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Chapter 199
Daughter of the Nuptial Couple
Leah
The night sky hung full of clouds, but still you could see scattered stars in between.
Becky and I were still too exhilarated to sleep right away. We had also drunk quite a bit of sparkling wine, which was quite stimulating. We chuckled disproportionately the whole time, but it couldn't be stopped.
"You were flirting with Josh!", Becky just accused me, playfully indignant.
"Nonsense!", I snorted back, but immediately bit my lower lip. She wasn't entirely wrong. "But so are you! When I tell Jake!"
"You're allowed to do as you please. I'm just wondering about it," Becky said and turned on her side.
She had her little plush wolf tucked under her arm like a small child.
Smiling, I rolled onto my stomach.
"Josh was pretty cute and exactly my type, but I didn't realize that I was flirting with him on purpose," I reflected. "I'm not really interested in men at the moment, no matter what they look like and how nice they are," I added.
"There's only one you're interested in at the moment," Becky said vaguely in response, turning onto her stomach as well and placing the plush wolf right in front of her on the pillow.
She looked into her mini-Jake's eyes and cuddled his ears.
The way the original would like it very much.
"Whom do you mean?", I asked irritated.
"Well ... Marcus," she stated, as if that were obvious after all.
"The only thing Marcus and I have in common is that we are friends. Pretty good and intimate friends."
"But it looks different often enough ... When you're together, at any moment one expects that you would kiss ... Like before."
"But it's not like that anymore. I like him. Very much so ... No, actually this term is not enough ... What I feel for Marcus is deep inside me. It's already something like love, but it's more along the lines of what I feel with Jake ... Only without the usual sibling murder thoughts in between", I tried to explain, but I could hardly explain that to myself.
"But with Jake, you're really connected. You feel each other without touching. So if you compare it to Jake, it must be pretty intense," Becky reflected.
"Yes. Something is holding me to him. Something led me out of my darkness, and it definitely has something to do with Marcus for me. But I don't know what it is."
"Maybe ... you should ... think about your answer ... again ...", Becky started to yawn several times and I joined in after the third time then.
We mumbled some more about the relaxing and fun day, but then fell asleep.
The alarm clock showed just eight o'clock in the morning when we both woke up again.
I had slept poorly, probably tossing and turning, while Becky clung to the only wolf available to her.
Me.
So we were lying together quite tangled up. A lying area of generous three by four yards and the two girls were almost on top of each other in the last corner, as if they had slight space problems.
"Up already, too?" mumbled Becky.
"Mmm ... mmm ...", I mumbled back.
We were tired and we had a headache.
Becky looked for the plush wolf that lay between us.
"I'd rather have the big one," she said in a huff as she pulled it out from under me.
"Why don't we go over there," I reasoned.
"And how do we get past our overseers?" she then just whispered.
I thought about it. Took a while, considering the still early morning after the long evening.
"Jogging?", I then suggested.
We tried, put on appropriate clothes and went down.
The vampires and Emma were already busy making breakfast.
"You're early on your feet," Esmé greeted us in the kitchen.
"That's deceptive. Actually, we're still asleep," I said, yawning.
"We want to jog extensively to get rid of our headaches," Becky explained.
"But you could also sleep in. There's still plenty of time," Rosalie tried to change our minds.
Good to know, I thought.
But we waved off.
I took a little raisin roll and we went.
Jogging. About one mile.
However, both of us couldn't really manage more than that.
We snuck into the house via the side entrance from the pool, took the back stairs, and then stood in Jake's room. We chuckled at Jake and Marcus.
They lay together much the same way Becky and I had woken up. More on top of each other than next to each other. Marcus was lying on his stomach in the middle of the bed and Jake was practically leaning on him. A synchronized snoring filled the room. Possibly the whole house, too!
Becky took off her shoes and lay down with her real wolf. The snoring died away as soon as Jake felt Becky against him, and he unconsciously folded himself in her direction.
Sweetly!
In the process, Marcus had then turned and was lying to the side, facing away from the two of them. Next to Marcus, almost half the bed was still free, so I lay down there.
I looked at the pretty sleeping face, which also stopped snoring, and thought of Becky's words from before falling asleep. I don't know how much time passed, but I fell asleep.
When I now woke up again, Marcus and I lay not necessarily closer together. Still facing each other, so that I saw again exactly in his face. Our legs had seemingly been squabbling around the bedspread.
It had obviously become a tie.
My head was on my lower bent arm, my other arm lay between us. His hand covered mine.
He was still asleep, as I could feel from his steady pulse beating through his fingers. I heard it too, but the light steady pulsation on my hand was somehow more penetrating.
Again I looked at the young man in front of me. Saw the scar on his eyebrow, which the pillow under his head half hid. Saw the little dimple on his chin, which the base of a three-day beard tried to conceal.
My eyes slid a little lower.
Like Jake, he wasn't wearing a T-shirt, so I could admire his well-toned torso and strong arms up close.
