Chapter 42
The following morning after the wedding, Jacob and the pack returned from patrol. Everyone was still sound asleep in bed despite the sun peaking it's way over the horizon. Embry went straight to his tent while Quil went to the shore to wait for Claire. They would usually go to the Cullens just about every day for her violin lessons and he always met her at the shore. Jacob went to his own tent. When he entered, the children were still stone cold asleep, even the twins. Though Nathan would likely be out for a while. The poor thing had a hard day yesterday. He didn't cry during the full performance, but when Renesmee had been practicing, the boy would not be silent for anyone. Renesmee was still asleep too. Renesmee was still in the little outfit she'd worn for the dance made from thin leather with braided leather acting as ways to secure the garment and purple and red painted in patterns associated with fertility. He remembered how she blushed when she first put it on and when she was dancing in it. It was far less clothing than she was accustomed to. Yet Jacob had found her ravishing. Out of respect, he did not think about it during patrol the night before. If only Embry had provided the same courtesy. But now that Jacob was back home, it was all he could think about. There was, however, the matter of the children. So he remained quiet and slipped under the blanket and pulled Renesmee up to his chest. She moaned a little when she was against him and barely opened her eyes.
"Morning," Jacob whispered to her.
"Morning," she whispered back. "Did anything happen while you were out?"
"Nothing special. You did great yesterday," Jacob said and started kissing her neck. Renesmee smiled and placed her hand over his mouth to make him stop.
"Not now, Jacob. The children are still here. But thank you for saying. That reminds me," Renesmee said as she sat up. Then she realized she was still in the outfit from last night, so she grabbed a usual summer dress and placed it on her lap. "Would you take this back to Uilakeila? She said we needed to give these back the morning after."
"Sure," Jacob said and watched her remove the garment and hurry to put the other dress on. He took the outfit and went to Uilakeila's tent to return them. She was still drowsy and just told him to put them down wherever in her tent and she went right back to sleep. By the time Jacob got back to the tent, the kids were still asleep but Renesmee had started breast feeding Nathan and Natalie. Jacob sat down next to her. "How's Nathan feeling?"
"He seems to be in a better mood," Renesmee smiled. "They're both exhausted, though. I had to wake them so they'd eat and they'll probably go right back to sleep."
"They're babies, it's what they do," Jacob joked. "And hell, poor things went through enough yesterday between Nathan having to be on your back while you danced and Natalie being tormented by your aunts."
"If they were truly tormenting her, then you did little to stop it," Renesmee teased.
"They wouldn't let me," Jacob said. "You'd think they'd never gotten to take care of a little girl before."
"Jacob, the last time they had a little girl born to the family was 47 years ago. You can't really blame them for being excited."
"They had Aidie," Jacob said. "And they certainly started spoiling her."
"Yes, but Aidie isn't their niece. Natalie is. Don't worry so much about it."
"I'd be doing our daughter a disservice if I didn't," Jacob smiled. Renesmee smiled too, but kept looking at the twins. Natalie started squirming, indicating she'd finished her helping.
"Can you take her?" Renesmee asked and Jacob took Natalie so Renesmee could finish feeding Nathan. Once on Jacob, Natalie instantly went to sleep and snuggled up to him. As Natalie did, when Nathan was finished, she started squirming and took his mouth away. But he started whimpering, so Renesmee held Nathan to her shoulder to calm him down. Eventually, he went to sleep. They put the twins in their little basket near them. Somehow, Kevin and Kyle slept through everything.
"I see those two had a rough night," Jacob chuckled at the boys.
"They were up far past their bedtime," Renesmee said. "I'll let it go this time, but we'll need to make sure they wake up on time tomorrow."
"Sure," Jacob said. He scooted next to Renesmee and held her close. "You really did do great last night. It's a shame it was wasted on those two." Renesmee smiled and snuggled up to Jacob.
"Do you suppose anyone else will get married any time soon while Nathan's still a baby?"
"Maybe," Jacob said. "So long as he's under a year, you can have him on your back."
"Then who knows, maybe I'll do it again."
"If you do, I look forward to it." They smiled at one another and shared a kiss. They stopped when they heard Kyle turn over on the blanket next to Kevin and start rubbing his eyes. "How'd you sleep, party animal?" Jacob asked as Kyle sat up and started rubbing his eyes.
"I'm hungry," was all he said.
"I'll get some food," Jacob said
"Potatoes," Kyle said.
"Just potatoes," Jacob repeated. "You want some apples?"
"Yes," Kyle nodded. "And I'm thirsty."
"Adding water," Jacob said before finally leaving the tent. There were plenty of left over potatoes and fresh apples available. Jacob grabbed some of the potatoes, a basket of apples and a large jug of water. By the time he got back, Kevin was awake too, making similar anxious demands for potatoes and apples. "Morning, Kevin. How'd you sleep?"
"Is Embry awake yet?" Kevin asked, not bothering with Jacob's question.
"Eat breakfast first and then you can all play," Jacob said.
"Can they eat breakfast with us?" Kyle asked.
"I'll check if they're awake," Jacob said. He placed all the food down and left the tent again running to Embry's tent. Once there, he patted on the leather door and waited a moment for Aidie to answer.
"Morning Uncle Jacob!" Aidie said.
"Morning, Aidie. Is your brother awake? Kyle asked if you two want to have breakfast with us."
"I'll wake him," Aidie said. She didn't bother closing the little door and went right to Embry Jr. and started shoving him. "Wake up," she said over and over. Embry started swatting her but she persisted. "Wake up! Uncle Jacob said we're having breakfast!"
"Aidie, don't yell, you're daddy's sleeping," Caevia said.
"I was," Embry grumbled. Jacob was about to tickle Embry's feet, but Caevia gave him a death stare that made him not dare even try. Embry Jr. finally got out of bed and they followed him back to his tent. Kyle and Kevin already started eating, but were happy for the company. Embry sat down next to Kevin and took the cake he was eating right out of his hand.
"I was eating that, Embry," Kevin protested.
"Now I am," he replied. The two of them started wrestling for the cake while Renesmee started telling them to stop. When they didn't stop at Renesmee's command, Jacob reached down and took the cake out of Embry's hand and ate it himself.
"When your mother tells you to stop, that means you stop," Jacob said sternly. "There's plenty more." He pushed the remaining cakes forward and the two grabbed their own share while Kyle and Aidie ate theirs. Placing her hand on Jacob's shoulder, Renesmee pushed a thank you into Jacob's mind. "You're welcome," he whispered back and kissed her.
Outside by the shore, Quil fell asleep waiting for Claire. He woke up when he felt her start poking his chest with the bow of her violin. He opened his eyes and saw her eating an apple.
"You brought me some, I hope," Quil smiled.
"Of course," she said, handing him a basket of potato cakes from the night before. "I'd never leave you hungry."
"I know." Quil accepted the basket and started eating. "Are you ready to get to the Cullen house?"
"Yeah!" Claire cheered. Quil finished eating his potatoes as fast as he could and put Claire on his back when he was done. Claire made sure her Violin and bow were safe and held on tight while Quil started running.
"Is Bella teaching you anything new today?" Quil asked while he ran.
"I don't know yet. We might just keep writing out that song I made up."
"You should. It's a pretty song." Claire blushed and hugged Quil a little tighter. When they finally arrived, Bella was already tuning her violin and getting it ready. She noticed her immediately, but remained focused on her instrument.
"Morning Claire," Bella said. "How'd you sleep?"
"Very well," Claire said. "Did you sleep last night?"
"No, I can't say I did," Bella smiled. "But so long as you did, that should suit just fine. Did you already eat?"
"Yup," Claire said.
"Very good," Bella said. "Now," she pulled out the music sheets they'd been working on last she was at their house practicing. "Let's take it from the top."
While Claire and Bella played, Quil sat on the large loveseat they had in the music room and drifted in and out of sleep. He'd wake up if they were doing a higher pitched song, but he'd usually fall asleep shortly after. He ended up sleeping until he smelled some warm bread and vegetable soup. Claire started poking his head, telling him to wake up for lunch. Then she dragged him to the kitchen with her where he moseyed behind her half asleep. While the two of them ate, Carlisle returned with some food and some mail. He stepped into the kitchen, said hello to Claire and Quil, and handed Bella a letter addressed to her. She took one look at it and looked at Claire.
