A.N - Last one, and then the epilogue.

Previously:

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. I'll be in front of the Needle on Broad Street at 12:30 tomorrow. 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.

Chapter 5:

I slept fitfully that night, my excitement and happiness filling me with energy that was hard to dispel when it was time for bed. Thankfully, I was able to channel that excess into 'friskiness', and Ben fell asleep with a lazy smile that night.

When I dropped my daughter off for school the next morning, she seemed to know something was up with me.

"Mommy, is today Daddy's birthday?" she asked in her adorable little 'inquisitive voice.'

Unbuckling her from the car seat, I lifted her out and held her hand as I walked her into the noisy and bustling building, nodding and smiling at some of the other parents dropping off their own children.

When Audrey squealed and waved towards a little girl with big blue eyes and long pigtails, I thought she was sufficiently distracted that she'd drop it. However, after the other girl waved back, Audrey again looked at me, her eyes so pure and innocent.

"No, Audrey, why do you ask?"

She scrunched up her little button nose. "You're always so excited on Daddy's birthday, I thought maybe today was it?" And then she smiled widely, her hand squeezing mine. "Is it a surprise party, Mommy? Can we get cake and balloons?"

Laughing at my daughters sheer exuberance and childhood naivety, I leaned down and picked her up, making her giggle and squeal when I rubbed my nose on hers. "No silly, it's not Daddy's birthday."

Her lips turned into a small pout. "Is it mine, Mommy?"

I laughed again, and she giggled at my expression. "No, Audrey, you know it's not yours, silly girl."

She let out a cute little huff, and then looked at me again, leaning back against my locked arms that were holding her up. "Then why are you so excited, Mommy?"

Smiling softly at my wonderful daughter, I gently lowered her back to the ground, squatting down in front of her. "I just got some great news, that's all, Honey. I'm just very happy."

Her eyes didn't blink for a moment, and then she gave me another wide smile. "Okay Mommy! Then I'll be happy too!" Then she leaned forward and kissed my cheek, and with a rushed 'bye bye' ran into the open front door of the school, joining her friends as they waited for their day to begin.

With a wave and smile towards the teacher who was ticking names off of a checklist, I turned back to my car to start my own day.

Work absolutely crawled by that morning, and I could honestly say I got nothing productive done. My mind was racing, looking forward to spending the afternoon with Bella.

When it was just before twelve, I sent an email to my group that I'd be taking a long lunch today and might not be returning that afternoon. Grabbing my light raincoat, I somehow got myself to the Space Needle by 12:20, my heart already thudding, my nerves wired tight. I paid the driver and stepped out onto Broad Street, my eyes already searching the crowd, skipping past groups of schoolchildren, couples, almost anyone who basically was not an unaccompanied white female.

I crossed Broad Street when the light changed, walking closer to the Needle, never stopping my head from sweeping left to right, sometimes lingering on one or two faces; but so far, no one looked like what I expected a thirty-something Bella to be.

My eyes swept across the square again, a touch of panic taking root. Had she cut her hair maybe? Or colored it? I should have asked, or maybe I...

My thoughts came to a screeching halt as my gaze lingered on a thin figure in a long blue coat, dark hair blowing around her face pale face, standing still, facing me, at the other end of the square.

There she was.

She was staring right at me, her face slowly splitting with a wide smile; and as my own face answered, I realized there was no mistaking her, even from across the length of the square.

I was looking at Isabella Cullen.

I stood frozen for a moment as my greedy eyes drank her in, the surrounding crowds and the noisy street no longer even registering in my vision, all I could see was her, like she was something from a dream.

We stared at one another for a long heartbeat, and then she began to cross the square towards me.

My feet were moving without me consciously telling them to, and I stumbled forward, my feet moving faster, my heart thundering in my chest and her name falling from my lips.

And then...then she was right there and I was clutching her to me, and this was all real, my face buried in her sweet smelling hair, tears pouring down my cheeks. Through my sobs, I felt her own arms holding me tight, and I felt a vigorous shaking, and realized she was sobbing too.

I heard her say my name in a choked voice, and I laughed through my tears, a freeing, giddy laugh of release, of jubilation and happiness and everything good. "Oh Bella, Bella, I can't believe it! You're really here!"

