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The Newborn
By : belladonnacullen
Category: Twilight Series > Het
Views: 3452 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or make any money from this story.
Chapter List
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Edward's departure left a hole in our home life that letters from Carlisle could only partially fill. He addressed them to the entire clan, and they were passed around repeatedly until they were well worn. Carlisle's boasts took up page after page of stationary. Edward managed to walk through town and converse with humans, Edward was accepted into Northland College and enrolled in night courses; Edward was majoring in biology and considering the study of medicine. There was one incident with a pianist that Carlisle was loathe to relate, but it was far and away our family's favorite correspondence. It had us laughing well into the summer months. (See Prelude Chapter 22!)
Between letters, my mind would replay the times Edward and I spent together. I would sit at the piano bench and recall Firebird note for note. My favorite memory was the night of the snowstorm, but in my daydreams I often left out the last words he spoke to me. He called me his friend.
It was a little more than a year after Carlisle and Edward had left us that we received the most remarkable correspondence yet, and it had little to do with the boy. Carlisle explained that he had met a dying woman, turned her into a vampire, and then proceeded to fall in love with and marry her all in the course of a month. Her name was Esme. He met her once before, as a girl, after she'd broken her leg. Carlisle believed fate had brought them together again, and saw this as a sign that vampires might not be hopelessly damned after all.
I gave little thought to damnation. It was an emerging concept to our people at the time I was turned vampire. It never took hold with me. However, I was taken aback by Carlisle's impetuous actions after so many years without female company. Indeed, there was something of a bet among us about whether or not he was in love with Edward. I was relieved to learn that this wasn't the case, but didn't admit this to any of my family. The most exciting part of the letter was the last paragraph. Carlisle could no longer stay in Ashland after turning Esme. He'd secured a staff position working with medical school students at Bellevue hospital in New York, but it didn't begin until the fall. He hoped that his growing clan could come stay with us as soon as Esme was able to travel. It seemed the perfect time to supervise construction of their home here.
We were each excited beyond measure and sent a telegram welcoming them with open arms. My family made frantic preparations, designing a suite suitable for honeymooners for Carlisle and Esme, and outfitting Edward's room with row upon row of books, scores of sheet music, as well as a variety of boyish toys, like footballs and baseball bats.
I took special care to pick out each and every book for his collection. There were language studies, biology texts, a comprehensive collection of the classics, as well as newer authors such as Willa Cather, Franz Kafka and W. Somerset Maugham. I included a complete collection of Jack London's work, and anything else about Alaska that I could find in print. After we were finished with their rooms, I would often stand in Edward's doorway with a strange tingling in my chest.
*
They arrived on a blustery sunny day in mid-spring. I was in the sewing room, putting the finishing touches on a new dress with a daring neckline, when I heard Carmen burst in through the front door.
"They're coming, I mean they're here. They're walking this way. Come quick!"
The household sprang to attention, and we were each in the front room in seconds.
"Get a hold of yourself, Carmen," Irina joked with my sister.
I laughed nervously. Get a hold of myself, indeed.
Kate opened the door before there was scarcely a knock. The three vampires on the doorstep were a sight for sore eyes. Carlisle and Edward each had their arms around a small, slender, golden-haired vampire with burgundy eyes. She cringed as the door swept inward, but looked up to Carlisle and seemed to gain support from the look in his eyes. They were caught in that look of love for an indecent amount of time.
In the meantime, Edward unlinked his arm from Esme and bounded into the house. The change in him over the months he'd been away was remarkable. This was no cringing youngling in front of us. He seemed confident, strong and self-possessed. He smiled at each of us, and started giving strong one-armed hugs all around. I hung back, working to shield my thoughts and my emotions, trying to concentrate on Carlisle and Esme. But Edward pushed through the throng and sought me out.
"Tanya," he said smiling, "I told you I'd get us back here."
I smiled. "I never disagreed with you."
He lifted me up in a strong hug, and then placed me back down on the ground. "Let me get a good look at you." He smiled and chuckled a little. "My, you haven't aged a bit."
Try as I might, I couldn't stop myself from smiling. "You never wrote."
"I believe Carlisle did enough writing for the both of us."
"He's very proud of you."
Edward rolled his eyes. "I hope I never see those letters."
"Let me run and take them down off of the icebox," I joked.
Edward laughed. "I missed my friend."
I nodded my head. "I missed you too."
"Let me introduce you to Esme."
Edward took me by the hand and led me over to the newlyweds. They were still arm in arm. Carlisle had changed as much as Edward had. His smile took up his entire face, and his eyes were bright and dancing. When addressed, he would look up, but he couldn't keep his eyes off of Esme for long. Esme clung to him, as if she were drawing strength from his touch. She was very new, and it was impressive that she was able to stand still in front of us at all.
Edward walked up to her carefully and gently touched her hand. "Esme?"
Esme flinched a little and looked up at Edward. What I saw in that look stunned me. She was frantic until she managed to focus on Edward's face, but then her eyes were full of love. Edward smiled sweetly back at her.
"I'd like you to meet Tanya," he said in a voice that was soft and low. It sent shivers up my spine. "She helped me so much after I was changed."
Esme met my glance for less than a second, before turning to look back at Edward. I addressed her quietly. "It's an honor to meet Carlisle's mate. You must be a very special woman. Carlisle has been waiting for you for some time."
