Rose arrived at five. She’d taken Edward at his word for an early outing. It didn’t take me long to change.
I tiptoed into Nessie’s room. Her growth had slowed down, and I was looking at an eight year old. She slept peacefully, a smile on her angelic face. I leaned down to kiss her forehead then stepped out, closing the door softly behind me.
Rose hovered by Nessie’s door. I knew she’d be getting Nessie up the moment she stirred.
Rose and Alice would enjoy playing dress up with Nessie. There would be a photograph session, too. I never took enough for them. Their visits always involved a lot of pictures. Fortunately, she was good humored about it and we had thousands of smiling Nessies plastered in scrap books. Esme had finally purchased a matched pair of beautiful solid maple antique book cases just for her scrap books. They matched Esme’s favorite dining room table and made a fine addition to the main floor of their home.
As early as we were heading out, I was looking forward to driving my red Ferrari. I hadn’t driven it very many times before we moved to Hanover. It was too conspicuous. We had cars more suitable for driving Nessie and Jacob there.
I enjoyed speed since I didn’t have to worry about dying. We flew down the road and Edward relaxed beside me.
We arrived in an overcast Seattle before most of the stores were open, so we parked near The Needle and strolled through the city, hand in hand.
I couldn’t imagine what I could buy for Charlie and Sue. They were content with what they had. I finally decided on a new set of dishes. Dad’s old set was chipped and worn. Sue might appreciate something new to go with his old house. It took some time to decide on a pattern.
It was noon before we looked for Nessie’s gift. As she aged and her human side became more evident, she had developed an interest in dolls. That had surprised me since I’d never been a doll person. She had always been so mature. It seemed odd that she would want to play, but she spent hours playing house with Jacob. He didn’t seem to mind, and Edward said he still hadn’t seen one hint of any thought about what the future would hold for him and Nessie.
He was just like her faithful big brother at the moment, and we were content to leave it there. We really didn’t want to imagine a different life for our daughter. It was too hard to think of her as being grown up.
We found a specialty shop for dolls and selected one that could withstand her strength. There were several models to choose from. The one we picked had long bronze curls like Nessie’s. We knew that Alice had probably already purchased the doll a wardrobe since she could see the future and knew what we were going to buy. Edward special ordered a doll house with all its furniture that would be in Hanover when we got home. The clerk handed over a title to the house with an accompanying photograph that could be wrapped and put under the tree.
“I can’t wait to see her expression.” My eyes were bright with excitement. Edward smiled down at me, and I could see the contentment in his face. This was the kind of life he had always wanted for himself—the kind of life he never thought he could have.
The sky was overcast, the dark clouds pressing down. We walked back to the Ferrari. The sidewalks were full of holiday shoppers, but they gave us a wide berth.
Most humans had a natural ability to recognize vampires as dangerous, even if we were attractive. As we were walking, I felt like I was being watched—I had become accustomed to ogling, but this felt different—and turned a couple of times. There was the faint scent of a vampire in the air, but it wasn’t really clear. Edward stopped suddenly and turned as well. “Nahuel,” his voice sounded warm, inviting, “how have you been?”
I watched in shocked amazement as Nahuel, the half-vampire that had been instrumental in saving Nessie’s life during the Volturi raid last January, practically materialized on the sidewalk between a group of humans ambling past.
I forgot how divinely beautiful he is.
His warm brown skin had a slightly translucent glow, much like Nessie’s. Slightly shorter than Edward, his build and dark hair was a product of his South American origin.
Nahuel smiled hesitantly. “I’m fine.” His answer wasn’t very informative. Edward wasn’t as uninformed as I, but I could tell he wasn’t about to let me know what was going on in front of Nahuel.
“I thought you’d gone back to South America.” I said.
“Nah. I decided to stay and attend the University of Washington in Seattle. I’m majoring in history.” He flashed his perfectly white venomous teeth in a smile. “I figured I’d lived through it, so the subject wouldn’t be that hard.”
I smiled back. It was hard to resist his impish look. “Did your aunt go back?”
“Huilen stayed with me. She’s a little… attached.” He grinned again. “She wouldn’t know what to do with herself without having to keep an eye on me. We’re staying in an apartment not too far from the university.”
My jaw dropped. Realizing I looked stupid, I snapped my mouth shut. “Isn’t that hard on her? All those humans?” I shuddered.
Nahuel’s look of amusement turned to concern. “Oh, no, it’s not like that. She’s never been one to prey much on humans, anyway. It wasn’t a stretch to go ‘vegetarian.’ The humans so close don’t seem to bother her that much. We keep our thirst in check. There’s plenty of wildlife around, and Canada isn’t that far away… ”
He trailed off. My stare had unsettled him.
Edward answered his unasked question. “We’re here to attend Bella’s dad’s wedding. It’s in a few days.”
Without thinking, I said, “We’d love to have you come. It’s at the Cullen’s home on the 26th at 5:30 in the evening.”
Edward and Nahuel both looked at me in amazement. I stifled the urge to bite my lip. I hoped Charlie wouldn’t mind the sudden addition to his guest list. It was a little late to retract the invitation.
Slowly, as if stunned by the sudden invitation, Nahuel accepted. “I’ll be there. Do you mind if Huilen comes, too?”
“No. No. Of course not. We’d love to see you both.” I was kicking myself. This was one of those awkward human Bella moments coming through. Sometimes I can be so impulsive.
I was amazed at the smile that spread into Nahuel’s eyes. He seemed genuinely happy about being included in a family event. My throat constricted.
I had never lived the life of a typical vampire, and he had never fit in with the vampire world or the human world. He must have a very lonely life. I suddenly understood the importance of Huilen in his life. “We’ll see you at the wedding, then,” I confirmed.
Edward and I turned to head to our car. I could feel his eyes follow us as we walked down the street.
“That was kind of you, Bella.” Edward put his arm around me and squeezed my waist. He was quiet for a few moments.
I could tell he was considering how much of Nahuel’s thoughts he should tell me. He was careful about what he shared. He didn’t think it was right to share thoughts that were never meant to be expressed.
“Remember when I told you Nahuel was changing his view of himself?”
I nodded, my throat too constricted to speak. I remembered well when Edward said that Nahuel had always considered himself a monster. After he met Edward and me, he realized he could choose a different path.
With the example of his monstrous vampire father and knowing the love of his human mother for him even as his growing body was killing her, he hadn’t ever dared think of himself as a lovable person, someone who could experience everything life had to offer.
“He’s been trying to find himself, and he’s not sure where to go or what to do, but he feels tied to us in a way that he can’t understand. We are the living example of everything he ever wanted for himself. He’d never intrude in our lives, but he would like to feel accepted by someone other than Huilen.” Edward stopped a moment, just long enough to kiss the top of my head, and then walked on. “He is looking forward to coming out to the Cullens again.”
/> I breathed a sigh of relief. “I thought you’d be mad at me. I hope Charlie takes this as well as you.”
Edward smiled. “Your dad will be so worried over the wedding that he won’t even notice a couple of extra faces in the audience.”