I heard her laugh too, all tinkling bells like a woodwind instrument, and my name never sounded so sweet before as she said it over and over, interspersed with shaky sentences repeating "Angela, I missed you, I missed you."

We must have held each other for a good minute or two, the unreality of this situation - despite having had 2 weeks to prepare for it - completely overwhelming me.

When our blubbering finally slowed, I felt her rubbing my back, and I did the same, assuring myself she was real. With a supreme effort, I managed to lift my face from her shoulder, leaning back in her embrace until we were holding each other's upper arms, my eyes moving to meet hers.

To my shock, staring back at me were not the big brown eyes I'd come to love; instead, the color had changed to a deep, honey gold, shiny and full of tears which strangely did not flow down her cheeks.

Bella did not react to my quiet gasp, and as I stared into her eyes I realized that, though the color was different, they held the same depth and wisdom that I'd always thought I saw there.

They were still Bella's eyes.

My crying finally under control, I finally let myself really look at her.

She was, as I remembered so clearly from my wedding, absolutely stunning. Beyond supermodel gorgeous, just like she had been the last time I'd seen her. In fact, I had looked over my wedding photos in advance of seeing her again, and save for the makeup and fancy hairstyle she had at my wedding, she looked exactly as I remembered.

Her skin was a beautiful, opalescent white, vibrant and shiny. Her hair looked about the same length, and was feathery light, picked up with each stray breeze, fluttering around her face. Her lips - curved in a wide smile with a hint of white teeth - were full and voluptuous.

As I finished my brief cataloging of her features and I calmed further, my mind suddenly caught up to what my eyes were telling me, and to what I had just thought a moment earlier.

She looked exactly as I remembered.

Exactly the same.

Bella had not aged.

Even as my eyes widened, Bella's right arm slid off of mine and gripped my left hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Come, let's go sit and catch up. I'll explain what I can, I promise."

I blinked several times, and became aware that we had attracted a bit of attention, standing in the middle of the square and hugging like there was no tomorrow. I nodded, letting my arms fall, but keeping a tight grip on her hand in mine: I wasn't letting her go.

Bella gave me a warm smile, and we began to walk, hand in hand with her gently leading, navigating around the small groups of pedestrians on the Square. She must have known where to go, and I paid no attention as my thoughts were all jumbled and racing.

How could this be possible? Bella looked exactly the same; but it had been over a decade since my wedding. Surely she didn't have plastic surgery?

I looked at the side of her face as we walked. I saw not a single laugh line or any crow's feet, nor a single gray hair or softening of the skin of her chin.

Exactly the same.

The words rang through my head.

Something of my confusion must have shown on my face as she pulled me along. She turned her head and looked at me, guiding us surely towards a cafe I saw about half a block away. When she spoke, her voice was lilting and musical and so, so lovely. "Just a little further, we can sit and talk quietly."

Though we did not speak as we walked, the silence between us was filled with many smiles and shiny eyes, and it looked like she was as happy to see me as I was to see her.

And make no mistake, I was absolutely thrilled. My joy was like liquid fire in my bones.

When we reached the cafe, Bella nodded at the hostess and led me through the half empty space to a courtyard in the back, where half a dozen round tables were spread out, protected from the elements by a high, arched glass ceiling at least a dozen feet above our heads. Only two of the tables had people at them, and Bella led me to one towards the back that had plenty of empty space near it. I must have been still a bit dazed, for I didn't remember consciously sitting and taking off my coat.

Finally, with both of us seated, I willed myself to relax, again drinking in the vision of her. A fresh tear fell down my cheek even as I smiled at her in wonder and joy. For the moment, the mystery of her impossible youth paled next to the fact that she was here, with me.

"Bella," I managed to choke out. "I can't believe this is really happening, I let myself hope and imagine this so many times after they told us you had passed."

A soft, beautiful laugh echoed from her, and she reached her hand out over the table. I immediately grasped her hand, our fingers intertwining, and I noticed her hand was very cold, and very firm against mine, but it didn't bother me in the least.

I was really here, with her. That's all that mattered right now.

"Oh Angela, me too. I would have loved to see you before this, but...well, I'll save that explanation for a little while."

I nodded, not really too concerned. It seemed a miracle, yes, but I'd never press her for answers. After all, I had meant what I had said in my last email to her, seven years ago; her secret, whatever it is, was not mine to tell.

I took a deep breath. "So how are you, Bella?"