The caramel-colored body with the subtly defined muscles everywhere. His piercing on the nipple. Of course, he not only looked good, but simply hot! Even if the sight of him had drawn my attention at the time, but it was the person behind the pretty facade that I had loved. I did not attach too much importance to appearances, as long as the guy was daylight-suitable. I never had before. Ben had been cute, but that he was necessarily handsome could not really be said. He wasn't ugly, but wouldn't make you notice him much either. However, Marcus' looks had been like a bonus to his adorable nature. Still, I really didn't know what continued to draw me so close to him. Becky's thought that she would rather have Jake in her arms instead of the stuffed animal had come exactly right. And now I was lying here, next to Marcus, not really knowing why I had wanted this. I felt very comfortable. Completely, you could say. Jake was there, Becky was there, but so was Marcus. Maybe it was just because of Jake, because I had my twin close by.
Marcus woke up. He stretched a little in his position and took a relatively deep breath, where he squeezed my hand tightly under his. He puffed out some more gasps before opening his eyes.
"Hi ..." he murmured in surprise.
"Hi ...", I returned.
"What are you doing here?"
"Becky had a longing," I indicated truthfully. That it was only half the truth, I did not even understand myself and therefore concealed it.
"But wouldn't Becky have found her way on her own?"
Damn! I had known that I had overlooked something in my reasoning. It was just too early for the part of my head that was responsible for logical thinking.
"I ... just wanted to protect her. After all, there are werewolves and vampires in the house! What things can not happen there!", I said.
Marcus smiled.
"But you yourself belong to the monsters of the family! And you also drove her into the arms of a werewolf!"
"Whose side are you on, anyway?" I asked snottily, but in a whisper. I didn't want to wake the other two behind him.
"Do I have to decide this right now?"
"Coward!", I titled him.
He laughed merrily and I stuck my tongue out at him.
"Why are you laughing so dirty? In the middle of the night!" Jake complained behind him.
"Ask your sister!" replied Marcus between his laughter.
"And what's she doing here? Doesn't she have her own bed?" mumbled Jake.
I didn't see him, but it sounded pretty tired.
"She brought a star to the werewolf," Marcus explained.
"Huh ...?"
"Why don't you open your eyes?" urged Marcus Jake over his shoulder.
"Becky!" finally caught Jake's eye as well.
He was apparently so surprised or overwhelmed or tempestuous or even all at once that they both fell out of bed.
"Ow ...!", I heard Becky curse.
"How much did you guys drink yesterday that it takes him so long to realize Becky is lying with him?", I inquired with raised eyebrows. Marcus and I, by the way, were still lying there just as we had been all along, while I heard cheerful kissing from the floor.
"No comment," Marcus evaded answering, so my look became very skeptical.
"So what else did you guys do yesterday?"
"No comment," he replied again. "So what have you guys been up to?"
"No comment?", I offered, to which Marcus laughed so cutely again.
All of a sudden he rolled over me.
I was startled by this, but he just got up from the bed to go to the bathroom.
On the other side of the bed one threatened to step on stars or wolves.
Jake followed his example, and they did a flying change even before Marcus was really back from the bathroom.
Marcus stretched in the middle of the room and threw the bedspread, which was half hanging off the cushion at the bottom, back onto the bed.
Becky then climbed back onto the bed.
She looked a little disheveled, but that was probably just because of Jake, because otherwise she seemed very chipper. Not as tired as she had been two hours earlier. Come to think of it, I was also feeling much better. The headache was completely gone, and I felt really rested. So the day could come. Or also gladly the coffee.
I hadn't finished thinking when there was a knock at the door.
"I've been asked for?!", Dad smiled at us with a tray in his hand.
I jumped up and Dad just managed to put the tray down on the dresser before I reached him. I hadn't seen him since yesterday morning.
"Good morning, Little one!" he squeezed me and gave me my obligatory kiss on the forehead, which of course the other three got as well.
We spread out on the bed with our cups and Edward joined us.
We talked to each other a bit about yesterday, but Becky and I skipped the part of the evening after Orenda, Emma, and Ced were put to bed. Just as the guys seemed to skip the part between male chit-chat and going to bed.
After all, if they had secrets, we were allowed to, too.
As far as Dad knew, the wedding ceremony was scheduled for the afternoon, but nothing more was explicitly planned on the male side. In this respect, it had been suggested to go to the swimming pool after the extensive breakfast, which was already in full swing, before the final preparations would be made. However, he had been forbidden to do any work.
Speaking of breakfast! I was hungry.
Becky and I snuck back out of the house. Our breakfast was waiting in our little glass palace, but Jake and Marcus accompanied us to the front door. Very quietly, so that we were not discovered yet.
"I am already very curious what you will look like later!", Jake said to Becky, whom he still had in his arms and from whom he said goodbye extensively.
"Me too," Becky countered.
"Enchanting, of course. What other choice do the two of them have?" Marcus eyed me with a critical connoisseur's eye.
Jake nodded in affirmation.
I rolled my eyes and shook my head.
"I hope you don't steal the bride's show!" added Marcus.
"Weirdo!", I hit his upper body with my fist. Not hard, of course. As a girl, you should never show boys - or men - that you were stronger than them. They resented that, even if they knew it.
We casually jogged back to our house and all the ladies were sitting at the table in the kitchen.
