A/N - Ch4, enjoy!

Previously:

"Two weeks?" I finally said, my mind again in turmoil.

"Yes. In two weeks, you'll have a visitor, in Seattle."

As her words registered, a tear leaked from my eye and excitement thrummed in my veins; I knew exactly who this visitor was going to be, and I was suddenly eager to talk with her right now. "Can...can she call me? Can I call her?"

There was a long silence on the phone, and for a moment I thought we might have been disconnected; but then Alice was speaking again. "She's on a plane at the moment, and I'm not sure if she can call while she is away. It might not be...wise." More silence, and then I thought I heard her mutter 'email', but I wasn't sure. Again a long silence, and then she was speaking again. "I will see what I can do," she finally said. "But if you don't hear back from...anyone...then I promise you will see her in two weeks."

Taking a deep breath, I let myself relax despite the pounding of my heart. "Okay, Alice. Two weeks. I've waited 7 years for this, I can wait two more weeks."

And with a quick goodbye, I handed the phone back to Ness, feeling a deep sense of spiritual contentment. More tears leaked down my cheeks, but I felt nothing but joy.

My eyes wandered down to my daughter, playing again with the puppy, and I thought about how unlikely and amazing the set of circumstances that led me to this driveway, on this day, actually were. I had arrived, at just the precise moment, to hear a very specific conversation, and then to meet the daughter of my long lost friend...

As more tears fell, I thought back to something my father often said at his services; he had been a Minister for a long time, and he was a true believer. And always...always he would remind me that God worked in mysterious ways.

And as my eyes rested on the beautiful woman who closed her phone and raised her warm, familiar brown eyes back up to meet mine, I knew that, whatever else may happen, I might be a believer too.

And best of all... I would be seeing my old friend before the end of the month.

Amazing.

Chapter 4

The drive back to Seattle was almost a complete blank to me; I had to force myself to pay extra attention to the road, driving well below the speed limit. Even still, on two occasions I pulled into small shopping malls to center myself and get my racing heart under control, as my mind was running in circles, trying to convince myself I hadn't just hallucinated the past hour.

In fact, I even asked my daughter what she thought of the nice owner of the puppy and the woman from the car; when she giggled and answered "the lady was very pretty, almost as much as you Mommy", I breathed out a sigh in relief, knowing now that I had not dreamed it all up.

As we finally pulled up to our house, I wiped the quiet tears that had been streaming from my eyes. Now, without the responsibility of having to drive safely, I relaxed the tight hold I'd had on my emotions and let a wave of happiness engulf me.

I had been right. All along, I'd been right.

Bella was still alive, still with her Edward, and somehow had an adult daughter added to the mix!

Unbelievable.

I sniffled quietly, opening the door and watching as Audrey ran inside and up to her room, greeting her stuffed animal friends with joyful giggles and squeals. I smiled, a deep joy suffusing me while I blew my nose with a tissue. While washing my hands in the kitchen sink, my mind wandered to Bella and Edward and the Cullen family, and their unique strangeness.

A quote from Hamlet occurred to me, then, from a class I'd taken back in college. "There are more things in heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."

How apt that was: Shakespeare surely was an intuitive man!

Later on, when Ben got home, he knew something was up with me. I wasn't really able to hide my nervous excitement very well, and I bit my nails as I debated what I was going to say to him if he called me on my strange behavior. After dinner, when he finally commented that I'd been cleaning the same dish for the past ten minutes, I finally willed myself to relax, and told him I just had a lot on my mind, and I'd talk to him about it after I'd sorted it out.

Of course, I knew that wasn't going to happen; and as much as I disliked keeping things from Ben, this wasn't really my secret to tell, just as I'd told Bella in my email years ago.

I'd keep her secrets.

Thankfully, my husband was a wonderful man who didn't pry, and I was happy I didn't need to really lie to him.

As the night wore on, I tucked Audrey in with a small story, kissed Ben and spent a long time soaking in the tub; the nervous energy I'd felt all afternoon was finally completely gone. I must have lay there for an hour, occasionally refilling the water to make it piping hot. When I was feeling very much like a prune, I got out and dried off, squeezing the water from my hair with a towel, and then slowly running a brush through the silky strands, enjoying the feel of the bristles on my scalp.

Suddenly, my phone buzzed, the vibration rattling on the marble countertop, startling me and making me jump in surprise. My eyes cut to it immediately, and for no reason I could comprehend, my heart began to race and a strange feeling of apprehension ran through me.

With shaky hands, I entered my passcode and opened up my email.

There was one unread email, and my mind went blank as I stared at the sender address. I knew, rationally, that this was a possibility, but seeing it there, further proof that I had not simply been dreaming all day, made my breathing speed and my eyes moisten at the significance of the address.

After all, this was almost identical to how I'd signed my last email to Bella many years ago, save for the addition of 2006, the year of our graduation from Forks HS.

'From: 'YourFriendForever2006 '

Subject: You know the password to open the pdf - you've used it before.'

Swallowing the sobbing laugh that bubbled up from my chest, I entered the password that I myself had chosen when I'd sent my last email to her.

'B*E*L*L*A

And then the file opened, and my moist eyes savored the words on the page as tears slid down my warm cheeks.

"My Dearest Angela:

Though my words here won't be able to convey to you the true depth of my feelings, I nevertheless shall try to explain to you how grateful I am to you for your love, your friendship, and your amazingly loyal discretion.

