She'd added it as a postscript! That was so typically Renee.

The letter had arrived that morning, but I hadn't opened it immediately. I'd just come back from hunting with Edward, and was in need of a shower. I still didn't hunt as neatly as Edward did, and probably never would. After that, I fell into conversations, and reading, and doing some planning for the upcoming wedding. In the end I left the letter lying there among the advertising circulars for the rest of the day. I finally opened and read it at about six that evening.

I didn't do a lot of communicating by actual mail; even Charlie, once a serious technophobe, kept in touch through email. My mother was the one exception. We corresponded on paper by means of the international postal system. It was all part of a fairly elaborate ruse which allowed me to stay in contact with her. As far as my mom knew, Edward and I had worked for years in Djibouti, as part of an international aid organization. We were careful to establish that we lived in a stable, friendly environment, so she wouldn't be anxious, while also making it clear that the area still wasn't tourist-friendly, in case she got the impulse to visit. The whole thing appealed to Renee's sense of adventure. According to the cover story, the locations we supposedly worked in were sufficiently remote that internet access was difficult, so we communicated by letter. In reality, Renee's letters went to a post office box, where they were picked up by a friend, who then forwarded them to us, received my replies and redirected those back to Renee, attractively plastered with Djibouti postage stamps.

The plan felt very clandestine and undercover, but most of all it felt deceitful. I hated lying to my mother, especially such a protracted lie, but there was no real alternative. If she knew I was living a mere four hour flight away, she'd insist on seeing me, and giving her a fake address wouldn't have worked for long. If I didn't visit her in Phoenix, she'd have eventually shown up looking for me. I'd seen Renee exactly twice since my wedding: once at Charlie's wedding to Sue Clearwater, and a second time, also in Forks, for an alleged Christmas trip home from Africa. I insisted on combining visits at Charlie's rather than making a separate trip to Arizona, and the request seemed reasonable to her, considering that I'd supposedly travelled around the world for the purpose. The busy and crowded atmosphere at Forks, dividing Renee's visiting time with Charlie, Sue, Seth and some of the people from LaPush, combined with the vague weirdness caused by the werewolves' presence and the unfamiliar location, distracted Renee from noticing anything odd about her daughter and son in law. That, of course, was the whole point.

Apart from those two occasions, I hadn't seen my mother in years. I was aware that eventually I'd have to give up seeing her altogether, before she realized I looked like a girl of eighteen much longer than was actually possible. Makeup and good genes could only account for so much.

It was a fairly long letter, even for Renee. She described a recent weekend trip to California, of which she'd enclosed snapshots. She filled me in on Phil's work as a minor league baseball coach, which was a surprisingly successful second career for him. He was much more talented as a coach than he'd been as a player. She passed along some funny stories about the grade school class she was currently teaching, and some even funnier ones about her fellow teachers. She commented on some current political issues and then, without any real segue, on a movie she and Phil had recently gone to see. She asked how our work was going, if we ever missed home, and whether we heard from Charlie often. She passed along Phil's greetings, and urged me to write soon.

The letter was written in Renee's usual cheerful tone and slightly scattered manner. I smiled to myself as I read it, easily picturing her face. She signed the letter Love, Mom as usual.

Underneath the signature was a hastily scrawled addition, in a different ink.

"P.S. - I never got around to mentioning it before, but Phil thinks I should. I went to the doctor a while back because of this lump that won't go away. Phil nagged me into getting it checked, along with some other health issues I was having. The doctors are being alarmist about it, but I'm hoping to get a second opinion. Wish me luck!"

I reread the postscript, frowning. When I looked up from the letter, Edward was watching me. "Is something wrong?"

"I'm not sure." I showed him the postscript. "Could this be something serious?"

"It's hard to say, based on what she writes. Is she inclined to downplay health concerns?"

"She's mostly inclined to ignore them completely." I picked up the letter and stared at the writing as though the information I wanted was hidden between the lines. "She's always had good health, so she doesn't think about it. She doesn't go to a doctor unless something's seriously wrong, which is almost never. Probably she hasn't had a checkup in ten years."

