Thursday, July 31, 2008

Chapter 36- Look At Me

Playlist: Look At Me-Carrie Underwood, I Love You- Martina McBride, I Could Not Ask For More- Sarah Evans, Rush, Rush-Paula Abdul, Loved Too Much- Ty Herndon, Open Doors, Open Hearts-Corey Crowder (I heard this guy for the first time as an opening act for a Bobby Long show, and he was so good. I hope you like him:), Love's Looking Good On You-Lady Antebellum, Walking On Sunshine-Aly and AJ


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Chapter 36- Look At Me

I would bet my life, like I bet my heart
That you were the one baby, I've never been so sure of anything before
You're driving my heart crazy, I can't hold out
I can't hold back now, like I've done before

Darlin’, look at me, I've fallin’ like a fool for you
Darlin’, can't you see, I'd do anything you want me to
I tell myself, I'm in too deep
Then I fall a little farther, every time you look at me

How do you do that babe?
Make me feel like I'm the only girl alive for you
I don’t know what it is that makes me fall like this
First time in your arms I knew the way you held me
I knew that this could be what I've been waiting to find

Darlin’, look at me, I've fallin’ like a fool for you
Darlin, can't you see, I'd do anything you want me to
I tell myself, I'm in too deep
Then I fall a little farther, every time you look at me


Every time you look at me

Carrie Underwood ~ Look At Me


Bella’s POV

It had been six months since Edward had proposed. Amazing how fast it went by, and I would have to say that if you asked me now, I would definitely say, that my life is okay. My job is wonderful, and I’m engaged to the man of my dreams. I just needed to get my ass in gear and plan this wedding. I knew that I didn’t want a big production; I simply wanted to marry Edward. Every time I try to put together some plans Alice and Rosalie would ‘help me’ and it turns into this celebrity wedding fiasco. I want a simple dress, Edward in a tux and a little cake to feed each other. I don’t need doves, and linens and shit.

Edward came to me a few days ago, his face looked crestfallen. He asked me why we still didn’t have a date and plans. My heart broke seeing him so disappointed.

When I explained to him that I was so ready to marry him just not as ready to plan the ceremony and celebration that goes along with it, he then understood why we still hadn’t moved forward with a date. He kissed me deeply and asked me to give him some time to figure out a plan. I nodded at him and watched his sexy ass as he walked away from me.

Sure enough a few days later he came back to me and laid out his plan. He had spoken with Alice and Rosalie, and they agreed to give me full responsibility for my dress, Edward’s tux and the cake. All the rest of the wedding would be planned by them and I would have veto rights over whatever I didn’t like. It sounded simple enough, but we would see if it actually worked out that way.

We set the date and I got busy searching for my wedding dress. Alice and Rosalie had lots of plans and were always busy. They promised to bring me all of the suggestions together at one time. Then we would go over it all idea by idea and keep what I liked. Afraid that they were going to completely overwhelm me, I wasn’t looking forward to that little show but I did appreciate the help that they were giving me.

After searching online for what seemed like an endless amount of time, I found the perfect wedding dress for me. It was strapless with a beaded bodice. It would fit me like a glove and flared out just below my hips into a full skirt. The skirt was gathered in various places, the web site described it as a tufted overskirt. It had a moderate length train, nothing that would make me fall on my ass because I tripped over it. The web site suggested a simple floral headband that would be worn at the back of my head just above the simple twist in my hair. They both were exactly what I had imagined for myself. Nothing that was too overdone, but yet beautiful in their own right. I knew that the moment that I saw the dress, that it would make me feel like a princess when I wore it. Isn’t that exactly what every woman should feel like, like she was the prettiest woman in the whole world for that one day? Of course it was and I wanted them both more than I thought I ever would. It actually surprised me the intensity I felt for these two simple items. I guess I was that girl after all, it was just buried way down deep inside and it took finding the right man, Edward, the love of my life to make me want those things.

Fueled on by my excitement over finally finding my dress I searched for Edward’s tux. I wanted him to have a tux with a vest, exactly like the one he wore on the day he proposed. He looked so handsome that day. I wanted him to look exactly like that again on our wedding day. It must have been my lucky day because a few clicks later I found exactly what I was looking for. I immediately ordered Edward’s size and decided to leave it up to him to find tux’s for the guys to coordinate.

