Esme Cullen
Dazzled
Vegetarian Vampire
The Mother
Posts: 164
|
Post by Esme Cullen on Nov 19, 2008 1:40:54 GMT -5
(Timeline: Early Eclipse)
It was another sunny day in the tiny town of Forks, Washington. Forks, and the entire Olympic Peninsula for that matter, was known for it's many overcast days. So a sunny day was definately a rare occurrence.
Esme didn't mind the sunny days so much. Even though they did restrict her from being in the public eye. She found these days gave her more time to do something she loved; antique restoration.
Today she sat in her small study, which could only be accessed through Carlisle's office. Her study was a place where she could be herself and lose herself in the many blueprints of places she wanted to restore or had restored in the past. Her project today was going over a plan she hoped to use in the future. It was a small little broken down cottage a little farther into the forest than the house she was in now. She didn't plan to start the restoration process for a while now, unsure if the plans she had now would be the same down the line. Her hopes were that this little cottage could someday become Edward and Bella's, if they did decide to get married.
She sketched the plan she had in her head and made up the blueprints for a small fairytale cottage. She planned to keep it simple and design it the way she thought it would have looked like before it had become run down; she knew Bella would love to keep it realistic and practical. As she worked she hummed quietly to herself, her favorite composition of Edward's.
|
|
|
Post by Carlisle Cullen on Nov 19, 2008 14:11:27 GMT -5
Carlisle stepped out of his slick, black Mercades in the family garage, parking it neatly between two older models that he had yet to get rid of. His day had been a waste for all concerned, though Carlisle was not the kind of person to allow this to frustrate him. He had set off for the hospital particularly early that morning, having been warned by Alice of the sun that dictated their day. However, even with all his years of experience as a vampire, he still got things wrong. The sun came out even earlier than expected and the parking spaces were a good human walk from the entrence. He had parked his stunning car in one of these places and pondered the puzzle - the hospital was not the shadiest place, and the carpark even less so. It would be alright if he could only make it into the entrence area without being seen, but it was too far away to risk running. He had exhaled out of habit and then kicked his car back into gear. He knew that he was hours early for his shift - it was nothing a little 'colic' couldn't fix.
Thus, Carlisle pulled out his smart little cell phone and dialled in the number for the hospital where he sat in the garage. A small, calm smile spread over his face as he explained his predicament to the receptionist at the end of the line, hearing the disappointment in her voice that Dr. Cullen would not be in that day. So, after assuring the concerned woman that he would be fine after some rest, and dissuading her from visiting with some camomile tea, Carlisle climbed out of the expensive car and made his way up to house.
At the foot of the stairs, in the entrence hall, the doctor stopped and listened out for who was in, opened his nostrils to his family's scent. The house seemed quite empty today, which was quite unusual for a sunny day, but nothing to worry about - he knew that Edward had a place he liked to go to and was probably with Bella and Alice would have warned them of any impending doom. And so, he carried on, ascending the stairs with a lithe step, barely making any contact with the carpeted stairs before propelling himself up the next. In no time at all he had made his way through his own office, following his senses to take him to his other half. He paused at the door way of the join between their two offices, ever the gentleman and smiled at his lovely wife.
"Knock, knock?" he phrased the words as a question.
|
|
Esme Cullen
Dazzled
Vegetarian Vampire
The Mother
Posts: 164
|
Post by Esme Cullen on Nov 19, 2008 16:51:57 GMT -5
Esme paused with her work as she heard the approach of a vehicle. The sound she knew all too well; it was Carlisle's Mercedes. She sighed in relief, anytime he was gone it always felt as if a part of her was missing.
She tucked a strand of her caramel colored hair behind her ear as she bent her head down and continued to work, waiting for Carlisle to come inside. She knew when he stoped on the porch before opening the door; his smell was burned into her mind, and she could pick his out miles away. Her sketches continued as she multitasked, part of her listening for Carlisle's approach. The short moments it took him to find her in her study seemed like a lifetime.
Her head snapped up, and a wide, nurturing smile pulled up the corners of her lips as her husband paused in the doorway. He was too kind, still being courteous even though he knew she already knew he was there, asking to come in.
"Come in," she smiled, setting her pencil down and standing up. "Get much work done?" she asked.
|
|
|
Post by Carlisle Cullen on Nov 19, 2008 18:32:58 GMT -5
Carlisle's smile expanded to bare his bright white teeth at his wife - he was hard pressed to hide his enthusiasm at seeing her when no one else was around. Now, with a grin lighting up his features, Carlisle moved into the room at a painstakingly slow human pace, shaking his head a little. However, before he got around to speaking about his day, he closed the remaining space between them and wrapped his arms around his beautiful wife and planted a soft kiss on her forehead, her caramel hair tickling his nose.
