Chapter 23: Christmas Stars Are in the Sky
Edward
Saturday, December 23, 2023
Forks, Washington
Last night, once the rehearsal dinner was over and all of us were lingering near our cars before leaving, I watched Alice's eyes slowly flutter closed. With her face raised towards the night sky, she had inhaled deeply, let the chill of the December air fill her lungs, and then opened her eyes to us all with a small, tired but content, smile.
"It's coming," she had said, pointing a finger upwards. "Snow."
"That explains why it's so damn cold all of a sudden," Emmett complained, moving his hands up to his mouth and blowing warm air into them.
"Not enough to ruin your day," Alice continued, placing a reassuring hand on Bella's shoulder as if she could sense her worry. "Just enough to make it memorable."
I could go on for hours about all the little things that I feel will make today, our wedding day, memorable, but I stop short when I sit up in my empty bed in the inn in town the following morning – because Alice was right. I can tell before I even pull the curtain back that the world is washed in white, the reflection of the snow brightening every contour of the room.
Like Alice last night, I close my eyes for a moment, reveling in the quiet that snow always coats the world in, and wonder if Bella is thinking the same thoughts I am this morning across town. We are a far cry from traditional, but some things just feel worth it - like not seeing her on our wedding day until the time has come.
It doesn't mean I can't text her.
I can't help myself, and I reach for my phone on the nightstand next to the bed and take a picture of the winter wonderland outside. Before I snap the picture, I lean down and blow against the glass window, tracing my fingertips to make the same simple triangle Christmas tree Bella had done against the glass in the red boat on our first date. Then, I finish the drawing with a heart around it, and it almost looks like the one we made that night. With the view in front of me now complete, I take the picture and send it to Bella, knowing she'll understand what I'm trying to convey without words.
The scene in front of me really is beautiful, and like Alice said, the perfect amount of memorable to make today even more magical than it already is.
Bella's text back to me tears my eyes away from the window. You're up early.
My fingers fly across the screen in response. Earlier I'm up, the earlier we can get today started.
She answers me back with six simple words, and they are enough to get me out of bed and into the shower to get this show on the road.
I can't wait to marry you.
…
"I think my first order will be a New York pepperoni pizza," Emmett tells me in greeting when he walks into my room an hour later. He has his tux on a covered hanger resting over his shoulder, a bottle of champagne in his other hand.
"Oh, I didn't tell you?" I ask casually, tossing a football in the air only to catch it again, my eyes only on the ball and not on my best friend who is about to admit defeat to our friendly wager from last week. "They found The Boat."
"The fuck they did," Emmett laughs, hanging his tux over the bathroom door. "Pepperoni pizza. I would think they'll be open again on Tuesday morning after the holiday for you to call before your honeymoon."
"I have confirmation here that they found it in Arizona," I say, pulling up my email on my phone to show him the proof. "Even if it's not the exact same, it's the same model and that constitutes a win in my book."
"That's not a win," Emmett disagrees. "You said the same exact one. Not a replica. You're not winning this on a technicality."
"I'm pretty sure you're all losers in this one," a voice interrupts us and we turn to see Jasper stroll into the room like he's not wearing a blinking Christmas sweater with his favorite battery pack.
"Not you though," I reply with sarcasm hot enough to melt the snow outside.
"Never me," he laughs, placing his things on the chair next to me. "You ready, bro?"
"Born ready," I say. "How are the roads?"
"They salted and plowed what they could," Jasper answers. "They're fine, though. It's fucking freezing though."
"Too cold to get a round in?" Emmett asks, stealing the football from me mid-throw.
"We never had a chance to do that this December," Jasper says, a tinge of regret on his tongue as he stares quietly out the window.
"It's not too late," I suggest to them both, and soon enough the three of us are putting on heavier clothes and boots instead of our tuxes and dress shoes. Before we know it, the day will speed up and the photographers will arrive and we'll be told to get dressed, get ready, pose for the pictures and smile for the camera.
But right now, we make time slow down when we can and walk outside, laughter trailing behind us wherever we go. We draw the lines and agree on endzones on the decently-sized patch of grass on the side of the inn, picking the same teams as we've done every year since we all migrated back to Washington for good.
Even the girls.
Sometimes breaking traditions are necessary in order to preserve other traditions.
Today, Bella and I forget about not seeing each other before our wedding ceremony, and we meet on opposing sides of our makeshift football field.
"You're going down, Cullen," she says to me, gloved hands on her knees, as she squints beneath the sudden white winter surrounding us.
"Oh, I plan on it," I tease her right back.
"Okay, teams ready?" Jasper calls out from down the field, and though the snow is still falling slightly, I can see Alice thrown over his shoulder. Most importantly, I can hear her more than see her, the sound of her laughter the perfect gift she can give Bella this season. She may not be up for playing just yet, but she's here, and she's laughing, and she's trying.
Because that's what we all do around here. We give each other the little parts of each other that we can, knowing the others will still be here when we find the rest of the pieces to hold ourselves together again.
We score. They score. We tackle. They tackle. We laugh until we cry because while we all know Bella and I will begin new traditions of our own today, some things will never change.
Until I get a call from the chapel.
And then, suddenly, just like that, everything about today has changed.
Woohoo! It's double posting day! See you shortly for Part 2 of the wedding day!
