We were almost to my house when Edward quickly pulled into a driveway down the street and

backed up, turning around. But not before I noticed an additional car in my driveway.

“Umm, Edward? I thought I was going home.”

“I can’t take you back yet.” His voice was casual so I knew there was no danger or anything.
“Why? Whose car was that?” I paused in thought for a moment before gasping.
“Is that the woman?” I asked with equal parts excitement and annoyance.

Where did that forgotten annoyance come from?

“It’s a woman, but--”

“But what?”
“It’s a surprise...”
“I hate surprises! Just take me back,” I demanded, exasperated.
“Fine, I tried,” Edward sighed, seeming uncommitted to my dad’s plan.

Once in my driveway, I rushed to the door and used my key, ignoring the odd feeling that I
needed to knock. I was not prepared for the two figures in the entryway once I opened it.

“Mom?” I gasped. “You’re the prostitute?!”

Both of my parents widened their eyes, their mouths hanging agape at my terminology.

I blushed. “I mean his..special..uh..girlfriend?”

“Of course not, Bella,” my mother chastised gently. “I’m married.”

“But..what about all your camping trips, Dad? I thought..”

“I really was camping, Bella. With Thomas Greene,” he explained, sounding like he feared for
my sanity a little.

“You’re gay?” I asked with little emotion, my incredulity seeming to have run out for the day.

My dad looked horrified as my mom snickered not-so-quietly.

“No!” he nearly shouted.

I could tell Edward beside me was trying to contain his amusement at my failed guesses. I
suddenly felt abashed.

Great going, Bells. Way to make him look like a man in front of the woman who broke his heart.

“Why don’t I give you some time alone with your parents,” Edward suggested quietly yet
thunderously in the silence.

I nodded; I knew that we had a lot to talk about. Yet the idea of being away from him still pained
me, even though we’d been right next to each other for most of our trip. He gave my side a quick
squeeze as he turned away.

“Dad?” I asked, looking back and forth between the two of them almost comically . What the
hell is going on?

He sighed, clearly not happy that I made it necessary for my mother to witness this conversation.

“I have been seeing someone: Sue Clearwater. You know her son, Seth. Jacob does, at least. I’m
not sure if you’ve seen Leah lately... Anyway, as you know, Harry died recently and she was
wary of letting people know about us, yet. She thought people would think she was heartless,
given the timeline. But we couldn’t help it; it just..happened.”

He shuffled his feet at the end, hands in his pockets, looking almost.. adolescent. That in
combination with his slightly-guilty face made him so endearing that I couldn’t stop the grin
from spreading across my face.

Then the words sank in.

Seth. Leah. Werewolves.

Oh, fuck.

Did he know? He couldn’t know. Not about the Cullens, at least. I would be locked in my room
right now or shipped off on the next plane to “safety.” He could try, anyway. And I don’t think he
would be talking about her wolfy children so nonchalantly if he knew any of it.

I tried to recover, but I knew my smile had already dropped. I didn’t want him to take it like I
wasn’t happy for him. I don’t know what I wanted him to take it as. Just not that.

“That’s great, dad. I’m glad you found someone.”

I really was glad, but I couldn’t yet process what this would mean for everyone.

“Are you sure?” he asked hesitantly, having noticed my abrupt mood change.
I quickly nodded. “I’m just a little disappointed that you waited so long to tell me.”
“It’s just been a few months,” he mumbled repentantly, looking at the ground.

“It’s fine, dad, really,” I smiled, trying to reassure him.

I was glad that he seemed to buy my excuse, but I didn’t want him to feel too bad. I was only a
little annoyed about his reluctance to tell me. I hadn’t even given much thought to my theories
lately.

At his silence, I shyly settled my sight on the other person in the room. My smile immediately
became more relaxed.

“Hey Mom, what’s up? How long are you in town for?” The excitement easily rolled off me. I
hadn’t seen her in eight months, and hoped my pay-to-play accusation was forgotten for now.
My mom smiled brightly with a familiar dreamy look in her eyes. “Phil and I just got back from
our trip, but Edward invited me to come down for your birthday, saying how much it would
mean to you. So, I thought I could stay a few days. It’s so nice to see you, sweetie,” she
confessed before pulling me into a hug. “I’ll have to show you the pictures we took on the
beach.”

Charlie scratched his head awkwardly when she released me. “There aren’t really any hotels in
Forks as you know,” he quietly grumbled the last part with a slight bitterness. I was unable to
send him a warning look with my mother’s pleasant gaze still on my face.