"What?" Claire asked. Bella didn't answer. Instead, she opened the envelop and pulled out four thick pieces of paper and a larger single page letter.
"'Mrs. Cullen,'" Bella read the letter out loud, "'As per your request, I have enclosed four tickets to a showing of Senor Puccini's Madam Butterfly to play at the Grand Opera House in Seattle come June the 28th. I've heard tale that Puccini has recently recreated his opera yet again, though his fourth adaptation will be playing on this night. Naturally, please wear your finest attire and we look forward to seeing you and your guests the night of the performance. Sincerely, Mrs. Henrietta L. Mayflower.'" Bella smiled at Claire and showed her the tickets. "We're all going to see an opera."
"Really?!" Claire said and took one of the tickets to inspect. "Does Quil get to go?"
"Well, of course. I have a ticket for you, Quil, myself and Edward."
"Am I to assume their definition of 'finest attire' does not conform to anything I have?"
"We'll get you a good suit to wear," Bella assured. "And Claire, we will find you a beautiful dress to wear and we'll do you hair up all fancy."
"This is so exciting!" Claire said as she bounced up and down. "Can you believe it, Quil? We're going to a real opera!" Quil just smiled. Admittedly, he wasn't terribly excited, but Claire was ecstatic and that was good enough for him.
"I'll do your hair myself, little missy," Alice said. She ran around the table and went right behind Claire and began playing with her long black hair. "Esme has some lovely diamond pins we can put in your hair. And there's a lovely broach we can put on your collar. When I'm done, you'll be the bell of the ball."
"Is it possible to get more tickets so Alice can come?" Claire asked.
"Oh, no, don't worry about me dear. I detest going to the opera. Though I'll gladly make you Opera House ready."
"Try not to overdo it, Alice. She's going to an Opera, not getting married," Bella teased.
"Oh hush you," Alice said, continuing to play with Claire's hair.
"When is the 28th?" Claire asked.
"Friday next week," Edward said. "Bella, perhaps we should make a long weekend of the event. We'll go to Seattle the day before. You two," Edward said to Alice and Jasper, "can join us and stay long enough to get Claire ready, and we'll spend the night and leave late that afternoon."
"An excellent idea," Bella said. "Would you mind finding a hotel?"
"I'll have it picked out before Monday."
"Then it's settled!" Bella said. "Next Thursday, we'll make the trip to Seattle and relax that day, we'll enjoy some sites on Friday before the opera and Saturday, we'll relax in the morning and return that afternoon."
The more they talked about the trip, the more excited Claire got. When they returned to the tribe, Claire immediately ran to her parents and brother and told them all about it. Yaloweih claimed it sounded boring while Claire's mother patted her on the head and told her to have a wonderful time and to tell them all about it when she returned home. Her father had much the same opinion as Yaloweih but told Claire to have a good time all the same and to stay with the Cullens and out of trouble. Quil mentioned the opera to Jacob and Renesmee. Jacob warned Quil of the stuffy clothing they'd put him in while Renesmee, far more excited about the idea, hoped she would be able to go next time her mother bought tickets to the Opera. She'd not been to one since a showing of Cleopatra at the Metropolitan in New York. It had been so long ago.
Back in town, as promised, Hailey and Leah remained in their house for three days just enjoying one another. They spent part of one day getting the house arranged with Leah's things , but returned to other more entertaining things once that was completed. Monday morning, Hailey woke up early and made them coffee and even made breakfast, wanting to surprise Leah. Once everything was ready, he went upstairs and woke Leah with kisses on her neck and they made love when she was finally awake. It had been the three best days of their lives of just lounging around, drinking coffee, having sex and just enjoying being around one another. Hailey was loathe to have to return to work, but come Tuesday he did and Leah took the horse and returned to the tribe a married woman with her copper bracelet and a wedding band on her left ring finger. She went right to Seth, who was fishing for clams at the shore and gave him a tight hug.
"So how've you been without me, Seth?" Leah asked.
"I've never slept better," Seth joked. Leah laughed and kneeled down to help him forage. "But truly, I did miss you a little. I got so used to you reading at night that I had trouble falling asleep at first. So how's Hailey treating you?"
"He's been great," Leah said. "We had a lovely 3 day retreat."
"I would imagine so," Seth smiled. "How long do you suppose it will be before everyone in town finds out about you?"
"Probably soon," Leah said. "Hailey said he'd start telling people. They'll notice his wedding ring, so he'll just tell them when they notice and the rest will trickle down from there."
"How do you think they'll react?"
"Who knows," Leah shrugged. "I'm sure Mitch will tell Hailey to focus on writing his mother about it."
"His mother doesn't know?" Seth asked.
"Nope," Leah said. "She'll know soon enough, though."
How Mrs. Dauer came to know soon enough, however, did not end up being the way either Leah or Hailey would have preferred. Hailey wrote the letter to his mother shortly after the wedding as Mitch had instructed him to do, however, as luck would have it, she wouldn't receive it. Come that following weekend after they married, Hailey and Leah were in bed together regardless of it nearly being noon. Hailey had made them coffee and brought some up to Leah and they'd just stayed in bed drinking their coffee and making love. They were interrupted by a knock on the front door. Hailey kissed Leah and told her he'd be back once he answered the door. He hurried to dress and ran downstairs and nearly dropped from a heart attack. He saw Mitch at the door, which was not alarming. What did alarm him was seeing his mother and his sister waiting at the door.
"Well, dearest, don't stand there and stare," his mother had said in a cheerful and amused tone. " Let us in to see the house."
Hailey did eventually open the door and said hello to his mother and sister rather loudly, ensuring that Leah would hear him from below.
"I didn't realize you were coming to visit," Hailey said.
"Well, your uncle told me about your new house and I simply had to come and see it," Mrs. Dauer said. "But really, Hailey, I hope this came about because there's a lovely young lady that would want it."
"You didn't get my letter," Hailey mumbled.
"Letter?" Kathy looked at Mitch questioningly.
"Well," Mitch began, "You see, Kathy-"
"Mr. Dauer," came a sweet little voice from the bottom of the porch stairs. They all looked to see Mrs. Campbell holding another pie.
"Mrs. Campbell," Hailey said. "What brings you here?"
"Oh, I just wanted to bring you another pie and to just check up on you."
"Is this your neighbor?" Leslie asked Hailey.
"Yes," Hailey stepped outside and helped Mrs. Campbell up the stairs. "Mrs. Campbell, this is my mother Kathy, this is my sister Leslie, and of course you know Mitch. And this lovely young lady is Mrs. Daphne Campbell. She's my neighbor."
"Oh, Mr. Dauer, you little liar," Mrs. Campbell giggled. "It's a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Dauer, Miss Dauer."
"Just Kathy, please," Kathy smiled. "And I'm afraid my daughter's not a Dauer anymore, but you can just call her Leslie."
"It's a pleasure to meet you both," Mrs. Campbell said.
"So tell me, Mrs. Campbell, has my son been a good neighbor?"
"Oh, he's been a darling," Mrs. Campbell said. "Why just the other day, Leah made some dinner and he invited me over to have some. Oh, wait until you meet her, Kathy, you will just adore her."
"Leah?" Kathy said, looking at Hailey.
"That's what I'd written you about," Hailey said. "Mrs. Campbell, I'm sorry to do this, but would you mind terribly giving my mother and I some time to talk privately?"
"Oh, no trouble at all, dear," Mrs. Campbell said, handing Hailey the pie. "I'm sure you have plenty to catch up on, so I'll leave you be. You tell Leah I said hello."
"I'll let her know you stopped by."
"And do remember you're coming to my house Monday evening for dinner."
"We'd never forget, Mrs. Campbell," Hailey smiled and waved goodbye to Mrs. Campbell. Normally, Hailey would stay on the porch and wait until she reached her house, but Mitch told him to go inside and that he'd keep an eye on Mrs. Campbell until she got home. Once Hailey was inside with his mother and sister, Kathy began her questions.
