Chapter 22-Renesmee's POV

                                    Renesmee’s POV

Jacob knocked at my door. I opened it quickly and let him in. There was something in his hand- a small, folded up letter.

By Mama’s request, I had changed into my new lavender dress, with a cream colored cardigan beaded with little red roses that would’ve sparkled, would there have been any light in Volterra.

On my bed I tiredly sat for over an hour, wondering still what my mother was up to.

I hoped by showing them my side of things, their little feud would end up resolved.

Jake pulled me up into his arms. He too had changed, now wearing his blue outfit from the ball.

Unexpectedly, he swung me onto his back, and walked out the door.

He stopped at the lobby, seating me at one of the receptionist chairs.

The rest of my family stood also in the lobby, as if expecting us.

“We decided to go somewhere, all together as a family”, Mama said with a small smile. Her eyes flickered to Jake, then back to me.

I beamed. This was the perfect remedy for everyone to get along and settle their minor differences!

Jake went to pick me back up, but in a flash, Uncle Emmett swept me up and onto his strong, hard shoulders.

Jacob gave him a glare.

“Hey, c’mon! You’ve been hogging Nessie the whole vacation!”, he joked.

Aunt Alice was acting especially perky, jumping from one side of the room to the other, smiling at me the whole time.

Everyone seemed to be in on something, by their glances and secret smiles. Everyone except for me.

I gave Jake a confused smile as we made our way to the center of Volterra Square. I was still on Emmett’s shoulders, my hand clutching Jacob’s as he struggled to keep up with Emmett, who purposely ran a little faster than normal human speed. He stopped by the giant white stone fountain, where Emmett finally set me down. It took me

 a few seconds to realize my family was crowded around Jacob and I. People standing nearby glanced over to us, gathering into the crowd. As I looked up, confused, I saw Jacob knelt down in front of me, his deep brown eyes burning into mine with a hidden passion.

I stared back, in shock.

Mama and Daddy stepped forward. Daddy put my hand in his.

“Renesmee, this time around we’d like to give you our permission and our blessings”, he said softly, kissing the top of my head.

“We just want you to be happy”, Mama added.

I was speechless.

Jake’s warm hand caressed my cheek, turning my head back to him.

“Renesmee Carlie Cullen, would you marry me?”

This was even harder than the first time around.

 I couldn’t answer. I didn’t know how to answer.

After two minutes of silence, Emmett purposely cleared his throat, loudly. I felt horrible, looking down at Jacob. He looked so uncomfortable. I felt like I was letting him down.

The crowd looked on expectantly, everyone waiting for an answer.

 

We were moving too fast, in too little time. But we hardly had a choice. I didn’t want to wait until after I was a full vampire to get too serious with Jacob. I had learned that from my Aunt Rose. I looked around me. It was pretty dark out, especially in the specific area we gathered. I touched the rim of the water behind me in the fountain. It was cool, clear and refreshing. I watched the water make miniature ripples as I tapped the surface.

I finally returned my hand to Jacob’s.

“Renesmee, would you marry me?”, he repeated, less confidence in his voice.

I gazed around at my family for support. But they all just smiled back, as if saying, “It’s up to you, whatever makes you happy.”

What about them? How would my marriage to Jacob make things change? And would that change be positive or negative? I couldn’t be sure. Of anything, even the future we would have together. I decided, finally, to trust my instincts.

“Yes”, I whispered. “Yes!”

As soon as I’d said the word, my family burst into a congratulatory applause. The onlookers followed soon after.

Jake looked relieved. He looked like a new man, his smile stretched from ear to ear. Today was the day he had been waiting for since the imprinting began.

“Kiss!”, the crowd chanted, happiness seeming to travel to everyone except me.

Eagerly, my fiancé swept me up into his arms and pressed his lips to mine.