“But I can fix up the coach, or my bed if you prefer,” he added politely.

My mom finally looked at Charlie, most likely in order to reply. I shook my head mostly to
myself, wanting to dispel any unneeded awkwardness between my parents. “That’s not
necessary. I’ll just stay at Edward’s, and Mom can use my bed.”

This was the first time that I hadn’t bothered with the pretense of a “sleepover.” But I wasn’t
expecting any refusal, being that he knew I just spent three days, unsupervised, with my beau.

True to my prediction, Charlie simply looked relieved that he wouldn’t have to give up his room.
“Okay kiddo, thanks,” he said before retreating from the room.

My mom’s head shot over to me, surprised, whether at Charlie’s approval or the details of my
sleeping arrangements, I wasn’t sure.

“Want to sit on the porch with me?” she told, not asked me, similar to Edward’s suggestion about
leaving for a bit.

I nodded hesitantly, having a feeling about where this was going. The front door squeaked a little
when it closed behind us.

“I never got a chance to talk to you about this because you hung up so quickly when you called
about the house,” she started as we sat on the old swinging bench.

I looked at her cautiously to let her know I was listening.

“Are you on the pill?”

My eyes widened at her question, but not from the surprise of it. I had pretty much walked into
this conversation, not that Renee ever needed much of an invite. She had given me ‘the talk’
earlier than I would have liked, and with entirely too much detail for a 10-year-old. And while I
lived with her the following years, she seemed to find the most inopportune moments to expand
on that knowledge. Like during a trip to the grocery store. Or after an unfortunate click of the
remote, with my classmate in the room.

And yet, my eyes were still wide because oftentimes, the fact that I even had sex with Edward
still shocked me. And it felt almost wrong to talk about; like the magic would disappear if the
outside world knew.

But aside from the fact that she would probably see through me, I didn’t really see the point in
lying to her since she was usually so cool about all things sex-related. The only catch was that
she was very vehement about contraception, having had me at such a young age.

I was the result of a few forgotten pills. Not that she called me a mistake, of course. I wasn’t
planned, but when she found out, I wasn’t unwanted. I think it was afterward that she figured out
she was way over her head. And then everything was intensified by being a single parent. She
later told me that she simply wished she had me when she was a little older. And with a different
spouse, she left out.

She didn’t tell me what Charlie thought at first. I imagine he was scared. That would be the
responsible emotion to feel as a 19-year-old expectant father, after all. I’d like to think that he
was also somewhat excited by the news, but I have always been too fearful for the answer to ask.

For a while, I wondered if Renee and Charlie would have survived without the catalyst of a baby.
But I knew that was unlikely. Renee was restless; Charlie was a rock. And you can’t rely on
someone else to ground you without adding effort on your part. Renee simply got swept away. I
may have sped up that result, but I didn’t cause it.

My mom didn’t seem too heartbroken as she fluttered around after the divorce. Then she found
Phil, who had something that gave her the incentive to stay. He was also flexible enough to fit in
with her crazy life and chase after her. Unfortunately, true to being a rock, Charlie didn’t move
on that quickly. That’s why I was so pleased to find out that he now had someone to fill that void,
pack mother or not.

I shook my head back into the present, suddenly noticing my mother’s inquisitive gaze in my
periphery.

“Umm.. no mom, I’m not on the pill,” I answered softly, forcing myself to angle my body toward
her.

She intently studied my face, my reliable betrayer.

“But you should be,” she deducted.

She didn’t seem angry about my only-recently-existent sex life. Perhaps a little annoyed that I
didn’t call her the next morning to dish. Aside from that, she almost seemed...proud? Happy that
I really was a teenager, after all?

Ugh. So Renee.

“No..”
She raised her eyebrow, not believing she could be wrong about such a thing. She was probably
running through other suitable birth control possibilities in her head. I bit my lip, debating what I
should say.
Is there a right way to tell your parent that they shouldn’t be expecting any grandchildren?

No, there isn’t.

“I mean-- Edward’s infertile, Mom,” I spit out unceremoniously, both relieved and horrified after
the words left my mouth.

“Oh,” she said with surprised finality, as if my confession was a closer to the discussion and not
a can opener attacking a big ole can of worms. It was so obviously the latter, but I was relieved
that she uncharacteristically chose to not explore the issue.