The gesture was a short one, but it was heartfelt. He pulled away from the embrace, trailing his fingers over Esme's left forearm and taking her hand into his for contact. Still he was silent as his fingertips met with the wedding band he had placed on her finger all those years ago and he considered the loneliness that he had suffered for centuries. Never again.
"Unfortunately not," he admitted, his mind returning to the question that he was asked. "Got caught out by the sun. It happens to the best of us, I suppose."
He gave Esme a mock wary look. "But if we have any visitors, it may be wise if you attend to them - I'm having stomach problems."
|
|
Esme Cullen
Dazzled
Vegetarian Vampire
The Mother
Posts: 164
|
Post by Esme Cullen on Nov 20, 2008 0:58:29 GMT -5
A single whispered laugh escaped Esme's lips. "Stomach problems this time, eh?" She looked up at her husband's face and grinned, "I'll be sure to take care of any visitors that may stumble across our house."
She lightly squeezed the hand that was holding hers. It was these small, loving gestures that she lived for; the simple kiss on the forehead, the holding of hands. She couldn't live without them. She couldn't live without her family either. Hm, family, she pondered in her head for a short second where the rest of them may be on a sunny day like this. But quickly returned her attention to her husband.
"So, what are your plans for today, now that you're home?" she questioned, reaching her right hand up to push back a small strand of his blonde hair from his face. She trailed her fingers down the side of his face, lingering there for a moment, before returning her hand to her side.
|
|
|
Post by Carlisle Cullen on Nov 20, 2008 5:53:35 GMT -5
Carlisle twisted his lips a little as he thought, skewing his even expression into a jaunty angle. His thoughts were coming a little slow today, which was perhaps because he wasn't used to being caught off guard in the way that he had. Usually, if he had decided to go to work, he would go; if the sun was going to shine he would know and judge the time he had to park by right. Not today, though. Now his thoughts were lingering here and there, appreciating the odd ray of light that made it through the blind and played with his wife's skin and the simplicity of their relationship in the complication of their existence. Yes, today was a happy, thoughtful sunny day.
"I haven't given it much thought," he admitted, eventually.
He was somewhat past the reckless stage of suggesting picnics in the sunlight excluding forest - he had too much responsibility to allow himself to be exposed on a whim like that - although he did envy those that could afford it, just a little. He perched himself at the very edge of Esme's desk, so used to feigning humanity that it took no conscious thought or effort, and peeked over Esme's work in progress.
"The cottage?" he asked, an interested smile on his lips. He always admired Esme's elegant, light styling of her projects, the way she knew what people would want almost before they did. "How're the plans coming along?"
|
|
Esme Cullen
Dazzled
Vegetarian Vampire
The Mother
Posts: 164
|
Post by Esme Cullen on Nov 20, 2008 15:21:08 GMT -5
Esme smiled at her husband's response to how he would spend his day. She found it interesting how one thing could throw his thoughts askew. She found it adorable too, the miniscule ounce of vulnerability that he rarely showed when his plans were thrown off course.
Esme looked down at her own work as her husband did, her caramel colored hair falling forward, sheltering the sides of her face. She tucked her hair behind her ears. Her face fell slightly at her husband's question, and then a small, embarassed smile lit her face.
"Yeah," she mumbled, "The cottage. It's coming along alright, although they're just plans right now. Who knows if I'll get to actually restoring the quaint, charming little place. As much as I would love to, I don't know if I'm jumping ahead of myself. You know how quick their plans can change, I mean what happened last fall...." Rambling was a bad habit of Esme's, she did it when she was unsure of herself. She hated making a plan before she knew for sure that's the path that was being taken, she didn't want to be a bother or make people feel obligated.
|
|
|
Post by Carlisle Cullen on Nov 20, 2008 16:02:39 GMT -5
"I wouldn't worry about it, Esme," Carlisle told his wife, softly, now focusing on the plans that she had come up with properly. "Something with that much feeling in it will always have a purpose, even if Edward and Bella choose a different path."
He tilted his head a little, allowing him a better angle to view his wife's lovely face. The family was so used to Alice's visions now, even he was. However, there had been a long time, centuries, in which he had been as blind as the average human to the future. He had turned Esme in such a state, not to mention Edward and Rosalie, and he had absolutely no regrets about those actions. He did what he felt was best, before, tentatively for himself, and now for his family.
|
|
Esme Cullen
Dazzled
Vegetarian Vampire
The Mother
Posts: 164
|
Post by Esme Cullen on Nov 20, 2008 18:06:17 GMT -5
"You're right Carlisle," Esme said, "And thanks." She smiled kindly at her husband.
