CH24: HAPPY ANNIVERSARY (part two)

Renesmee's POV

Like every party Aunt Alice planned, it began quite smoothly and cunningly. Daddy brought momma right at twilight and when we saw them approaching, we lit all the lights that we worked hard on putting up everywhere. Daddy, of course, was in on the surprises already but it pleased me to their faces brighten up, as if they totally forgot it was their anniversary.
"Happy anniversary momma!" I said, dashing straight to her.
"Thank you, baby girl," she cooed.
"Happy anniversary, daddy," I greeted tippy toeing to kiss his cheek.
"Thank you, sweetheart."
The rest of the greetings began, right on timing. We were due to perform in about an hour. In the mean time, I wanted to be with Jacob. I literally haven't seen him for months. The afternoon we spent together with Seth and my cousins wasn't enough. I mean we haven't kissed in like forever.
"Hey, you," I said coming up from behind him; he was already making his way over to the tables of food a couple feet from the DJ Booth. My uncles would alternate spinning the music.
"Oh, hey there pretty lady," he replied turning around so that his hands we snaking my waist.
He leaned down and gave me two pecks on my lips and one on my nose. I giggled and we continued making our way to the line forming around the table of delicious food my grandparents slaved over practically the whole day.
Jacob and I got our food and we sat with Seth and my cousins. We chatted about this and that, trying to distract ourselves from our nervousness. I honestly don't know why we were so twitchy. Ivee sensed that something was up so she called her dad over. Sure enough, our moods lifted and it helped untangle the nerves. Uncle Emmett and Rommel would go and carry the piano over to the middle of the dance floor right before our performance. All that Emmie had to do was help her brother set up the drums since her cello needed no tending to.
While we ate, I looked around, examining the expressions on everyone's faces. Although it was my parents' anniversary, there was no denying all the explicit love that was diffusing throughout the atmosphere tonight. Having Jacob by my side again filled me with the warmth that had been absent for quite a long time since he's been gone with his pack for a good majority of the time nowadays. And with Emmie completely oblivious to Seth's reason for being with her all time, there was no question that they truly enjoyed each other's company and that as she grew, her feelings were slowly developing for him as it did for me with Jake.
Then there was my grandparents. They held each other by the waists and would occasionally glance at all of us, probably reveling in the life that was happily theirs, with all the children and grandchildren that they could possibly want. My aunts and uncles had no shame in showing some of their affection towards each other. Apparently it was Uncle Emmett's shift to man the songs while Uncle Jasper was sitting down on one of the white benches spewed all over the back yard and he had Aunt Alice sitting on his lap, her arms tight around his neck. Under this lighting, it was as if my family had a particular luminous luster in their physical appearance, my parents having the brightest of them all, especially my mom. Maybe it was that certain "glow" pregnant women get. Whatever it was, everyone at the party seemed affected by it. I like to think of it as universal love.
Sam and Emily arrived a little late but my best guess was that she wasn't feel all too well because of her pregnancy. My mom was lucky to just have the raging mood swings. I saw Poppa greeting them and Momma coming over, thanking them for coming. I smiled when I saw Emily and my mom touching each other's bellies.
I was excited to find that the Auvril and Stephan along with their children Anne and Ethan were here as well. Ethan was 6 and Anne was 4. I was expecting them to be shy, like any other human children but it was clear they weren't. Right when they arrived, they tore away from their parents and approached us. They came a couple hours early because they wanted to help with anything they could. Of course with a full house of vampires planning a party, little to no help was needed. So instead they played video games with us for the afternoon, well more like watched. Naturally, Ethan felt more comfortable with Rommel since he was the only one physically similar to him. As for Anne, she grew attached to Ivee quite rapidly.
The Denali's were present at the party, too. At first, they used to be apprehensive when it came to parties because they knew that seeing the wolves would be inevitable but over time they became comfortable with them being here. They understood that they were basically our family now, too, and so they felt obliged to let bygones be bygones.
And then there was Kamielle. It was weird to finally meet the woman who poisoned me but had no personal intention on doing so; she was, after all, just following orders. She was really pleasant, actually. Her and Poppa were pretty close, since they were with the Volturi together. I was still eating when she approached me with daddy on her side.
"Ness, this is Kamielle," daddy said gesturing me to acknowledge her properly.
I stood up from my seat and so did Jacob. I honestly had nothing against her. She saved my life in the end so her dues were paid. Obviously for Jacob, some things are left unforgiven.
"Hi, Kamielle," I greeted her with a sincere smile. I didn't have to check why my dad let out a small growl since Jake's grip tightened around me.
"Hello, Renesmee. Oh, you don't know how ashamed I am right now. I don't deserve your kindness. It's totally okay with me if you don't speak to me for the rest of the night. In fact, I don't even mind that your mate is glaring at me right now. I deserve it," she replied, her head bowing slightly.
"So what are you doing here in the first place?" Jacob spat out before I had a chance to answer her.
"Well if you must know, I just couldn't refuse the invitation. It would've been really rude of me to not at least make an appearance and greet Edward and Bella. I may be over a 100 years old but my culture is still important to me," she answered politely.
I waited for Jake to respond again but he didn't. The daggers he was shooting towards her, however, didn't stop.