"Well, where did you come from?" Mom asked us with a smirk, sitting at the table still in the complete set of Dad's pajamas. With Ced on her lap.
So we went to her to wish her a good morning.
"Jogging?!", I opined.
"For three hours?" echoed Sonya with a smile.
"Um ... if you want to be fit, you have to suffer!" added Becky.
Some seemed to be largely finished with breakfast, others were still nibbling or snacking something.
We sat down happily and began to eat extensively.
Such an extended jogging run stimulated the appetite very much.
Meanwhile, we chatted.
The mothers present - except Mom and Sonya, of course - had all already made phone calls to their children who had stayed at home. Emma was already jittery about the wedding and would have loved to put on her dress as soon as she woke up. Mom, at least for the moment, was still completely relaxed. Only when Esmé brought Ced to Dad did she show a little nervousness.
But maybe I was wrong, and she was just a little offended or disappointed because she had to give off her baby, whereas Ced was downright thrilled about it. He knew he was going to the pool with Daddy. My baby brother was just easy to persuade, as long as it had to do with swimming. Or with sweets.
Rose and Alice offered to help all the ladies dress up for the festivities.
They wanted to refuse, but we reported how great the two did it again and again. And enough time for all the ladies would have the two also, as they assured several times.
It was very leisurely approaching noon as we cleared the table together.
"And the boys slept well, too?" asked Esmé, who had rejoined us ladies in the meantime.
She would go right back over, though, because she had some things to prepare there.
I had offered her my help, but it was brushed off already to some extent.
"Yep ... they were quite ...", I began to say cheerfully and immediately bit my tongue when Becky poked me in the side. With that, I had betrayed us after all.
"I knew right away you wouldn't be running around for hours after an evening like that!" Mom stated with amusement.
"Rose wouldn't believe her and immediately went to get you back," Sonya chuckled.
Irritated, I screwed up my face.
When had Rosie been with us?
"Edward heroically and death-defyingly put himself between me and Jake's room," Rosie added, chuckling.
"So no one is mad at us?", I dug deeper. After all, all the women had decided yesterday that they wanted to stick to Alice's rule, even if it had actually only applied to Mom and Dad. And Becky and I had actually agreed to it, too.
"Nonsense," Mom merely said, putting an arm around each of Becky's and my waists.
I was a little relieved as Alice clapped already as happy as a sandboy into her hands.
"Now it's time to get a move on or we'll miss the wedding!" she warbled, sending me and Becky to Jake's room.
Mom was ordered to her bathroom and our many guests also dispersed to the available bathrooms.
Only Orenda was no longer interested in this festive spiffing oneself up. She sat down in the living room with a cup of tea, Esmé turned on Dad's music before she left, and she enjoyed a little peace and quiet before things would certainly get more hectic later.
And in Jake's room hung two pretty new dresses.
Mine was ... I couldn't really define it, except that it was beautiful. It was too strong for rose, too pale for pink. Strapless, tight at the bust and there the fabric was covered with a layer of intricate lace. Underneath was a silk ribbon of the same color, tied at the front like a rose. From there, multi-layered chiffon fell to just below my knees.
Alice still had to sew the zipper on one side to fit, and attach the rose properly.
It made me look not quite as tall as I actually was compared to others. Becky's dress was yellow, but of similar intensity to my pink. Or rose.
At first glance, it seemed quite boring.
It was also made of chiffon, which went down to her ankles, with straps right and left and a V-neck. It wasn't until Alice make use of a long scarf that we really liked it. The scarf was made of the same lace that I had on my dress. Just the same color as her dress. She put it around her waist and gathered the fabric a bit on one side and also made a little implied rose there, by the way she tied it. The remaining lace dangled playfully in the fabric of the dress, which was now shorter on one side than on the other.
Refined.
Alice was at work with many pins and would still sew the scarf in properly so that nothing of this gathered slipped.
But I found that with the lace very interesting. Then Mom's dress would surely also include this lace?
We went to take a shower as long as Alice would be sewing.
I guess something had to be finished on Mom's dress, too.
In my underwear and bathrobe, I went downstairs to get some pudding.
Emma was already jumping around as a little princess. She even had a cute tiara in her curly head.
Sonya looked gorgeous in her peach-colored dress, with Rosie putting finishing touches on her hairstyle. Her hair was pinned up and she worked a white silk ribbon intricately into it.
Rose had spread out at our dining room table with all sorts of utensils for hair and makeup.
At the moment, there was no trace of the Native American women who had been running riot in my room and in the attic bathroom.
I played with Emma in Ced's play corner so she wouldn't get on Orenda's nerves too much as long as Sonya wasn't done.
But then I went to see Mom first. I knocked, but heard nothing.
"Mom?", I asked after opening the door. Well. Mom. She could have loosely broken her neck while putting on nail polish. Or slipped in the shower and lay there unconscious without anyone noticing.
"I'm here, Leah," I heard, however, and took a single breath.
I chuckled as I had followed the voice into the bathroom. She was lying in the oversized bathtub with lots of nice smelling foam and, purely in terms of space, looked quite lost in it.