Esme walked towards the door, pulling her husband behind her. The slow human pace she took was second nature to her, and now with Bella around their house a lot she found herself keeping the human facade in her home.
"I'm going to go downstairs," Esme told her husband, releasing his hand. "You're more than welcome to come along." She smiled hugely at him before speeding lithely down the flight of stairs and through the doorway that led to the kitchen.
The Cullen's kitchen was large and open, with the latest hightec appliances. But everything in this one room was simply a prop, none of the Cullens ate any human food. However, Esme happily kept the fridge and cupboard stocked mainly for Bella's visits here; and of course if any other guests may happen to visit. It had been a while since Esme last cleaned out the fridge, and things were starting to go bad. Of course to the normal human senses everything looked fine, but with Esme's vampire senses she could see the tiniest hint of spoiling; the apples were starting to slightly bruise, leftover Italian food from last night didn't smell right, and the half gallon of milk in the back smelled slightly sour. Not to mention the food in the pantry, the poptarts that were purchased last week were begining to stale and the already open bag of chips that were purchased earlier in the week were the same way.
"Time to empty the kitchen," she whispered to herself. She sped to a cabinet under the sink, and pulled out a large, black trash bag. She paused there in front of the sink, the large garden window above the sink was letting in a warm ray of sunshine, and it warmed her sleek, cold, marble skin.
|
|
|
Post by Carlisle Cullen on Nov 20, 2008 18:56:08 GMT -5
Of course Carlisle followed his wife down to the kitchen. It was rare for them to get a tranquil moment together, one in which they could act even slightly 'normal', and he enjoyed them when they did get them. He took a moment to watch his wife's face sparkle in the sun light and the shadow of that the curtain of hair cast on her face. She may be made of the same brand of quartz-like granite that they were all formed out of, but Carlisle couldn't imagine a gentler touch, even with something as mundane as throwing out kitchen waste. After a moment or two of silent contemplation, Carlisle stepped forward to help his wife as his equal, pulling open another cupboard full of various spoiling dry goods. He held out a packet of opened tortilla chips which were 'cool original' flavour, according to the packaging.
"I can't even imagine what these would taste like..." he commented, a defined, blonde eyebrow raising.
To be honest, Carlisle could barely remember what anything tasted like, but he did have a vague memory of the earthy taste of vegetables, the salt of the bread, the smoke of the meat... but these strange cardboard-like triangles? It didn't make an ounce of sense to him, though it could be said that humans would feel the same way about his diet. Except some of them still enjoyed black pudding, which was disgusting. Carlisle had tried pigs' blood since being turned and he had to say that it was around the least satisfying, of all the animals to use...
(OOC: Ah, just remembered you're American, so probably don't know what black pudding is. I think you call it blood sausage, basically pigs' blood, oats and herbs.)
|
|
Esme Cullen
Dazzled
Vegetarian Vampire
The Mother
Posts: 164
|
Post by Esme Cullen on Nov 21, 2008 6:58:51 GMT -5
Esme tied off the end of her now full trashbag and set it on the ground by her feet; she'd throw that out in a moment.
She turned and admired her husband. While his appearance was stunning (gorgeous blonde hair that was kept swept away from his face, his tall frame, muscles discreet-not like her adopted son Emmett's, his physique was essentially flawless), she found his personality the most admiring; his compassion and love to do what was right.
"You know, I don't see what is so good about these things either," she replied to her husband's comment about human food, "But if Bella likes them then I guess they can't be too bad." Esme tried to remember what food had tasted like for a moment, but the only thing she could remember before being turned was her baby boy and what it felt like losing him. She would never feel that way again if she could help it; the absolute dispair, feeling and knowing you've lost everything and the one thing you loved, that filled your heart so much that you wondered how it all fit, gone. For not even a sixteenth of a second Esme's face showed a pained expression before she quickly changed it to a grin at her husband.