Now, on to my last task-to find a cake. I searched several sites and found one that I loved. It was four layers and simple in design. White icing with small lacelike designs around each layer, and the layers were separated by red ribbons. Each layer would have a small bouquet of flowers that would match my bouquet that I would carry. The third layer would have our initials and the top would be adorned with flowers. Again, simple yet still beautiful.

I couldn’t carry out the over the top ideas that seemed so at home for Rosalie and Alice, but I was happy with my style and wanted my wedding day to reflect who I was.

Who we were? To me Edward was always about the simple, but he exuded an understated sexiness as well. He was never over the top but always managed to pull off the epitome of manliness and good looks.

I left our room and skipped down the stairs to inform everyone that I had accomplished all of my tasks in one afternoon. I felt the pride dripping off of me, take that wedding planners!

The guys were watching a basketball game and debating the value of the three point shot. I spoke as I stepped into the room, “I, myself, have always thought Larry Bird was incredibly sexy when he tossed up the perfect three pointer!” All eyes fell on me with their mouths hung wide open. Edward recovered first, his expression turning to one of pride and love all mixed into one.

“And there you have it my fiancé has just mimicked my exact stance on the situation. The strategy aside, the three point shot just looks so nice when it’s well executed! So, what do you two have to say for yourselves now?” Edward tossed at them, his expression full of gloat and satisfaction. Emmett and Jasper were still in shock. Edward pulled me into his arms and gave me a sound kiss on my lips. He pulled back slightly and whispered, “I love you more every day.”

“Would you love me more if I told you that I found your tux, my dress and the wedding cake? All in one simple search on the internet?” I teased.

His eyes lit up and he leaned down to kiss me again. “Let’s see what you chose.” He led me over to the couch. I opened the laptop again and logged on.

I clicked on the picture of his tux. “What do you think? I wanted you to have a vest just like you wore when you asked me to marry you. You looked so good so I tried to find the closest thing to that. I ordered it and it will be here in a week. You will have to take Emmett, Jasper and Carlisle to find tuxes to match it for them. Think you can pull that off?” I asked as he sat staring at the laptop.

“Bella this is perfect. I love it. I wouldn’t have chosen any differently for myself. I’m sure we can find something for the other guys. Do you want them to wear a vest as well?” He asked.

My brows furrowed in contemplation as I thought about it. “Is it okay if I say no? I only want you in a vest.” I couldn’t explain the reason very well but I just wanted him to be perfect for me and not like anyone else on our day.

“Then no vests for them. This is our day and if that is what you want then that is what you’ll get. Besides, they don’t pull it off as well as I can.” He punched Emmett in the shoulder as he made his smart ass comment.


“Yeah, you wish. You know your punk ass would so be put to shame if I showed up ricking the vest. Wise choice, Bella, I don’t want to show your boy up on his big day and all. Let’s see this tux.” Emmett moved over and pulled the laptop towards him a little. He whistled, “Damn Bella you made a great choice that shit is hot. I’m a little jealous now.” Jasper sat on the arm of the couch so that he could see as well.

“I would have made his ass wear tails and shit. He would look like a little circus performer.” Jasper’s eyes showed the laughter that his body held inside. Edward reached behind me and around Emmett to try to punch Jasper. It fell short which only made Jasper break out into a full on laugh.

Alice and Rosalie came into the room to see what all the commotion was about. “Hey, I’m glad you two are here. I did it!” I squealed.

“What prey tell dear Bella, did you do?” Alice asked.

“I found Edward’s tux, the wedding cake and…my dress.” Alice reached over and snatched the laptop away from my lap before I could even move to stop her.

“Isabella Marie Swan, do you not hold any traditions sacred? Why the hell are you showing Edward your dress for?” She turned the laptop so that she could see the screen and realized that we were looking at the tux instead of my dress.

“Oh, sorry.” She had the decency to look sheepish at her mistake. “Wait, I really like that. Edward will look so good in that,” she paused for a minute and I swear I could see the little light bulb go off in her head as she said, “Oooooh I get it, he’ll look like he did the day that he proposed.” She hopped around making me real nervous since she had my laptop on her hands. The guys just exchanged a ‘how do they remember shit like that’ look. Rose simply smiled and nodded her head at my choice.