I looked up to find him watching my face. "Bella, love, don't start to worry before you know there's cause."

"Okay, I know. I'll write back to her right away, but I'm going to Fedex the letter to Africa." I frowned. "It'll still take at least a week to reach Renee. I wish I could just email her." Rosalie had once offered to find a way to make my messages appear to come from an internet cafe in Djibouti, but I'd declined. At the time, it had seemed more sensible to limit contact with Renee as much as possible.

I sat down to compose a return letter, hurrying through the personal news and usual business, before arriving at the key question.

"I'm a little worried about your P.S. What's this lump you mentioned? What's the other health stuff? What do you mean by alarmist? You have to give me more details! Write back soon, please." At least my mother's health issues were something I could talk to her about in a straightforward way. While I'd stayed in touch with Renee since my marriage, I couldn't say we still had a relationship in any meaningful way. She knew nothing of the life I really led, where I lived, what I did with my days. She didn't even know I was now a mother myself. It was necessary, of course, and for her sake more than mine, but it was still a loss. I added a few more lines before concluding the letter, sealed it in a plain white envelope and wrote Renee's address on the front. I set it aside to drop off at the Fedex office in the morning. It would be a couple of weeks before I could expect an answer, so I tried to put it out of my mind for the time being.

Two weeks later, we were in Forks once again, for a happy occasion we'd all been looking forward to: Seth Clearwater's wedding. Hannah, the girl he'd imprinted on five years earlier, had finished college and found work as a nurse in a local hospital, and finally felt ready to accept Seth's proposal. As Seth had explained to Edward in an email, part of her reluctance came from her shock at discovering that certain Quileute legends had more basis in reality than she'd previously assumed. Seth had given up phasing to wolf form in order to age along with his future wife, but she still had in-laws and friends who turned into giant wolves periodically. Hannah was an adaptable gal, but this still took her some time to process and accept.

We were all overjoyed for them. Seth had wanted to invite the entire Cullen family, but on further consideration (and advice from Sue), he'd limited the invitation to Jacob, Nessie, Edward and myself. It was much too soon for most of the Cullens to be seen in Forks. They would have had to stay hidden in a hotel room to prevent locals from seeing them, having gone twenty years without aging. The four of us had to lie low during our visit as it was. Seth phoned Carlisle to explain his reasoning, and that it wasn't meant as a slight, which we all understood. However, the Cullens sent their warmest congratulations, along with a wedding present suggested by Alice: twenty shares of stock in a little known electronics company. It was a modest gift at face value, but as Alice had foreseen, it would eventually grow in value to the point where it would put their children through university and provide a very comfortable retirement fund.

We arrived in Forks a few days early so we could spend some time with Charlie and Sue, and so Jacob could visit with his father and reconnect with friends at LaPush. Charlie had sold our former house and moved in with Sue; and once Seth had gone to Seattle to work, they'd sold Sue's house and found another, smaller but newer house on the outskirts of Forks. Since marrying Sue, Charlie was happier than I could remember seeing him. She was perfect for him: affectionate but undemonstrative. Sue lacked my mother's vibrant charm, but she was also without Renee's flightiness and short attention span. Charlie was able to relax with Sue, secure in the knowledge that she wasn't going to get bored and leave, and that he didn't have to work to keep her entertained.

Nessie divided her time between visiting with her grandfather and Grandma Sue, and hanging out at LaPush, where she seemed to get along with everyone. She even hit it off with Billy, who retained his suspicious attitude to vampires, but seemed to consider Nessie exempt. She had no in-law problems in her future.

The wedding was simple but perfect. The brief civil ceremony was held in the Quileute reserve's community centre, the celebration afterward outdoors. Tables had been set up under canvas covers in case of rain, which in the Forks area was always more than likely. In fact, it only sprinkled for a half hour that day, and the sun appeared briefly. Edward and I took a short walk in the woods at that point. Almost all the wedding guests were aware of our eccentricities, but there was no point rubbing their noses in it - and besides, Charlie still had no idea his daughter now glittered like a disco ball in direct sunlight.

