Chapter 15: Family Dealings

Bella

Friday, December 15, 2023

Seattle, Washington

Socks… bra… obligatory ugly sweater…

"What are you doing?"

I look up from where I'm pawing through my thoroughly packed duffle bag, to see Edward leaning against our bedroom doorframe, his long fingers deftly buttoning up his work shirt. It's so crisp and sharp, and he smells so good that for half a second, I think about dragging him back to bed, plans be damned.

He cocks an eyebrow at me, and I grin at him, knowing he knows all too well where my mind is at.

Instead of unfastening every button on his body with my teeth, I refocus on my duffle.

"Making sure I have everything," I tell him, moving over a pair of leggings in my bag to make sure my toiletry bag is in there.

"Right," Edward says slowly. "So what did you call the inspection you did last night? Or every night since you started packing?"

His voice is teasing, and I look up at him, pushing my hair from my face.

"I just need to make sure," I tell him. I don't expect my voice to sound so… vulnerable.

Immediately, Edward drops his cuffs and crosses our room, pulling me into his arms. He's warm and solid, and I press my face to his chest, grateful I haven't bothered with make up today. It would be a crime to make him change out of this shirt.

"Everything is going to be perfect," Edward says, his hand warm as it rubs gently across my back. "You'll go to Forks, get some peace of mind, I'll join you as soon as my meeting is through on Monday, and then only five days after that, we'll be married."

It feels like a dream, so distant and blindly hopeful, I am afraid to wake, lest the dream slip through my fingers. Again.

"I know," I murmur, my face burrowing against his chest. "I can't help it."

I feel his lips press to my hair. "I know. I know how hard this has been for you," he murmurs, his fingers dancing up my spine again. Even through my thick sweater, I can feel how comforting his touch is. "I want you to do me a favor," he says, pulling back slightly. I tilt my head to look up at him.

"What's that?"

Edward gives me a small smile. "Try to take some time this weekend to relax. Meet up with Alice, have your girls night. Let yourself not worry about anything for at least twenty-four hours."

I huff, and Edward's grin widens. "I know it's asking a lot," he admits. "But I believe in you. I've seen your arsenal of hypnotic tricks. Time to see if any of them work on yourself."

I laugh and Edward lets out a little chuckle, his head tilting down toward mine. When our lips meet, I feel Christmas magic surge around me.

"I'll see what I can do," I tell him when we part.

He grins, his hands slipping under my sweater to squeeze my hips.

"Now, about the thoughts you were having a moment ago," he says, giving me a wicked grin.

I laugh and gently push him away from me. "Oh, no. I have a four hour drive ahead of me and I know for a fact you have a meeting you can't be late for," I say, shaking my head. "No ideas until we are both in Forks, getting ready to walk down the aisle."

Edward's smile warms me all the way through.

"I can't wait," he says, sounding slightly breathless.

I smile back. "I can't either."

…

It takes me about twenty minutes after Edward leaves to get out of the apartment and on the road.

The drive to Forks is easy enough, and though I had planned on driving around the Sound, Edward's request for me to relax is ringing in my ears.

So instead of heading south, I make my way to the marina.

The ferry crossing is in my favor today, and I'm only waiting twenty minutes before I'm driving on and crawling out of the car.

Up on deck, I take a moment to appreciate the Seattle skyline in the rare sunny December morning. It's cold out on deck, and I know once the ferry gets going I'll likely have to go downstairs or into the cabin to stay warm, but for now, it's just right.

The only thing that could make it perfect is having Edward here with me.

I can feel tears start to come on when I think about the upcoming wedding—a fierce combination of worry and excitement bringing the dampness to my eyes. I want so badly to be married to Edward already.

I can feel myself starting to get worked up over the wedding again, when my phone buzzes in my pockets, halting my racing thoughts. I pull it out, surprised to see my moms name on the screen. I turn to head down to my car as I answer ther call.

"Hey, Mom."

"Bella!" As usual, my mom's voice is a song, as if she's coming off the best day of her life. Even when Mom is mad, she always sounds musical—ironic since she can't sing worth a damn.

"How's it going?" I ask as I pull out my keys.

"Oh, Honey, everything's fine, so long as we actually get to see you walk down the aisle this time."

