THE SILVER LINING

A/N: Thank you to everyone who read, supported, favorited, reviewed and/or recommended my little story. You're amazing and I wish I could give you all a big hug. I didn't know if I could write a compelling story about an older couple, but at the very least, I can now say that I wrote one that was completed.

Things I own: A mad obsession with Silverfox.

Things I don't: Anything Twilight. That's all Stephenie Meyer's.

EPILOGUE

Six Months Later

I check my iPhone to be sure I'm on time. I've never been to this restaurant before, and Bella is already there with Esme and Carlisle—we're having a double date for dinner and a movie. We're going to see the Seattle Erotic Art Festival Film Exhibition at the historic Grand Illusion Cinema. Dinner is the Jewel of India, some of the best Indian food in the city. Rather than make the long drive back to Port Angeles afterwards, we're planning to stay overnight at Hotel Deca. We need to be well rested for our active agenda tomorrow.

I think about how much fun we've been having with my brother and sister in law. They both love Bella and were thrilled when they found out we'd had an impromptu marriage on our Tahiti trip. Since then, Bella and Esme have been thick as thieves; Bella convinced Esme to start going to yoga with her. Carlisle certainly hasn't been complaining about the side benefits of yoga, either. I love to kid him about Esme being able to run him ragged with her new level of flexibility.

I walk inside the Jewel and spot them at once—they're sharing a lively round of laughter. I smile knowing what the subject matter probably is. You'd think we were a bunch of 18 year olds the way we all gossip about sex. I lean over to kiss my wife then take a seat next to her. She already ordered my favorite—lamb vindaloo. I grab some naan and break off a piece straightaway. I never knew I'd like Indian food, but naturally it's one of the many things Bella taught me to love.

Before I met Bella, I had no idea what naan even was. I'd never had sex outdoors. I'd never broken a porch swing while having sex. I'd never slept in bed with a naked woman. I'd never eaten dessert for breakfast. I'd never used sex toys. There are so many different things I've experienced with her it makes me realize that I was hardly even alive before we met. I look back at myself and see a cold, crunchy shell intent on not being hurt. This new version of me, however, is without doubt the real me. The person I was always meant to be. It took meeting Bella—a hottie with that gorgeous braid and those incredible thongs—to set me free.

"Silverfox!" I hear Bella's voice break through my thoughts. "Where have you been just now?" she nudges me. "In the gutter. I should have guessed."

I raise an eyebrow at her. "You only have yourself to blame in that regard, Miss I-Have-A-Pink-Toybox."

I'm surprised to hear Esme choking at my words. I look over at her and she's beet red. My words embarrassed her? Carlisle leans in to whisper an explanation to me.

"Bella and Esme went toy shopping today. Esme is going to let me see what's in her new toybox after the film festival."

I nod my head in understanding, not wishing to embarrass Esme further, and give my brother a hearty handshake of congrats under the table. Then I change the subject abruptly.

"So, did you finish all the wedding arrangements this afternoon?" I ask Bella casually.

"Mmm, I did. Alice was so helpful, taking everything over for me. I'd have been completely lost without her."

"It's good of you to go along with the kids' wishes to have a wedding they can participate in. I know it's not easy for you to be the center of attention."

"It's fine, love. I know that it means so much to them, and it's going to be just family. I can handle that."

A small yip interrupts Bella. She reaches down to pick up her bag. "Maximus, behave. You already had your dinner," she scolds in a very pushover-ish tone.

Little Max peeks his head out to give Bella a kiss. We adopted our new child—our new furry child—about two weeks after we returned from Tahiti. Bella couldn't wait. She insisted on a huge Roman name for this tiny dog. He's pure black and a handsome little fellow. He's my companion on daily walks and I'm surprised by how much I've been enjoying his company. I never cared much for toy dogs, but I have to admit that Max has stolen my heart. As with most things, Bella proves to be incredibly attuned to what is good for us as individuals and as a couple. I truly love that about her, among many other things.

My phone buzzes and I pick it up to see who's texting me. Alice.