“Okay, Wedding Gestapo, would you like to see the cake as well?” Everyone chuckled. We all attempted to pile on to the sofa so that I could share. Jasper and Edward finally gave up and move around to the back to look over our shoulders. I pulled up the picture careful that the dress wouldn’t show in the back ground.

Alice and Rosalie just exchanged a knowing look. The guys made an appropriate comment and moved on. I turned to look at Edward. He returned my look with a slight hint of a smile on his face.

“What do you think?” I was so nervous to get his reaction. I wanted him to like it.

“It’s perfect for us, simple, yet beautiful, it is understated elegance at its finest.” I leaned in to kiss him. How I had ever met a man who was such a perfect complement to me I will never know.

“Thank you! That is exactly what I thought when I saw it.” I turned towards Alice and Rosalie. “Now, how does this fit into your plan for the wedding?” I ask the two of them. They both just nodded like little bobble head dolls.

“It’s perfect, absolutely perfect.”

They’re reactions mimicked each other, and I get the odd sense that something was off here. I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was that was off but I made it a point to find out.

Edward immediately swooped in and pulled me close to him, kissing any confusion away that must have shown on my face. He only pulled away when I was totally breathless and my brain was empty except for thoughts of him.

Alice and Rosalie shooed Edward from the room since all that was left to see was my dress. I showed them both and they squealed like little pigs, as they ooohed and aaahed in appropriate amounts. Each of them pointed out characteristics of the dress that would accentuate my body. I knew nothing about that; I simply knew that I loved it. I couldn’t imagine myself wearing anything else on my wedding day. I placed an order and held in the giddy feelings that swept over me as I realized that I was going to marry Edward. I also couldn’t believe how simple it had been to pick the few items that I was in charge of. It may have taken a little bit of time on the internet, but I had found exactly what I wanted. It sure beat having to be carted off to every store under the sun by the two Wedding Gestapo, otherwise known as Alice and Rose.

I made one final call to the bakery that Esme had recommended to me and once I got their email address, I emailed her the picture of the cake and made an appointment for the following week to stop by to see her in person after she had time to look over the picture of what I wanted. I shut the laptop and walked out of the dining room, feeling the high of getting those things done.

A week later, Edward and I met with the Erin to discuss our wedding cake. She had received my email picture and saw no problem with making that exact cake for us. She agreed to wait to discuss the flowers with Alice and Rosalie, so that the cake would coordinate with the other wedding flowers. We paid our deposit and discussed the date.

Once we were finished at the bakery, we took Edward’s tux to the tailors for it to be altered for him. I left him there and walked through a book store right next door.

I browsed the shelves and stopped to look at several books. There in front of me in the cookbook section was a couple holding hands. Both were old, like in their ninety’s old, gray hair, no teeth, blind as a bat old. But they still held hands and called each other dear and honey. They still looked at each other with so much love in their eyes. As tears sprang to my eyes, I couldn’t help but send up a small prayer that Edward and I had that kind of love when we reached their age. I stood holding my hand over my heart trying to compose myself when Edward found me.

“Bella? What’s wrong angel?” His eyes searching me over and when he found nothing wrong he began to look around the store to find the cause of my distress. I quickly pointed to the older couple. He looked from me to them and back to me. Confusion was clearly showing on his face. I smiled, not even sure how to explain my mini breakdown for no real reason. I took his hand and smiled at him. His eyes relaxed but still held a small amount of panic.

“I’m sorry, I’m just being overly sentimental that’s all. I was walking down the aisle and saw the couple there.” I motioned with my hand back to the couple. Edward turned to look at them again. The now held each other in their arms and he was kissing her temple, the same action that Edward had performed time and time against the same spot on me. We each smiled at the tender action. “I couldn’t help but pray that we feel the same amount of love at their age that they do. It was so sweet to see them still so in love.” My eyes filled again as I played with Edward’s fingers. I was too embarrassed to look him in the eye.