Her eyes widened and she laughed; her expression was so happy and her laughter so contagious that soon I was I was laughing in return. I guess the whole premise of me asking that question so casually to my long-lost and supposedly deceased friend, was quite hilarious.

"God I missed you Ange."

I squeezed her hand, and she took a breath, her eyes drifting from mine for a moment, a small smile on her face. "Well, to answer your question: I'm...really great, actually," she finally said. "My life feels like something out of a dream, if I am being totally honest. I never, not in a thousand years, could have predicted that my life would have turned out quite the way it did."

I searched her face for any signs of hesitation or stress or exaggeration but found none. She meant exactly what she said.

"Then I'm so very happy for you," I replied. "Most people don't get to live their dreams."

Bella's smile was soft, and warm, and her eyes looked shiny as they looked at me with love; I imagined my own echoed hers.

A young waitress walked up to our table and broke our moment of reverie. "May I get you something?" she asked with a friendly smile, a small pad in her hand, her green apron bright and cheerful and decorated with lush drawings of flowers and vines and fruit.

Bella raised an eyebrow in my direction, and I ordered a cup of coffee and a small pastry. Bella did the same, and the waitress walked off. I turned back to Bella, and saw her smiling again at me.

"Renesmee told me that your daughter, Audrey, was delightful. Tell me about her." Then she winked. "I am still quite amazed and so touched that you named her in honor of me."

As any parent would tell you, talking about their young children is a joy, and my face split into a proud smile. For the next few minutes, while I sipped my coffee and nibbled my biscuit, both of which had arrived promptly, I told Bella all about Audrey. I shared her little triumphs, told her about her lessons and hobbies, and punctuated my reminisces with pictures from my phone. Watching Bella ooh and ahh at some photos and laugh and giggle at others, made my heart warm.

I was genuinely, finally completely relaxed, the time between us falling away, leaving us as two old friends catching up after a far too long separation.

We moved on from Audrey, and eventually I was talking about Ben; and she smiled again when she saw how proudly I spoke of him, and his finally making partner at the firm he worked at, and his strong effort at being a good father for Audrey and husband for me, despite the occasional fights and tears.

"You've got a great family, Angela. It sounds like you've really done well for yourself. I am truly so happy for you," Bella said, smiling at me with gorgeous, milky white teeth that looked like those expensive veneers Hollywood actors paid thousands for.

"Thank you, Bella," I answered, my own smile wide and warm. And then I leaned forward, trying to mask the excitement and curiosity in my voice. "So now, it's your turn. Tell me about your daughter, and Edward, and everything you've been up to since the last time we spoke, which was, oh I don't know, maybe 8 years ago?" I tried to give her a mock glare, but we both dissolved in giggles. "I mean, it's not like you don't look fabulous! Clearly Alice and Rosalie's barbie treatments are still working!"

We both laughed at my joke, but the smile Bella gave me was so blinding that I could only stare at her dumbly.

"Well, to start, Renesmee's story is pretty amazing," she finally said. "Edward had been told he couldn't father children, so it was completely and totally unexpected when, halfway through our honeymoon, I realized I was late."

"How old is she?" I interrupted; that was the thing I couldn't understand.

When I saw a tiny tightening of her expression, I quickly spoke. "It's just that...well, she looked at least twenty, maybe even older, and I couldn't do the math..."

Bella let out a small breath. "As I said, I got pregnant on my honeymoon, and she was born after we got back," she finally admitted.

I did a quick calculation. "But if you got pregnant on the honeymoon, how could you have given birth soon after? Was she premature?"

Without giving her a chance to answer, I did some more quick calculations. "So she's only 17?" I asked, almost incredulous. She was certainly the most mature looking 17 year old I'd seen since...well, since I first saw Emmett Cullen, if I was being honest, way back when he was in tenth grade and I had just started my freshman year. I would've have bet anything he and Jasper were at least twenty - no way did I ever believe that they looked like the sixteen years old they had been claiming.

When Bella didn't answer straight away, I paused, realizing this might have been one of those things she couldn't talk about. "Bella, I'm sorry, I don't mean to pry. Please tell me you can't discuss it if it's...well, if you can't. I won't take any offense, at all."