Yo Dad, enjoy the film festival. Nudge-nudge, wink-wink

I should have known she'd never let go of my mistaken sext message I sent to her by accident. I get texts from her of this nature almost every day now. I grin to myself and answer my cheeky daughter.

Oh, I'll be sure to tell you all about it tomorrow. We're staying at the Deca, so we'll have all sorts of LOL to share w/u.

Ew, Dad. TMI.

I shake my head. Oh, Alice. You never learn?

Dude, you started it ;)

Dude, Dad? Really? What, you're 65 going on 15?

I chuckle out loud. I love my daughter.

You only have your children to blame. They made sure I was up on the lingo.

Whatever. Have a great time. See you tomorrow. Don't be late for the wedding!

Love you, my baby girl.

Love you, too, Daddy.

As I hit "send," I feel a hand sneaking up my thigh. I look over at Bella, who appears to be absorbed in deep conversation with Esme. She doesn't fool me for a bit. I put my arm around her waist, pulling her chair in close to me. I put my hand up the back of her sweater and start running my fingertip along the waist of her skirt. She starts to make subtle wiggles with her hips, so I know I'm getting to her as much as she's getting to me. Much as she's absorbed in Esme, I try to appear enraptured with Carlisle's words. I'm totally full of shit, of course—as if I can focus on anything except Bella's hand placement on my thigh. No, make that my crotch.

Oh, my Bella. Two can play at this game. I wiggle my finger past her waistband and start teasing along the top of her crack. Soon, she's actively trying not to wiggle; I can feel her ass cheeks tighten. I chuckle out loud at her.

"For crying out loud you two!" Esme says in exasperation. "Get a hotel room already," she laughs.

"Funny you should mention hotel room. We already have one, thank you very much," I tease, waving our room key in front of them.

"Please promise me that you won't make out in public during the film festival," Carlisle adds his two cents' worth.

"No can do, brother of mine. If I have this nimble little minx sitting next to me while I'm watching erotica, there's no way I'm going to be able to keep my hands off of her."

"That kind of spoils the whole notion of chastity before the wedding night," my brother teases me back.

"Chastity!" Bella snorts out loud. "Hello, Carlisle. Have you ever met your brother Edward?"

The waiter appears with our check and I insist upon paying for it. This is our groom's dinner of sorts. We had planned to just have a simple all-family meal at our new place until Alice and Seth informed us that we needed to vacate the premises. Something to do with the wedding planning and decorations. She wants it to be a surprise from the kids to us.

I was worried about how they'd take our getting married in Tahiti, since they weren't involved in the process. They were surprised, certainly, but not upset. When Alice suggested having a wedding celebration/ceremony for the whole family, we thought it was a brilliant idea. And my lovely Bella, she's given Alice and Seth free reign to plan it all. She has no idea what's going to happen—it's all a big surprise. The only stipulations we've given them were that it must be casual, that Carlisle and Esme must be our best man and maid of honor, and that even the little ones can enjoy it.

I hand the waiter my card and we prepare to leave for the theater. As we wait for the receipt, I lean over and whisper to Bella. "You really shouldn't have done that," I chide.

"Done what?" She asks, all innocence. Doesn't fool me at all.

"Started that chain reaction that will lead to a total nuclear meltdown. I can't be held accountable if I end up fucking you in public after that," I warn.

She gasps in reply to my tone. Perfect. I pinch her ass just to add emphasis to my words.

I let Carlisle and Esme lead us to the cinema while I fondle my wife as much as I can possibly get away with.

She whispers under her breath to me. "How can you possibly be horny after this morning?"

"Um, let me see," I count off using my fingers. "One, because I know what you and Esme have been up to, and that's just so hot in and of itself, buying toys with your friend. Two, you're wearing a thong underneath that skirt and you knew I'd find out before we got to the film festival," I'm nearly ranting, I'm so worked up. "Three, we're on our way to an erotic film festival and I have to sit next to you trying not to paw you to death. Four, you're you and you always make me horny. And five, we're getting married. Again. Tomorrow. That's almost too hot to even contemplate. I'm a burning man here, Bella," I complain.