She smiled strangely. So subtly happy. So subliminally overwhelmed.
"Well, Mom? How are you feeling, just a few hours before you finally get married?", I asked her.
"I can't really grasp it yet," she beamed, "That it's really happening. And not someday, but today," she babbled excitedly afterward, whereupon she lost her grip and dived under.
But she popped back up on her own, chuckling, and wiped the foam from her face with her hands.
"Watch out or you'll sink in that giant tub," I admonished her. "Dad's too old to keep being a bachelor!"
"That's true, of course," Mom agreed. "But you're not thinking about me at all?"
"Yes, but you're only half Dad's age. So you still have time," I joked.
"Now don't make me older than I already am!" she rebuked me.
I calculated for a moment.
"Okay, Dad is more than three times your age," I corrected my statement.
We thought together about how it would all possibly go in a moment.
After all, they didn't tell us anything specific. All we were told was that everything was prepared, that we didn't have to do anything, that we still had enough time, and so on.
I found it nice to have some more time alone with my mom before she would officially and forever belong to Dad later.
An exaggeratedly expressed thought, because it didn't bother me at all. I was rather pleased. Mom deserved to finally find her happiness. I was not jealous because I had lost my happiness. This time was just ... beautiful. Mother and daughter together. Mom and I had never really kept secrets from each other either, so it didn't bother me that she used the bathtub to shave. I mean, she was my mom. She had shown me that.
I helped her out of the bathtub.
Thereby she often felt a bit woozy, but it was always just a moment. So also now.
Afterwards she got into the shower.
Mom had always liked to bathe to relax, but always she went for a quick shower afterwards. She opined that she had bathed in her own dirt and didn't feel clean after the bath. Well. Everyone had to know that for themselves.
I got us something to drink from downstairs and quickly buttered myself another roll.
Breakfast had been two hours ago by now.
There was already a lively party atmosphere on the first floor. The ladies were probably almost completely assembled.
Wrapped in a towel, Mom was lotioning her legs when I got back to her. Since Dad was not there, I took over her back.
"Your dress is still a big secret, but what are you wearing underneath?", I asked. Okay, just that and on top of that to ask my MOTHER, then I felt funny.
Mom chuckled about it too, but picked up a bag that was on the bed.
"I don't know yet myself," she said, carefully taking the contents out of the bag. "Alice left these here earlier, before she disappeared again with the dress ... She should quietly reappear soon!"
"Alice will manage everything. She took Becky's and my dresses again, too," I said, and Mom looked me in the eye, slightly startled. "Don't panic, Mom. This is Alice we're talking about! She's a perfectionist! She'll get here in time!"
"She still has to get ready herself, too. And Rose, too," Mom became nervous after all.
"Mom. Take it easy! Even though Alice will take longer, the wedding won't start until you're there!", I said emphatically, holding her hands while I did so.
She apparently calmed down and nodded.
So we looked at what Alice had picked out for my mom to wear as underwear.
All of it was snow white. A pretty ensemble made of silk. A strapless bra that had a teasing little bow in the front with short ribbons and a small stone. The same little bow was on the panties. Both were adorned with a discreet lace border. In addition, white silk stockings.
"Dad will probably be thrilled," I commented rather matter-of-factly and tonelessly as Mom looked at herself in the mirror. I didn't want to imagine his enthusiasm so exactly. That Dad was having sex, I could deal with somewhere. But with Mom, my mom, who had brought me into the world, that was a whole other thing!
She grabbed a robe, and we chatted some more until Alice arrived.
However, we didn't really get to talk.
Alice arrived not a minute after Mom sat on the bed with me.
"Well, finally!" Mom groaned hectically, but also deeply relieved.
And Alice was apparently already ready. She looked really adorable in her little ice-blue dress, which looked a bit as if it had sprung from her human time.
She held two garment bags in her hands, one of which she held out to me.
I took it to Jake's room and was quoted to Rosie.
Becky was still sitting with her, and I saw that all the other ladies were finished by now and were admiring Rosalie's skill.
Becky got a braid.
Actually, there were several, which somehow merged into each other. It looked really complicated. It fell very gracefully over her back.
Then it was my turn.
On my hair was not much to do. It was simply too short for that. Seemed to become a tousled hairstyle, as it felt.
Rose also made me up, which she also did super every time.
It never looked cluttered or overdone, but rather natural and understated.
Becky and I got dressed, picked out matching shoes, put on the jewelry Dad had given us so many weeks ago for Stan and Peter's wedding, and we were done.
Orenda looked at all of the Native American women - including Becky and me - in great detail and with a very critical eye. At some point she nodded and seemed to smile inadvertently.
Apparently we all looked good enough to represent the Quileute tribe.
Because there was still plenty of snow, we were gradually driven by Esmé to the main house.
I was astonished when we arrived there.
A long red carpet was available at the front door, over the steps and a few more yards through the snow.
When I got out of the car, I also realized why it had been arranged that way.
To the elegant dresses snow boots just did not look suitable.
Around the front door were placed red roses.
Jasper and Emmett welcomed us behind the door and took our coats from us quite gentlemanly.