Bella laughed. "You make this easy for me, thank you Angela." She wrapped her fingers around her coffee cup, which I noted was still full, and let her eyes wander for a moment. Finally, she sighed and looked back up at me. "Renesmee has a very, very rare condition, and she aged more quickly than normal. That's why we kept her relatively secret, except from immediate family. I can't really say more than that, except to say that by the time she was nine years old, physically, she looked like she does now. And her mental development was just as quick."

I nodded in feigned understanding. "And she's with Jacob Black?" I asked delicately.

Bella laughed, letting me know my question was not unwelcome. "Yes, they hit it off straight away. You might say it was 'love at first sight.'" And then she laughed at some inside joke, but the sound of it was so delightful that not being 'in the know' didn't bother me in the slightest.

"And it wasn't a bit strange? I remember Jacob Black was pretty enamored of you."

Bella laughed again. "No, Jacob and I...I think he and I got a bit confused when Edward was gone, but deep down I always thought...and actually wished...that he was my brother. But yes, it was strange for a while, and Edward was not always so pleased about their developing relationship."

I huffed, just imagining that. Edward was always so overprotective of Bella, I could only imagine how he would be with his daughter.

As if reading my mind, Bella's lips formed a small smile. "Jacob and Renesmee really complement each other - despite the age gap. And Edward has learned to deal with it."

I nodded, realizing that Jacob - who must have been about thirty three or so - was almost twice her age.

But if Bella and Edward were okay with it, who was I to judge? The Cullen family dynamic was always very...progressive.

For the next half hour or so, we chatted about thing's we'd done, places we'd gone, and it was the best cup of 'coffee catchup' I'd ever had. We fell back together so easily it almost felt like no time at all passed since I'd last seen her, our conversation flowed so effortlessly. Bella and I had always been somewhat shy, but we always seemed to 'cut to the chase', as it were, and I was surprised at how much I could still confide in her, telling her about my hopes and dreams and where I saw myself in five, ten, twenty five years from now, things I'd not even fully expressed to Ben.

As we spoke further, I realized - with a small touch of envy - that Bella was incredibly well traveled. I was hard pressed to name a place in Europe or South America she had not been too, and she had funny little stories to tell about many of the places I would probably never see. She told me about her trip to Machu Picchu, of her trek through the Amazon, her hiking in Patagonia in the far south of Argentina near Antarctica, and her family's expedition in the Himalayas.

Amazing places that I'd sometimes dreamed of seeing, but never having the opportunity or money to do so.

She spoke further, of hiking trips taken to the Urals, of camping in Iceland and Northern Canada, of exploring the Congo in Africa; clearly, the last ten years or so had been filled with adventure for my friend, and she showed me endless photos on her Ipad, filled with fun, happy pictures of her in various locales, with Edward, and Renesmee, and Jacob and sometimes with Alice and the other Cullen's. There were other people in some of them, many of them pale skinned like the Cullen family but others clearly some of the guys from La Push. There were some of Charlie, who had Renesmee with him at various ages; she was completely adorable as a baby, and as a toddler looked so precious in her little getups and outfits that Alice must have spent hours getting just perfect.

I especially enjoyed her birthday party pictures, with literally dozens of toys and gifts surrounding her small, smiling face.

I stared at one photo for a particularly long time - Renesmee, who looked maybe 8 or so in the photo, and was surrounded by empty gift boxes that made a pile higher than she was - and Bella leaned over, looking. "That's her third birthday. We invited some family friends, and all of our friends from the reservation. The gift giving went overboard that year, as you can see, and there must have been a hundred boxes to open. Afterwards - as she grew out of things so quickly - the children's toy drive at the Church had a lot of toys and clothes to give out to the kids for Christmas that year."

As the afternoon wore on, and I ordered a snack or two, a peaceful silence descended. I noted that it was a bit darker outside, and when I glanced at my phone I was surprised to see that we'd been here for almost three hours already.

Mustering my nerve for a question I'd wanted to ask all day, I finally raised my eyes to hers, gauging the wisdom of it.

Leaning forward, I saw that I had her undivided attention, and the small smile on her face told me she suspected what was coming. "How, Bella? You look...you look exactly the same."

She nodded, still smiling, but she sighed quietly. "There are a lot of things I simply can't say," Bella finally answered. "There are...rules. Rules that have to be obeyed, for the safety of...well, of everyone."

