Twilight 4 - Breaking Dawn | Page 6

to Charlie.

“We’re going away to Dartmouth together in the fall, Charlie,” Edward reminded
him. “I’d like to do that, well, the right way. It’s how I was raised.” He
shrugged.

He wasn’t exaggerating; they’d been big on old-fashioned morals during World War
I.

Charlie’s mouth twisted to the side. Looking for an angle to argue from. But
what could he say? I’d prefer you live in sin first? He was a dad; his hands
were tied.

“Knew this was coming,” he muttered to himself, frowning. Then, suddenly, his
face went perfectly smooth and blank.

“Dad?” I asked anxiously. I glanced at Edward, but I couldn’t read his face,
either, as he watched Charlie.

“Ha!” Charlie exploded. I jumped in my seat. “Ha, ha, ha!”

I stared incredulously as Charlie doubled over in laughter; his whole body shook
with it.

I looked at Edward for a translation, but Edward had his lips pressed tightly
together, like he was trying to hold back laughter himself.

“Okay, fine,” Charlie choked out. “Get married.” Another roll of laughter shook
through him. “But . . .”

“But what?” I demanded.

“But you have to tell your mom! I’m not saying one word to Renée! That’s all
yours!” He busted into loud guffaws.

I paused with my hand on the doorknob, smiling. Sure, at the time, Charlie’s
words had terrified me. The ultimate doom: telling Renée. Early marriage was
higher up on her blacklist than boiling live puppies.

Who could have foreseen her response? Not me. Certainly not Charlie. Maybe
Alice, but I hadn’t thought to ask her.

“Well, Bella,” Renée had said after I’d choked and stuttered out the impossible
words: Mom, I’m marrying Edward. “I’m a little miffed that you waited so long to
tell me. Plane tickets only get more expensive. Oooh,” she’d fretted. “Do you
think Phil’s cast will be off by then? It will spoil the pictures if he’s not in
a tux—”

“Back up a second, Mom.” I’d gasped. “What do you mean, waited so long? I just
got en-en . . .”—I’d been unable to force out the word engaged—“things settled,
you know, today.”

“Today? Really? That is a surprise. I assumed . . .”

“What did you assume? When did you assume?”

“Well, when you came to visit me in April, it looked like things were pretty
much sewn up, if you know what I mean. You’re not very hard to read, sweetie.
But I didn’t say anything because I knew it wouldn’t do any good. You’re exactly
like Charlie.” She’d sighed, resigned. “Once you make up your mind, there is no
reasoning with you. Of course, exactly like Charlie, you stick by your
decisions, too.”

And then she’d said the last thing that I’d ever expected to hear from my
mother.

“You’re not making my mistakes, Bella. You sound like you’re scared silly, and
I’m guessing it’s because you’re afraid of me.” She’d giggled. “Of what I’m
going to think. And I know I’ve said a lot of things about marriage and
stupidity—and I’m not taking them back—but you need to realize that those things
specifically applied to me. You’re a completely different person than I am. You
make your own kinds of mistakes, and I’m sure you’ll have your share of regrets
in life. But commitment was never your problem, sweetie. You have a better
chance of making this work than most forty-year-olds I know.” Renée had laughed
again. “My little middle-aged child. Luckily, you seem to have found another old
soul.”

“You’re not… mad? You don’t think I’m making a humongous mistake?”

“Well, sure, I wish you’d wait a few more years. I mean, do I look old enough to
be a mother-in-law to you? Don’t answer that. But this isn’t about me. This is
about you. Are you happy?”

“I don’t know. I’m having an out-of-body experience right now.”

Renée had chuckled. “Does he make you happy, Bella?”

“Yes, but—”

“Are you ever going to want anyone else?”

“No, but—”

“But what?”

“But aren’t you going to say that I sound exactly like every other infatuated
teenager since the dawn of time?”

“You’ve never been a teenager, sweetie. You know what’s best for you.”

For the last few weeks, Renée had unexpectedly immersed herself in wedding
plans. She’d spent hours every day on the phone with Edward’s mother, Esme—no
worries about the in-laws getting along. Renée adored Esme, but then, I doubted
anyone could help responding that way to my lovable almost-mother-in-law.

It let me right off the hook. Edward’s family and my family were taking care of
the nuptials together