"So who's Leah?" Kathy asked eagerly, clearly having forgotten.
"And when do we get to meet her?" Leslie said, remembering exactly who Leah was.
"Well, mother," Hailey stopped a moment and glanced upstairs. He couldn't see Leah. He assumed she was staying out of site for now. "You'll be happy to know I got married last week." Kathy looked happy, yet simultaneously upset.
"You got married and you didn't invite me? Hailey, how could you?"
"I'm sorry, mother, but her family had finally given their consent for me to marry her and we needed to get married on a specific day. There wasn't really much time for prepping."
"Oh, well, that's hardly acceptable," Kathy fumed. "I would think they could allow time for the mother of the groom to arrive. But regardless, it's in the past. So where is she? Don't tell me she's still asleep at this hour."
"No, we've been awake all morning," Hailey said awkwardly. "She's just upstairs is all."
"I admit I wished we could have met her before the wedding," Leslie said.
"Where are the kids?" Hailey asked.
"They're with their grandparents," she said. "I wanted to go with mother to see the new house, but Joseph wasn't terribly interested. But he's so busy, he couldn't watch the children, so his parents will be looking after them."
"Oh Hailey, stop changing the subject," Kathy said. Mitch finally came back inside and Kathy looked right at him. "And you," she said. "You have some explaining to do Mitchell Thompson. How dare you not tell me my son was seeing someone let alone getting married? Lord knows I ask enough."
"I'm sorry, Kathy, he surprised me too," Mitch said. "I didn't find out until a week before the wedding and by then I'd already written you about the house. I told Hailey to write you personally about the wedding."
"Which I did," Hailey said. "But I sent that Friday."
"Oh dear, well, no wonder I haven't heard. But enough postponing. I demand to meet her. I need to meet the young lady that finally won my son's heart. You said her name was Leah?"
"Yes," Hailey said. "Wait here." Hailey stepped away from the group and ran upstairs. Leah was sitting on the bed and was dressed.
"She seems to be taking it well," Leah said.
"Right now," Hailey sighed. "You ready?"
"Ready as I'll ever be," Leah replied with a gentle smile.
"Just so you know, I apologize in advance."
"Your apology is accepted in advance," Leah joked and the two smiled at one another. Finally, Hailey took Leah's hand and led her downstairs to meet his mother and sister. Leslie seemed pleasantly surprised while Kathy instantly was speechless.
"Leah, this is my mother Kathy and that's my sister Leslie. Mom, Leslie, this is Leah."
"It's a pleasure to finally meet you," Leslie said. "I recall Hailey mentioning you."
"It's a pleasure to meet you too," Leah said. "Hailey's told me all about you."
"Und Sie sprechen Deutsch?" Leslie said.
"Ja," Leah answered. "Hailey ist ein guter Lehrer."
"Her accent's excellent," Leslie praised with a smile.
"Hold on just one second," Kathy finally spoke up after being speechless for so long. "You didn't tell me she was an Indian!"
"I did in the letter I sent you," Hailey said.
"Leslie, how long have you known about this?" Kathy immediately turned her attention to her daughter, though she remained calm.
"He mentioned her to me when he was with us for Thanksgiving last year," Leslie said.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"He asked me not to," Leslie said.
"Kathy," Mitch stepped in. "I realize you're surprised, but please try to remain calm. Leah's-"
"Remain calm? How can I remain calm? This is that Indian girl that shot her father if I recall and you're telling me to remain calm?"
"Kathy, there's no point in bringing that up," Mitch said.
"Why on earth would we not?" Kathy asked.
"Kathy, there are innumerable circumstances surrounding the incident that are irrelevant at this point."
"Irrelevant?!" Kathy yelled.
"Kathy, don't yell," Mitch said.
"Mom, there's no point in beating a dead horse. What happened happened. Nothing we can do about it anymore."
"Beating a dead horse?! You call murder beating a dead horse?!"
Leah remained silent the whole time Hailey, Kathy and Mitch argued. She figured it was for the best. Since they were arguing, Leslie took advantage of that time to talk to Leah a little more. Aside from the screaming that would filter in an out of the room, their conversation was rather pleasant. They even spoke German for most of the conversation and Leslie was rather pleased with how well she spoke. Occasionally, Leah would happen upon a word she didn't know, but that was to be expected and Leslie would just tell her. The two of them even had time to go to the kitchen and reheat some coffee from the morning.
"You think mother's upset now," Leslie said leaning against the kitchen counter with her mug of coffee. "Just wait until she finds out you two aren't having kids."
"The way she's screaming, I assumed it had come up by now."
"No, it doesn't appear that's come up yet. If it had, mother would've had a heart attack." Leah smiled. "I will say, it looks like I'll have to have another baby and try to have a girl. That would make mother happy."
"It may distract her at least," Leah said. "It really is nice to meet you at last. Hailey speaks very fondly of you."
"He'd better," Leslie joked.
"I didn't tell you," Leah said. "I made him Sauerbraten for the wedding. My Oma's own recipe no less."
"Excellent news," Leslie said. "He had better not have complained one bit."
"He didn't. He asked me to marry him all over again." Leslie giggled and patted Leah's back.
"I'm relieved to hear it," Leslie said. "That's a great way to start a marriage. If I remember correctly, Hailey mentioned you have several nieces and nephews."
"Only cousins at this time. No nieces or nephews yet. Seth hasn't gotten around to that yet."
"Is he married?"
"No, he's too young. I'm sure he'll find a nice girl, though. I tease him a lot, but he's a good guy."
"Do you suppose he'll marry a German woman?" Leslie joked.
"I doubt it," Leah laughed with her. "He'll probably marry a girl from the tribe or the Hou tribe. He's not seeing anyone to my knowledge, though."
"The Hou tribe? That's an ally near here I take it?"
"Yes, they're allied with use through marriage. My cousins Rachael and Rebecca are married to the Chief and Chief's younger brother."
"Was this recent?"
"Oh, no, that was years ago. I think my oldest little cousin is…" Leah had to think about it. "Jesus, I think he's at least 10. No…..I don't know. It's been so long. Maybe he was 10 the last time I saw him."
"Isn't that awful when you can't remember how old they are?" Leslie giggled.
"I hardly see them, I'm afraid. My cousin Jacob's oldest is about 5 now. He'll be six this year."
"They grow up too fast," Leslie agreed.
They talked a little longer until Kathy appeared to run out of steam. Though when the topic of children, or lack thereof and the reason why, she returned to live with renewed rage. Leah and Leslie kept in the corner drinking coffee and staying out of the conversation. The argument seemed to go on forever until Kathy left in a huff and Mitch had to follow after her. Leslie stayed behind enjoying her coffee. Hailey's voice was hoarse after the confrontation and looked at Leah and Leslie, slightly annoyed.
"You enjoying your coffee, Leslie?"
"Very much, thank you," Leslie lifted her cup to Hailey. "I see mother's not happy."
"You noticed? How shocking," Hailey said sarcastically.
"Do you want some coffee?" Leah asked, reaching into the cabinet to pull out a cup.
"Desperately," he replied and walked over to have some.
Originally, Mrs. Campbell was the only one in town that really knew about Hailey and Leah. Whether her eager acceptance had been due to her not caring Leah's an Indian or being blind as a bat and not able to tell anyway, she had still been a good friend. Thankfully, she remained so after the explosive argument Hailey and his mother had. However, it was after that argument that the rest of the town finally found out about Leah. Reactions varied from horrified to disgusted. People swarmed into the shop come Monday to talk to Hailey as if going to see a two headed snake. The conversations were much the same.
"I hear word you got married," a woman said. "To Leah Jagger no less."
"Yes, Leah and I got married recently," he would answer.
"You know about what she did, right?" most would say. "Why, she shot her father."
"I'm aware of what happened when Leah was young and I'm also fully aware of the circumstances and why it happened in the first place. Leah acted in self-defense and I would prefer that be understood and the subject be dropped from now on."