“Aw, baby, come here.” He pulled me into his arms without the smallest hint of a smirk, laugh or even humor at my emotional outpouring. “I will always love you this much. In fact, it gets bigger every day. I’ll always hold you; I need you just as much as you need me. You don’t understand, Bella, this is me and you. Right now we have all the rest of the family, and that is great, but one day it will only be you and me. I’m going to love you until my last breath, never doubt that. I swear it!” Tenderness filled his voice and I swear I felt a tear fall silently into my hair. Edward held me against him until I had composed myself and we browsed the bookstore. Both of us found a few items that we wanted to purchase. Edward bought me a cookbook for Thai cuisine, he had tried a Thai restaurant in Seattle and loved it, so we both wanted to try more dishes, hence the cookbook. I bought Edward the newest medical mystery by the author that he loved. I chuckled as he paid. Already we are an old married couple. I bought for him and he bought for me.

As we walked back to my car, my phone rang.

“Hey Nes, what’s up?” I mouthed ‘sorry’ to Edward, and he scrunched up his face to indicate he wasn’t put out at all.

“No, I’m not busy. Edward and I were just finishing up at the book store.” She began speaking before I barely finished my sentence.

“Can you come over? I need to talk to you.” She muttered into the phone. I could hear the tears in her voice. I was afraid that I wasn’t the most emotionally stable person to help her right now. I needed Alice and Rosalie for back up. I was glad that we had all developed a close friendship, Nessie fit in like she belonged to the family as well.

“Yeah, let me grab us some Chinese food and call Rose and Alice. I’ll be there in twenty minutes, okay?”

“Thanks, Bella, see you then.” I gave a small sigh and dialed Alice.

“Alice, we got a Chinese emergency on our hands. Grab Rose and meet me at Jake’s in twenty. Nessie just called me close to tears and said she needed to talk.” I rattled off to her.

“See you there.” Alice responded and disconnected the call.

I turned to face Edward to apologize; he had his phone up to his ear. “I need to place a to-go order please.” He turned to me and asked, “What do you want me to get you?” I don’t think I could have loved him anymore than I did in that exact moment. He was so patient and understanding.

“Uhm… two orders of Pot Stickers, one Crab Rangoon, two orders of Spring Rolls, Shrimp Lo Mein, Beef and Broccoli, General Tso’s chicken, and Mongolian Beef. That should do it for us. Do you want something?” He shook his head at me and placed the whopping order I just rattled off to him.

Twenty minutes later we pulled up in front of Jake’s condo, Chinese food and a large bottle of Tequila in tow. We met Alice and Rosalie on the steps on the way up. Edward handed off the food and turned to leave. I pulled him back to me and pressed my lips to his. I was two steps above him so this put us at the right height to not have to strain either of our necks to really put some feeling into the kiss.

“Thank you, baby. I appreciate this so much. I know she wouldn’t call if she didn’t really need someone to talk to.” I knew I didn’t need to but tried to make him understand anyway. He kissed my lips again to stop me.

“It’s okay. You go have your girl time and I will come pick you up when you’re ready. I mean it I don’t want any of you driving after all that Tequila you just took into that condo. None of you!” He tried to sound harsh but he failed miserably.

“Yes, sir. I saluted him. “You aren’t even upset?” I asked.

“Nah, I have been spending a lot of time with you lately. It will do you good to go and have some fun with the girls. Help Nessie fix her problems and then get real drunk. Call me when you’re ready to come home and I will come and get you. Then our night will begin.” He raised his eyebrows to me.

“Oh, so now I see why you’re so willing to let me go without the smallest protest. You’ve got ulterior motives.” I leaned towards him to kiss the end of nose. “Thank you for understanding.”

Alice opened the door and yelled for me to get my ass moving. Edward chuckled, “Yeah, Bella, get your ass moving.” I turned to walk away and he slapped my ass. I turned back at him to give him hell but I couldn’t when I saw his beautiful face lit up with the most perfect smirk draped all across it. I could only roll my eyes and walk back towards the door that Alice still held open for me.

When I walked in the food was spread across the coffee table and the tequila’s seal had already been broken. We filled our plates and settled into a comfortable position.

“Alright, girl, you called this meeting. Tell us what happened.” I asked around mouthfuls of Shrimp Lo Mein.

