Twilight is Stephanie Meyer's, but it keeps my brain busy. Any reproduction of any and all of my intellectual property will result in persecution, verbal murder, cursing, public humiliation, and the knowledge of everyone's awareness of your complete stupidity. Both for stealing, and for your inability to create your own writings.
I hadn't ever laughed this hard with her. I'd never experienced this type of lightness in my existence, at least not that I was able to recall in all my years. From what I can recall of my human years, I was stifled; bound by duty to my family and the standards of propriety in the Edwardian era. Upon my initiation into the vampire world I was bound by the laws of our kind, and to the vision of my creator, my father for all intents and purposes. When my mother and siblings joined I was exposed to humor, and more laughter than I'd ever known, but I was always slightly outside the bounds of belonging when the laughter died. The day would end, the night would begin, and I would catch glimpses of their joy; try as I might to ignore it.
We'd walked back to the blanket and packed up our picnic. After backing her against a tree and kissing as much exposed skin as I dared, she jumped on my back and we started to run the same track back home. It was a beautiful day and I was content to run at a leisurely pace, until I felt her breath in my ear whispering, faster. I immediately complied and heard her peal of nervous laughter, such a joyful sound that vibrated deep in my chest. I couldn't help but laugh as well. I jumped into the trees again, leaping as high, as fast, and as quickly as I could. Reveling in her squeals and enjoying one of these rare moments in my life that I felt carefree.
She slid off my back as we emerged from the woods and leaned against the back of a bench placed on the edge of the tree line, where Esme planned to start one of her flowerbeds. We smiled together, panting and coming off the height of joy at just being together. She stared into my eyes, hair mussed, catching her breath and looking like the beauty of life itself. I couldn't help placing my hands on either side of her, blocking her in and placing my mouth against hers. Her hands grazed against the sides of my neck and down my chest. I pulled away when I heard a car slowing and pulling into the driveway, stopping at the gate to punch the code.
"Come on," I said, taking her hand, "let's tell Esme that her grove has survived." We walked the rest of the way to the house through the Library door and cut past Carlisle's office where I noticed the crates were mostly empty. We arrived at the front door to find him and Esme unpacking a pick-up truck of flowers and a few trees.
"Where did they get the truck?" Bella asked.
"It's a rental. The cars won't be delivered for a few days."
We arrived at the tailgate to Carlisle's smile as he handed me 2 pallets of delicate flowers for one arm, and 5 bags of black mulch for the other. The plan in Esme's head indicated where I should take them. He handed Bella a shovel and a watering can with a smile. I carried them as a waiter in a restaurant to the back of the house, Bella behind me. Carlisle and Esme followed along with more supplies at a human pace for her benefit, but also to subtly remind her of her place as part of our family. I assume that it did, as she looked back at Esme with a smile.
"The grove looks good, there will be plenty of pears come fall." I started
"Wonderful, I'm hoping to donate part of the harvest to a homeless shelter this year, and let the deer have the rest. After the harvest we'll prune them. Did you have a nice outing, Bella?"
"We did, the sun was out for part of it. The trees in your grove are so pretty."
"I'm glad you think so, I may have to take a run out that way myself when I finish up tomorrow. I was wondering if I could ask your opinion on the layout of this area of landscaping?"
"Would you mind discussing it in the morning?" Alice skipped toward our group as Carlisle was walking back with the last tree, a maple. "That one will get very big, and you'll make a second grove with its cuttings, halfway down the west side of the property line." She smiled, "Emmett and Jazz will be back soon, we should discuss our plans for Charlie's arrival."
At my side Bella stiffened, but nodded her acceptance in the plan. I took her hand and gently squeezed it, offering her a tight smile. I knew this would not be easy on her, and until this business of her human life was behind her, it was bound to cause her some anxiety. Neither was I looking forward to even the notion of what I was required to say to Charlie. I would need to act as if Bella was no longer in my life, so opposed with what I felt for her just moments ago. I shook it off and vowed to think of that when the time came and not before, when her vitality was such an immediate comforting presence.
As we entered the house I noted that Rosalie was looking at me with disdain, which was nothing new, but her thoughts of annoyance at me were centered around Bella. Interesting. When I quirked an eyebrow at her in question, she called me an idiot through her thoughts and looked back at her magazine. If that behavior continued I'd ask Jasper for some insight, but for now I'd assume it was another side effect of Emmett's set down.
