Solstice

REUNIONS

'Honey!' squealed Reneé as she flung herself at me, hugging me so hard I found it difficult to breathe. For a moment, I wondered what on earth was going on – a human shouldn't be able to wind a vampire; then I remembered Persephone's spell. I realised that it gave the impression that I was as flesh and blood as the woman who birthed me, and shuddered inwardly at the thought. 'Let me look at you!' She framed my face with her hands, staring into my eyes. 'Are those the beginning of crow's feet?' she teased, and I forced myself not to scowl. 'And Charlie – you're looking very well. Happy. Is this Sue treating you right?'

'Very right,' Charlie grumbled, beckoning at his wife. Sue had come to visit us reluctantly; she was torn between supporting her husband and his family, and dealing with Leah's latest temper-tantrum and Jacob's heartbreak. 'Sue, this is Bella's mom. Reneé.'

'Nice to meet you,' said Sue politely, offering her hand. Reneé ignored it and hugged Sue; I saw Charlie's wife shudder delicately, but she didn't pull away.

'It's been so long. Too long. I'm a terrible mother,' she told me, and I said nothing. Her eyes flashed to my face, uncertainty in their depths. 'Edward, you're looking well – you never change,' she told him, and he stiffened. 'I love this house – I love this house!' She stood back, gazing up at the two-story, turn-of-the-century home that we had decorated according to our customary tastes – lots of pale colours, abstract paintings, glass – with an admiring expression. 'You never did come and see me in the new place in Florida, Bella –'

'That's because you never told me that you moved,' I muttered, lifting her bag. I don't know what she'd packed but, knowing Reneé, it was bound to be a haphazard mixture of ski suits and bikinis. Reneé liked to cover all eventualities. 'This way.' I led her through the house and up the stairs to the room which Alice had been using as a second closet (the contents of which were now crammed into our own dressing room at the cottage). 'I hope this is okay.'

'I thought I'd be staying with you, Bella.' Reneé sat down on the end of the pristine white bed and looked up at me. In essentials, she hadn't changed at all.

'We only have two bedrooms, Mom. The master and a room for Ness.'

'I thought her name was 'Nessie'?' Reneé frowned.

'No.' I bit back the irritation that the reminder of Jacob's highhandedness always provoked. 'Her name is 'Ness'. And she has the other room. So...'

'Well, this is very nice.' Reneé smoothed the quilt cover, her eyes darting around the peaceful space. It was simple and luxurious, like everything my family did. 'How come Charlie is staying here? Did you feel like you needed the moral support?' Her tone was playful.

'As it happens, yes.' I went over to the window, ignoring the expression of hurt in her childlike eyes. 'I haven't seen you for a long time, Mom. I've barely heard from you. Why now? Why have you come back into my life now?'

'I just missed you, honey. I got so caught up in life – I started taking that ceramics class, and hiking every weekend, and I learnt how to fish...' My mother's weak excuses petered away. 'It wasn't personal, Bella.'

I felt a flash of anger. 'It was personal to me.' I gripped the windowsill, releasing it when the wood creaked under my fingertips, and turned to face her. 'Do you know what it feels like to me?' I asked her, turning to face her. 'It feels like you used me as your private secretary, chef and chauffeur when I was a kid; then, when you got married, you didn't need me any more. And after I got married, you certainly didn't need me.'

'Oh, honey, it's not like that at all.' Reneé came over to hug me, swaying me back and forth, rocking me like I was a small child. I stood motionless in her arms. Finally, she let me go. 'I'm not sensing very much gratitude from you, Bella,' she told me as she unzipped her bag and pulled out a winter tracksuit. I whirled to face her, an incredulous smile on my lips. 'I make the effort to cross the entire country to see my only daughter, and all I get is recriminations –'