What does my little minx do with this information regarding my code red level of sexual frustration? She looks around mischievously and lifts up her skirt to reveal her beautiful, bare ass and thigh high stockings.

She wants to kill me. Plain and simple, she wants me dead in order to collect upon the insurance money. Surely, there could be no other reason for such torture.

I swat her bare ass hard. "You are in so much trouble, Bella Swan-Cullen."

What does my beautiful, perfect, harpy of a wife do? Laughs. She LAUGHS.

"Oh, Silverfox, you have no idea," she grins.

Naturally, she says this just as we arrive at the theater, and I'm supposed to just sit on that tease of information she just let out. My wife knows how to wind me up like no one else.

~xXx~

The film festival was indeed erotic, and that forced me to go a few rounds with my hot wife afterwards. Regardless of what your religion is, I refuse to believe that my having sex before marriage with Bella was a sin. But we are married, so I guess the point is moot. I grin to myself with amusement.

I'm down in the lobby, getting ready to check out when I'm met by a man in a chauffeur's uniform.

"Excuse me, Mr. Cullen?" He asks.

"Yes?"

"I'm here to take you home."

"But, I have a car."

It's only then that I see Emmett.

"Keys, pops. You guys get limo breakfast ride. I get your delicious Volvo."

Eyebrows raised, I shrug my shoulders and we follow the chauffeur.

Holy fucking hell, it's an antique Aston Martin.

Alice.

Bella and I get situated and are presented with a note card from my daughter.

Dear Dad and Bella:

You deserve this, so suck it up and enjoy it. Have a good breakfast and relax. Everything is being taken care of. You just need to show up.

With love, all your children

Bella and I smile in response and sink into a kiss. On our drive to forks, we spend a lot of time feeding each other, drinking champagne, and stealthily making out in the back seat.

Okay, perhaps not stealthily, but still. Like I'm not going to kiss the most beautiful woman in the world on the day we get married for the second time?

When we arrive home, only to find that Emmett made it there well before we did. He apparently inherited his father's love of speed. Alice whisks Bella away to get dressed, and Seth does the same for me. Rose, Leah and Syd take care of all the kids who are happily running and screaming in the yard. It's the most heavenly sound in the world, apart from Bella screaming out my name.

I'm dressed in a dark gray suit and bright blue tie. Not that it really matters, because Bella's clearly the looker of the two of us. I'm escorted to the yard where our ceremony is to be. Alice insists that this ceremony is going to look official, even if it's abbreviated and we're already legally married. If it makes the kids feel better, who am I to argue?

As I stand near a trellis, Jasper approaches me. "I'm, uh, the hired help," he says with a shrug. I look at him like he sprouted another head. I have no idea what he's talking about.

"Alice asked me to get an online certificate so I could marry you. This is apparently an all-family affair," he explains.

I just grin and give him a shrug right back. Carlisle and Esme join me in the front and I instantly turn to watch for Bella. I hear a classical guitar start playing "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring," and she appears, wearing a deep blue dress. On either side of her are Emmett and Seth. Both of our boys are going to escort her.

Apparently, however, the entire family is going to walk down the aisle first. Starting with our youngest grandchild, they walk toward me one by one. When they reach us, they take a seat on the ground so that there is a semi-circle of smallish bodies surrounding us. Our eldest grandchild has Maximus by a leash, leading him down the aisle. Once again, I can see Bella's ring attached to his collar, just like little Honey Bun did in Tahiti. Alice thinks of everything.

It's finally Bella's turn, and before she proceeds, she gives either boy a kiss on the cheek. This show of family solidarity makes my heart clench—I'm so fiercely proud of all my children, from both families.

Jasper welcomes everyone and before we get to the vows, each one of our children stand in front of us, turning the semi-circle of sitting grandchildren into a full circle so we're completely surrounded by family.

"Before we say our vows, each child is going to read a short quote in honor of your marriage," Jasper explains.

As the eldest child of all, Emmett begins. "The greatest good we can do for others is not just to share our riches with them, but to reveal their riches to themselves. This is a Swahili proverb, and we thank both of you for being incredible parents and showing us all the riches in the world."