Maybe she was needlessly relieved. I loved her, but God knows that I would never leave her to
watch an infant for more than five minutes. But perhaps in her opinion, even that was too long? I
know she did her best with me. Still, as a kid, I used to wonder if her maternal gene went on
vacation for weeks at a time.

Maybe to her, the only thing tempting about grandchildren was the ability to dress them up and
take them to the park twice a year. And really, you could do that with a dog.

In any case, I let out a sigh of relief as she walked back inside without another word.

The “Don’t tell Charlie” was always implied in our conversations, so I knew I could safely let it
drop. He most likely knew what was going on, but there is a big difference between suspecting
something and having it confirmed. There are some things that I just didn’t feel comfortable
saying to my dad. So for both of our sakes, I didn’t want to go there. I wasn’t sure if things could
reach a lower point than the bananas we molested in the name of sex ed., but I wasn’t about to
voluntarily find out.

I slowly made my way to the kitchen, finding my mom rummaging through the fridge for
something microwavable, most likely.

“Can you and I go out to eat with Edward tonight? I’d like to get to know him better,” she asked
without looking up at me. It was clear that she really was asking this time.

“Umm, sure,” I replied automatically, a little blindsided. I then cursed myself for not
remembering his intolerance for human food.

“He’s not feeling too well so he might just get a drink, but I’m sure he would love to talk with
you. Should I tell him to meet us at the diner?” I asked, trying to cover all my bases.

She glanced at me, looking pensive for a moment, then nodded.

“Around 7 if that’s okay.”

I was still reeling from the events of this afternoon, having been just as surprised as Bella to hear
that her father was dating Sue Clearwater as I got in my car.

It seems Bella’s unconscious preference for danger and the supernatural may be inherited.

She probably thinks I was hiding it from her, but she often forgets that Charlie’s thoughts are
muddied and hard for me to read. Sue’s face wordlessly flashed in his thoughts a few times when
I couldn’t help but ‘hear’ him, but I thought he was simply being supportive after her husband
died. I didn’t share Bella’s curiosity on the subject, and decided not to even try to figure it out.
Looking back, I should have paid more attention to the affectionate undertone to his thoughts.
But Charlie deserved some privacy, right? And honestly, diving through his confusing head gave
me a headache.

This news would change a lot of things, even though Charlie clearly didn’t know anything yet. If
things worked out with Sue, it would be impossible to hide all the phasing and night shifts the
kids ran with him in the same house. Would Sue simply put off or refuse marriage? Or would she
let him in on the secret? He would certainly be on the ‘need to know’ list if they married.

Bella and I would have to talk about this soon-- tonight. I already told Carlisle after I left her
house, but he didn’t know what to think of it.

Still, I could never begrudge Charlie’s desire to find love again. Even with his difficult thoughts,
it was clear that he never forgave himself for letting Renee go. In fact, in the few encounters I
had with him before Bella arrived, I saw his ex-wife’s face in his mind several times, laced with
sadness. I just didn’t know who the face belonged to until I met her unofficially in Phoenix. In
the hospital, it was nearly painful to witness the former couple’s outward silence while their
heads were buzzing at the interaction. Renee wasn’t quite as aloof about the split as she liked
people to think, but Charlie clearly was hurting more.

Once again, I was in awe of Jasper’s ability to carry his gift. Just the knowledge of which intense
emotions people felt was hard enough; I couldn’t imagine actually feeling them.

By now I was parked outside the diner. It was 7:02 and I could hear Renee’s inner and outward
chatter at the table. Both were almost childlike due to her bluntness and dramatic response to
stimuli.

I wasn’t exactly pleased with Renee as a person.

From the first time I spoke with Bella and she told me about her mom wanting alone time with
her new husband, it rubbed me the wrong way. How could she just let her go? Midlife crisis,
perhaps. I know she had Bella young. Maybe she was making up for the time when she couldn’t
go crazy in college. Still, it was inexcusable.

At the time, Bella described her mother as a best friend. As the months tacked on with no visits
from Renee, I couldn’t help but wonder what a shitty BFF her mom was. Bella had tried to get
her to come up here a few times before the most recent request. There was always some excuse.
A game. A weekend trip. Her need to nurse Phil’s hurt arm. It wasn’t like she could blame ticket
prices; I offered to supply them. But Renee only seemed to visit in times of trouble.
I had to practically beg her to use one of the tickets I sent her, to come to Bella’s party. I sent a
voucher for Phil as well, but I understood when Renee explained that he was exhausted from the
trip. Phil wasn’t actually related to Bella. Renee was.

