Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

Jasper

I cradled Alice in my arms as she sobbed uncontrollably. Her tiny frame shook violently, and I could feel the horror and sadness coming in waves not only from Alice, but also from everyone in the hotel room.

We had been walking into the lobby after lunch in one of the most fabulous restaurants in Paris when we saw the television headline. It was in French, of course, but the pictures said it all. I thought nothing of it at first, but when I heard Esme gasp, a feeling of dread coursed right through me, as if I knew something bad had happened without knowing what exactly it was. My feeling was right.

Esme walked straight up to the television, her hand outstretched, fingers reaching toward the button. I hadn’t noticed we had followed her until we were right next to her. The TV was high on the wall, too high for Esme to reach the buttons. Pictures of a model plane crashing into water flashed on the screen, and I knew what my fiancée’s mother was searching for--the flight number. I looked for it myself as Carlisle turned up the volume for his wife, though the newscaster spoke only in French. Alice spoke the language fluently now, but I had only learned how to say a few things, just the basics. I didn’t pay the man on the television any attention, however, as I kept looking for the flight number. I didn’t know what plane Edward had gotten on, and certainly not the flight number, but I knew Alice did.

“Flight 1107,” Esme whispered, “Voyage Airlines.” I looked down at her; her hands were still raised, shaking slightly, a tear escaping her right eye. She stared at the screen for a few moments before looking at Carlisle. He was staring at the screen, too, but met his wife’s gaze. His face was pale white, and he looked as if he were made out of stone. I heard Emmett’s breath catch behind me, and I felt like the world had crashed down on me as realization hit. Edward. All I could think of was the crooked smile and the messy bronze hair that I had seen what seemed like so few times. The crooked smile and messy bronze hair that I would never see again.

Finally, I turned to Alice, who was staring at the TV screen. Her pink little lips parted, and the most agonizing, heart-wrenching sound escaped her chest. She collapsed, but I caught her before she could reach the floor, and she gripped my collar roughly, yanking me to her. I picked her up, nestling her head into my shoulder, and looked at my new family. Rosalie was comforting Emmett, rubbing his back as he gaped at the screen of the television. Carlisle was holding Esme, his hands gripping her elbows as she shook her head over and over again.

I turned away from them and carried Alice to our hotel room. She started sobbing and chanting Edward’s name over and over again, throwing in what sounded like “my brother,” but she was so hysterical, I couldn’t tell. I set her on the bed and held her close, running my hands through her hair.

I heard Carlisle’s cell phone ringing on the table in the suite’s kitchen. He must have left it there accidentally when we left for the restaurant. I wondered who could be calling, wondered who else back in the states knew that it was Edward’s plane that had gone down. I noticed how everything seemed to play out in slow motion, as if my mind was shielding itself from thinking about Edward‘s death, instead focusing on things that surrounded it.

Edward’s death. My brain didn’t want to comprehend it, even as I held my broken wife.

That was how we had all come to the hotel room. Carlisle and Esme had followed us, then Emmett and Rose shortly after. Rose turned the television on in the bedroom, but the only person who was watching it was Esme. Silent tears trailed her face, but other than that, there was no sign of stress on her face.

Carlisle’s phone kept ringing; obviously, someone wanted to get a hold of him. He picked it up from the table and stared at it for a second, probably debating whether he wanted to talk to anyone. Finally, on the third ring he flipped the phone open, took a deep breath, and said, “Hello?” His voice was lifeless, not the calm or happy tone I had grown used to.

He looked at Esme on the floor as he listened to the other person on the line. Emmett walked over to him, seeming hopeful. Carlisle turned to him and mouthed “air-port”. Then everyone looked at Carlisle and paid attention, hanging onto his every word. He didn’t say much to the man on the phone, but when his face scrunched up and he sank to his knees, we all knew there was no hope. He hung up saying, “Thank you, officer. No, that won’t be necessary. Goodbye,” then he looked up first at Emmett, then at Esme, shaking his head. His gaze dropped to his knees, and his voice broke as he said, “No known survivors.”

Alice howled. Emmett sat down, buried his face between his knees and gripped his hair. Rosalie sat next to Emmett. Esme looked back at the television and whispered, “My baby. My Edward.” This was supposed to be such a happy time; Alice and I were finally getting married.

Apparently, we weren’t going to get married after all. There was no way Alice would want to have the wedding right after her brother’s death, especially when his absence at the ceremony would just be another awful reminder. It was no use thinking about that know; Alice needed me, and whether she decided to have it or not to have it, I would stand by her decision, and help her get through this horrid time.