That would usually stop the conversation with Hailey and Mitch would have to appease an upset customer regarding Hailey being so rude. Had Mitch not been the only General Store in town, people might not have come to his store anymore. But, alas, Mitch was lucky enough that he had a good relationship with the other stores and he was able to ensure his business was the only place to buy certain items. Shortly after the encounter, Leah had returned to her tribe for the day as had become her habit and she, albeit reluctantly, told Sara of what was going on. Sara was upset, though she couldn't pretend she was surprised. In truth, she was expecting this reaction. Aside from the initial outburst, everyone just grew to accept the marriage, especially when friends of Mrs. Campbell heard her speak so highly of Leah and how sweet she was.
Regardless, Leah would return to her tribe every day while Hailey was at the store and would spend her day with them. She preferred being in their company anyway. When that week closed and the next week came, Claire became downright unmanageable. She was so excited about the opera she could hardly sleep. She insisted on staying with the Cullens for that week and played her violin, sometimes, until she was so tired she couldn't sit up. Before they left Thursday, Alice proudly showed Claire the dress she'd gotten her and made her try it on to ensure it fit. They had Quil try on his suit which fit, though he begged to take it off as soon as possible. They did not bother with a horse and cart. Bella carried Claire on her back while they all ran to Seattle and, just before entering the city, they made sure Quil was dressed in some street clothes that no one would look twice at (Claire was also wearing an appropriate dress) and they walked into the city and went to the hotel Edward had made arrangements with. It was the first time Claire had ever been anywhere besides her tribe and Forks and she was overwhelmed by how big everything was and how many people there were.
"How many people live here?" Claire asked as they walked along the streets.
"I'm not sure," Bella answered. "I never thought to look into it."
"Does everyone know each other?" she asked.
"Oh goodness no," Bella said. "In such large places as this, there's far too many people to know everyone."
"Is this where Carlisle works?"
"No, no, Carlisle works at a hospital in Forks. I'm afraid he's starting to reach his limit though. We usually move every ten years, but he'll be able to start working at a hospital in Port Angeles. We can always pretend we moved. We're far enough out of town that we could easily get away with that."
"Good. I don't want you to move," Claire said. Bella smiled and patted Claire's head. When they finally arrived at the hotel, Claire and Quil used that time to relax. Quil and Claire shared a room and spent most of the afternoon playing cards together.
The day of the opera, Claire and Quil slept in so they wouldn't be so tired for the performance. Nearing the appointed hour, Alice came into the room and got Claire in her little dress while Quil changed in a separate room. They'd gotten her a deep purple dress with long sleeves and a high neck as was the fashion. Alice put a small broach on her collar that was Victorian in nature and put her long hair up into curls that she twirled into a large bun. To finish, she put a diamond and jade barrette in her hair that Esme had lent them and made sure her face was nice and clean. While she thought the dress was lovely, Claire found it suffocating. But she was able to forgive the offense when she looked in the mirror and found she thought she looked quite pretty. When she saw Quil in his suit, she thought he looked so handsome, but she could tell he was less than comfortable. Yet he never voiced so much as a peep of complaint and they all went to the opera together.
Upon arriving, the ticket vendor looked at Quil and Claire strangely, but Bella was quick to claim they were Italian and the vendor accepted that answer and let them in. They even had balcony seats and were given fancy gold binoculars to use to better see the performers. Quil sat in one of the seats in the back of the private balcony and slept through most of the performance while Claire sat up front with Bella to get a good view of the whole opera. She didn't always understand what they were singing about, but she never stopped watching or interrupted to ask questions. She could always ask those later. Following the end of the opera, there was a standing ovation that finally woke up Quil. On their way back to the hotel, Claire talked endlessly about her favorite parts, all the costumes, her favorite violin pieces that she could hear, and spanked Quil's arm when he admitted he'd slept through much of the performance. And she was just as eager to talk about it when she finally returned home. Renesmee listened eagerly as Claire went on and on.
"What is an opera, exactly?" Jacob asked later when Renesmee was getting the twins tucked in. Kevin and Kyle were spending the night with her parents, so they had some degree of alone time.
"It's like a play, but all the dialogue is expressed in song."
"Doesn't that get exhausting to listen to?"
"Some may find it to be," Renesmee said. "I enjoyed the opera mother and I saw some time ago. We saw an operatic rendition of Cleopatra."
"Who's Cleopatra?" Jacob asked, the familiarity of the name just on the tip of his tongue.
"She was a queen of Egypt that married Julius Caesar and later married Marc Antony. Although, the opera I saw didn't focus so much on her romance with Marc Antony as much as her whole life."
"Did you and I ever read that play? It's a Shakespeare play right?"
"I don't think we ever got to that one," Renesmee said. "You were more interested in listening to me read Treasure Island to the kids."
"That was a good read," Jacob smiled. "What are you and the children reading now?"
"We just started Alice in Wonderland," Renesmee sighed. "Aidie insisted she wanted to read it when I started describing it, but I don't think they get it."
"How can she? Nothing makes sense in that book."
"Well, Jacob, it's a satire. Nothing's said directly. It's a commentary on English society and politics in the most exaggerated way possible. So naturally, they wouldn't understand the references. Even I don't understand a lot of it. Even daddy and Carlisle don't quite get it because they aren't as familiar with England's politics these days."
"So you don't know why that girl Alice is incapable of understanding that, just maybe, the mouse doesn't really care that her stupid cat is nice? The moment he said 'a cat ate my parents' or whatever it was, that's your queue to shut up." Renesmee started laughing and nodded her head.
"Yes, that was rather inconsiderate. I do remember the Mad Hatter represents men in the clothing industry that would go insane from the chemicals of hat making. But then, even if they don't get it, I think they're still fascinated by the book at least."
"I'll agree with that," Jacob said. "I just don't get what a lobster throwing dance has to do with anything." Renesmee laughed again.
"To quote the Cheshire cat, 'we're all mad here'."
"Have we met that character?"
"No, not yet. But we'll meet him soon."
"What else do you think you'll read to them once you're done with that?"
"Whatever Kevin wants. It'll be his turn to choose."
"I thought it was Embry's turn."
"He picked A Modest Proposal and we finished that in a night," Renesmee said. "Remember? It was the one about eating babies? It was another satirical piece."
"Oh, yeah, that one. I don't get how that solves the potato famine crisis in Ireland."
"It doesn't. That's the joke. He's criticizing those that are trying to find solutions that he feels aren't feasible and presents something that's nonsensical and offensive as a joke. It's just the style of humor."
"It's not funny, though," Jacob said.
"It's certainly not 'ha-ha' funny, but it's an amusing and very clearly ridiculous suggestion. Jonathan Swift is known for it."
"I'm sure he was quite the comedian," Jacob said sarcastically. He moved closer to Renesmee, kissed her cheek, and stood getting ready to leave. "I'd better go on patrol. Do you want me to bring Kevin and Kyle back home in the morning?"
"No need," she said. "I'll be going there tomorrow, so I'll meet you there. Daddy's thinking it's time to start schooling."
"Time to start what?" Jacob asked.
"Schooling," Renesmee repeated. "He says he'll teach them to read and write, obviously, and he'll teach them math, music, science and French."
"Ah," Jacob said and sighed.
"Caevia agreed it would be great for Embry and Aidie too. So they'll begin soon."
"So reading, writing, music, math, science, and French?"
"Yes," Renesmee nodded. "That is the highest education a child can get aside from attending university."
Jacob released a breathy sarcastic laugh, "I wouldn't hold my breath on that one. Besides, the last thing our children need are a bunch of stuffy bigots with their heads up their asses telling them they should be ashamed of me and their heritage."
"Jacob, please," Renesmee said. "Let's not discuss this now."
"You'll not hear me bring it up again," he said. He looked at Renesmee at last and saw the glum look on her face as she stared at the twins. He sighed a little and walked closer to her, kneeling down and placing his hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. I'm just speaking out of bias."
"No," Renesmee sighed herself and appeared as though she might cry, but she made sure she didn't. "No, you're right. There are just some things I know won't be possible for them. I suppose hearing it out loud makes it all the more painful to accept."
