Chapter 22

EPOV

When I was about five or six, my grandfather Cullen told me to always share my things. This came after my neighbor cried to my mom that I wouldn't share my Tonka truck. He told us about some children who had no toys and some who had too many. How doing something so simple can make such a difference. With me being so young, I couldn't really understand why a little kid didn't have any toys, so I handed over my dump truck.

When I headed off to boot camp, he told me that I was about to fight a war that another man created and to do my best to put an end to it. When I became a SEAL, he laughed and called me an overachiever, but made me promise I would always remember who I was, without the gun on my shoulder. To never lose my compassion and my duty to do the right thing. Last night as I said goodnight to my Bella at our rehearsal dinner, he told me that getting a girl like Bella was the easy part, keeping her would be the challenge. He told me when he and my Grandmother were first married, it was difficult to go from a man who did what he wanted, to a man with a beautiful woman he woke up with every morning. He spoke of having to be careful with her for weeks as she was ignorant of the activities that occurred in the marital bed.

Sleep avoided me after I left Bella's. Lying in the dark, surrounded by her unpacked boxes and wedding gifts, I just couldn't let my mind rest. Being with Bella-not in just the sexual aspect-but being in her presence made me understand what my Grandfather Cullen was preparing me for. Being a protector and a lover shared many of the same skills, but it was my compassion that he was trying to build. Mold me into a man she could come to when she was excited about a new design or complain to about how bad her current period was. A man capable of listening to her as she spoke about both subjects, something I would never understand, yet would be sharing with her. Being married would be more than just making certain she had what she needed, it was giving of myself so that she was happy, even if it meant I had to listen to or do something that was uncomfortable for me.

Bella was getting together with her bridal party and being pampered like the queen she was. Mom had spoken with me about what I was planning to get Bella for a wedding gift, I wanted it to be something that she would appreciate everyday, not just as a box she took out when she was feeling nostalgic. It was actually Rosalie who had given me the inspiration that I needed as she sat at the bar feeding one of the girls a frozen treat. My mind began to click rapidly as I watched the light dance off the facets in her bracelet. Emmett had given it to her when he made it clear to her that she was the only girl he would ever love. She had been speechless of course, Tiffany's blue box will do that, or so I've been told. While Emmett had placed a very beautiful diamond bracelet on Rosalie's wrist, my gift to Bella was a little different. I wanted what I gave her to be a reminder of me and the moments of our life.

Every male in my family had a piece of advice for me, from getting out of trouble to making certain I put the toilet seat down and everything in between. I also received tips about the simple things that were a fast pass guarantee to a trip between the sheets. It was certainly interesting, as they held their drinks in their hands jackets and ties on display, laughing and teasing me about the waiting car that would take me into hiding if I wasn't one hundred percent certain that of what I wanted.

As I watched Bella glide down the aisle, her arm wrapped securely in the crook of her father's arm, the idea of that car took on a new and exciting meaning. I didn't need a piece of paper to tell me that the smile she wore was because of me, or that the tremble that showed in her fingertips was anything but the emotion that was so vast, it was finding any way possible to make it to the surface. With her hand in mine and the veil pulled back to show how beautiful she truly was, I made my promise to her. I gave my word to the girl who had taken my breath away, stole my soul, and formed a new and improved man.

She was an inspiration, pure of heart. Even when she tried to be cruel, she failed and made the person reevaluate who they really were. In the last row, hidden behind one of my father's associates, sat one of those people, watching as she swore the same promise to me.

Renee sat rigid and nearly unrecognizable, her hair always in perfect fashion, was now streaked with grey and unattended white roots. Her clothing, that for years had been the latest fashion, was now from a second hand store, the cut made for the average woman. I knew that Bella would always welcome her, no matter how many years had passed without contact or stories published in the newspaper. Renee was her mother and that was a bond Bella would never sever. It was just another slice of her character that I loved. Renee didn't stay long enough to see her daughter dance back down the aisle. She watched only until the priest instructed me to kiss my new bride, and then quietly snuck out.

Emmett had told me months ago that as soon as the wedding was over and the pictures taken, everyone would want to see the bride. He said that as the groom, you're only an accessory and weren't required for the celebrating. Her friends would squeal over the ring you placed on her hand or question if you have a single relative that they can be introduced to. His advice was simple, grab your wife and tuck her away in the closest closet or bathroom and kiss the shit out of her. It would be the last real moment you have to be alone. As soon as the doors to the sanctuary clicked behind us, I bent over, catching her waist with my shoulder and tossed her into a fireman's carry. Her surprise was expressed with her laughter and giddy squeals, half hearted pleas to be put down. With my target in view, I ran with a bouncing Bella over my shoulder. The church was designed with a room for mothers who had fussy babies to sit in and listen to the activity in the main room. It had two doors, one that lead outside and one that opened beside the front entry. With both doors securely locked, I pounced on my new wife.

Lips collided with unchained passion, want, and need. Images from last night still fresh and needed revisited. Hands with minds of their own, need so all-consuming that the reception was completely forgotten. Her tongue just as sweet as I remembered from last night, giving and commanding. I wanted more, but to take her in this room was out of the question. The next time I made love to my new wife it would be behind closed doors that didn't have nearly a thousand people waiting to congratulate us.

"Thank you..." Her breath hot against my mouth, her voice laced with sex and sin. "...for my bracelet."

Charlie had been given the white box that held her silver charm bracelet before the ceremony. Three charms dangled majestically from its circular band. The first, a charm that resembled a letter, the date of our first correspondence engraved on the back. The second, a SEAL insignia, the eagle grasping the trident, the anchor resting in the middle. Inscribed on the back was the day I left the military and became hers, full time. And third was a replica of her wedding ring, our wedding date on the inside.

"We will commemorate every event with a charm-anniversaries, births of children...everything."

Her face was radiant with happiness, made certain by not just my gift, but the oath I had just taken before our family and friends. I considered, briefly, keeping the fact that her mother was there to myself. However, I reminded myself that I didn't want any significant secrets between us.

"Your mother showed up."

Bellas head leaned down, her forehead making contact with my lips.

"I know, Jane told me she had a long conversation with her. Gave her a new perspective on her need to be here. Jane told her that living with regret is like living with open wounds-they may not hurt you constantly, but they can get infected and cause you more harm than good."

Emmett was correct, once we left our stolen moment, the crowd swarmed and it was in small amounts that I saw my wife. Her friends rushed her off to admire the decor of the room, see new husbands and growing relationships. However. it was my grandfather who came in and took her from my arms. He had tipped the band to play the song that he and my grandmother danced to at their wedding. My father dared me to walk over and take my wife back, but I informed him that I'd rather take on an angry mountain lion than the glint that shown in my grandfather's eye. I had the rest of my life to dance with Bella and create memories that one day I, too, would share with our grandchildren. As the song ended and my grandfather let go of her hand, I watched in awe as she pulled the old man into a hug, whispering words in his ear that made his smile bigger, before ending their time with a kiss to his cheek and another tight hug.

Her smile was genuine and it never left her face. She routinely checked the room, seeking me out-giving me a blown kiss or mouthing that she loved me-assuring me that this was real and that I wouldn't wake up, baking in my hooch, surrounded by sand and bugs. She would be there beside me welcoming a new day and a new challenge. Our love for one another would grow with our devotion to each other.

Bella Cullen may have a career as an interior designer, but she is also one of the best teachers I have ever known. She taught me that by showing kindness, random or planned, your intention may be to make the receivers lives better, but the benefits could change your world.

Remember that the next time an opportunity is given to you, you never know who will be helped more.

The end.