I loved the informality of Seth and Hannah's wedding. Decorations consisted of bunches of balloons tied to trees. Guests took turns at the barbecue grills, bowls and platters of food were brought along to share. The wedding cake was a gaudy slab cake donated by the bride's aunt and uncle, with script in green icing reading 'Congrats Hannah & Seth'. Music came from a portable CD player which was managed by anybody who happened to be nearby, and occasionally, as the evening wore on, from groups of guests with a guitar and a willingness to sing in public. Children ran around the tables with semi-permanent stains over their mouths from barbecue sauce, cake frosting, and orange drink, eventually falling asleep in someone's arms and put to bed on coats or blankets, on a spare bench or in the back of a pickup truck. It was the most relaxing wedding I'd ever attended, my own definitely included.

The most touching part of it, for me, was noticing that Seth and Hannah looked the same age. Hannah had been eighteen when she and Seth met and she'd become his gravity, as Jake once described it, the force that held him to the earth. Seth had begun to age soon afterward, by his own choice, and from now on they would grow older together. He'd given up immortality to be with the woman he loved. I empathized completely, but there was something poignant about his choice. I would live to see Seth grow old, and eventually die. I mentally extended to them the best possible wish I could imagine in their circumstances: that they would live together a long time, and die within an hour of each other.

The party went on late into the night, long after Hannah and Seth had said their goodbyes and left in a car decorated with crepe paper and hand-lettered signs, all of us waving and calling after them as they drove away. Edward and I finally headed back to our hotel at about 1:30, leaving Jacob and Nessie still laughing with some of the remaining guests. We walked back to the room hand in hand, reminiscing about our own wedding. A replay of some of our honeymoon highlights was postponed when I noticed a message on my phone, and picked it up curiously. "It's from Alice," I told Edward. "She probably wants to hear about the wedding. Especially what everybody wore."

"Can't that wait until morning?" he asked.

I would normally have agreed, but I saw she'd left four messages while we were at the wedding. "Four times? I wonder if something's wrong."

Edward checked his own phone. "Carlisle's left me a message as well." He listened briefly. "He's just asking us to phone when we get in." He hit the second number on his speed-dial list, and I heard Carlisle answer after one ring. "Carlisle? We just got back. What's going on?"

"Edward." I could hear Carlisle's voice easily. "Is Bella nearby?"

"Yes, she's right here."

"Perhaps you should put her on."

Frowning, Edward handed me his phone. "Carlisle? Is something wrong?"

"Hello, Bella. I didn't mean to worry you. It's just that we received some mail for you today, and thought it might be important. To be more specific, Alice saw some future significance to it. She suggested we contact you right away."

"Oh! Mail from where?" I tilted the phone away from my ear slightly, although I was sure Edward could hear perfectly.

"Arizona. One is from your mother; the other is from the same return address, but with different handwriting on the envelope."

I could hear Alice in the background. "She'll want to know what's in the letters!"

"Okay," I said, smiling. "Let's say I want to know. Could you open my mom's letter and tell me what it says?"

"Certainly." There was a quick tearing sound, and a second's pause. "I'll omit the substance of the letter, which is mostly personal. I assume you are waiting for information about her health." I remembered to relax my grip on the phone. "Your mother writes that she has been receiving tests for the past two weeks. The results were quite bad, but she feels there must be some mistake because she feels reasonably well. She is looking into obtaining a second opinion. In the meantime, she is submitting to further tests at the insistence of her husband. She will write when she has further news. That is, of course, my own paraphrase."

"Of course," I said faintly. "What about the other one? Phil's letter?"

I heard more rustling. "His letter is shorter and deals with the issue at hand. With your permission, I'll read it to you."

"Please."