You, Angela Cheney, are one of the most genuine and wonderful people I've ever had the pleasure of knowing, and one that I am immensely proud to be able to call 'friend.' You are the true article, Angela, and never once have I felt anything but love and friendship from you.

I would dearly love to see you, Angela, if you would be so willing. I've missed you terribly these past years.

I understand it's not easy for me to ask this, and I don't enjoy having to ask you to keep this from Ben, but unfortunately our safety relies on secrecy. With that, I must also ask you to delete this missive after you've read it.

Right now, I am in Europe at a wedding (between two very old souls), but shall be back in two weeks. I will reach out to you when I'm back, and will come to Seattle to see you if you would like to do so.

Please say yes. I miss you.

Btw, my daughter, Renesmee, said she really enjoyed meeting you, and we spent about an hour today while she quizzed me and Edward on everything we could possibly tell her about you. My Ness is an incredible judge of character, and was pleased that, even though you only spoke with her for a few minutes, you lived up to the very lofty picture I've painted of you over the years.

I'll bring an iPad full of pictures for you to see if you'd like. I know I've probably been something of a mystery, but I'd love to share what I can if you are interested.

I cannot wait to see you, Angela.

See you soon!

Love,

IMC"

As I closed the email and reluctantly deleted it (but not before adding the contact), I spent the next few minutes getting my breathing and watery eyes under control. When I finally felt settled enough, I got into bed, snuggling up to Ben's warm body under the quilt.

"Is everything okay, Ange?" He tilted his glasses down his nose, the book he was reading falling into his lap.

I leaned up, my hand still a little shaky as I moved a stray piece of hair out of his face and gently plucked his glasses off, placing them and the book on the side table. He gave me an amused smile, and I leaned up to kiss him, a deep, loving kiss. I surprised him, I think, and he quirked an eyebrow when I pulled my face back. These days, most of our romantic moments were on the weekends when we'd stay up late, waiting for Audrey to fall asleep and could be assured of some alone time.

But right now, I was feeling so much love and satisfaction that I wanted that connection with my husband. I wanted to share the happiness, the sheer joy, that I was feeling. I kissed his face, soft slow kisses peppered along his jaw, his cheeks, and his closed eyes.

Amused, Ben looked at me with a tender expression. "What's gotten into you tonight Ange?"

Pulling back, staring into my husband's eyes, I just smiled at him. "I'm just very happy, Ben. Very happy."

Ben looked at my eyes carefully, scanning back and forth, before his smile matched mine. "I'm glad." And he kissed me back, and we shared our love until we fell asleep sometime later.

When I left for work the next day after dropping Audrey at school I'd calmed down almost completely, a small smile of satisfaction gracing my face from my wonderful night with Ben and the prospect of reconnecting with Bella.

Over the next two weeks, I found myself looking constantly at the clock, willing it to move just a bit faster. Never had time felt like it moved as glacially as it did during the next fourteen days save perhaps when I was in labor with Audrey.

I imagined, over and over, what meeting Bella would be like after all this time. What has she been doing? Where was she living? How did Jacob Black end up with her daughter?

And other questions ran through my mind, occupying my attention almost completely as the days ticked by at a snail's pace. Several times my mind would wander, and I might have cooked a few particularly unappetizing meals that were burned after I'd spaced on removing them from the oven on time. Thankfully, Ben was patient as ever, and just shook his head and smiled.

I let my mind think about what she would look like at 35. Would she have aged gracefully, as I suspected she might? Had she changed her hair, or her dress? I remembered how beautiful she looked the last time I'd seen her, which she'd ascribed to Alice and Rosalie's efforts. Of course, I knew it wasn't that simple, and I secretly doubted that she'd have soccer mom hips and a larger belly!

As the end of that long second week approached, I began to wonder what would happen. Would she call me? Arrive at my apartment? How did they even know where I lived?

I let out a breath, forcing myself to relax. I knew that somehow Bella would find me: she seemed quite adept at finding what she needed.

On the thirteenth day, I was sitting at my desk at work when my phone vibrated for the tenth time that day. Each time it did, I'd grab for it as fast as I was able, anticipating and hoping that this would be 'THE CALL.'

When I opened my email, hoping, I blinked several times, making sure I wasn't seeing things. After a few moments when the sender stayed steady, I sucked in a deep breath as I saw the email from YourFriendForever2006.

Again, the email text was blank, with just a pdf attachment which I opened with the same password as before.

My hands were suddenly clammy and my heart rattled in my chest: Bella felt closer than ever now.

With shaky hands, I began to read.

"My Dearest Angela:

Do you have time to meet an old friend for lunch tomorrow? There is a wonderful cafe on Denny and 5th, around the corner from the Space Needle, with tables outside in the back. We'll have plenty of privacy to talk and catch up.

I'll be in front of the Needle on the Broad Street side at 12:30 . An annoying little pixie fortune-teller sister of mine tells me that time should work for you, and I've learned not to doubt her on things like this.

I am thrilled that I will see you tomorrow.

Love,

IMC

Letting out a breath of air, tears streamed once again down my face, my smile so wide my face hurt.

It was real, all real.

Tomorrow I would see Isabella Marie Cullen, my dear friend Bella.

A/N - one more to come I think, and then an epilogue.