"Momma," Nessie whispered. "I don't like those."
"They're good for you, Renesmee."
Nessie made a face. "How is something good for you if it doesn't taste good?"
Bella chuckled and continued to push the shopping cart down the isle. "I'm not sure, sweetheart, but Grandfather says you need to have it sometimes, okay?"
"I guess."
Nessie looked up, looking at all the different packages that lined the walls. Everything was so green; and none of it tasted good. Bella reached for a small bundle of what looked like little trees: broccoli.
"Oh no, Momma," Nessie groaned, looking up at her and shaking her head. "Not those. Please, I don't like those at all-"
"Nessie, c'mon, they're not that bad-"
"Bella?"
Nessie's head shot up, looking around at who called for her momma. A couple. A human couple, she realized, sniffing lightly. They smelled pretty good to her. They didn't look very old, but they were clasping hands and were staring at Bella, their jaws dropped. She glanced at Bella, who had frozen.
"I'm sorry," Bella told the couple politely. "I don't know a Bella-"
Nessie frowned. What was her momma doing? Was she lying?
"Bella," the man said. He dropped the girl's hand and took a step forward. "It is you. Your hair-" He turned back to the girl. "We'd recognize it anywhere."
Nessie watched her momma's chest heave for a second, before she carefully lowered the sunglasses that hid most of her face. The man and the woman gasped.
"Bella?" the girl whispered. "You- you're-"
"Mike," Bella said with a slight smile. "Jessica. How are you?"
"You don't- you don't look the same, Bella," the girl- Jessica, Nessie guess- said. How did they know her momma? She sat patiently in the cart, holding onto the sides and watched.
Bella smiled and gave a small shrug. "Just grew up, I guess."
"You're-" Mike, the man, was at a loss for words. He was looking at her mother a little forlornly. Nessie gave a small glare, then sniffed again. He didn't smell as good as Jessica did. Bella simply smiled at him.
"Did you get- did you get plastic surgery, Bella?" Jessica whispered, stepping forward. "You look- you look incredible-"
"Um," Bella said, and shot a glance at Nessie before shrugging. "You could say that. Yeah."
"Everyone said that you moved, after your honeymoon," Jessica told her. "Everyone said that you and Edward just…moved."
Bella nodded, her face stoic. "Yeah, we pretty much did."
"But you're back now?" Mike pressed her.
Bella shrugged. "More or less."
Nessie noticed that her mother was getting…kind of antsy. And Bella was never antsy. She also wasn't giving any of them a straight answer. She didn't really understand what was going on but still, Nessie waited.
Bella evaded more questions from this Mike and Jessica and after a few more minutes, Nessie was getting antsy herself. She cleared her throat. Mike and Jessica turned toward her and they both gasped again. Nessie smiled at them and batted her eyes. Bella made a small noise that might have been a cough covering a laugh.
"Who is that?" Jessica asked. Nessie smiled again, this time showing all her teeth. Jessica gave a small sigh. Mike looked stricken.
"This is Nessie," Bella said, stroking Nessie's hair. "My daughter."
Mike's jaw dropped, but Jessica sighed again. "She's beautiful, Bella."
"She- she looks-" Mike struggled with words.
"Exactly like Edward?" Jessica filled in for him. He nodded. Bella laughed, and it sounded like wind chimes. Mike winced.
"How old is she?" Jessica asked. "Her hair is just beautiful! She's just gorgeous, Bella! She's, what, like four? Five?" Bella's smile wiped from her face as she glanced down at Nessie.
"Um-"
"I'm three!" Nessie chimed in. She held out her hand, her thumb and pinky finger tucked into her palm. "This many!"
Jessica burst into laughter, clasping her hands together. "Oh my gosh, and she talks so well! She looks so much bigger!"
Nessie noticed Mike was clearly thinking hard in his head. "If she's three…then-" He stopped suddenly and furrowed his brows, looking at Bella.
Bella raised an eyebrow.
"Were you pregnant before you got married?" he asked her in a hushed voice. Jessica slapped his arm and Bella chuckled again.
"I don't see how that's really any of your business, Mike," she said. Her butterscotch eyes grew a little cold. "But yes."
"Oh," he said and that was the end of that. He looked a little frightened.
Nessie watched as her mother interacted with these humans as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Nessie watched in fascination as Bella clapped excitedly when she discovered that Mike and Jessica were engaged. Nessie watched interestedly; Bella was moving her hands and shifting from side to side- something that she never did at home. She also played with the ends of her hair and blinked more often then she should. Nessie came to the conclusion that humans were absolutely silly.
They talked about other small things for a few more minutes, before Bella started inching the shopping cart forward.
"We should probably get going now," she said, and Nessie could see that Bella was finally starting to grow uncomfortable. "Edward's waiting-"
"Of course," Jessica said quickly, pulling on Mike's arm. "It- It was great to see you Bella-"
"Same to you," Bella said with a small smile. She put her glasses back on and relaxed her shoulders. "G'bye now."
"Momma," Nessie whispered a little later. They were loading the groceries into the Audi. "Who were those humans? They smelled good!"
Bella giggled. "Old friends, my love. When I was a human."
Nessie's eyes grew wide. "You used to be friends with them?"
"Mmhmm," Bella said, loading the last bag and closing the trunk. She lifted Nessie out of the shopping cart and buckled her into her car seat.
"The man didn't smell as good as the girl," Nessie commented. Bella snorted. "Be sure to tell your father that. I'm sure he'll be pleased."
Nessie opened her mouth, paused and then shrugged, not bothering to ask.