A few moments later I saw the plan for the reconstruction of the creek in Emmett's mind, which had been reduced to a trickle over the course of a few decades. He and Jasper had been at heavy equipment rental, reserving an excavator and bulldozer. He had some plans to improve irrigation, and possibly add an element of fun for the summer. If it worked out, it would be done before Bella's change.
Emmett walked in; Jasper behind him. "Don't say a word." He thought with a pointed look at me before walking toward his wife. "Hey Rosie!" he greeted before plopping down next to her, feet up on the coffee table, which earned him a reprimand from Esme. He had the good sense to look guilty before asking if we'd all been waiting on them.
"We're to discuss Charlie's visit. With Bella leaving him, it's important that he grieves so that he can begin to heal. We can provide him with an easier transition if he sees that we are also grieving. Obviously, Emmett and Rosalie, you will be expected to be away at college, so your absence will not be missed. Would you be open to spending the day with Bella, away from the house?" At their confirmation, Carlisle continued, "Alice, how long will Charlie be visiting us here?"
"It's unclear, but no more than a couple of hours. His arrival and departure are still fuzzy, but they seem to be on the same day." Her eyes went out of focus for a few moments and I saw her vision as she confirmed, "He's wearing the same clothes when he leaves the house as when he walks in, but the sun changes position slightly. It will be mostly cloudy the week that he comes. I'll hammer down a more consistent weather pattern so you know when you can change shops." She directed this last statement to Rosalie, who nodded while quietly flipping pages of the magazine, a slight smirk now in place, and her mind wholly focused on the pictures in front of her. Whatever she didn't want me to know seemed unimportant, so I let it go.
"Is there anything we should look out for? Any questions that we might find difficult to answer?"
"Not that I can foresee, the only issue I see is if Edward is in the great room when Charlie arrives. It seems to set him off." She turned to me and said, "You shouldn't be present to greet him. After he speaks to us, I'll show him to your room where he will speak to you alone." She quirked and eyebrow before thinking, "You'll need to toss your room after Bella leaves, before he arrives." I saw in her head that she planned on ordering me new curtains. "He leaves soon after. It's hard on him, but I see him in a better place soon after the memorial service if we give him this."
Next to me, I heard Bella's heart pulsing a different type of cadence, the tension of her body confirmed her discomfort for her father's situation. Esme must have noted it too.
"Are you alright dear?"
She blew out the breath she was holding, "I'm ok. If this helps Charlie we can handle it, right? It will be easier on all of us if we don't have to go back and forth on this."
"Yes, and we'll all work together to ensure that your father has an easy transition."
At Carlisle's confirmation she squared her shoulders and continued, "Okay. Let me know if there's anything I can do. I'm sorry you all have to go through all this for me."
"It's a small price for what we're gaining." Alice said, and I felt Jasper radiate familial bonds that, from his perspective, made her feel slightly better.
"When do we expect him?" I asked Alice while caressing Bella's cheek.
"His plans have been firming up over the last hour. He'll be speaking to the station in Iowa who's investigating the truck fire soon. At the moment, he's working and trying not to worry too much. He's considered driving this way, but you didn't leave any clues about which roads you took."
"I'm glad he's not driving. He'd never find the route I took." A hint of a smile at that bit of information had me curious, but before I could ask, the discussion changed to Emmett and Jasper's landscaping plans to redig the creek.
"How long do you have that truck for, Carlisle?" Emmett smiled as he thought of his plans.
Bella yawned as they continued their discussion and the orchestration of the project. "Do you want to have a snack? Or take a nap?" I asked, noting her heart rate had slowed slightly.
"No snack, but some tea and some rest sounds nice. Can we take it upstairs?"
"Sure, why don't you grab a book from the library and I'll start the kettle?"
This is a transitional chapter, and a little boring. Sorry about that. I do Enjoy writing in Edward's POV however. Perhaps I'll post a second chapter update this weekend if I hear from enough of you. The next chapter is a little on the lemony side, so if you'd like to read it, send me your thoughts! Read, review, follow and favorite for more.