Her reply caught me off-guard. I had, up until now, never let my thoughts stray too far down the path of what exactly her secret - and that of the rest of her family, I presumed - actually was. But I never considered there would be other's involved too, which I now realized was a naive assumption.

Now, faced with the inexplicable puzzle of a still youthful Bella sitting in front of me, my mind went right down those secret paths they had so ardently avoided for the past decade, back since my wedding.

"Is...that why you faked your death?" I finally asked.

Her eyes, though still warm, locked onto mine and her tone became tighter. "Yes." She paused for a moment, her eyes shiny again. "It was hard, Angela, so hard. My mother..." Bella trailed off, and lowered her head, her shoulders shaking a little.

I realized she was holding in sobs, and I moved my chair so it was next to hers. I took her in a hug, and she wrapped her arms around my waist, her face buried on my shoulder while I patted her back, shushing her and offering sympathy.

"My poor mother," she sobbed quietly. "I knew it would be hard for her, but I never thought...Alice saw..." The rest of what she said was mumbled, but whatever it was clearly was devastating as her sobbing got worse.

Perhaps a minute later, she lifted her head from my shoulder, and her eyes were filled with moisture, but no tears fell down her cheeks. "It was really hard on her," Bella whispered. "She had a breakdown, she was in the hospital for a while." Bella used her napkin to wipe her eyes. "Thank God for Phil, I'm not sure she would have pulled through otherwise. And Alice and Esme were like angels. They called her and video chatted all the time, they took care of everything, and were just there for support."

Bella looked forlorn for a while, just staring into space. "If I knew how bad it would be for her, I'm not sure..." Again she trailed off, and she had a surprised look on her face, almost contemplative. Finally, though, she spoke again, in a whisper that was hard to hear. "I still would have done it I think, but I would have found a way to soften it, maybe faked a long term illness, give her time to prepare, I don't know."

Bella finally calmed, letting out a deep breath. "Angela, I had no choice in faking my death, but I do regret that a lot of people were hurt by that decision. For me, that was the hardest part, and is the only thing that if I could, I would change."

"Would it really have been so bad if your mom knew you were still alive?" I asked.

There was no hesitation. "Yes. The consequences of...the truth...getting out, well, let's just say it would be bad. The...authorities...can know every single thought you've ever had - ever - just by touching your skin. I am the only exception to that."

My eyes widened at that little piece of information, but before I could respond, she was speaking again.

"So please, for both of our sakes, please understand that there are things that cannot be said. And that the only reason we are even having this discussion is because you heard something you should not have, and that Alice says - and I knew anyway - that you can be completely trusted."

Her eyes snapped back to mine, still so deep and wide and full of wisdom, despite their strange color. I let her words percolate around for a bit, and I finally took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay," I said, and I saw her posture relax, the slightly tight look around her eyes smoothing away. "I understand there are things you cannot say."

"Thank you, Angela," she said, her expression warm. "You've no idea how grateful I am to you for your discretion."

Something occurred to me then. "Bella? Did you know...I mean, before you got together with Edward. Did you know he was...different?"

I focused my attention back on Bella's face, and noticed her looking thoughtful. She tapped her nails on the tabletop - a soft metronomic sound, clickety clickety click - until her lips quirked in a small grin. "Yes, I knew. I didn't know precisely what, exactly, at first...but I knew that he was 'more', as early as the accident with Tyler's van."

I frowned, not remembering exactly to what she referred to. It took me a few seconds to recall the incident...something to do with an icy road, and Edward pulling her out of the way or something like that? She had always played it down, and I might have been misremembering. It had, after all, been a long, long time ago. "Do you mean when he almost hit you in the school lot?"

"Yes," Bella answered.

I furrowed my brow, trying to remember any additional details but coming up short. "How was Edward involved again? Didn't he just pull you out of the way?"

Bella chuckled. "Well, not quite, but that is what I told everyone. I sort of exaggerated a bit to cover for him, despite him being sort of a jerk about the whole thing." She said this with sort of a grumpy tone that made me smile.

"So what really happened?" And then I caught myself. "If...if you can say."

Bella's eyes looked at me with such loving warmth just then, that it made me almost blush.

"You know," she said, "you are very much like my Father. He learned 'just enough' after Renesmee was born, and would warn us when we might say too much." And then she laughed. "Of course, with him, it wasn't so much as a safety thing as not wanting his own world view to be upset and learn that the world was not quite the same place he thought it was." She shook her head in a fond manner, and I was happy that Bella at least still was close with one of her parents.