Nessie dropped her plate down onto the coffee table with a splat of her Mongolian Beef and began to cry. “I think Jake wants to break up with me.” And her tears began to fall in earnest with her confession.

Food was forgotten for sure, this was an emergency for sure.

“Why do you think that, Nes?” Rosalie rubbed her leg as she asked.

“Well, he’s doing fine now. He doesn’t need me at all; in fact next week I will start a new assignment across town. He’s real distant. He doesn’t cuddle in bed anymore, he sleeps on his side. We hardly talk at all. And I mean I have tried to engage him in conversation. He just doesn’t talk back.” She wiped the tears away from her beautiful brown eyes. “I just don’t know what I did to make him not love me anymore. I didn’t commit any of the dating suicide crimes. I gave him space, I swear I did.” She looked around the room at each of us. Hoping we had the answers for her.

“Have you asked him about the distance between you two?” I asked gently, trying not to condemn cause lord knows I had no room to point any fingers at anyone.

“Well, no. I mean, I want to but I’m too afraid that he will tell me it’s over. I thought he was my mate, my one true love. My people believe that you will find the one and know without a doubt that he was it for you. I felt that with Jacob, I did.” She trailed off.

“Nes, listen. I made Edward and I suffer for two and a half weeks because I was too stupid to ask him what was going on. I assumed, and well we all know how that turned out for us.” I chuckled trying to lighten the mood. “Honey, please don’t make the same mistake I did. Ask him. It won’t change his answer if you get it now or if you wait for another week. Just ask him. You will know and can decide what to do once you know.” I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I fished it out and realized there was a text from Edward.

B~

We found Jake at the pool hall, he’s pretty drunk.

Not sure what’s wrong yet. We will bring him home a little later when he is ready.

Love you! Always!

E~

I saw Alice and Rosalie watching me, I shook my head at them, hoping that they would know not to ask about the text. I typed out a quick response to Edward.

E~

Thanks, Nessie’s a mess, she thinks Jake’s gonna break up with her.

I’ll let you know when you can bring him home. Sorry.

Love you always too!

B~

We ate, talked and drank freely. Over the course of the next couple of hours, each of us offered Nessie as much sage advice as we could. At least until we were all ready to fall over drunk. I called Edward and asked him to bring Jacob home and pick us up. We tucked Nessie into bed in the guest room and waited for Edward at the front door. It took all four of us to get Jake in bed with his shoes off. We would let them sleep it off and hope they had the good sense to work it out in the morning.

Emmett and Jasper waited for Alice and Rosalie in Rose’s BMW that she drove over here. I followed Edward back to the Volvo. He looked like the cat that ate the canary the whole ride back to our house. I wanted to smack him, but I was too tired to do anything except lean on his shoulder.

“I love you, I’m sorry our afternoon and evening got ruined.” I said as I looked up at him through my eyelashes.

“Don’t worry about it, Bella, they would have dropped anything for us. So I figured we owed them that much to return the favor.” He shrugged and my head slid off of his shoulder. He laughed as I picked my head up and placed it back against his shoulder. “I guess I better carry you up the stairs and tuck you in bed, little one.” He chuckled again.

“Sorry, I think I forgot to stop drinking.” I was sort of confused, I wasn’t really sure when I supposed to stop anyway.

“Don’t worry, it will all be better tomorrow, I promise.” He kissed my head.

I don’t remember anything after that.

I awoke the next morning with my head pounding and light shining in my eyes. I turned to bury my face into Edward’s chest but he wasn’t there. I reached across the bed until I got to the far side and Edward wasn’t in the bed at all. In fact he wasn’t anywhere in our room. I stumbled to the bathroom almost falling twice but I made it without any major damage to my body. Edward opened the bedroom door and came in carrying a tray with an envelope, juice, water, aspirin, and some French toast. I did love this man so much. I kissed his arm as I went by and fell back into bed.

“Come here, baby, let me give you these aspirin. They will help you feel better.” I took the aspirin and popped them into my mouth and swallowed as much of the water as I could, then drank about half of the orange juice as well.

“I need to check on Nessie.” I fumbled for the phone to call her. Edward repositioned himself on the bed. He settled down at the foot of the bed with the tray of food. He still had the same look as last night and I couldn’t figure out why.

