Chapter Three: The Mall

BPOV

When I opened my eyes, the first thing I noticed was the two warm bundles in my bed. I glanced down and found the twins curled against my side, Owen on my right and Madi on my left. I brushed her hair out of her eyes, watching her breath. According to the clock, it was a little before six and the sky was darker than it should've been. As I listened, I heard thunder echoing through the sky.

I didn't have the heart to wake the kids, so I got up as gently and quietly as I could. Once I was up, they both wormed their way into the warm spot where my body had been. I stumbled into the bathroom, my muscles not working yet. I hopped into the shower and let the water wash over me. I never wanted to move but eventually I found myself walking to the kitchen.

There I found Edward, looking stunning in his white button shirt and dress pants. "So, what would you like for breakfast?" I asked.

"Hmm, I think a cheese, spinach, and onion omelet would be good, if you don't mind. I doubt the kids would eat it though." I smirked, knowing I could probably find a way to make them eat and like it.

"Don't worry about it. They'll eat it and I want one too." An omelet sounded really good on such a stormy morning. "How late do the kids usually sleep?"

"Until about eight or a little before. Probably, since last night was a late night, it'll be a little later than usual. Normally, though, you can bet you have until seven thirty."

"OK, but do they usually wake up in the middle of the night?" I wondered if they climbed into bed with Edward.

"No, they never do. They are really good about sleeping through the night. Why, did they wake you up?" He actually looked concerned.

"No, but I woke up and found one on each side of me. The twins look so cute when they're sleeping." As I talked, I couldn't help the smile that lit up my face. I began taking everything I needed out of the new, shiny, silver fridge. Walking over to the oven, my sock slipped and I started to fall towards the ground.

Everything fell out of my arms, spilling onto the clean floor. I closed my eyes, prepared for an impact that never comes. Two cold arms caught me under the armpit from behind. Edward pulled me up gently, setting my feet back on the floor. I could still feel the heat of his body on my back

Without turning around, I started to pick everything up off the floor and onto the counter. Finally, my cheeks were only pink instead of a fire-engine red. "Thank you. I do that a lot but usually no one catches me," I mumbled, chancing a glance at him.

"I guess I'll have to get used to catching you, won't I?" Edward said with a breathtaking smile. After a while, I started to make the omelets in silence. Once it started to really smell good and the aroma spread, I spotted two heads barely peeping over the counter.

"Good morning Madi and Owen," I called with a smile as I put the omelets on plates. After handing out the food, I took a seat between Madi and Owen.

"Bella, what is this?" Owen asked while poking at it.

"That, sweetie, is a dirty yellow Frisbee that I found a couple weeks ago."

"Ewe!" "Cool!" I heard simultaneously. I whispered to Madi what it really is and she settled down. Once they took the first bite, they didn't need a trick to get them to finish it.

"Who's ready to go to the mall?" I said with false enthusiasm they didn't detect. I heard an "I am" from both of them. "Go change into good shoes and comfy clothes. On your mark, get set, GO!"

Edward and I smirked at each other as we watched them run out. "Well, I don't want to be late. That was a very good breakfast and I'll be home by four," he called as he rushed out the door, realizing just how late he was. After changing, I went to check on the twins.

Both of them were sitting on their beds in clean clothes. "Did you both brush your teeth? Shoes, shirt, socks and pants on the right limbs?" They both nodded. "Then what are we sitting around for? Let's go!" We ran out of the flat, into the elevator, down to the parking garage, and finally out to my truck.

"Your truck it really old, Bella! It's even older than Daddy!" Owen called, surprised they made vehicles that old.

"It's probably older than Grandpa!" Madi called, her guess closer to the mark. I helped them in and climbed in myself. I scrounged up an old Sesame Street CD and put it on, glad that the kids of this generation still watched the best show ever. I remembered a friend of mine who had a shirt that said 'I was raised on the street' and it had a picture of the Sesame Street cast.

We sang along for the first five tracks until we got to the mall. We step out and, taking both their hands, ran through the rain that was now pouring down. That's Washington for you. Once inside, I rushed into the closest department store I could find. Immediately, Madi saw things that would look 'great' on me. I knew already that I needed to hurry and get out.

As Edward said, Owen can dish out the compliments and I can't say it didn't inflate my ego a bit, but it also made me blush. I let Madi pick out the color of the jeans and the color of my T-Shirts. Everyone was happy and hungry.

"What do you guys want to eat?" I asked as we skipped arm-in-arm to the food court.

"We both like Chinese!" Madi spoke for her brother.

"Good. Chinese is my favorite, too. Sweet and sour chicken or teriyaki?" I asked seriously because it was a serious matter.

"We like both so I usually get the sweet and sour and Madi gets the teriyaki and then we share. Daddy gets egg rolls and he shares with us to," Owen explained. These Cullens really put a lot of thought into their Chinese. I like it. As we walked up to the counter, the guy working behind it glanced up.

After we got our food, we found a booth and I sat across from them, smiling at their exchange of food. Halfway through our meal, an older woman came up to us.

"Miss, I just wanted to get a closer look at your children. They are the cutest things I've ever seen, after my own grandbabies, of course," she winked and smiled at Madi and Owen.

"Oh, thank you but they aren't mine. I'm their nanny, but I agree with you," I explained, smiling. The twins didn't look like mine, right?

"I'm sorry; their facial features look just like yours. Well, sorry again for bothering you, miss. Bye kids." The elderly woman walked away, leaving me confused. The whole exchange was confusing.

"Bella, why can't you be our mommy?" asked Owen.

"Because I'm not, but I wish I was. I love you guys already, OK?" I tried to be diplomatic.

"Can I think of you as our mommy, Bella?" asked Madi, looking heartbroken that I couldn't really be her mom.

"Of course you can, sweetie. You guys almost done?" When in doubt, change the subject. I've used it with varying stages of success. Both the children nodded and we threw away our trash and recycled our left over napkins.

"As a treat, let's stop in the candy store, OK? We can even get Daddy some so he doesn't get mad." The kids started running through the mall towards the candy shop. I had to sprint after them to keep them in sight.

"Before you go in, I need to know something. What is your favorite candy?"

"Twizzlers," Madi said.

"Swedish fish," said Owen, his choice a bit of a surprise. Kids like Swedish fish?

"I like Runts, especially the bananas. What does Daddy like?" I would feel bad if I didn't get him something too.

"Daddy always gets Reese's. Can we please go now, please Bella?" Owen begged.

"On your mark, get set, GO!" I yelled l as they launched themselves into the store. I got Runts and Reese's and took what the kids picked out to the counter. After paying for the candy, I realized it's almost four.

"Come on Madi and Owen, we need to go, like, NOW!" They saw the urgency in my face and followed me out the door, out of the mall, and to the truck. Another five Sesame Street songs later, we pulled up to the apartment.

"Hurry, we need to get up to see your daddy and we're late. He won't be very happy with me, so we need to hurry." The twins followed me and hopped onto the elevator. When we got to the top floor, we flew out and I straightened my clothes before I unlocked the door. There, standing in the middle of the living room, was Edward. He was looking down at his watch.

"I was worried. You're fifteen minutes later than you promised." The last straw was the candy in the kids hands. "You know that candy isn't good for kids. Or at least you should, it you're to be taking care of my kids."

I held out his Reese's and smiled my best smile. He let out his breath and rolled his eyes. After a pause, he took the candy.