"He writes, 'Dear Bella, Maybe I shouldn't be butting in like this, but your mom is really in bad shape and she's giving you a watered down version of what's going on. I thought you would want to know the truth and ought to know it. She found a breast lump almost two years ago but for some reason was convinced it couldn't be anything serious. She started getting more and more tired over the last year and getting out of breath a lot, and then getting what she called aching bones. I finally got her to see the doctor. She got tested and they said it was cancer. These other tests showed it had spread into her bones, her lungs, everywhere. She still won't believe it's true, she thinks it must be a mistake, but every test has shown the same thing, and the docs all seem pretty sure about it. She might have up to a year left, but the cancer doctor said it depends on what treatments they do and what other tests show. She refused treatment for a long time, and I'm afraid that's going to make things worse for her. It's very bad no matter how things go from here. I'm so sorry to have to tell you all this, but it didn't seem right to keep you in the dark any longer.'
"He signs it 'Love, Phil.' That's all he writes." Carlisle concluded.

I vaguely felt Edward's arm around my shoulders. I fixed my eyes on his face as I spoke into the phone. "Carlisle? This is extremely bad, I assume."

I heard him sigh. "If your stepfather's description is accurate, then yes, it could hardly be worse. It sounds as if the cancer has metastasized extensively. Treatment possibilities would be very limited, and none of them could offer much hope in the long term."

I froze, my hand clutching the phone to my ear, my eyes still on Edward's face. I was aware of seconds passing, but instinctively immobilized myself in response to the stress of the news. At length I heard Carlisle say my name, and Edward squeeze my shoulder, gently rousing me. I tried to think clearly. "I have to do something."

"Bella," Carlisle said gently, "there is probably nothing you can do at this point."

"I have to see her."

"That's impossible, love," Edward told me.

"It can't be impossible. There must be some way..."

Edward pulled me closer. "Bella, she lives in Phoenix. How long could you avoid the sun? And that's apart from the problem of letting her see you after this length of time. You haven't aged. You know how observant your mother is. You'll spend whatever time you have with her trying to explain things to her. You want to help her, not give her more reason to worry."

I was shaking my head, although I knew he was right. "But how can I just let her..." I couldn't finish the sentence. How can I leave her to die? But I'd left her behind the first time I asked Edward to change me. I'd just managed to do it slowly.

Carlisle's voice came through the line again. "Bella? Just come home, please. Whatever you decide, you can't simply show up at your mother's home tomorrow. Discuss it with the family, and let us help you decide the best approach."

"That's only reasonable, Bella," Edward whispered to me.

"Yes," I said. "I know it is." I wanted to simply run to Renee, be there for her, but of course it was no longer that simple. "All right, Carlisle. I'll come back."

"Good." He sounded relieved. "We'll await your return."

Edward took the phone, and they spoke briefly. I heard the phone click shut, and Edward's arms around me. "I'm so sorry, love. We'll be home tomorrow, and we can work something out."

I returned his embrace, and we stood together for several minutes. "Should I tell Charlie? I'm supposed to go say goodbye to him before we leave for the airport."

"That's up to you. But I suppose he'll know something is wrong the minute he sees your face."

"I suppose so." I sighed. I still wasn't as good an actress as the rest of the family, after all these years. "I'll tell him she's sick, but not how bad it is. Not yet, anyway."

Somehow I got through the conversation with Charlie, telling him as little as I thought I could get away with, before making my goodbyes and heading for the airport with Renesmee and Jacob. I filled them in on the way, but they both picked up on the fact that I wasn't ready to discuss it. I spoke very little on the way home, just held onto Edward's hand.

When we arrived at home, our new home in the big, L-shaped house near Edmonton, the family was standing by to meet us. Not that they rushed for the door when we walked in, but they were all in the living room and clearly there to offer whatever kind of support was needed. I'd assumed I would want to go off alone and brood, but just seeing them there made me feel better. Esme hugged me, Alice ran over to put an arm around my waist, and Emmett patted me on the head like a dog, and my troubles started to feel more manageable.

I settled on the sofa with Edward on my right and Alice on my left, Nessie curled up in a chair with Jacob lounging on the floor at her feet, the others scattered nearby as we went over the details of the wedding and the situation in Forks, and were brought up to date on household news. I found Renee's letter on a side table and read the remainder of it. I knew we would get around to talking about Renee eventually, but I was in no hurry.

Following a slight pause in the conversation, Esme said to me, "I'm so sorry to hear about your mother, Bella."