“Nes…” I didn’t even get out her full name when she shrieked on the phone. Shrieked at me! I pulled the phone away from my ear and made to jump off of the bed. Edward’s long arm reached out and stopped me. He kissed my forehead and murmured ‘wait’ against my skin.

“Nessie, what the hell? Are you hurt?” I screamed at her. Alice came running into the room and flopped on the bed beside me. Her eyes searched mine for an answer that I didn’t have yet. I shrugged at her.

“Bella! I’m getting married!” Nessie shouted. I could hear Jacob in the back ground whooping around as well. This obviously was not a turn on events that any of us expected. Alice looked just as shocked, Edward, however, looked very in the know.

“Nessie, so go back to the beginning and tell me everything.” I asked slowly. Alice flipped her phone out of the pocket of her robe and dialed. She held up a finger to me.

“Rose, get in here Nessie has news.” I heard scurrying from the Rosalie and Emmett’s bedroom.

“Hold on Nessie, wait for Rose.” I pressed the speakerphone button as Rosalie settled down on the bed on my vacant side.

“What did I miss?”

“Nothing, go ahead Nessie, she’s here.” I said, laying the phone down in my lap so that we could all hear her full description.

“When I woke up this morning, I was sleeping beside Jake in the guest room. I turned over to hit him and yell at him for breaking my heart and noticed the beautiful ring he had placed on the third finger of my left hand. He dropped down on one knee and told me he was sorry for making the last two weeks hard on me. He was just sacred to ask me, he was scared that I would say no. So I proceeded to tell him yes and here we are!”

We talked for a few more minutes and promised to get together soon as we hung up. Alice and Rosalie both looked appropriately amounts of shocked and happy for our friend as they left the room.

“Alright, spill it. You’ve looked like the cat that ate the canary since last night, did you know about this?” I asked, highly suspicious.

He held up his hands in surrender. “Not right away, when we found Jacob at the pool hall, he wouldn’t talk to us. He just kept muttering to himself. Eventually, Emmett and Jasper gave up and went to play pool. He turned to me and showed me the ring. He said he was scared to death she was going to say no. I showed him the text from you and he broke down. He felt so bad for hurting her he almost came home right then. We talked him into going to grab a bite to eat and sobering up before he went home. We knew that you all were drinking and I didn’t want two drunks in one room yelling about two different problems and not solving anything. So, when we took him home I had him play drunk so that none of you would know. He snuck into her bed and put the ring on her hand and went to sleep. Then he waited for her to see it when she woke up. She almost cold cocked him before she saw it. And the rest is history.” He shrugged.

“You knew and you didn’t tell me? You are so evil! I knew you were up to something but I was too drunk to do anything about it last night. Don’t you ever pull something like this again on me, I mean it,” I shrieked at him.

“Then I guess I should give you this right away then.” He looked all kinds of smug again. If he wasn’t so beautiful I would have hit him.

I took the envelope and froze when I saw the return address. It was from Seattle, more specifically the lawyer’s office in Seattle. I ripped it open and pulled out another envelope. Daniel’s neat script was waiting for me on this envelope.

Congratulations Bella, I wish you and Edward all the happiness in the world with your upcoming wedding.

Daniel

I froze, not prepared at all for what was in this inner envelope at all. I looked at Edward, he again looked like he knew what was coming.

“Just open it, Bella, let him tell you in his own words.” He encouraged me.

I ripped the envelope open and pulled out the letter;(,) it was the same stationary, same penmanship as before. It was from Charlie.

Dearest Bells,

This letter should be coming to you because you’re engaged to be married. First let me say how proud I am of you. You’re a remarkable young woman and I know this wasn’t a decision made lightly. I know you spent some time thinking about this man and your future. I don’t doubt that I would have approved at all, not for a moment, I know you wouldn’t settle on anyone less than the best. You would never bring home anyone that I would never approve of for them to ask me if they may marry my only daughter. Tell him that I’m sorry that I didn’t get to know him, to be his father in law, to give him advice on how to get out of trouble when he was in the dog house with you. I’m sorry that I couldn’t be there to walk you down the aisle and watch you become the woman that he will marry.