She smiled, returning back to my question. "Edward shouldn't have been able to get me at all. He was standing four cars away, and after pulling me clear, he saved me again when the van bent around the fender of my truck and was about to crush my legs."

My eyes widened. "Wow," I whispered. "I had no idea!"

Bella nodded. "I know, it was amazing. I almost didn't believe it myself, and he tried so hard to convince me that I had imagined it all." She looked lost in thought for a moment, her eyes focused on something far away.

She blinked, and then looked at me with a wide smile. "But then, he was so rude to me! He ignored me for weeks after the accident!" With a chuckle she added, "He called me stubborn, because I told him I wasn't going to let it go. But all he did with his ridiculous denials was make me more suspicious."

"So you knew the secret then?" I asked, curious. This was all news to me.

Bella's eyes widened for a moment, and she saw my surprise. "Sorry, I've not thought about this for a long time." She shook her head. "But no, I didn't know, not then! Not for a while, actually."

She looked lost in thought for a moment. "I remember a couple of boys asking me to some dance, and Edward getting jealous and deciding he couldn't ignore me any longer. He invited me to Seattle and we had lunch together in the cafeteria for the first time."

"I remember that!" I blurted out, grinning. "It was amazing to see, no one had ever been able to get Edward's attention. Lauren and Jessica...heck, half the school!...were so jealous!"

She nodded, returning my grin. "Yes, Edward told me. But I was so determined to learn his secret! I think I asked him if he was bitten by a radioactive spider."

I burst out laughing at that, and Bella joined me. Having married Ben - a notorious comic book fan - I'd been dragged to all the Spider Man movies, and got her reference very quickly.

Bella seemed to be enjoying our trip down memory lane. "He told me kryptonite didn't hurt him either."

I laughed so loudly at that, I put my hand over my mouth to keep myself quiet, not being helped by Bella's giggles. I glanced around, and saw that thankfully no one was really paying us any attention. "So, no superheroes' then?" I finally asked her when I'd caught a breath.

Her laughter slowly faded. "No, and that was unfortunately a problem for a long, long time with us." When I tilted my head in confusion, she chewed her lip for a moment. "You see, Edward had a very negative opinion of himself. It took me a long time - until Nessie was born, really - before that changed."

She was quiet for a minute before she finally whispered so quietly I had to strain to listen. "That's why he left me, you know. In senior year. He thought I would be giving up too much if he stayed with me for the long term."

I had nothing to say to that - this was certainly not the story that I remembered being told, about jobs in LA and long distance relationships not working - and reached my hand and took hers. When I gave it a squeeze, she gave me a small smile. "I always knew he was wrong, but I wish he could have believed me then. I don't think I would have ever gotten over him."

I sat quietly, thinking about what had been said...and what hadn't. I tentatively raised my eyes, locking with hers. "Is...are you something bad?" I whispered. "Is that why he tried to stay away?"

Before she could answer, I had to make her understand how I felt. "Because I don't believe it, Bella. You and Edward, the way you love...you could never be bad." I surprised myself with the conviction in my voice.

Bella gave me a brilliant smile, her eyes almost sparkling. "Thank you, Angela."

I nodded, and she spoke quietly. "No, we are not bad. It's certainly true that people like us can be bad - many are, in fact - but it's just like normal people can be bad, too. Our choices matter. I've always believed that what we are doesn't matter nearly as much as who we are, and what we do."

When the solemn moment passed, Bella raised her head back up. "Anyway, I learned a few things during our beach trip, from Jacob Black, and was able to piece everything together by the time Edward saved me in Port Angelas."

I contemplated what she said about Jacob Black - I vaguely remembered a beach trip - but I was completely lost about the Port Angelas reference. I certainly remembered that night - Bella had gone off to the bookstore and Jess and I ate without her, feeling guilty and nervous, hoping she was fine.

But how did Edward 'save' her? "I don't remember anything too bad happening," I finally said, my eyes scrunched in confusion. "Didn't you say you got lost or something and ran into Edward?"

For the first time that afternoon, Bella looked a bit confused. Her eyes lost their focus, and she looked like she was trying hard to remember something. "I honestly don't remember telling you that," she admitted. "My memory is sometimes a bit foggy. Certain things stick out, and others are just sort of hazy, like I'm seeing them through murky glass."