After speaking, he sits down, joining the grandchildren.

Rose follows Emmett's lead. "A marriage based on full confidence, based on complete and unqualified frankness on both sides; they are not keeping anything back; there's no deception underneath it all. If I might so put it, it's an agreement for the mutual forgiveness of sin. Henrik Ibsen," Rose sits next to her husband and takes his hand in hers

Leah and Syd speak their quote together, in unison. "The right to marry means little if it does not include the right to marry the person of one's choice, the Massachusetts High Court Ruling of November 18th, 2003." They kiss each other, and Leah adds "Go Washington for being the 8th state to legalize gay marriage." They quickly join everyone else and take their seat.

Tiny Alice follows, my little spitfire girl. "Some day, you will find someone who will have a greater hold on your affections than I do. The most important journey of your life will be to find her. Charles Dickens from Nicholas Nickleby." She gives us both such a lovely grin and I can't thank her enough for all her support, from the very beginning.

Seth is the last child to come forward and I have no idea what to expect from him. He's the sunniest person I've ever known, always positive and upbeat and I feel like he's already said so much when he hasn't yet opened his mouth.

"Everything will be all right in the end. And if it's not all right, then it's not yet the end. From the Exotic Marigold Hotel."

Seth bends down to scoop up Maximus and hands him to Bella.

Since we've officially said our vows once, we decided to just go with the traditional ones to save time. It's not like they're critical, since we're already married. This is more about the experience than the specific steps. We've also decided to respond to the vows at the same time, to present a unified front.

Jasper clears his throat then begins. "Edward and Bella, do you take each other from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and cherish until death do you part?"

I turn to look at Bella and kiss her forehead before giving her a nod to speak. "We do," we say together.

"All right, then. You have my permission to kiss until the cows come home," he laughs at us. Maximus beats us to the punch, licking our faces like crazy.

We turn around to face our children and raise our joined hands into the air. The littlest ones, tired from sitting still all this time, jump to their feet and start running around, yelling and giggling; Maximus joins in, chasing the children and running around in circles. If dogs could smile, Max would be grinning like the Cheshire Cat.

Someone hands us glasses of champagne, and I sit down, pulling Bella into my lap. I nuzzle my way into the crook of her neck, breathing in the scent of her perfume. I'm content to sit here with my wife, smelling and kissing her neck, for the rest of my life.

As we cuddle quietly together, I look around at the scene in front of me and can't help but smile. Alice, Jasper and Seth are deep in conversation, Emmett and Leah are laughing like they've been friends forever, and even Rose is chatting up Leah's girlfriend, Syd. Will wonders never cease? Somehow, this amalgam of such different people gathered in a show of support for the families they love makes incredible sense to me. As if we all belong together, because, in fact, we do. There are no accidents in life—this was always meant to be. I grin to myself, realizing that I sound just like Bella. My scientific brain is still all there, but I've definitely softened in the best of ways.

Looking at Bella, I cup her cheeks in my hand and offer up to her my own wedding quote, which I whisper into her ear.

"Bella?" She shivers as my breath touches her skin. "Someone once said that the secret to having it all is knowing that you already do. I completely agree with this."

"Oh, Silverfox, I've known that I have it all since the minute I laid eyes on you in the Laundromat. You never had any choice in this matter. Trust me on that."

I finish our day in the only way that makes sense—I kiss my girl with all the passion in my soul, smiling against her lips as I hear rounds of applause and forks clinking on glasses.

Perfection. As long as we both shall live.

END NOTE: Incredibly, my little story has been nominated for Top Ten Completed Fics for July 2013. If you'd like to vote, go to twifanfictionrecs dot com and vote for your top ten completed fics listed.

As of right now, this will be the last fanfiction piece I write. I'm not leaving fanfiction for good, nor do I have plans to pull any of my stories. It's just that I have several original stories in my brain right now, and I want to work on those for the foreseeable future. Thanks to everyone who has read my stories, pimped them, and given me so much of your time and energy. I'm more appreciative than I could ever convey in words. It's been an incredible journey for me.