Never for one minute doubt my love for you, Bella. Never. And please don’t let your mother and me be an example of a marriage or life afterwards for you. You pattern yourself after Carlisle and Esme, I know that what they share is true love.

Live your life to the fullest and enjoy each other for every second you have together. That is a true measure of a man or a woman, how they enjoy the simple things with the ones they love.

I will be with you on your special day, I promise. I will shine down on you and watch with pride as my beautiful daughter marries the love of her life.

I love you!

Dad

Edward held me while I cried. I folded the letter up and held it to my heart and let the tears flow. Charlie never was a man of many words but he always knew exactly which ones to say to strike right at the heart of the problem and tell you exactly how he felt. I had never loved him more than I did right now. I would cherish these letters for the rest of my life.

“He said he knew that I would pick the right one for my husband and that he was sorry that he couldn’t be here to get to know you.” I couldn’t help but chuckle at his next comment. “He said that he was sorry he wasn’t going to be there to help you get out of the dog house when you get in trouble with me.” Edward erupted in a laugh and I followed suit. I turned my head so that I could see his face. “He would approve of you, you know that right.” Edward’s eyes filled with unshed tears as he nodded his head.

Alice burst through the bedroom door again with her laptop and Rosalie in tow.

“Break it up you two, get a room!”

“We are in our room Alice, you get out if you don’t want to see it.” I chuckled.

“Bella, can we show you the wedding details now?” She looked ready to bounce right out of her skin. I nodded.

I settled in Edward’s arms better so that we both could see and wait while Alice pulled up slide after slide on her computer of pictures and examples of important details. She had about a hundred slides. I’m so glad that I simply went with my three details alone to figure out.

When the slide show was done, Alice flipped the laptop closed and sat up straight, “What do you think?”

“I love it all, every single detail. Thank you both for doing all of this, I really appreciate all of it. You know how overwhelmed I get with too many details to figure out; I don’t know what I would do without you at all.” My body was nearing emotional overload from the constant barrage of stimulus. They both now wore the look that I saw a few minutes ago on Edward’s face. I turned to look at him and he simply shrugged. Someone knew something and they weren’t telling me.

Alice clapped and Rosalie looked quite happy herself.

“So?” Alice asked but directed it straight to Edward.

“Okay, let’s do it.” All three of them broke out into large smiles and a flurry of activity began to take place.

Edward was on the phone calling people, he would say the same few words to all of them and hang up. He simply said, “It’s time.”

Alice was throwing clothes at me and telling me to get dressed, while Rosalie was dragging suitcases out of Edward’s closet. She was telling Edward what was not packed and what he needed to take care of. Alice was in our bathroom packing up toiletries for us. I sat immobile in the middle of our bed just simply watching all the activity happen. Just them Emmett rushed by the door yelling, “It’s finally fucking time.” Jasper ran by just as quickly, hollering as well, “It’s time!” Within a matter of minutes we were dressed, standing at the front door with way too many suitcases when Carlisle and Esme’s Suburban pulled up out front. Edward pushed me into the seat in the back as everyone packed the suitcases in the back as best as they could.

“Would someone please tell me what the hell is going on?” I yelled, all activity stopped for a fraction of a second.

“We don’t have time Bella, I promise to tell you as soon as we are on the road.” Edward coaxed.

And all activity resumed.

Soon we were all packed into the Suburban with all of our luggage and on the road. I turned to look at Edward and he cleared his throat.

“Well, Bella for the last few months I have waited patiently for you to make some wedding plans. And you didn’t make any.” I tried to interrupt him but he held up a hand so I shut my mouth and let him continue. “I know why you didn’t and that is fine. And I wanted to do something special for you, something that would keep all of the details off of your head. So, under the guise of having Alice and Rosalie plan our wedding behind the scenes, I have planned it for you. I planned every detail except for the three that you chose. Now, we are flying off to get married. Your dress, my tux and the cake will be there waiting for us. All they need is us.” My mouth fell open in shock somewhere in the middle of the speech.

“Really?” Was all I could ask Edward.

“Really, everyone that we love is going to meet us there and we are going to have a wonderful time, so relax and enjoy the flight.” He kissed my temple and pulled me closer to him.

“Okay.” I settled in know that he was taking care of everything for me and I had nothing to worry about.