“Hey, Bells, Edward.” He said with a swift nod and went over to sit on the couch, as I closed the door behind us. Bella sat on the couch, next to the recliner Charlie was in. He was pretending to watch the game on television, but his thoughts were all over the place.

I still wish we could be a family together. But she had to leave so many years ago. I don't exactly blame her. I wonder what they're here for. I have a feeling it's something big. Maybe he knocked her up…Oh shut up, Charlie! Give them the benefit of the doubt. He looked over at Bella. She looks just like her mom when she was younger. I can remember the day we met. It was an instant connection… Images filled my mind of a young Renée about the same age Bella was now. His thoughts gave me an idea to take the pressure of the announcement.

If I could get him distracted enough with the story of how he and Renée met and got married, maybe he'd be more willing to accept my feelings for Bella and our reasons for getting married so soon, even if they weren't completely the real ones.

I went to sit on the couch, when I passed Charlie's horrible hiding place for the photo album. It was sticking out from the side of the couch, as if he had thrown it underneath before going to get the door. I casually leaned down to pick it up.

“What's this?” I said, brushing the cover of the album off. It read “The Swan Family” in big gold letters across the black leather cover. Charlie immediately flushed a deep crimson, and so did Bella. I heard Charlie grumble in a low voice about “so much, for hiding the dang thing.” as Bella sighed a defeated sigh.

“It's our family album. Mostly it's school pictures that mom sent him and pictures from when mom still lived here.” She said matter-of-factly. I heard Charlie wince at the last part.

I opened it up and started to scan the pictures that I had just seen in Charlie's mind, outside. Bella looked so much like her mother when she was young, only Renée seemed so much more free-spirited, almost reckless in the pictures. Bella had told me about her weekly changing hobbies and how she never really paid attention to anything she did. It made me ache that Bella had to grow up so fast, almost miss out on the carefree atmosphere of childhood, that even I had experienced, decades ago, but I snapped out of it and got back to the plan. There was a picture of a young, curly-haired Charlie, in a tuxedo and a young, long-haired Renée in a purple knee-length prom dress. It looked like it was from the 80s. Renée's hair was huge and her make-up was bright, she was smiling and laughing in the picture, while Charlie was smiling widely at her, with eyes full of love and adoration.