My eyes squeeze shut, and I stop walking, trying to recover from the sudden jab of her words.

"It's going to happen," I assure her.

"Hm, I hope so. It's terribly expensive to keep booking flights and then canceling them," she tells me.

I roll my eyes as I finally make it to my car. "You could have actually taken those trips out here," I remind her, getting behind the wheel. "Edward's excited to meet you." It's true, mostly. In the two years we've been together, Edward's never managed to meet my mom in person. We've had video calls with her, and I went out once after Christmas to see her, but Edward couldn't get the time off.

"What are you talking about? Edward knows me," she argues.

I shake my head and put her on speaker, resting the phone on the dash. "Anyway," I say taking a breath. "What's up?"

"Oh, not much. My pottery class got a new kind of glaze last week and I'm nearly ready to bite the bullet and just build a ceramics studio in the condo." Mom lets out a laugh. "Phil said no, but what does he know? I could be running a meth lab out of our spare bedroom and he wouldn't notice."

"Jesus, Mom," I complain.

"Oh, I don't mean anything by it, Bella. That's just married life, something you've got to look forward to."

I frown. Somehow, no matter how long we're married, I can't imagine having a relationship with Edward like my mom has with her second husband, Phil.

"Anyway, I was thinking that when we're driving back to Forks after I get in, what if we take off for Canada, huh? A nice little vacation?"

I blink several times. "I guess you have time," I say, trying not to sound too annoyed that she's planning tourist activities before my wedding.

"We'll have a blast! I saw online that there is this new interactive art exhibit. Oh, Bella, you'll love it!"

I shake my head even before she's done talking. "Wait, Mom, what are you talking about?"

"A girls trip to Canada. Won't that be fun? Phil will have to come along but he'd be more than happy to sit in a hotel room and watch sports."

My palms curl around my steering wheel as I try desperately to calm down. "Mom, I'm not going to Canada days before my wedding."

"Well, why not?"

I am going to lose my mind. "Because I'm about to finally get married. I don't want to be anywhere but in Forks."

I can hear Mom snort, and I know it's not a dig at me and my decision to marry, but I still take it personally.

"Bella, you're wound so tight you're going to explode. What's so bad about taking time to be with your mom? You'll already be in Seattle to pick me up. We'll just pop up from there!"

I frown. "Mom, I'm not picking you up from the airport. You told me you guys were going to rent a car and come to Forks."

I can hear my mom scoff. "No, sweetheart. You're picking us up."

I can feel my pulse escalating behind my ribs.

"No, Mom. Aren't you and Phil flying in the day before the wedding?" After she hums her acknowledgment I press on. "I'm not picking you up from the airport. It's too far."

"Oh, honestly Bella, what else do you have going on?"

"My wedding!" My voice is on the verge of shrieking.

I shouldn't be surprised. This is so my mom. She left my dad when I was little, and though she'd wanted to take me with her, in the end it wasn't hard for my dad to convince her I needed to stay in Forks. She'd been absent most of my childhood, sending the occasional letter or postcard, or phone call if she could remember. Mom isn't a bad person, she just exists in her own world, one that solely revolves around her.

I long ago learned to stop taking it personally.

"Look, Mom," I say, calling on a breath to calm myself down. "If you need help booking a rental car, I can help you out." Talking money with my mom has always been hard. She has a tendency to forget it's importance, and thinks anyone with money must be unhappy. It's made dealing with her as an adult difficult unless I'm willing to go to shell out.

"I just thought it would be nice to spend time with you, Bella."

I can hear the hurt in her voice and I sigh, my head tilting back against the headrest.

"I'm excited to see you too, Mom," I say slowly. "We'll make time while you're here to hang out, okay?"

I don't know how I'm going to pull that off, but I realize I have to now.

Mom hums. "I suppose that'll have to be good enough," she says, sounding like it's anything but that.

I close my eyes. "How's Phil?"

As mom launches into a long winded story about her husband, I reach for my phone, typing out a text to Edward.

Bella: My mom is now feeling abandoned by me, oh the irony. Any ideas how to make her feel more included next week?

Edward's response is surprisingly quick, given he's in a meeting.

Edward: Leave it to me.