"Kamielle," I said as I managed to escape Jacob's hold and take her hands in mine.
"You don't have to be ashamed. I know that you didn't mean to poison me. We can't change the past so let's not drown in it. I've forgiven you 100%. I was actually very interested in meeting you because Momma said you were physically different than all the other vampires we've met."
Her smile was relieved, then it became amused.
"I'm so glad to hear that you've forgiven me. As for my appearance, I guess I'm the only Danag in the whole Pacific Northwest. So I'm thinking I should leave you to continue eating. Don't worry I'll be here all night; we'll talk later."
A minute later I was still standing next to a fuming boyfriend.
"Jake, cut her some slack. She was apologized and I accepted it. I'm alive now, remember, let's not relish in the past but the present and our future," I said trying to get him to calm down. I didn't want him to phase in front of everyone, especially at my parents' anniversary.
Thankfully what I said indeed calmed him down.
He heaved a big sigh and we sat back down to finish dinner. Seth and my cousins didn't seem affected by our little exchange.
Once everyone had eaten, it was time for some dancing. My mom's stomach was a little too big for her and daddy to dance close like they usually do. Thankfully Uncle Jasper was behind the DJ Booth now. Who knows what kind of song Uncle Emmett would've played for my parents' first dance.
Everyone joined in after that; the dance floor was pretty huge. Jacob and I swayed gently from side to side while my Gramma and Poppa twirled gracefully around all the guests. I found it cute how Emmie was dancing with her brother while Seth danced with Ivee, well all he had to do was carry her since she was a lot shorter than Seth was. I was too busy smiling at everyone that Jake had to catch my attention with his lips on my neck.
"I wish that smile of yours was directed at me. Maybe I should get dancing lessons from your dad huh?" he asked.
I chuckled lightly.
"Sorry, it's just that I can't help but gravitate towards everyone's happiness tonight," I replied.
"S'okay. I'm just relieved to have you in my arms again," he said as his arms tightened around my waist. "AND to see that you don't mind my two-left feet."
I laughed. "Well you're not Bella Cullen's daughter remember?" I asked.
"Hey, I heard that, missy," Momma said, appearing suddenly beside us with her arms still around daddy's neck. All he had on his face was an amused smile.
"Why don't we switch partners for a while. I'm pretty sure Nessie want's to show off her dancing skills and I know that Bella wants at least one dance with her best friend," Daddy suggested.
With that, I was in daddy's arm in one fluid movement and in the next second we were stepping and twirling all over the place.
"Hmmm.." he hummed.
"What daddy?" I asked, our surroundings a blur from our dance.
"I remember how when you were little you used to step on my shoes and I would twirl you around that way," he answered, his tone slightly dejected.
"Would you like for me to do that now?" I asked, joking.
He smirked but picked me up so that my feet were on his. I didn't mind it when daddy suddenly caught nostalgia fever. I'd never really admitted it before but I miss being really young. But it was nice to see how things always worked out in the end. Just look at how Emmie and Rommel developed and how they made Aunt Rosalie and Uncle Emmett so much happier. Ivee wasn't excluded from the additional happiness of my family either and then there was my brother who we couldn't wait to arrive.
We were well into 4 hours of partying. Our performance was a hit. Everyone applauded and we even got a standing ovation. The perfect ending to our song was the light show that Auvril helped Anne and Ethan conduct. Tonight was very well a magical night. The rest of the gifts were passed out as well. Ivee showcased her work and everyone was in awe, including me. I've seen a goood amount of her work before and they were good, but this was really extraordinary. It was almost like a photograph rather than a portrait she painted herself.
Gramma and Poppa got them a ticket to Switzerland. We don't think there are any caves filled with fertility gems there.
As for Aunt Rosalie and Uncle Emmett, they got them an intricate family tree with picture frames already hung in their places. Aunt Alice and Uncle Jasper gave them personalized stuffed animals of them. They even added the fangs and everyone laughed at that.
Lots more gifts were given, all from the Denali's, Kamielle, and the Redfords. The last gifts that were passed out were from Momma and daddy themselves. Like we all expected, my mom became overwhelmed with the crib that daddy and Poppa made for Eddie. She thanked him a million times before she gave him her gift. It was a big photo album.
She managed to recovery some pictures of daddy when he was still human. He was caught off guard entirely. If he had the ability to cry, he would've supplied enough water to cover the Sahara desert.
Tonight so magical that we didn't even notice that my Grandpa Charlie wasn't here yet when Sue was. He had to work over time tonight but he said he was going to be here an hour ago. I wasn't worried but my mom couldn't stop fidgeting.
"Love, I'm sure there's nothing to worry about. He's probably looking for a last minute anniversary gift," Daddy joked.
"I don't know; I just have a really bad feeling," Mommma answered.
The night continued on and still no Grandpa. Now I was getting worried. Leah tried to get a hold of him by calling the police station but all they said was that the officers on duty with him still haven't returned either because of a drug store being burglarized. Everyone was still dancing, having a great time with Uncle Jasper behind the booth.
And then just when the night was ending on a good note, Aunt Alice had that haze in her face.
I was dancing with Jacob when I saw her run quickly towards my mom and dad. I tore away from Jake to hear the horrid news.
"Bella, Charlie just got shot on duty."