"Hey," Jacob said gently as he brought his face closer to hers so they were looking into one another's eyes and their lips barely apart. "Don't let it upset you. Our children will have a good life. It might not be a 'good life' by the outside world's limited imagination, but it will be a better life than I had. When I was a child, my only education was in hunting, fishing and fighting. Our children will get that plus the education your dad will give them. They'll have the best of both worlds which is more than I ever had. And it'll do our tribe a lot of good. I don't want you to think that I think this is a waste for them, because I don't."
"You mean that?" Renesmee said.
"I do," Jacob smiled and kissed her. "I want what's best for all of them, our children and Caevia's children. And I know this will be what's best." Jacob gave Renesmee another kiss and they said their farewells to one another before Jacob left to finally go on patrol. Once on patrol, Embry heard everything Renesmee and Jacob had talked about.
What is 'French'? was a question Quil asked.
It's a pale faced language from Europe. I hear there are several languages in that land, including that German language Hailey speaks, Jacob replied.
What good will that do them? Embry asked. I understand the need to read and write. After Caevia explained it, I can even appreciate the advantage of math and science skills. But French? Who speaks French outside of its origin country?
Hell if I know, Jacob said. But there's certainly no harm in learning it. I'm not sure when, but soon the kids will be frequenting the Cullen house for these studies. We'll work out a proper schedule where part of the day they can be with the Cullens and the other part they can return home and continue our education.
Making proper little pale faces out of them, I'm sure, Embry said.
Do you suppose they might include Claire? Quil asked. I'm sure she'd probably want to be involved with this.
I assumed she was already learning this, Jacob said.
Well, yes, they're teaching her to read and write, but they haven't gone very deep into math or science. She's learned basic math and any science is limited to asking Carlisle questions about being a doctor. There isn't a specific structure to it.
Well, there will be soon, Jacob said.
The next morning, Jacob went to the Cullen house (Embry joined him) to meet Renesmee there. The children were still asleep when he arrived and Esme was making them breakfast. Edward greeted them at the back porch door.
"Morning," Edward said. "Renesmee told you we'd begin standard education for the children?"
"You already know," Jacob answered. "I assume Embry's kids will be included in this?"
"Of course," Edward said. "Anyone in the tribe that wants an education is more than welcome to it. We have plenty of room for anyone that wants to send their child. We'll even do it on tribal grounds if you prefer; make things easier."
"That might make things easier," Embry suggested. "I'm not sure French is relevant, though."
"If they don't wish to learn French, they certainly don't have to. But, Jacob, I would recommend it. French is a good language to know and it gives the children versatility. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for Quileute. No one outside the tribe speaks that language. Except your allies of course."
"If they want to learn it, it's fine," Jacob said. "It can't be much different from Leah learning German." Embry just shrugged. "When are you planning to make this official?"
"As soon as possible. Within the week if we can help it. Although, I've already started teaching Kevin and Kyle to play the piano. Right now, we're working to obtain the proper school literature that's both up to date and to my standards."
Jacob laughed, "To your standards?"
"Yes, to my standards. If it's information going into my grandchildren's heads, I will ensure it's as accurate as is possible."
"You're right of course," Jacob sighed. "What about music, though? A violin can travel but a piano?"
"We've already ordered a second piano that will be in the house we're building for you and Renesmee. You didn't think that house would be without a piano did you?"
"I guess I just didn't think of it."
"No need to worry. I remembered for you."
Jacob stared at Edward a moment, then decided to just change the subject. "So are the kids upstairs?"
"Yes, but they should be up soon. You and Embry are welcome to breakfast. There will be plenty."
Embry and Jacob went to the kitchen where Esme was making breakfast and presented the two with potatoes she had seasoned with some new spices she was experimenting with. She'd used them in a soup the night before and Kevin and Kyle had been thrilled with it. She gave them two apples and a glass of water a piece to go with their potatoes. They were almost done with their breakfast by the time the boys finally came downstairs. They went right to Jacob when they noticed he was there and he kept them on his lap while he finished. Kevin reached for Jacob's food, but Jacob patted his hand telling him to stop.
"Grandma Esme's already making you breakfast Kevin," he said and Kevin looked at Esme and attempted to stretch his head up to see if she was close to being done.
"Breakfast is almost ready, boys," Esme said as though knowing Kevin was watching her intently.
Renesmee finally arrived with the twins roughly an hour later. When she saw Embry, she let him know to get back to the tribe so he could help Caevia with the children. Kevin and Kyle were still finishing their breakfast, playing with one another while they ate. Edward sat down with them and encouraged the boys to talk about their musical training from yesterday. Edward soon had the children return their attention to said music training and promised if they did well, he would let them play outside for the remainder of the afternoon, even if it started raining.
In the following weeks, as promised, the Cullens received numerous copies of school books ranging in topic from English studies to all forms of science. He even ensured several history books were provided, both detailing American history as well as European history. For such purposes, Edward designed a map the size of one of the walls in the house mapping out the whole world. It was overwhelming compared to anything Jacob had seen. By the time it was finally September, Rosalie (insisting she wanted to teach the younger children) came to the tribe every morning and began training the children in basic reading and writing and basic math. They could worry about other topics once the children were older. When it became September, Jacob left his tent to go on patrol. Initially, nothing happened out of the ordinary. But then, as he was running around the tribe, he happened upon Edward.
"Evening, Jacob," Edward said.
What brings you out here this time of night?
"The house is finished. I thought you might want to take a look?" Edward had Jacob's answer in an instant and made the run to the house. Jacob followed and changed back in the woods, dressed, and stepped out of the trees to see the house.
It wasn't the size of the Cullen house, but it was still larger than he expected. It had two floors from what he could see. The house was a pale ecru with brown shingles on the roof. In contrast, the columns that surrounded the house's patio that circled the house were white. The design was rather demure, just some slight curves, and they were very slender. The fence around the patio was the same color with an opening right before the front door of the house. The door, a double door, was the same brown as the roofing but was composed mostly of glass. He could see the pattern was lilies and it was created by a slight discoloration in the glass. There was even a tree with a big swing, just like Renesmee would remember.
"Follow me around to the back," Edward said and started walking once Jacob had seen everything of the front. Jacob followed Edward over the cobble trail that was unfinished. They would complete that once Renesmee finally saw the house.
When they reached the back, it faced the ocean. The moon shined on the water the way Jacob knew Renesmee liked and there was nothing but Ocean. If they were lucky, they might even be able to see whales if they looked hard enough and it was the right time of year. There was plenty of distance between the house and the shoreline ensuring the children would have room to play outside. When he returned his attention to the patio, it was much more spacious than the front. He also saw a balcony above that with glass double doors. There were chairs on either end of the small stairs going onto the patio and they were all swinging chairs just like the plantation house had. He could see little tables where one could put coffee or a book and it was completely safe from the elements. The door leading inside was not a double door like at the front. Rather, it was just a brown door that fit the rest of the outside of the house.
"Shall we go inside?" Edward answered, making Jacob look at him. Jacob nodded and the two finally stepped inside.
The first thing Jacob saw was a parlor room. Or drawing room. Whatever it was called. There was a piano in the corner and there were books everywhere. Some of the books looked familiar while others just appeared as though they were there just to be there. The shelves where the books were kept also held several decorative items including a dagger Edward has asked Jacob to make some time ago, a conch shell, some candles and little porcelain houses. One of which, he noticed, was an exact replica of the house this place was recreating. On the other side of the room across from the piano, there was a large love seat with a map of the Quileute territories of Washington that, Jacob could tell, was drawn by Edward. When he looked through the archway, there appeared to be a hallway, but the wall to the left was going down, He realized they were the stairs. Edward led Jacob through the arch into the next room. The stairs were to his left and another wall with another, much larger archway. All he saw of that room from the angle he was at was a large grandfather clock with another chair right next to it and a huge window above the large love seat.
"Come see the kitchen first," Edward said and Jacob followed him to a large space with a large pantry, several counters, a large sink and pump, cabinets that he was sure were filled with plates and utensils, an island counter, and across from that a large table and chairs. There was also a huge chandelier in the center of the room.
"This feels comically overdone," Jacob blurted out.
"The chandelier was perhaps too much. But we found the exact one from the plantation, so Esme insisted we had to incorporate it. You'll be used to it before you know it."