I could see how much it crushed Bella when her mom shot down our plans to visit earlier this
month. She tried to hide it, but I could see through her. She probably would have fooled others,
though. She certainly fooled her mother.

My love seemed well-practiced at brushing off the disappointment. And that observation broke
my cold heart.

Now sitting across from the cause of Bella’s hurt, I had to remind myself that this was the
woman who birthed her. The reason for my existence. The reason that I was no longer wandering
this earth alone. In addition, Bella loved her. If I could learn to tolerate a dog that she loved, I
could certainly do the same for her good-natured yet fault-ridden mother.

It is for this reason that I was putting on a smile and subjecting myself to her questioning. I still
wanted her approval, even if I didn’t need it. Bella had made it quite clear that Charlie couldn’t
keep us apart, and she most likely felt the same about Renee. Still, I didn’t want to cause Bella
any unnecessary stress or tax her relationships while she still had them.

“So Bella has told me about you, but I’ve never heard how you met. I’m assuming it was at
school?” Renee asked, her big eyes probing.

I stirred the straw around my soda for a moment, feeling the need to associate myself with it
somehow.

Hmm... how should I say this?

Well you see, I almost killed her the first time I saw-- no, smelled her. Then I saved her from
imminent doom numerous times, watched her sleep, and stalked her every movement before
deciding that I, in fact, did not want to eat her; I wanted to love her. And the rest is history.

“Yes, biology class. Pretty ordinary,” I said with a smile after a minuet pause.
Bella’s lips twitched.

Not deterred by my short answer, she still prodded.

“And your first date?”

Actually that relates to my first answer; it first involved stalking and imminent doom. Then I took
her to a quaint Italian restaurant where I ate nothing and told her that I was a vampire. (But it’s
all good because I’m a vegetarian one.) Then I drove her home at illegal speeds, suggested that
she smelled quite tasty, made her cry, tracked down a serial rapist and returned to watch her
sleep, as mentioned in the above answer.

“Dinner in Port Angeles. Great ravioli, right Bella?”

A small laugh escaped from her mouth but she just nodded.
Renee looked confused at our amusement but did not seem to dwell on it.

She soon launched into what I could only describe as a monologue, but I didn’t mind. I
especially enjoyed the embarrassing stories Renee told about her daughter, mostly because I
could see it all play out in her head.

Bella must have realized this because I’ve never seen her redder. Truthfully, I was too caught up
with seeing an adorable younger Bella in Renee’s memories to find much humor in the
anecdotes. I knew I’d want to treasure all the information later, but since everything was
automatically committed to my memory, I didn’t have to worry.

Some of the story details couldn’t escape my notice, however, like Bella’s frequent injuries. My
father’s joking thought after the van accident suddenly came back to me.

Look at all the healed contusions! How many times did her mother drop her?

I cringed internally. He wasn’t far off. She may not have dropped her (that I could tell, anyway),
but her negligence or flighty behavior was to blame for some of the incidents.

I had to try very hard not to smash something.

I wished there was some way that I could have known her then. A way that I could have
protected her while she grew up. But I knew that would have been impossible. I might have been
viewed as a kidnapper or worse. Renee might have spotted and recognized me later on. Bella
herself would have noticed that something wasn’t right before long. At the very least, that I
wasn’t aging. Would she have shied away from me? Was she just as fearless when she was
young? Most people are more courageous as children, but I’ve learned not to apply norms to my
Bella.

Could I have trusted a child with my secret? Would I have wanted to burden her with that? Could
she have had any conception of forever?

I forced those thoughts away. The past was in the past and I couldn’t change anything even if I
wanted to.

Finally, the stories of Bella’s youth died down and Renee’s thoughts changed direction as she
speared her vegetables.

It’s too bad they can’t have children together. They would be adorable. I wonder what’s wrong
with him?

I had to try harder not to smash something.

Bella must have told her mother sometime today. I wasn’t mad about that; it was probably easier
to tell her now instead of later when she expected or desired grandchildren.

But I hated that I couldn’t give Bella a son or daughter. I wanted to give her the world, starting
with that. She could have had as many kids as she wanted if it was possible. I wouldn’t have
minded at all. Who could mind having little Bellas running around? It pained me that the world
would never see one.

And yet the thought of Bella having a daughter with someone else, with her inheriting the man’s
nose and dimpled cheeks...That was unbearable.