"Our princesses look gorgeous today!" remarked Emmett with an implied bow.
"Oh, and not normally?", I dug deeper.
He chuckled and pinched my cheek while apologetically saying that we would always look adorable. Just today in particular.
Flower garlands hung in the hallway on the right and left.
At the time we were given a tour of the house, there was also a large hall. It was very dreary and barren and uncomfortable, but apparently that was where the wedding would actually take place. The garlands led down the hallway in the direction where this huge room was.
However, general chatter could be heard from the living room.
I had a pretty good idea who I would find there, but I had not yet seen any man of the arrived guests.
However, Carlisle was the first to stand in front of us.
Fresh from vacation. So to speak. He had been back for two days, but we hadn't seen him yet.
We hugged him heartily.
Then Becky and I continued into the living room.
Yes, there would probably be a wedding here.
Everyone was dressed in elegant suits. An enthusiastic murmur echoed through the room when we had entered.
We were the first ladies to show up here. We greeted everyone in detail.
Paul and Sam didn't know Becky yet and I introduced her.
"Where are Jake and Marcus?" asked Becky as Esmé also brought in the next load of ladies.
Orenda, Emily, and Sue.
They were also greeted loudly, whereby Orenda muttered to herself that one should never leave men alone without supervision. Otherwise they got into all kinds of mischief.
"The both of them went to pick up your grandmother," Carlisle replied.
"And Dad?", I asked.
"In Ced's room," I got as an answer, and I went up immediately.
I was Dad's maid of honor, so it was kind of my job to take care of the groom. Just as I had been with Mom earlier. It was a curious thought. With Mom it was - a very little bit at least - as if I would have to give her away through this wedding. With Dad, however, it was like I was getting him permanently. Illogical, I know. I was already smiling about it myself.
I knocked on the door.
"Come in," I heard even as I knocked.
Dad and Ced were still wrapped in robes.
They had probably just come out of the shower.
Dad nodded as he walked toward me with Ced in his arms. He took my hand and turned me in front of him.
Like he had done with Mom that time. When it was her birthday.
"You look adorable, Little one," he said.
"Rose and Alice really did a great job," I said, however.
"Oh no. That's just you, Leah. My daughter is adorable, even when she's just walking around in sweatpants and a ripped sweatshirt. It's your genes!" he tried to explain to me.
Ced nodded vehemently, punctuating his nod with the turn just completed from his point of view.
He had never seen me sooo beautiful.
"Thank you for the compliment, little bro," I said, pressing a kiss to his forehead.
"You believe the baby who is a few weeks old, but you don't believe my life experience of over a hundred years?" outraged Dad playfully.
I shrugged my shoulders.
I lacked any argument for it.
Dad diapered my little brother and got him dressed while we talked.
"What did you actually do tonight if you already couldn't watch Mom or Ced sleep?", I asked him.
"I sat in the loft with Carlisle and David. David did prefer to fall asleep at some point, but otherwise we talked all night. About our big family. About how it's officially getting bigger today. That you and Jake will make sure it keeps getting bigger. One day, I hope, through Ced, too. What marriage means. To me, to him, and in general ...," he said.
"And what does marriage mean?"
"Marriage vows are a promise that you will make the person to whom you are thereby joined forever happy with all the means at your disposal. In good days and in bad."
"But you've been doing that all along!"
"I do my best to make Bella happy, because I never want to see her any other way. But I'm not sure I always fulfill this to her satisfaction."
"What makes you think that? Mom has never been happier than since her birthday," I rumbled. But then a thought occurred to me. "Or are you getting cold feet? Because it's almost time?", I raised an eyebrow. That would mean my dad would actually be excited. That he wouldn't be experiencing this in his ubiquitous vampiric serenity - along the lines of a little change in his eternal life - but would actually have butterflies flying through his stomach with excitement.
My dad smiled.
Embarrassed.
"This feeling is so unnecessary!" he complained. "It makes me all nervous. How can you humans stand it without going crazy?"
"Well, we simply go crazy in the process. Who gives a shit what anyone else thinks about it!", I explained. "Just enjoy it while you're feeling the butterflies," I advised, hugging my dad. "And no blaming or guilt-tripping!", I threatened with a stern index finger afterward. After all, I knew my dad well enough. He could be trusted to get strange ideas from the butterflies. Something like that, that he would only harm Mom by his presence or some such nonsense.
Ced chuckled cutely as I stood in front of our dad like this.
I extended my hand to him.
He found it highly amusing that our daddy got a little telling off. From his daughter.
"Sometimes you have to scold your parents," I explained to the little man, who was all dressed up except for his little shoes.
Ced looked really cute. He was wearing a mini tuxedo. Complete. Cloth pants, white shirt, cummerbund, bow tie, and tuxedo jacket. The fabric of his cummerbund was covered with the lace that Becky and I had on our dresses.
Dad was still getting his little shoes from a windowsill.
I found baby shoes so strangely bulky. Normally Ced wore only socks in the house and only got shoes on when it went out into the cold. He did not know anything else outside yet. Now he got just such shapeless little shoes, which were richly padded on the inside, but looked almost like black patent leather shoes on the outside. The soft fabric was a little shiny.
