Epilogue ~ Well Balanced

Edward.

It was late spring in Napa, California.

Things had done nothing but look up for Pie Girl and me, after leaving Fort Benning so many moons ago.

Like the fact that Bella never had accepted that job over in San Francisco after all.  Not exactly, anyway.  In fact she’d charmed the pants off of those executives and had convinced several of them to consider  investing their hard earned money into a new company.

One that she would run…in Napa.

And once they’d seen her business plan and mock up presentation, it was a done deal.

Emmett and I built her an office near the one that already existed for dealing with the vineyard, and she spent a lot of her time in there.  Making deals, creating beauty…

Having sex with her ex-Army lover…

And okay, I use the word ex, loosely.

Things hadn’t changed all that much for me, but, in some ways, they did.

Like that I never sold the vineyard but Alice did quit her job as groundskeeper.  She had her own plans and her own life to lead and besides, I liked taking care of everything around the winery.

And like the fact that I still went on morning runs, but no longer took them anywhere near oh five hundred hours.

I rather enjoyed watching Bella sleep instead of rushing out of bed to go start another day.

Almost summer, again, I thought as a light breeze made its way in through the bedroom window.  The sweet smell of grapes that floated in put a hidden smile on Bella’s lips, but her eyelids remained closed, unwilling to open just yet.

I let my fingers drag along her waist, her hips, her thighs… then back again as we just lay there in bed, enjoying the quiet early moments together. 

“You have the cutest fucking curves, you know that?”

She squirmed and I grinned, making note of yet another ticklish spot.

Brown eyes peeked over at me.  “Do you know what time yet?”

“Ten hours from this moment.”

She let out a sigh that I would have liked to have mimicked, but I didn’t want to let our perfect morning moment slip away. Instead, I moved my body over some so that I was leaning over her just a little.

“I won’t be long, you know that,” I said in between light kisses along her neck…her chest…

Hello, nipples.

I bit down, slightly and her breath caught.

“I hate it when you go,” she whispered, arching for me just a tad, and then I moved over her a little more, and slid into her as she spread her legs, wrapping them around me like she always did.

The way she liked it.

The way I loved it.

She hummed and I moved slowly, in and out of her, attempting to make the moments last longer.

Always wanting them to last longer.

But then, also like always, our movements became more urgent.

Her lips against my neck.

Her grasping hands and feet that didn’t know where to land.

Engulfing myself in trying to tie us together in a way that would never be undone.  It was always too much.  And yet, not enough.

It always would be.

After, I held her.  Almost too tightly against me because, in reality, I hated when I left too.

But at least I knew it wasn’t permanent.

Eventually, I slipped my sweats on and Bella covered herself up to go down and start the day, but I stopped her just before she was out of my reach.

I took a hand and pulled her back for one more morning kiss.

“I love you,” I whispered as my hands slid downward along her arms. 

After the first time I’d said those words to her…and ever since, I felt a slight elation in that she’d been the only person I’d ever uttered them to.

The only person I ever would utter them to.

Save for one, maybe.

 “Dah…deeeeeee!”

The small voice that belonged to my three year old son screeched through the room as he realized we were up and then, with a tumble or two, made his daily attempt to tackle me.

My head fell against Bella’s for the slightest of moments before I told her, “Maybe we can continue this later?” to which she arched an eyebrow a little at me.

“The caves?”

“Definitely,” I told her with one last brush of my lips against hers.  Then I grabbed the tiny limbs that belonged to the giggles and mock wrestled with him for a few minutes.

“Okay,” I told him when we were done.  “You need breakfast and daddy needs to run.”

“Come with!” he squealed.

“Tell ya what,” I said, bobbing him lightly on the nose.  “When you can keep up, you can run with me every day, got it?”

He pouted a little, but Bella picked him up and gave him tummy kisses which made everything better. 

She also made promises of pie later in the day.  That never hurt either.

I ran a shorter distance that day since I wanted every hour with Bella and Anthony to count, but I still had plenty of time to ponder.

About how there’d been a time in my life that I thought I’d never see this place again, have the love for it I did when I was little, much less be sharing these things with someone like Bella.

How I knew I’d miss the vines while I was gone.

Miss my family.

But knew they’d still be there when I returned.

It was satisfying.

And relieving, in a way.

