EPOV
It happened on a Saturday when Bella was at the office. Will was eating peas. He fucking loved peas. Mashed and gooey, he'd smear them all over his face and revel in it. He'd take big handfuls and squish them through his fisted fingers, then stick the whole ungodly mess in his mouth. He was in his fucking glory and it made my skin crawl.
"He likes it so much!" Ness cheered bouncing up and down on her seat. She ate her peanut butter and jelly in a much more acceptable manner. She ate with a napkin clutched in one of her hands. She'd wipe at Will and his tray when she thought I wasn't looking. Sometimes that shit troubled me, but it always warmed my heart just the same. Ness knew me through and through. I just hoped that my issues didn't leave a lasting imprint on my kids.
As if I could make up for my insanity in an instant, I leaned over and kissed first Ness and then Will on the forehead, braving the mess on his face. Will gurgled happily and started bobbing excitedly up and down in his seat.
"Goo! Plah! Dha!" he shouted.
"Settle down, son," I laughed, and I made the mistake of kissing him again. It was a mistake because it only got him more riled up. Will started waving his gummy hands wildly as he bounced and one came into contact with his plastic bowl of pea goop. It went sailing through the air and collided with the kitchen wall. Peas were sprayed everywhere. Ness held up her little napkin as if that would make it all magically disappear.
Will's big green eyes went wide. He waved his hands maniacally. "Fuh!" he huffed.
Ness's hand came over her mouth.
I strode across the kitchen to get cleaning supplies.
"Fuh! Fuh!" he cheered.
"Edward?" Ness asked.
"Fuh!"
Ness giggled.
"Fuh!" he yelled louder.
Ness's giggles turned to laughter.
"Fuh!" Will shouted, encouraged. By the time I turned around, armed with a spray bottle and wipes, Nessie was clutching her belly and had tears running down her face.
"Fuh!" Will yelled, whipping his hands over his tray and spraying pea droplets everywhere. He was beaming, proud, his big two-toothed smile lighting up the room. His eyes fell on me, poised to clean up his latest accomplishment.
"Dha! Fuh!" He sprayed more peas over the side. He looked between his mess and me, back to his mess, then back to me.
"Fuh!"
I placed the spray bottle on the table, kind of overcome with fucking pride, but feeling a little guilty all at the same time.
"Fuh?" Will asked and I felt a smile spread across my face. I mean, it was his first word. A big fucking accomplishment. I shouldn't discourage him. Right?
Will swiped more peas off the tray. "Fuh!" he pronounced proudly with a confident nod of his head. He was getting the hang of the word, already taking command of it. My fucking kid.
"Edward," Ness gasped, holding her sides. "Edward, I think Will said -"
"Will said something?"
All three of us simultaneously turned towards the sound of Bella's voice, followed quickly by the click of the front door closing.
"Oh no!" Ness hissed.
"Edward?" Bella called as her heels clicked quickly towards the kitchen. "Did Will say something?"
"Oh no!" Nessie laughed louder.
Will went back to pushing bits of pea goop off the sides of his tray.
"Say mama?" I pleaded with my son.
"Fhu Mha?" he asked.
"No! Just 'ma'," I hissed urgently. "Mama."
"Mha mha," he gurgled looking at the peas.
"Wow," Nessie cooed. "He said, like, two words."
"Two words?" Bella burst through the kitchen door, then stopped in her tracks. "Oh my…What the heck happened in here?" she asked as her eyes took in the green splatter all over the room.
"Mha!" Will called, waving his pea-covered hands at Bella. "Mha… mha. Mhamha. Mama!"
"Oh my god," Bella cried, scooping up her goopy son and cradling him as I cringed. Her crisp white shirt was smudged gray-green and Will quickly had peas tangled in her hair.
Bella's eyes caught mine. "Mama?" she asked. "He just said mama. Right?"
"Um, yeah, well, not-" I began, but stopped when I felt a tug at the hem of my T-shirt.
"He did, mama," Ness cut in. "Mama. You were his first word."
"My sweet little baby boy," Bella cooed. "Let's get you cleaned up."
"Mamamamama!" Will cheered laying it on thick.
I looked down at Ness. She handed me the spray bottle and winked.