So he was sitting on the changing table ready and smiling at us.
"Mommy will cuddle you to death when she sees you!" said Dad.
"And what do we do with the hair?", I still asked, though. As usual, it was sticking out in all directions. Like Dad's.
Dad pressed a comb into my hand.
"Please. Try your luck," he urged me.
I combed and combed and actually got something that almost looked like a neat hairstyle. I put the comb aside and Ced wove his hands through it again. I puffed contemptuously while Dad and Ced laughed.
"And what are you going to wear?", I asked Dad curiously.
"I haven't had the heart to unpack the suit yet," Dad said vaguely, walking toward the garment bag hanging on a shelf.
"Maybe it's not a suit, but also a dress," I teased him.
He looked at me darkly.
"Alice is perfectly capable of doing that!"
He pulled off the cover and to reveal, of course, not a dress, but a very distinguished suit.
Classic black. The jacket was not a tailcoat jacket like Ced's, but still a bit longer than on a regular suit. Again, I recognized the same lace as on the rest of us. Just in black. The entire collar, bottom hem, and pockets of the jacket were bordered with a black silk ribbon covered with the lace. The bow tie looked the same. There was no longer any doubt in my mind that I was about to find this very same lace pattern right now on Mom.
"So you haven't seen Bella yet?" he dug deeper.
"No. She's kept well hidden from your gift!", I teased him.
He peeked a little offended.
"Do you want me to take Ced down there already so you can get ready in peace?", I asked.
He nodded, lost in thought.
So I took Ced, gave Dad another kiss on the cheek while he stared at his suit still smiling, and went downstairs with my baby brother.
The front door opened just as I got there.
"Wow ... Sis. You look ... nice," Jake said.
I stuck my tongue out at him for his 'nice', for which he also had to think.
An elderly lady had hooked herself under him and from her he received a reprimanding blow against the shoulder.
"Thanks ... the same to you," I spat back. My brother looked great. A suit of dark anthracite, with a vest and tie of slightly lighter anthracite. On him, it was the tie that had our uniform lace pattern. "Wait until you see Becky," I said, and Jake was already peeking in the direction of the living room.
At the same time as Ced. But they probably didn't see her yet.
"Granny, this is my twin sister Leah and my little brother Ced ... Ciara Young, Becky's grandmother," he introduced me to the tall, good-looking lady on his arm.
She was pretty, which kind of surprised me. She wore a very plain dark blue pantsuit with an equally plain top under the blazer, but with all sorts of flashy Native American jewelry. A thick braided pigtail with a distinct gray tinge fell over her shoulder.
"Hello, Leah. I'm glad to finally meet you. The other half of the chief of my tribe," she smiled at me and held out her hand.
"Pleased to meet you, too, Miss Young," I replied honestly. I had been instructed several times that she attached great importance to the form of address Miss.
"We'll forget about Miss Young right away. Ciara or Granny," she offered me immediately.
"Ciara," I nodded. I thought it was cute that Jake called her Granny, but I didn't have that much to do with her.
"And so you're the little water mouse," she crawled over Ced's belly, which I still had in my arms.
He giggled.
"And you look chic... But you should probably get your hair cut soon," she smiled at him.
Ced held his hair and shook his head vehemently, making it look even wilder than it already was.
"Jake already told me a little bit about you. That you like to swim and how you have a sweet tooth," Ciara said and rummaged in her handbag.
She pulled out a little bag of gummy bears and held it out to Ced.
"But don't let Jake snack on any of it," she murmured conspiratorially.
"Like I'm just eating all the time!" complained Jake, while Ced was already blown away by Ciara then, stretching his little arms out to her.
As I thought before today: My baby brother was easy to bribe.
"Where's Marcus?", I asked Jake as I pushed Ced into Ciara's arms.
"He's driving the car down."
"Oh, I see," was all I said. I had just wondered why Jake only came through the front door with Ciara.
Esmé was already coming out of the living room.
"Ahh ... Miss Young. Nice to have you with us. So you've already met our youngest family member. I'm Esmé," Esmé greeted her with a friendly smile and held out her hand.
Ciara seemed a bit intimidated.
"Esmé. So the mother of the groom, so to speak," Ciara reflected.
Esmé nodded affirmatively.
Only hesitantly Ciara took the offered hand.
"You're the first vampire that I get to know," she said softly, shaking her hand.
She also smiled again.
"But I won't be the last, Miss Young," Esmé assured her.
"Ciara, please. After all, one day we will share various great-grandchildren," Ciara replied.
"What exactly do you mean by 'various'? Do you have a more precise number in mind?" Jake dug deeper.
"A whole pack," Ciara expressed with a laugh.
By the way, Ced had eaten the bag of gummy bears in the meantime, but it was only a small bag.
Esmé took Ced - he was certainly getting a bit heavy on Ciara's arm - and then led Ciara into the living room to introduce her to the other guests.
Thereby she explained that all guests knew about vampires and wolves, except just the four children of David and Sonya. And the clergyman, who had arrived in the meantime.
"This could be something," Jake reflected.
"What do you mean?"