Edward finally walked into the other room Jacob had been looking at earlier and followed after him. This room hard a large fireplace made from rocks from the coast. Above that were several pictures he'd never soon before. One was an extremely old family portrait of Renesmee when she was a baby with Bella holding her sitting in a chair and Edward standing behind her with his arm wrapped around her. There was another family photo that looked to be as old with the whole Cullen family including three women he didn't recognize.
"Those are the Denali sisters," Edward said suddenly.
"The who?"
"The Denali sisters. They've been living in the Alaskan territory for quite some time now. It's a Russian territory. We consider them our cousins for all intents and purposes. Postal service to those parts is so dreadful, though. So we don't get to speak with them as much as would be preferred."
"When was the last time you'd seen them?"
"It was before the war."
"You haven't seen these people in nearly fifty years and you consider them family?"
"Jacob, fifty years is nothing for vampires. It's just a blink of time in an eternal existence. Those three have been around since before the Mongols for God's sake. If my history serves correct, Russia didn't even call itself Russia yet."
"Who the hell are the Mongols?"
"They're a group that concurred large portions of Asia. Actually, a rather humorous story. The Mongols invaded China, and then tried to invade Japan twice. However, when they first attempted to invade Japan, they were killed in a typhoon. They tried a second time and made it to Japan, but their supplies and ships were destroyed in yet another typhoon and they were unable to concur Japan."
"Good for Japan," Jacob said, where that is, he thought to himself. Edward would have clarified but, in all honesty, Jacob didn't care. He was focusing on the rest of the family photos on the shelf of the fireplace.
He saw a picture of Jasper following the Family photo. He suddenly realized Alice and Jasper weren't in the family photo where Renesmee was a baby. The photo of Jasper appeared to be him in a uniform, but the uniform looked different from anything he'd seen Lovejoy and his men wearing.
"Jasper was in the confederate army when he was alive. They had different uniforms. Those, of course, were replaced with the American uniform once the Civil war ended and America reunified."
"Ahuh," Jacob said and looked at more pictures. Some pictures, he realized, were drawn by hand. One was a sketch of the plantation house they'd had. Yet the rest were places he didn't recognize.
"Those are sketches of mine and Carlisle's old homes. The first one is a sketch of the Church Carlisle was raised in. His father was a pastor."
"I thought priests couldn't marry or have kids."
"If they're Catholic, no. But Carlisle was raised protestant. Unfortunately, when we were human, there was a divide in the country between Protestants and Catholics thanks to King Henry."
"He created his own religion so he could divorce his wife or something, right?"
"Yes, exactly."
"Why bother? Beheading them seemed to suit him fine."
Edward chuckled, "I suppose the wives he divorced didn't quite anger him enough to be beheaded. Although, Mary Queen of Scots became a bastard child because King Henry divorced her mother. She was able to become a queen later, though, of Scotland. However, she was despised."
"Why?"
"She was an unforgiving Catholic and she burned Protestants at the stake among many other things. She became Bloody Mary thanks to her reign of terror."
"I suppose that's bound to happen," Jacob said.
"Your people had two chiefs of such ferocity did you not?"
"I'm not sure what you mean."
"The chief that took over Taha Aki's body?"
"Utlapa," Jacob said. "He wasn't a chief. He was man that wanted to be chief and tricked Taha Aki into removing himself from his body. As far as a second chief, the only other one I can think of that one would call bad was Taha Aki's youngest son Suerro."
"He murdered his wife," Edward said.
"We believe he did, but no one knows absolutely. He married her when he was young, he imprinted on another woman, he couldn't be with her because of his wife, and one day his wife disappeared and he married his imprint."
"I would think it rather obvious he did it with such evidence against him. Granted its circumstantial, but it doesn't look good."
"I suppose not," Jacob said as he continued to look at the rest of the room. The lamps were on, illuminating the room as was the case for the rest of the house. Despite still being rather opulent, it was a comforting and inviting room.
"I'm glad you think you," Edward said to Jacob's thought and left the room.
Jacob followed and they finally went up the stairs to the second floor where all the bedrooms and full baths were. The landing itself wasn't huge. There was a wide hallway connecting all the rooms but it was dominantly bare save for some more pictures on the wall. Right when they reached the top of the stairs, there was a wooden door. Then he looked to the right and saw three more doors after that. At the end of the long hallway was yet another pair of double doors. Edward brought Jacob's attention to the first door and opened it wide so they could step in. It was a sizable room with two beds on either side and a window facing the woods. Each bed had a little nightstand beside it with a lamp and when he looked around, he saw a closet and several toys.
"Naturally, this will be the boys' room. It's the largest of the two rooms the children will share. Once Nathan is old enough, he'll move in here and Natalie will remain in the nursery."
Edward stepped away from that room and showed him the bathroom the children would share and then showed him the nursery. Since Natalie and Nathan preferred to be near each other and were accustomed to it with their little nursery basket, there was one huge crib off to the side, a changing table, a rocking chair, and several other toys in the room with a window that faced the side of the house through which one could see both the woods and parts of the ocean. Finally, Edward brought Jacob's attention to the double doors at the end of the hallway and opened them wide. Right across from the double doors entering the room were the doors to the balcony Jacob had seen earlier. The view of the ocean alone was breathtaking. He could imagine him and Renesmee waking up in the morning seeing that together or even with the kids. He finally looked around to admire the rest of the room. A large bed was to the right and it was much larger than anything he'd seen before. It was certainly more space than what the two of them had now. Then to his left was a large mirror and two sinks. To the right of the sink was an archway that he discovered led to a large closet. To the left was a large and spacious bathroom with a huge tub more sinks, a toilet with plumping, as the whole house had, and even more candles scattered about.
"It's an excellent amount of space for a family of five," Edward began saying. "With this view and all this room, the two of you will be able to have this house forever, tax free. Everything's paid for and you own the land and everything on it."
"Yeah," Jacob mumbled.
"So when shall we show Renesmee?"
"Her birthday," Jacob eventually answered. "It's a little overwhelming."
"I know, but you'll get used to it. It'll do the children a lot of good too. It won't be so cramped anymore."
"Yeah," Jacob mumbled. He walked over to the balcony and opened the doors to step outside and admired the view. "I want to show it to her first. Alone if you don't mind."
"You're welcome to," Edward said. "Also," Edward reached into his pocket, pulled out two keys and handed them to Jacob. "There are the keys to the house. When the children are older, we'll have copies made. For the time being two should be plenty."
"Thank you," Jacob said. "What's the date today?"
"It's the 5th," Edward said.
"Alright," Jacob said. "I'll bring her here in 16 days when it's her birthday. Would you mind taking the kids the night before?"
"I don't see why not," Edward said. "We're always happy to have them."
"Good," Jacob said. "Once Renesmee's gotten to see it, we'll start worrying about moving in." Jacob handed the keys back to Edward. "Do me a favor and keep those until then. As we mentioned, if anyone else decides they want housing, I'll trust you to help them with it. I assume you know who does and doesn't?"
"I will once it becomes a topic on people's minds."
"I know Embry's been considering it. I say pull him aside with Caevia soon and start discussing it. Make them put a number to how many kids they plan to have," Jacob managed to joke.
"You'll pardon that their house will certainly be bigger," Edward smiled. The two of them finally laughed a little and Jacob returned to patrol.
Jacob found himself becoming rather anxious between then and Renesmee's birthday. Embry and Quil, of course, never said a word. However, Embry and Caevia did go to the Cullens stating that they would be grateful if they could have a house seeing as they were still growing their family and that little tent was, unfortunately, unforgivably tight of space. Edward suggested building the house near Jacob and Renesmee, ensuring they were neighbors. However, Edward did point out that a basement would serve them well given their family plans, but unfortunately a basement in a home right on the coast was not as feasible and too high a risk for water damage. So they ultimately agreed that the house would be best served further inland on one of the hills. They would all still be very close together. However, there would an uphill climb from the house on the coast to Embry's and Caevia's house. They both agreed this was perfectly fine.