"But anyway," she finally said, "I'll tell you what really happened." She took a breath. "I went off by myself and tried to take a shortcut back to the restaurant. But I went the wrong way, and ended up in an area with warehouses and very little light, trying to avoid this group of four guys who called out to me. I went a few more blocks, and realized I was being followed by two of the men, and when I tried to walk faster to get away, I ran into two more, blocking the street."

I looked at her, horrified. Why didn't she ever tell me this?

"I was okay, Ange, Edward saved me. He came roaring up in his Volvo, and almost hit the guys where they were standing, forcing them to dive for cover. He opened his door and got me out of there before anything happened."

My heart, which had been beating fast, slowly calmed. Thank God she was okay: Edward really was her superhero. "Wow," I whispered. "I had no idea, you seemed so calm. That's really frightening, Bella."

She nodded. "Yes, Edward was a little upset at how calmly I took the whole thing, really. I think it unnerved him." She had a faraway look on her face, a small smile gracing her lips.

"But anyway," she finally said, her eyes meeting mine, "I knew then that I was in too deep, that my feelings for him were already way too strong for me to back away from him, and that I didn't care if he was different."

I wanted to ask her more, about what happened in Phoenix, and about what happened to really bring them back to Forks after the Cullen's left.

But I didn't; I didn't want to darken our wonderful afternoon with old, painful memories, so I beat back my curiosity and just enjoyed my time with my friend.

We chatted for another hour or so, and the afternoon wore on. With a pang of sadness, I realized I needed to get going. Audrey's after-school dance class ended soon, and I was picking her up tonight as Ben was working late. "Bella, I need to head out. I'm on carpool duty tonight," I said quietly, sadly.

She gave me a small smile, and patted the back of my hand. Our eyes met, and I felt my own tearing up again. "Will I see you again?" I asked in a whisper. "Will we be able to keep in touch? I don't want to lose you, Bella, not after having just found you again."

Bella looked a bit misty eyed at my declaration. "Of course we will stay in touch, Angela. But, we need to take a few precautions."

When I gestured for her to continue, she smiled. "You should address all your emails and any electronic communication to me by middle name, Marie. I use that name a lot." And even as I considered that, and mouthed it, she pulled a business card from her purse and slid it over to me.

It was a light tan color, embossed with a logo of a book on one side. On the back, it said "Marie McCarty: Rare Book Certification and Inspections" and had an email address and a list of acronyms that I realized looked like certifications.

"Rare book inspections? That's your 'secret identity?" I asked, raising an eyebrow in surprise.

Bella chuckled, and I giggled at the prospect of having a friend with a secret identity. "It's all true, in fact. Edward gifted me some rare first edition books as anniversary gifts, and Carlisle has a great library with a lot of old books. Because they were so valuable, I was always afraid to open them, so I took a course in book conservation; I found I really enjoyed that aspect of it, and took a bunch of classes and courses on how to evaluate rare books."

I smiled, easily able to picture Bella with fluffy cotton gloves and an eyepiece as she looked over old copies of classic literature. I remembered she always had those dog-eared paperbacks in her backpack, reading them over and over again.

Bella winked and grinned. "It gives me a good excuse to go visit every old book store in every city we travel to." When I winked back, she faux-whispered to me like she was confiding a great secret. "I think I liked spending so much time in them that Edward once made a joke that I missed my calling, and that I liked bookstores more than him!"

I chuckled, seems like she hadn't changed that much.

"Anyway," she added, "after that I did some research and decided to turn a hobby into a sort of career. Now I have clients who call me in to evaluate collections or individual books, and I've been involved in a bunch of estate auctions."

"I bet you're good at it."

She nodded, her eyes bright. "I am. I actually have done some work for a couple of large auction houses and found some books that had been severely undervalued, because they could not authenticate the source, but I was able to."

"Okay, Marie," I laughed, trying the name on for size. "I'm so glad we'll be able to keep in touch, a fake name is an easy price to pay." With a start, I realized that, besides having Bella back in my life, I liked having this little secret, it made me feel like I was in a mystery novel or something.

I leaned forward, gesturing her to come closer. "Do I get a secret identity too?"