"Granny doesn't know that Orenda is here. She only knows about Emily and Billy and that they brought some more wolves. But nothing about her mother," he explained.
"Oh ...", I just said, and we walked briskly behind.
I stopped in the doorway. From there I had a good overview.
Some of our guests were standing with Carlisle and Emmett in the kitchen, which I could see from here. There was also a priest standing there. Others in the living room. Billy, Charlie, and Sue were standing/sitting by the patio door, chatting about what kind of fish could be angled here. But Orenda I didn't see anywhere. Neither did Emily and Becky, though. But I did see David, who was tying one of Emma's shoes. He looked chic in his rather sporty bright suit.
I asked him to go to Dad's before he really started going crazy with excitement.
Dad could definitely use his best friend by his side right now. More than his children.
Esmé had first introduced Ciara to her husband, who welcomed her here very kindly. But then she had discovered Billy.
"Billy Black!" she said clearly as she stood behind him.
One imperious tone of voice that I've never heard anyone address toward Billy before. Except Jake some time ago.
I held my breath.
My grandpa would certainly not like that. His wrinkled face looked pretty angry.
"Cia!", however, all of my grandpa's facial features slipped away after he had rolled around.
And the cup almost from the hand. You didn't see that every day either.
Jake and I chuckled at that.
He stared at her in disbelief, not even making a sound.
"What's wrong with him? He already knew she was coming," Jake mumbled questioningly, who was leaning next to me in the doorway.
"Knowing something and then experiencing it are two different things. Dad has also known for months that he would marry Mom one day and yet right now he's pretty nervous and excited," I explained.
"Dad? Excited?", Jake dug deeper.
"Yep ... Dad!"
"Where did his unflappable composure go, which only takes a break when he gets exaggeratedly worried?" smirked Jake in my direction.
"He must have misplaced it," I chuckled.
Jake looked at me strangely. So in love and dreamy. Was something wrong? With him? Or with me?
I looked down at myself.
Everything looked good as far as I could judge.
I turned around and immediately understood.
Becky came down the hall right behind me. My little bro was simply overwhelmed by his star. As if in a trance, he walked past me and surveyed his enchanting girlfriend. In the process, though, I caught another glimpse that made me forget to breathe. Marcus was standing on the banister.
I don't know how long he'd been there, but damn, what a hot-looking guy he was.
The suit was identical to Jake's, only the pocket square was the color of my dress, as it was Jake's in Becky's yellow hue. The beginnings of the three-day beard like he had this morning. An incredibly loving expression on his face. His eyes were so gentle. It seemed surreal how we walked toward each other and stopped right in front of each other. Somehow our hands had found each other. Eternities passed. Perhaps time had stopped with us.
A tear ran from my eye.
Why couldn't he be Nanuk? Why did Nanuk have to pass away? Why did I have to encounter only Nanuk?
Wordlessly, he hugged me tightly.
Just as I needed it now.
And it took me a moment to free myself from this thought and release myself from his arms.
"Everything okay?" he asked in a whisper, whereby he held my face in his hands and ran his thumb over the trail of the tear.
Why did he have to be so compassionate and understanding? Why couldn't he be an ass? Then it would be easy for me to avoid him.
But I nodded.
"Yes. It's all good. Just a reminder," I murmured.
"But not one that has anything to do with me, I should hope," he smiled a tiny bit.
"No," I whispered.
"You look fantastic, Leah," he said after a moment.
"Thanks. You do too," I replied and could already smile a little again.
I turned to Jake and Becky and was surprised.
The two had probably been kissing for half an eternity. Uninterruptedly.
"Were we that bad, too?", I asked Marcus over my shoulder.
"I'm afraid so," he said tonelessly.
However, a loud buzz separated the two before we had to intervene.
The buzzing sound was coming from the bell at the main gate.
I went into the security room, looked at the monitor and happily pressed the gate opener.
"Akai and his family," I said explanatorily. Both to Jake and Becky, who had actually managed to tear themselves away from each other, and to Jasper, who had followed the buzz.
"Your Granny is really lovely," he commented to Becky.
"Oh yeah. Granny. I completely forgot," Becky seemingly remembered why she had only seen Jake again a few minutes ago.
"Where is Orenda anyway?", Jake then dug deeper.
"She laid down for a bit as it got more crowded in here. Emily is with her, and they are having a calming tea together. She's pretty nervous because she's about to see Granny again," Becky explained.
"That's got to be pretty intense," Marcus reflected. "Your daughter runs away from home as a teenager, never gets in touch again, you eventually live with the conviction that she must be dead and then you are supposed to see her again. Safe and sound and she also brings a family with her," he summed up the overall situation.
We nodded affirmatively.
I wouldn't want to trade places with either of them.
Ciara had apparently met everyone in the meantime, except for her own mother and Emily. She talked animatedly with Esmé and Carlisle.
Everyone stood together in lively groups and chatted.
Ced was crawling around. Cookie hid from him behind the sofa. Emma was jumping around the big living room, not at all princess-like. David's two younger boys were playing cards in a corner. Daniel, on the other hand, was part of the adult hubbub.
We watched them from the hallway with amusement.