"Thanks."

"I know you want to be with her."

I just nodded.

Alice squeezed my arm affectionately. "You know you can't just run down there, right?"

"Sure." I spoke as lightly as possible.

Carlisle stood up and walked into the next room, standing at one end of the dining table as the others joined him, marking the rest of the discussion as an official family meeting. Edward stood and walked with me to our places beside the table.

Carlisle addressed us all. "You understand what it is we have to discuss. This is a new situation for us, and may call for creativity."

Rosalie spoke up. "I understand why Bella wants to be with her mom right now, but it's simply too dangerous. There were reasons she decided not to see Renee in person, and none of those reasons have changed. It seems harsh, but I think she has to keep things as they are. Maybe tell her mother she's having trouble getting out of Africa, and stick to that story until...for as long as necessary. I'm sorry, Bella." I smiled and gave her hand a squeeze. Rosalie and I had, eventually, become close in spite of our vast differences. Besides, I knew she had the family's safety foremost in her mind, as always.

"I agree, contact would be risky." Jasper looked solemn. "Apart from the usual difficulties involved in meeting with Bella's mother, there's the issue of travelling to Arizona. The climate would be a continual problem. Staying out of the sun during a prolonged visit would be challenging, to say the least."

"Are the conflicts in the South a concern?" Esme asked him.

"Not in Arizona. The whole mess has moved east. It's only an issue between Mississippi and the area around Austin, and down the eastern coast of Mexico. But going to Phoenix would be complicated enough regardless."

"Risky for us," Alice agreed, "and potentially for Bella's mom as well."

I could see Jacob, sitting at a distance from the table but listening to the discussion, cross his arms over his chest and scowl. He kept quiet, though, allowing for our longstanding custom of letting him in on meetings but excluding him from participating.

I nodded, trying to swallow the distress I felt at the idea of letting Mom die without seeing her again. My first loyalty had to be to my family. My new family. "Okay," I said, as calmly as I could manage. "I understand. I'll stay in touch by mail as long as I can, and put her off if she asks me to come. If necessary, I can just stop writing and disappear."

Esme reached across the table to take my hand. Carlisle smiled slightly in my direction and spoke again. "That is not necessarily the end of the discussion. As I said, this situation calls for creativity. Any further suggestions."

"Suggestions?" Rosalie looked quizzical. "You mean, ways for Bella to be with her mother?"

"Exactly. Her mother is dying. We've found ways for Bella to stay in contact with her parents. I hope there is also a way to allow Bella to be present at her mother's demise, as she should be."

"Carlisle," I said hesitantly, "if it puts the family at risk..."

"We are looking for ways to avoid the risk. If we all decide it is simply too dangerous, we will advise against your seeing your mother, and ask you to abide by that decision." He looked at me, and I nodded. "But if there is a way around it, we would all like to allow you this opportunity."

I swallowed hard. "Thank you." Jasper gave me a faint grin, apparently in response to whatever emotions he was picking up from me; but I wasn't sure exactly what those were at the moment. Edward put an arm around my shoulders.

Carlisle turned back to the table. "I am open to ideas, however vague, at this point."

They all seemed to concentrate on the tabletop a moment. Emmett said hesitantly, "Well...you said any ideas. How about Jacob and Nessie?"

"What about them?" Edward asked.

"There's no problem with them being in Arizona. What if they went in Bella's place? Not exactly the same thing, but at least somebody could be with Renee on Bella's behalf, kind of. And she knows Jacob a little. He could come up with some explanation for why he came to see her; maybe because Bella wrote and asked him to. And if Renee needs anything, Jacob and Ness could help with it, or contact us for help."

"It's a possible compromise," Carlisle allowed, "provided Renesmee and Jacob agree."

"Of course," Nessie said, and Jacob nodded his approval.

"By the same token," Alice said, "Charlie could go to her. Maybe not the whole time, but toward the...after things start to get difficult. Assuming his presence wouldn't be awkward."

"I don't think it would be," I said. "He and Mom are friends now. Phil wouldn't mind, I'm sure." I wanted to be there myself, but felt a little better at the thought of Mom having other people to support her, and to give Phil some backup.

