smile, rolling my eyes.

"He's ridiculous," she says, but she's smiling too, eyes bright with indulgent affection. "He wants to go zip-lining for his birthday."

"That sounds fun!"

"In Costa Rica. Because, you know. You had a destination birthday."

I shake my head, because, really - it's Emmett. Of course.

"Yeah," Rose continues. "He's been looking at Go-Pro cameras online for like, a week. Says he's going to hook it on to the harness and film his journey through the tree tops."

"It'll probably be amazing, to be honest," I say, imagining. "You bringing the kids?"

"Don't know yet; might be a little expensive, but I don't want them to miss out on something like that."

"When was the last time you and Emmett took a trip together?"

"Alone? Not since our honeymoon."

"Well, there you go. I'll keep the kids if you decide to go alone."

"Okay; we'll talk about it." She grins, tapping the table. "So, how was Vegas? You guys do anything crazy?"

xoxoxo

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