To have been able to let go of the hurt and the pain…the bitterness of things that, in the end, didn’t seem like as much of a big deal as they used to.

And as I returned home, I slowed to a walk and observed the vines.

Smiled at the way they were coming in, knowing it would be time to harvest them soon.  Then there was the wine tasting competition that was coming up, the grape festival…

And the fact that I’d be participating in these things as an all out fully righted owner this year was…a little incomprehensible.

I mean, I wasn’t hated by everyone anymore and the vineyard had truly come a long way since I’d taken it over for good.

But it was still missing something.

Someone.

“Hey, Dad,” I said, taking my usual spot next to his burial place, toward the back of the property.

It had become a weekly thing for me, these visits with Carlisle.

For us.

I typically took him wine that I’d been particularly proud of, shared it with him, then told him how things were coming along with the slip of land he’d left to me when he died.

Some weeks were filled with good news. 

Like when I’d finally found the nerve to propose to Bella.

How she’d finally said yes, after many…many weeks of…coaxing.

She was still stubborn, what can I say?

And how we were married next to the raspberry bushes, on a Saturday at moonrise one winter evening, with a small crowd of witnesses that included Emmett, Rose, Alice and Jasper…even Bella’s ex-fiance and best friend, Jake.

Her mom attended as well.

She wasn’t all that bad and, once she realized I owned a vineyard, she was on speaking terms with Bella again.

It also didn’t hurt that Bella’s web designing business had taken off like a bat outta hell.

Turns out Carlisle wasn’t the only parent that was kinda crappy about showing love for his child.

Another good week included telling him about Felix’s arrest going to trial, despite the cops that the Volturi’s thought they had in their back pockets.   How the testimony of the girls he’d raped and, in some cases, beaten led to a guilty verdict and he was now spending his days behind bars not so far away and yet, very far away.

How sales for the Volturi winery had gone down immensely and there were rumors of them leaving Napa all together, even.

But I wasn’t one to listen to rumors, so I pretended not to hear that one when people gossiped. 

I was, however, saving a special bottle of red for celebrations sake…you know, just in case.

Some weeks with Dad, though, were not so good on the news front.

Like the first time Bella miscarried.

How torn apart Alice was when Jasper was wounded in action only weeks before his last run was up.

How we weren’t even sure he was gonna make it, but he pulled through because that bastard is one tough Army man.

They were making a life of their own in Napa, Jasper and Alice, and I had to admit, it was really good to have him around.  Especially when I knew the Volturi’s, although they’d been taken down a peg or two, might just have some sort of crazy concocted revenge plot on their minds.

But I didn’t worry about that too much.

I was more worried about raising a child in an environment full of an appreciation for the vines, respect for his family but, most of all, a love for himself.

Because he deserved it, and it would ultimately be the basis of every decision he would make throughout his life.

Trust me.

After I was done saying a few final words of thanks to Carlisle for what he’d given me at the end of his life here with us, I went back up to the house.

I showered and packed, and then made my way down to the cellar with a few new bottles for our collection.

I walked by the wines that currently sat on the shelves.

Bella’s Swan labeled bottle that I’d made her.   One from the stock we’d used at Carlisle’s funeral.  One from mine and Bella’s wedding, and, lastly, from the day Anthony was born.  There were a few others that weren’t nearly as meaningful, lining another shelf.

Next to them sat the picture of Emmett and me, from when we were kids.  That year we broke the church window, and I smiled at it as I passed it this time.

“Is that Pinot from the reserve?” Bella asked, watching me from the doorway.

She had a slight smile playing on her lips as she leaned against the door jamb and I knew she knew she was giving me a hard on when she used words like that.

Snarky little Pie Girl.

I tried to ignore it.

The hard on, that is.

“Yeah,” I said, smirking sideways at her, while I placed the bottle in its space.

It was our first real money making wine with regards to online sales, and I had no doubt that it was going to be the first of many. 

A definite keeper.

Pinot Noirs.  Who knew?

A tug on the cuff my jeans and I smiled even wider.

“Daddy, vines?”

I sucked in some exaggerated air, raising my eyebrows a little as I peeked down at the three year old that was putting his newly discovered puppy dog eyes into action. “I dunno, little man, I have a lot of stuff to do today before I go.”

And that same quivering lip I remembered his mother having.

Ugh.