"What about the possibility of Bella seeing her mother personally?" Carlisle asked. "Any thoughts?"

There was another intense pause. "The only way I can see it happening," Jasper said at last, "would be for a shorter period of time, and not immediately; close to the end." He glanced at me, and I smiled slightly. I always appreciated Jasper's directness, although it sometimes startled me a little. "It might be workable for a brief time under those conditions. Renee would likely be confined to her home or the hospital by that point, so Bella could see her exclusively indoors. If the end was close and her family was staying with her around the clock, Bella could offer to take the night shift. It would still require some careful management, but if Bella waited until the situation was fairly dire, it might be workable."

Alice nodded slowly. "Renee would be less likely to pick up on anything odd about Bella, under those abnormal conditions," she added.

"It would make sense, in a way, for Bella to remain absent until...later," Esme said. "She's supposedly halfway around the world, and with obligations to the agency she works for. She might very well not come back until she was certain it was necessary."

"It would also make sense for Bella to be relatively unconcerned, given the way Renee's minimized her condition. I gather she doesn't know Phil has written with more information?" Carlisle asked me.

I shook my head. "Unless he's told her since. You're right, as far as Mom knows, I believe it's a minor health issue."

"Then you're satisfied to wait?" Esme asked.

"Yes. Well, not satisfied exactly," I smiled at her, "but I agree it's best. I'll write more frequently in the meantime, and try to keep up with her condition as it...develops."

Carlisle nodded. "And I'll see what I can find out about her diagnosis and treatment."

"Can you do that?"

He shrugged. "Not lawfully. But Jasper has methods of accessing health records." He cocked an eye at Jasper. "It allows him to establish a false medical history to go with our cover stories. The Internet is a useful tool. I'll keep track of your mother's condition - that is, provided you have no objections."

"None at all. I would appreciate it."

"It seems we have an arrangement, then." I nodded. "If the situation alters, if you change your intentions, all I would ask is that you speak to the family first."

"Of course." I looked around the table. "Thank you so much. I know this causes a lot of trouble for..."

Rosalie rolled her eyes. "Don't start!"

"Okay, I know. It's just that..."

"Don't make me come over there!"

I laughed, and Jasper snickered. "Bella, I think guilt is your default setting. Can you really imagine this family doing any differently, for any of us?"

"No, of course not."

"Then just accept."

"Okay."

Emmett laughed at me, and the meeting broke up.

I walked over to Jacob. "Thanks for agreeing to go see Mom."

He shrugged. "It's no big deal."

"Yes, it is. You may never need to go, depending on how things play out, but it's good to know it's an option."

Nessie joined us. "I want to go too. I'd like to see Grandma once more."

"You barely got to know her." They'd met only once, at Charlie's wedding. Renee knew her as Esme and Carlisle's adopted daughter. I frowned. "It kind of makes sense for Jacob to visit, but how would you explain showing up? What would you go as, part of her son-lin-law's family?"

Jacob looked surprised. "She'd go with me, as my fiancee."

"Oh! Well, of course." I should have realized but the idea was still new to me. My eyes darted briefly to Nessie's engagement ring, a square cut diamond in a beautiful filigree setting. Jacob, as he'd told me after the fact, had agonized for weeks over its selection; in his mind, nothing was special enough for Nessie. He'd even resorted to accepting Rosalie's help in selecting it. Nessie had been delighted with his choice, of course, and even more delighted at his proposal.

"Or as my girlfriend, if that works better for you," he suggested, noticing my hesitation.

"No, of course not. She is your fiancee."

"Takes some getting used to, doesn't it?" He grinned.

"Some. But I'm getting there." I was happy for them, really and truly. It was just hard to get past the feeling that she was still my little girl. Especially since she was technically only ten years old - but that was in human years. In reality, Renesmee was a grown woman, mature in every way and deeply in love. Jacob had been more than patient, but it was time. They belonged together. I was pretty sure they'd agreed to a full year's engagement mostly to let Edward and me adapt.