As promised, the day before Renesmee's 48th birthday year of 1908, the Cullens took Kevin, Kyle, and even the twins for the night. They told Renesmee it was their birthday present to her, allowing her one day to herself that she sorely deserved. Renesmee ensured the twins would have milk which her family gave her mason jars to store in before handing the twins over. It was a strange feeling for her. She was relieved to have some time to herself, but before long, the quiet and their absence weighed on her. However, Alice told Renesmee that she was ordered to enjoy herself. Even so, she spent most of the day with Caevia and helping her with the triplets. Aidie and Embry Jr. were with Renesmee's parents as well, so it took a little more stress off Caevia's shoulders.
"I can't believe how much you've already grown," Renesmee cooed to Sharisa while she held her. Caevia held Rae while Embry held Jae. Or, more appropriately, had Jae bundled up in several blankets on his lap while he deboned the salmon they would be drying. "They're the same size as the twins now."
"How is it being without them?" Caevia asked.
"More stressful than not having them. I'm so used to them being in their little basket right next to me. I can't tell you how many times I'll swear I heard one of them cry and I'll look over and they're not there."
"So much for enjoying your birthday," Caevia teased. "It's still early, though," she said knowingly. "I'm sure you'll appreciate the time to yourself."
"I suppose," Renesmee said. "By the way, have you seen Jacob? I haven't seen him all day. He's usually with me in the morning, but he wasn't there today."
"He's with your parents," Embry said. "He said he'd be there all day."
"Oh," Renesmee sighed and returned her attention to Sharisa. "What's he doing there?"
"I'm not allowed to say," Embry said and Renesmee furrowed her brow.
"You're not allowed to say?"
"No," Embry said. "Don't bother asking Quil. He's not allowed to say either."
"Not that it matters. He's at the Cullen house," Caevia said.
"Never mind then," Embry said. He heard Jae start getting fussy, so he gently lifted his knee up and down in an attempt to rock him, but that didn't seem to work. Caevia rearranged Rae so she was on her shoulder and leaned over so she could gently lift Jae onto her other shoulder.
Renesmee wound up spending another part of the day with Leah since she was with Sara. She asked if she or Hailey had heard anything else from his mother since her little visit. As it turns out, Mrs. Dauer was exceedingly displeased. To Leah's relief, it had more to do with discovering Hailey wouldn't have kids than Leah but she was fuming. Apparently, she wasn't currently answering any letters from Mitch at this time. Renesmee asked if she thought she might be going up to Port Angeles for Thanksgiving or Christmas with Hailey's family and Leah replied, "I'll go when I get tired of living."
The remainder of the day was rather dull. Renesmee performed chores around the tribe and found she was still overwhelmingly bored. She missed all her babies. Jacob still wasn't home when she went to bed for the night. It took forever for her to fall asleep. It could very well have been well into the wee hours of the morning before she finally fell asleep. But she was woken up when she felt Jacob wrap his arms around her and start kissing her neck. She smiled and brought her hands to his as she snuggled up to him.
"Happy birthday, Renesmee," Jacob whispered in her ear.
"Morning, Jacob," Renesmee said. "I missed you yesterday."
"I know, but I can never keep a secret from you. I was so anxious that I'd say something and ruin it, so I just stayed with the kids yesterday." Renesmee opened her eyes and turned her head.
"What are you talking about?" Jacob smiled and got off the blanket.
"I'll show you. The sun isn't up yet, but it will be soon."
"Are we seeing the sunrise together?" she asked with a smile.
"Yes, but that's only part of it. Now, I want to surprise you, so," Jacob revealed a long piece of red fabric, "Can I blindfold you and I'll carry you?"
"I suppose," Renesmee said suspiciously. "Where are we going?"
"That would ruin the surprise," Jacob smiled and began tying the blindfold around Renesmee's head. "Can you see?" he asked once it was tied.
"No," Renesmee said.
"Good. Don't worry, I'll make sure we get there quick."
Jacob took Renesmee's hand and pulled her to her feet. They stepped outside where they had more room and Jacob lifted Renesmee into his arms and started to run. As promised, they weren't traveling for very long. She was back on her feet in no time and when she was, Jacob took a moment to ensure that she was facing where he wanted her to. He untied the fabric and pulled it away so she could see the house.
"Happy birthday, Renesmee," he said again while she stared at the house. It was a little different, but she instantly knew what it replicated. The first thing she locked eyes on was the swing. Without a word, she grabbed Jacob's hand and pulled him along to the swing and they both sat down. Jacob kicked the ground the same way Renesmee did so they would start swinging.
"This was my favorite part of that old house," she said staring at the little road her family had started. She put her free hand on Jacob's knee and showed him one of her most vivid memories of soldiers marching past the house playing their marching song. "That was before things got really bad; back when people thought the war would be over by Christmas." Jacob watched the memory play in his head.
"Those were American soldiers?"
"Well, they were all American. There in lied the problem. Civil war, in my opinion, is the worst war a country could face. There's nothing good about forcing brother to fight brother. And that was often the case."
"It's over now," Jacob said. "That's what's important."
"I suppose," Renesmee said. She stopped playing the memory and rested her head on Jacob's shoulder. Though Jacob liked how they were, the sun would be up soon and he wanted to show her the rest of the house.
"Come on. You haven't see the rest of the house." Jacob took Renesmee's hand and led her to the front door. The door was already unlocked, so he opened it and stepped aside so Renesmee could enter. She looked around and saw the Chandelier.
"How did they find that?" Renesmee asked.
"Hell if I know," Jacob said. "If I'm being honest, I thought that thing was a little much. But Edward said it was exactly like the one at the Plantation, so they had to get it."
"It's exactly how I remember it," Renesmee said. She looked at the dining room and Kitchen and smiled. She saw the staircase and a little hallway the led back and she could see the ocean through the windows. She looked to her left and saw a little living room. She noticed a bunch of old photos and ran to the room to investigate. She saw both her picture with her parents when she was a baby and the huge family photo they'd taken just before the war. "We need to have one."
"Have one what?"
"A family photo," Renesmee clarified. "Like this one I have with mom and dad. We should do it while the kids are still little."
"I guess we can do that," Jacob said.
"I'll talk to daddy and see what he can work out. Since we aren't having any more children, it's the perfect time to take a family photo. Speaking of which, have you had a chance to talk to Carlisle about that vasectomy?" Renesmee asked as she kept looking at the pictures and the room.
"No," Jacob said awkwardly. "I've been avoiding it if I'm being honest." Renesmee looked at him a moment. He was relieved she didn't look upset. But then, he wasn't sure what look she was giving him.
"Would you rather I do it? I don't mind if you're not comfortable with it."
"No…" Jacob said but then paused. "I don't know." Renesmee smiled reassuringly and walked over to Jacob and gave him a hug.
"It's alright, Jacob. I'll talk to Carlisle and he'll give me a tubal ligation. I'll be back to normal before you know it."
"No," Jacob said and sighed. "No, I'll do it. I'll make sure it's done before the end of the year." Renesmee smiled against his chest.
"If you ever change your mind, just let me know."
"I will," Jacob reassured. "Let me show you the back of the house." Jacob led her out of the little sitting room and led her to the back room. The first thing she saw was the view through the windows looking out to the ocean. She went out the back door and stepped onto the patio. She saw the two swing chairs and all the space for the children to play.
"The plantation certainly didn't have this," Renesmee said. "Wouldn't it be nice to have breakfast out here with the children? And then they can play outside right after?"
"Did you see the piano?" Jacob asked. Renesmee turned around and went back into the house, and there it was. She went right to it, sat down and patted the spot next to her telling Jacob to sit. While she played, he sat down with his back facing the keys and watched her play. "What song is this?"
"Clair de Lune. I thought it was appropriate given the sun is rising."
"We'll get back to this. I need to show you the upstairs before the sun gets too far up." Renesmee stopped playing and accepted Jacob's hand and they finally went up the stairs.
He showed her what would be their sons' room, the little bathroom the children would share, the nursery, and then, finally, opened the double doors to their room. She realized why Jacob had wanted to bring her upstairs so badly when she finally saw the balcony. She glanced around the rest of the room rather quickly but returned her attention to the balcony. Jacob stepped forward and opened the doors. To his relief, they got there just as the sun was peaked out enough that the water was covered with pinks, purples, yellows and oranges as it rose. She remembered the plantation having a balcony similar to this one. It had been much bigger and attached to a drawing room, but it didn't have nearly as beautiful a view. If she were being honest, as the war had progressed, the view from the balcony had become depressing from that balcony. Here, all she saw was ocean with the breeze blowing through her hair and the smell of salt water in the air.