Bella giggled, her eyes bright. And then I joined her, and had anyone looked over at us right then they would have seen, on the surface a somewhat mismatched pair: there was a huge discrepancy between our looks, after all; but if they looked a little deeper they would have seen that our eyes were both alight and shiny, and our shoulders both shook with our shared laughter; and finally, that our expressions matched, those of joy and love and peace.

In that moment, despite being very different, we were also just the same.

Just two old friends, Angela and Bella.

When the waitress brought the check, Bella snatched it up, shushing me when I tried to offer her money. "Please Angela, it's on me."

"Okay," I agreed, "but next time I pay."

I saw her lips twitch, and she nodded, making me happy and hopeful that there would be a next time and she wouldn't just disappear for another seven years.

Once outside, Bella opened her purse, and put a French beanie hat on her head, as well as a pair of glasses that would fit easily on a librarian - or a book curator. I immediately noticed how much older she suddenly looked, and how those two little additions changed her appearance so much, turning her from young supermodel into Marie McCarty, book conservationist.

For a moment I wondered why she hadn't worn those when we first met up earlier, and the only reason I could think of was that she wanted me to see how much she hadn't changed. She wanted me to see the real Bella.

She didn't want to hide from me.

When I saw the soft smile on her face as she watched me put two and two together, I knew I was right, and a silent tear dripped down my cheek. And I stepped up to her, once again hugging her shorter frame to me, holding her there as warmth and affection for the woman in my arms flowed through me.

"Thank you Bella," I rasped. "Thank you for today. I really have missed you."

Though I couldn't see her face as we hugged so tight, I thought I felt her tremble in my arms, and when I heard a small hiccup, I knew she was as moved as I was.

Her voice was as shaky as mine had been. "Me too, Angela, me too. I can't even tell you how wonderful it was to see you, and what an amazing friend you are."

We held our hug for another minute, people leaving work during rush hour passing us on the sidewalk, having to move around us; but I didn't care, not knowing how long it might be before I saw her again. She was a global traveler, and though we would now hopefully keep in touch regularly, it might be months or years before I saw her again.

Finally, we separated. My face was wet with tears, my vision a bit blurry. Bella and I stared at each other, her eyes roaming my face as if she was memorizing it.

I realized I was doing the same.

"Goodbye, Angela," she finally said, her musical voice breaking the trance I was in. "I'll reach out to you soon."

"Bye, Bella...I mean, Marie," I corrected, my voice cracking.

Bella laughed. "I guess it's okay for this one last time." And then she winked. "Maybe I'll have some ideas for a code name for you next time."

I laughed in return, my mood a mix of jubilance and sadness.

We stood still, neither of us wanting to leave first. "On three?" Bella said, and I couldn't answer without sobbing, so I just nodded.

I wasn't really counting, but when Bella took a step backwards, I mirrored her; And then another, and another, and soon she was half a block away from me. She raised a pale hand, and gave me a long wave, and I felt myself crying again, tears of happiness and love mixing with those of longing and sadness.

But then I remembered that card in my pocket, and I was able to raise my own hand and wave back in farewell. Under my breath, I whispered "Goodbye, Bella. Until next time."

And though I knew it should have been impossible, it seemed like she heard me, as I saw her mouth twitch and I could have sworn I saw her mouth the words back to me.

A large man suddenly stepped from a truck on the street, pushing a cart filled with boxes and blocking my view of her.

When he passed, I lifted my eyes back to the corner, but there was no one there.

I stumbled my way back to my car, blowing my nose and wiping my tears, the whole afternoon taking on the qualities of a dream. By the time I was buckled in, the engine idling and the thrum thrum of the windshield wipers clearing away the light afternoon mist, I felt overwhelmed.

Taking a few minutes to get myself together, I distracted myself by texting Ben that I was on the way to get our daughter, and then shot off a short message to my friend Valerie reminding her that I'd be dropping her daughter Kristen to her. Valerie was a bit forgetful at times, and had messed up the carpool schedule a few times before.

Just as I went to put the phone away, a soft vibration had me opening the mail app. And there, from the address mmc2006 , was a single line:

"Until we meet again - Your Friend Forever."

A/N - Let me know if you enjoyed. Just the epilogue to go, which is mostly written. It was written immediately after chapter 1, so just needs to be cleaned up. It's a bit of a tear fest, like my epilogues often are.