It all seemed so peaceful and cozy. Actually, we would join them, but we wanted to wait for the Latham family. And they came right away.
Amarok and Shanti, Chaske and Susan, Akai and Phoebe.
We four young people greeted the arrivals debauchedly.
Alice had really thought of everyone who knew our secrets and were friends of our family.
We led them into the living room and a greeting/introduction chaos broke out.
"I don't believe it," Ciara stammered in surprise. "Shanti?" she addressed her questioningly.
"Oh my God. Ciara," Shanti responded, happily surprised.
They told.
They had by chance met each other a few weeks ago in Boston. An exhibition about the Native American peoples of North America. Getting to know was perhaps an exaggerated description. They had shared a table in the crowded museum café and chatted a bit about the exhibition over a cup of coffee.
How small the world was sometimes!
Billy and Amarok greeted each other as if they had known each other forever and a day.
Well. No wonder, as much as the two had talked on the phone. They had both been so fascinated by the other pack. They thought their own until then was unique.
Susan and Chaske, Akai's parents, stood a little more quietly to the side, so we went to them, offered them something to drink, and chatted.
"So where's the groom?" then asked Chaske good-humoredly.
"Still searching for his inner calm," I said with a laugh.
He could understand that. He had also been quite excited at his wedding.
"And the bride?" asked Susan.
"Is apparently still being trimmed for her grand entrance."
"I don't understand why they're taking so long," Emmett interjected. "The problem is more likely to be getting her here unharmed, without her getting another bruise. After all, Bella isn't that ugly!"
"Emmett!" I snapped at him. My mom was beautiful! Even without Alice and Rosie's help!
"Emmett," Chaske reflected with amusement. "So you're one of the young men who tried to teach Tom manners," he stated.
"I did my best," Em replied theatrically.
That dramatic tone of voice seemed to be a family sickness.
"Your best wasn't enough, apparently," Susan noted.
"I'm sure we'll get another chance, as long as he's not afraid of us," Em said.
"Oh yeah. He is," Susan smirked.
"But his father insists he keep coming here for practice, no matter what horror stories he tells at home," Chaske added.
We laughed.
Then I heard the doorbell and saw Carlisle walking to the door.
Since it was our parents who were about to be married here, Jake and I felt a bit responsible for the guests. To that extent, we also went to the front door.
"I wonder what Tom told his dad," Jake was still reflecting with amusement on the way.
"Probably that he's being treated unreasonably here," I laughed in reply.
Then Carlisle pulled open the front door as we felt an icy draft on the back of our necks.
It was probably because of the cold that blew in the door, but at the same time there was something else.
Fresh - for us unfamiliar - vampire smell. Six vampires stood in the doorway. Four women, two men. I didn't know them, but had seen photos of them. The Denali clan. They were friends of our family and Carlisle greeted them accordingly.
"Eleazar, Carmen. It's nice that you made it in time despite the delay of your flight," he warmly extended his hand to them.
I knew from stories that these two belonged together and if I hadn't known, I would have definitely assumed that. They looked alike. Both with dark brown hair and the pale skin had an interesting olive tint. As if they were originally from the south. Spain, as I even just remembered. They seemed very nice.
They were closest to Carlisle, but they made room for him to address the further guests in turn. So we saw the others more closely. A young man, curiosity was in his eyes. Tall and lanky, with long sand-colored hair tied back with a leather strap. Next to them, three women who could well be sisters. One prettier than the other. The one at his side was Katrina, whom everyone just called Kate. Her long blonde hair was so light that it almost looked white. She was smiling. Next to her was a red-blonde woman at the sight of whom I felt quite ugly. She was unusually beautiful. Even more beautiful than Rosalie. That was Tanya. She peeked a little the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. She was barely taller than Alice, had light blonde chin-length straight hair. It was Irina. She growled softly but very menacingly when she saw Jake and me.
I had not expected that we could be growled at.
My muscles tensed of their own accord, and Jake and I involuntarily took each other by the hand.
"Irina! You wanted to behave!", Eleazar said so quietly but emphatically that I barely understood it.
"They killed my mate!" hissed Irina back, however, not taking her eyes off Jake and me.
Carlisle turned to us briefly, gesturing casually for us not to come any closer.
We had not intended to do so.
"That's nonsense and you know it," Kate wanted to make clear.
"This is Jake and Leah. Bella's children. They weren't even born when Laurent met the wolves," Carlisle explained calmly.
"That's splitting hairs!" scolded Irina angrily, wanting to take a step towards us.
I held my breath, trembled, and my heart stumbled. I also tried to keep the wolfish fire under control. I would feel considerably more comfortable and safe on my four paws, but this was not an opportune moment to phase. Somewhere behind us were four ignorant children and an even more clueless priest.
From the living room, I heard Emmett ask what was going on at the front and how he came to be here with Jazz.
Irina, meanwhile, growled again, this time right in our faces, and Jake and I clung to each other.
However, I couldn't peek that fast how Dad suddenly stood in front of Jake and me and growled as well. More viciously than Irina had done ... And Tanya could suddenly smile very charmingly?
Thank you for reading!