Then I turned to Carlisle. "And you, you could have knocked me over with a feather when I read your news. Congratulations Carlisle." He let go of Esme long enough to give me a warm hug, but his arm was around her as soon as he let me go.
Katrina was the voice of reason among us that afternoon. "Why are we all standing here in the doorway? Let's get our guests settled. We've arranged accommodations for each of you." And with that she ushered the new arrivals inside and up to their rooms.
*
My clan was so pleased to have the Cullens back so soon that they never left them alone. Of course, Esme and Carlisle were often off together, so most of the attention was focused on Edward. They took special pleasure playing football with him, and giving him more of a run for his money this time. Gone was his newborn strength, but his speed was still extraordinary. And from what I heard, he was still impressive on the hunt. I'm not sure why I hung back from hunting with him, but I couldn't bring myself to get in line for the opportunity.
There were the nightly excursions to the Cullen's land. Carlisle had employed around- the clock teams of architects and builders, eager to complete the structure before the ground froze over again in the fall. Luckily, there weren't many dark hours this time of the year, and construction continued night and day. The structure was surprisingly large for three people, with four wings and guest quarters behind. When I asked Carlisle about this, he said that the dwelling was based on some drawings that Esme had made. This house was dedicated to her, and he planned on making everything that she might desire come to life.
It was many days before Edward and I had any time alone. It was evening, and the sun hung on the horizon, a glowing red orb casting a warm glow on the lifeless ground. It would be another month before the grasses and wildflowers sprang to life. I was carting the rosebushes out from the greenhouse to the garden, trying a new arrangement with some hybrids that I'd been working on, when I noticed the sun shatterings on the tree limbs multiply by two. I turned around to see Edward grinning at me, making his way in my direction.
I noticed I was holding my breath. "Get a hold of yourself, Tanya." I commanded myself silently, but then gasped. I concentrated very hard on the rosebushes around me and tried with some success to keep my breath coming regularly.
"Szervusz, Tanya! Hogy vagy?"
OK, he knew how to stop my breath. He was greeting me in the modern tongue of my people. We hadn't gotten that far the winter he was here. He'd learned it on his own.
I was smiling again. "Hello, Edward. You've still been studying?"
"A bit."
He could meet my eyes with no problem now, and stood before me without shrinking. His eyes had lost all trace of the redness, and now were a delicate amber, full of bronze lowlights with a bright gold ring around each iris. He seemed taller.
"You look good."
"Thank you." Edward looked away self-consciously. There was still something of the shy, young boy within him after all.
"Your family has changed some since the last time you were here."
"Yes, it's remarkable."
"To say the least! I've known Carlisle forever, and he's never shown so much as a passing interest in a female."
"It's different with him and Esme."
"I can see that. I'm happy for them." We stood awkwardly, wordlessly. Edward looked at the dormant shrubs.
"Roses," I said by way of explanation.
"You garden?"
"A little."
There was another silence. It didn't help that I wouldn't let my mind stray from thoughts about the damned bushes.
"Carlisle says you may attend medical school."
Edward's grin was strained. "Yes, it would please him. He'll be linked to Columbia Medical School when we get to New York. I'm sure that would help my chances."
"I don't believe you would need his help at all."
"But still, can you imagine a medical practice made up of a coven of vampires? It's quite ridiculous."
I laughed sincerely at the idea and Edward soon joined in.
"It's really good to see you, Tanya. I've been studying at night ever since I left here."
"And you've picked up a bit of Magyar in the process? It's hardly a practical language to have at one's disposal."
"There are approximately nine million humans that might say otherwise."
"No, even they would agree that its importance is insignificant."
"You shouldn't speak so poorly of your heritage."
"Hmph. Are you excited to go to New York?"
"I'm scared. There are so many humans. It still hurts to be around them, and we've been living in isolation. I don't know if I can withstand the pressure, and I'll have to look out for Esme while Carlisle is gone."
"But there are opportunities there. So much to see and learn from."
"Yes, it's true." Edward's eyes lit up.
"Have you heard jazz?"
I shook my head.
"In the northern part of the city, in Harlem, there's a movement starting. They have new music, something like ragtime, but it's so much more powerful. I've heard it live only a couple times, but both times it almost hurt to listen. And there's so much improvisation, I never know where it's going to go. It's unlike anything I've heard before. They have music clubs dedicated to it in Harlem. I could listen to it live every night."
I couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm. "That sounds lovely."
"You could come and visit. I'm sure you would like the music. And then we'd have something to do together at night besides pour over books."
My mind broke free of the confines that I'd placed on it. Images swirled through my brain quickly, wordlessly before I could will them to stop. Edward frowned. I turned away. "I'm sorry," I thought.
There was silence. I couldn't turn back and face Edward. I didn't know why I was acting this way. I'd known so many men. Why should this bother me so much?
"Tanya, can I ask you something personal?"
I smiled weakly, but didn't turn to face him. "It depends on the question."
"Such an intelligent answer."
I finally found the courage to turn around. Edward's eyes were trained on the dry ground beneath him.
"Ask me anything, Edward."
"Is it true, the things I've heard Carlisle think about you, Kate and Irina?"
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The Newborn	By : belladonnacullen Category: Twilight Series > Het Views: 3452 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or make any money from this story.

The Newborn