"Have you ever noticed," Jacob interrupted suddenly, "the…whales," he wasn't sure what the word was in English.
"Whales?" Renesmee wasn't sure of the word either.
"They're giant fish that blow water into the air and you can see them in the distance sometimes when they're here."
"Whales," Renesmee said. "They're not fish, they're actually mammals."
"What do you mean they're not fish? They live in the ocean and breath water."
Renesmee giggled, "No, Jacob, they aren't fish. Fish lay eggs and breath under water. Whales are mammals that breath air and give birth the same way humans and wolves and dogs do. The reason you will see them blow water into the air is because they're taking in another breath before submerging. The same goes for animals like dolphins, walruses, sea lions, seals and so on. There are lots of mammals that live in the water."
"What is a mammal exactly?" Jacob asked.
"A mammal is an animal that gives birth to live young rather than eggs. There is such a thing as a marsupial, which is slightly different. Mammals, like humans, have a womb where they carry their young. Marsupials, on the other hand, are unable to create what's called a placenta which protects the baby while it grows. She once a baby is conceived, that baby needs to move to a little pouch the mother has and grows there. In America, we only have Opossums as our marsupials. There's a continent called Australia on the other hand that's bursting with marsupials like Kangaroos, Koalas, wombats, Tasmanian Devils; lots of different creatures."
"Renesmee, I don't know what any of those things are."
"I'd show you, but I don't think I've seen a picture of most of those creatures. I've never been out of the United States I'm afraid."
"The point I was trying to make is when the whales are hear for the season, we can sit out here and see them."
"That would be wonderful," Renesmee smiled. "I wonder if it might be possible to get a boat out there so the children could see the whales more closely."
"Embry and I tried once," Jacob chuckled at the memory. "We took my dad's fishing boat out when we saw the whales were coming. We got too close and one of them hit our boat and we flew out. It completely destroyed the boat and one of the whales hit us with its nose. We had to swim back and tell dad we ruined his boat. Oh, the beating he gave me," Jacob laughed again. "Then he made me and Embry building him a new one by ourselves. I think we were both no more than ten. It was when my grandpa was still chief."
"You're lucky it didn't kill you," Renesmee said. "Those tiny fishing boats are not equipped for whale watching. I remember when we lived in New England. We went on a boat to see Orcas. Or Killer Whales as they're sometimes called. Absolutely gorgeous creatures. They're much smaller than the whales you see, though. I think the ones you see are called humpback whales."
"What do Orcas look like?" Renesmee brought her hand to Jacob's cheek and showed him the Orca she remembered. Once had swam up close to the boat and she'd gotten to pet it before it returned to the water. It's skin had been so slippery she remembered. She'd seen a few jump out of the water too. "They are pretty whales."
"And they sing," Renesmee said. "I remember them singing to one another. You can barely hear it since it's under water, but it's such a pretty sound."
"I wonder," Jacob said. "Maybe we should try to go to New England someday. You seem to have liked it there."
"I loved the East coast," Renesmee said. "I loved the ocean, I loved sitting on the beach in a modest sunlight and a gentle breeze. I loved the lighthouse and the sailboats. I remember, back in 1875, there was a big construction project in New York. It was a gift from the French if I remember correctly. She was named the Statue of Liberty. Sometimes, if I looked really hard, I could see construction going on from our beach house. When it was completed in 1886, we all went to see it. She's quite a marvel." Renesmee brought her hand to Jacob's cheek and showed him the statue. She'd seen it from the shoreline in Manhattan. "Technically, it's in New Jersey. But you can see her from Manhattan."
"Is New England a state?"
"No, no, it's a big region. It comprises of Maine, Massachusetts where we'd lived for a time, New Hampshire, another place we'd lived, Vermont, and Rhode Island. Funny thing about Rhode Island, it's the tiniest state in the Union. In fact, you could ride a horse from Pawtucket to Westerly in just about an hour. We ran through it in less than five minutes when we were passing through."
"It's where the capital is, right?"
"No, that's Washington DC. It used to be Philadelphia, but it was changed to Washington DC in 1790 if I remember correctly. And Philadelphia's in Pennsylvania."
"I thought this state was Washington."
"It is," Renesmee said. "But the Capital is Washington DC, or District of Colombia. That's what the DC stands for."
"What state does it belong to?"
"None. It's essentially its own state. Well, actually no. It's not. It's our nation's capital, so technically it's just in the United States. It's hard to explain." Renesmee kept staring at the horizon watching the sun come up. "I don't think I ever had a view this beautiful."
"Even when you lived in New England?"
"No. We had an ocean view, but it wasn't from a balcony. And there was a lighthouse there. Here, it's nothing but ocean and I quite like it." Renesmee turned to face Jacob and went to hug him tight. "I love it."
"I hoped you would," Jacob said. "It was your family that built it, though. I'm afraid housing construction is beyond my knowledge."
"I know you had a huge part in it regardless," Renesmee said. "Could we go back downstairs to the music room? I'd love to play the piano. I get to do it so rarely I fear I've grown out of practice."
Jacob and Renesmee went back downstairs and he sat in one of the loveseats while she played. Later in the morning, she told Jacob to go get the children so they could see the house. She also just missed them. Jacob returned an hour later with their children, Embry Jr., and Aidie, and the Cullens. While Renesmee thanked her family, Kevin and Kyle went to the piano and played Do Re Me from different ends of the piano. Embry just picked a key on the side Kevin was on, that being the higher pitched end, and just poked the highest key. They tired of it almost immediately and picked up Embry so he wouldn't be poking a random key. Though Do Re Me became tiring nearly as fast. They showed Kevin and Kyle their room and they took to the toys immediately. Embry and Aidie joined them and kept themselves amused for another hour before going downstairs to the seaside to play outside in the water.
Caevia and Embry Sr. were eventually able to see it and several other members of the tribe got to see it and focused most intently of the pictures of Renesmee and her family. Sara thought that was the best part of the house. She's always wondered how Renesmee looked as a baby. It made her wish they could have had pictures of their children when they were small. And then pictures of their grandchildren. Hearing about Renesmee's desire for such a family photo, she asked Bella if it might be possible to create two pictures so that she and William might have one. Bella assured that would be no trouble at all. A month after Jacob and Renesmee moved in, they asked Leah to tell Hailey and Mitch they were invited to dinner at their home. They were both rather stunned by it.
"That's a rather generous gift," Hailey said when he and Leah returned home and were getting ready for bed.
"I just assume the Cullens have more money than they know what to do with, so throwing money into a housing project is nothing."
"If I didn't know any better, I'd think they were related to the God Damn Rockefellers."
"Who are the Rockefellers?"
"He's an oil tycoon," Hailey sighed.
"No, I'm sure that would have come up at one point or another. I think Carlisle just comes from old money, that's all. And it's not as though he doesn't work," Leah said as she slipped into bed next to Hailey. "The rest of the family is just more…..free with their time I guess."
"So aside from Carlisle, none of them have worked a day in their lives?"
"Not necessarily. I remember Emmett saying once that he used to work for a lumber mill. Although, as far as I remember, that was only after his grandfather lost all their money during the war." Hailey looked at her strangely. "What?"
"Exactly how old are they?" Hailey asked. Leah went a little stiff, realizing she'd said too much again.
"I don't know," Leah decided to just answer honestly. "I never asked. It's not polite."
"Fine," Hailey sighed heavily and plopped his head on his pillow. "I mean it, Leah, something's weird about them. I don't know what it is, but something's weird."
"Don't tell me you're going to turn into a regular Forks busybody," Leah teased with a giggle. Hailey grumbled and turned to his side so his back was turned. Leah kept smiling and rested her head on his shoulder. Then she started kissing his back, then his neck, then his ear, until eventually he stopped being grumpy and turned around so he could kiss her back.