"I'm just going to take these out," she said, her eyes glancing at the trash bag he held and the one at her feet. There was no more food to throw out, so she knew Carlisle would be done filling it. Again, she used her human pace to grab the two bags in one hand, and then switched to her "normal", speeding vampire pace. She sped to the side of the garage where they kept their cars and the large, green garbage can, her feet barely touching the ground. She abruptly stopped and threw away the bags of trash, and then turned to go back into the house. But she couldn't bring herself to move, the warm, radiant sun warmed her skin so nicely. She held out her right arm, turning it slightly to the left, and watched the sun glimmer off her skin. She sighed, it had been awhile since she had actually gone outside in the sun, usually spending her days in her study. She let her arm rest at her side again, and then looked up at the sun. She took a deep, unneeded breath in, tasting the air around her; the crisp air, the strong smell of the pine trees, the simple smell of the grass, and the smell of oil on the garage floor. She would have to tell Rosalie about that; Rosalie was the Cullen's personal mechanic, next best was Edward.
|
|
|
Post by Edward Cullen on Nov 21, 2008 13:56:46 GMT -5
Edward had been out running that morning. It wasnt as if he'd actually need to exercise, but he enjoyed getting out, even if it wasnt in public. He liked the speed he could attain while running. While moving at those speeds through the forest he knew that even if there was a hiker out on the trails, the most they'd notice of his presence was a gust of wind as he passed them. He wouldn't have to worry about them spotting his skin in the bright sunlight.
After he was finished he headed home, knowing that when he stopped moving, he'd have to be out of the public eye. When he walked through the front door, he was surprised to pick up his father's scent, realizing that Carlisle was there today. He was usually at work, even on sunny days. He'd just leave earlier and stay until after the sun had set, the hospital had enough artificial light that the sun didnt get to him there.
|
|
|
Post by Carlisle Cullen on Nov 21, 2008 20:01:22 GMT -5
Carlisle nodded at Esme in response to her, though she had already sped away by the time he had finished her movement. He leaned against the kitchen cabinet, again, his human pretense showing itself naturally - he usually spent all day pretending to be human - and his thoughts returned to the hospital without his wife to distract him. The smile on his face fell and his lips settled into a thin, serious line - he'd had patients depending on him today and the nature of his being had prevented him from being there. He didn't get caught out often, but it was enough. He felt guilty.
Hello, son, Carlisle consciously thought out as an inhale alerted him to Edward's presence. Good day?
He pushed himself up from the counter, idly wondering where Esme had gotten to, before his thoughts returned to the hospital while he waited for Edward's approach.
Hmm, Mrs. Patterson should really have been put forward for a MRI today... And Mr. Hodgekiss needed his medication checking... It's all on the charts, but...
It wasn't an issue when he moved around and skipped out on work because of family obligations, to which Bella firmly belonged - she was all but a Cullen, after all. But when it was through carelessness...
Maybe I should call them...
He just couldn't bare the thought that he was continuing to put people in danger due to his vampiric nature. He now stood staring directly ahead into the middle distance, his blonde brows drawn together a little, making him look rather perplexed.
|
|
|
Post by Edward Cullen on Nov 22, 2008 2:06:30 GMT -5
Edward smiled as his father mentally greeted him as he entered the house. There was warmth to his tone, even in his thoughts, it was very soothing. Edward followed the voice into the kitchen.
"Today's been alright, went out for a run. Did you not make it to the hospital before the sun was out? Or decide to take the day off?" He said, knowing the answer but asking anyway. Even though he wasnt thinking about this morning now, Edward knew Carlisle was too devoted to his work to randomly take days off if he didnt have a reason, and Edward could tell by his thoughts that he was already troubled by not being there now.
When he heard Carlisle consider calling the hospital he shook his head. "They have a full staff, they'll manage without you for one day" He said reassuringly.
|
|
|
Post by Carlisle Cullen on Nov 22, 2008 11:12:47 GMT -5
(OOC: How early Eclipse is 'early Eclipse', Esme? Just wondering if it's right at the beginning when they're just starting to cover Seattle in the media, or if Alice has already predicted Victoria's return?)
Carlisle's gaze altered the moment that Edward entered the kitchen, focusing his deep amber eyes on to his son in a very parental manner. It was a strange relationship, really; Carlisle always treated Edward with the utmost respect, the younger vampire's opinion was equally as valid as the patriarch's and did not warrent questioning. But then, when it came down to it, Carlisle was the father, her thought of himself as the father figure and he was as protective of his family as any other good father or husband. He nodded, once, at Edward's assessment of the question in his thoughts.
"I know that really," he said, preferring to speak verbally rather than express himself through his thoughts. "It's not often I get caught out by the son, especially when we've had the warning from Alice, but I suppose it can't be helped really..."
He twisted his lips a little and then consciously shifted the situation out of his thoughts in order to pay more attention to his eldest vampire son. A half grin extended his lips after a moment.
"It is nice to have some extra time with Esme and the family," he raised his eyebrows as he spoke, his thoughts vaguely wondering where the rest of the family had disappeared to on this sunny day. Yes, it was always nice to have an extra few moments, even though they would most likely end with the apocalypse, he would always appreciate any extra time he could spend with them.
"No Bella today?"
|
|