Kills me, every time.

“I help?”

This kid.

How was it that my heart could break into so many pieces over the years?

I squatted down so we were at eye level with each other.

“Ya know what? None of it is as important as you,” I told him, putting a hand out for him to take and he placed his nearly matching tiny one into it, jumping up and down.

“Vines?”

“Vines,” I said.

I scooped him up and we headed out to inspect a new breed of Zin grapes I was testing out for the upcoming season.

A few last minute instructions over at the processing building, lunch and some heavy petting with my wife in the caves while Anthony was napping later, and, just like that, it was time to go.

Not that my life wasn’t fulfilled in ways I’d never considered it ever would be.  But after a while of being home and running things full time, I realized I’d missed certain aspects of the Army after all.

So, after many discussions with Bella, getting her okay on things, and some direction from Jasper, I’d signed up as a part time training instructor at Fort Irwin, in Southern California.

They only needed me every so often to help train new recruits that would be going out into the field like I used to.   It put my mind at ease, being able to help my country out in some way other than leaving for two years at a time.

It was a win win for both the US Army and me.

Besides, the homecomings after being separated from Bella for a week or two?  So worth it.

I packed and dressed then left a note on one of the pillows for Bella to find later, when she went to bed without me.

"What I do and what I dream include thee, as the wine must taste of its own grapes..."

It was a quote from Elizabeth Barret Browning.

She’d get it.

I walked down the stairs where Bella and Anthony were waiting for me.

Bella’s eyes roamed as an eyebrow arched and I grinned at her, knowing what was going on in that beautiful head of hers.  Anthony squealed and laughed and ran up to me for his hug goodbye.

When I reached her, holding my son in one arm, I put my free one around her and kissed the top of her head.  “I did tell you I love you today, didn’t I?” I asked, pretending not to remember and she rolled her eyes at me.

“I don’t think so.”

“Well I do,” I assured her. “Every day until the day I die.”

She pushed up onto her tippy toes and whispered all sexy like into my ear, “I love you too, Grape Guy.”

“Gape Guy!” Anthony mimicked, and we laughed as we walked out to my cab that was waiting.

“I’ll see you in about two weeks,” I told her and she closed her eyes when I put my lips on hers for a few extra moments. “Two weeks.”

Then I threw my duffle over my shoulder and started down the walk way to my ride.

“Edward,” she called as I was opening the door.  I stopped and looked back, waiting for her to say it.

“Come home to me.”

I smiled.

My heart swelled overwhelmingly, and I felt that same familiar pain in my chest whenever I was away from her.

It was funny how my life had practically been a replica of the vines I’d been growing for so long.

They start out so young and stupid, not really knowing what they’re supposed to do as they sit there in the dirt, waiting for the love they so deserve.

Then, as they grow, they yearn for affection from the sunlight, but would never give you the satisfaction of knowing that.

Their roots grow, yielding vines that show you the way to their bounty, through twists and turns. Some easy to get to, some difficult, sometimes getting tangled up in other roots along the way.

They produce sour grapes, sweet ones, red ones, green ones…some get thrown out because they’re just plain old bad.

But, in the end, they work their ass off to give you something you’ll be proud of.

And I was suddenly hearing my grandfather’s voice again, from so, so long ago, telling me "You can't be your own person if you don't even know who that is yet, Edward."

Finally, I thought.  I was my own person.  I didn’t need my father to tell me who that was, or my mother, or the Army or…anyone for that matter…just me, and I was willfully sharing who I was with people who cared and loved and supported me.

Whether I wanted them to, at times, or not.

And as far as knowing who I was, well, I knew that too.

I was Edward Cullen.

Son to the best grape grower in a fifty mile radius.

A hellion in younger years.

A soldier of the United States Army.

Vineyard owner.

Father.

Husband.

And I loved my life.

“Always, Pie Girl,” I told her, smiling over at the two people who were everything to me.

Everything I’d ever need.

“I’ll always come home to you.”

A/N: Cue Vineward’s theme song {yes, I gave him a theme song}… 

which is “Not Broken” by the Goo Goo Dolls

Regarding Balance: A good wine is said to be well-balanced. The reference is to the symbiotic interrelationship and desired harmony between the major components of a wine fruit, sugar, acidity, tannins, alcohol and oak aging.  {swoon worthy}