***

Eventually, everyone returned to his or her own hotel room. I had never seen Carlisle so frustrated; people were calling him every minute--friends of the family, coworkers, even people Edward had gone to college with. At first, he only answered the calls that were from family members, but then he just couldn’t take talking about it anymore. None of us could stand having a conversation about what had happened. No one spoke of a funeral or anything, but Carlisle said there was to be a ceremony held for all the passengers that had been on the plane a week from today, so instead of getting married that day, we would be mourning. Throwing a private funeral would be up to Esme and Carlisle.

So, I sat on the bed in which we were supposed to consummate our marriage, holding Alice, whose sobs had momentarily stopped. I kissed her forehead and caressed her hair gently.

“I think we should have the wedding in October. That should give us roughly two months to get everything back in order and to…to heal,” she whispered after a few minutes of silence. October seemed rather soon to have the wedding. Alice had wanted to have an August wedding, since the weather was nice, and I wanted her to have it the exact way she wanted.

“October, Honey? That seems a little soon. I thought you wanted an August wedding. We can always wait until next year. There’s no rush,” I told her. She shook her head and looked up at me.

“No, Jazz. I’m so ready to be married, and I would like to start having children next year. If we get married next year, I’ll have to replan everything, and I don’t want to be the woman who has kids right after marriage. I want there to be a year gap in between so that we have time to enjoy our married life,” she said, speaking so fast that I had to pay extra attention. I nodded at her logic, even though I thought she may be making the wrong decision, but Alice never seemed to regret anything she did, and it was her choice, after all.

“Okay, Sweetheart, we can do whatever you want,” I said. She sighed.

“Edward never got to experience this. He’ll never get to fall in love, get married, and bring my little nieces and nephews into the world. It really makes you think…It makes you want to cherish what you have and never take anything for granted,” Alice whispered, a fat tear rolling down her cheek. “I love you, Jasper.” She pulled me to her and kissed me softly, putting so much love into it. I felt her pain, and when she pulled back, she looked so tired and sad, I wished that I could go back in time and make Edward get on the same plane as Carlisle, Esme, Emmett, and Rosalie. I traced the small dark bags under her eyes with the tip of my finger, and looked at the clock. It was in military time, but I translated it to be two in the morning. Deciding that there was nothing more to do, and knowing that Alice wouldn’t eat anything, I put her in the humongous bed and willed her to sleep.

But I knew she wouldn’t. None of the Cullens would.

***

The ceremony for the people on the plane was held in Washington, D.C., and the families of the dead were asked to bring a photo of the person who had died. Esme brought a picture of Edward from a party they had thrown when he had made it into med school, and it was put above his engraved name next to all the others. There were so many people at the ceremony, about two hundred and fifty. It was the biggest funeral I had ever seen, and quite a few people got up to say something about their passed beloveds. The pilot’s picture was at the very top of the names, and people from the airport got up and apologized for what had happened. Esme was a complete mess, and I noticed that she had lost weight. Carlisle was thinner, also, and he had taken more time off from the hospital, but he looked so tired all the time. We had been staying at Emmett and Rose’s place in New Jersey, but it was so crowded that we decided to go to Chicago with Esme and Carlisle after the funeral.

Afterwards, when the “reception” began, families began to converse, and Esme started talking with a woman named Renee and her husband Charlie. The couple had also lost a child, a daughter named Isabella who was almost Edward’s age.

“Oh, she’s so beautiful,” Esme said as Renee showed her a picture of “Bella”.

“Yes,” Renee said, tears running down her face, “She was so sweet, too. I remember the first time she realized her father’s career was hazardous. She would stay up late just to see that he came home okay. She was so selfless, and she would have made such a good mother. I don’t think she was ever a child.” She wiped her face and smiled softly. “She never really found her place in the world, though. And now she’ll never have the chance.” Her husband wrapped an arm around her shoulder and whispered something in her ear.

“My Edward didn’t really fit in, either. He was always a bit of a loner, and I thought for a while that there may be something wrong with him, but I know it was just that he hadn’t quite found anything to live for,” Esme’s voice also shook with her own tears.

“I wonder if your son and our daughter talked at all while on that plane. It’s strange to think about it, isn’t it? That your son could have been the last person to see my daughter…I wonder if they even met. I wonder if they may have even tried to help each other,” Renee said.

Esme smiled and said, “They would have made such a cute couple!” The two women giggled at this like teenagers.

Esme, Carlisle, Charlie, and Renee all talked for a while longer before exchanging phone numbers, and we left to go home.

It was a sad day, and I knew things were not going to be normal for a while. Just looking at Alice sitting down at the counter, looking a tad bit frumpy and drinking a beer--she hated beer--I could tell our life had hit a major bump in the road. But as long as we had each other and our family, we would get through this.

We would be okay.