I spent the whole of the next week fixating on my upcoming date with Esme. We ended up seeing the third Lord of the Rings movie. It was a bit hard to follow, as I had not seen the first two, but Esme and Jasper had and we had a good time. Jasper and Esme liked it because they had read the books, while I liked it because Esme snuggled up to me during the movie. Sure Jasper was cock blocking by being in my arms at the time, but still, it was better than nothing. I even got to kiss her after the movie.
Of course, I was carrying a sleeping Jasper in one arm during said kiss, but it was a wonderful first kiss all the same. And our first official date set the stage for the rest of our romance: love with a side of kids, seemed to be our motto. Instead of taking Esme out to a fancy five star restaurant and dancing, I would take her to kid friendly events, and bring along two children.
Wednesdays, we would go to Jasper's little league games, and Esme would cook at her place afterwards. Fridays, we would go to a kid friendly restaurant, and back to my place to watch movies while dressed in their Halloween costumes. Then a sword fight would ensue, and Jasper would win, because Edward could not hold the sword correctly. And Edward frequently lost focus during the sword fights, putting down his sword in order to pick up his new scepter or straighten his gown.
Saturdays would be our support group followed by a day at the park and a picnic. Sundays I would watch the kids by myself during the day, and cook dinner at night, complete with movie and sword fight. Monday nights Esme and I would take Edward to dance class, with Jasper tagging along. Afterward we would get Chinese take-out and go back to my place.
The Sunday before Halloween I took Jasper and Edward into the city to get their pictures taken. I had a picture of Edward at Halloween from every year, and I wanted one this year to add to the collection. Plus they looked really cute together in their pirate and princess costumes. And that was our first official family portrait.
I took the Thursday of Halloween off early so that I could go Trick or Treating with Esme, Charlie, and the children. This would be the first time that Esme would meet my best friend and his daughter, so I was really hoping it would go well. It was also going to be the first time I brought other children around Jasper, as he had never met Bella before.
Esme also took off from work early for Halloween and came over to my house with a freshly baked peach pie.
"What's in the box?" I had asked when she arrived.
"Peach pie for Halloween," she had replied.
"Is that a tradition in your family? I thought candy was more traditional for this holiday."
"Yes, it was my sister's tradition to make pie. Pie is better for you than candy, and is Jasper's favorite. So after Trick or Treating, she would exchange a few slices of pie for his bag of candy. She threw the candy away, and he ate pie," she explained.
"He doesn't get to have any candy?" I asked in shocked horror. Surely candy was what Halloween was about.
"She always let them have a few pieces, just not a whole bag full."
"Oh, that's understandable. I wasn't going to let Edward eat the whole bag full either."
Esme and I wanted the children to have a solid meal before they started in on the candy, so we started dinner while we waited for Charlie. Charlie had to work until five. The doorbell rang right on time as Esme stirred the spaghetti sauce and I drained the noodles.
"That must be Charlie and Bella," I said drying my hands as I heard Edward racing towards the front door.
Edward and Jasper had been sword fighting in the living room, so Edward was the first to get the door. I followed in right behind him with my greetings, and then I introduced my best friend and his daughter to my girlfriend and her nephew. It went well, except that Jasper stayed back in the corner and just waved instead of speaking. But that was typical Jasper and I had already told Charlie what to expect.
The six of us had a nice meal together, before dressing the kids up, and taking them Trick or Treating. Bella was Alice from Alice in Wonderland. She looked so cute next to Edward the princess and Jasper the pirate and I could not wait to take them Trick or Treating.
But there were two main problems with Trick or Treating. First of all, I was letting Edward go out in a dress. This was the one day a year his biological mother had let him go out in a dress and I was a little concerned about whose door we knocked on like this. So I decided to take Alan and Jack's advice and only knock on doors of people I knew really well, so that we would not have any surprises. I was not aware of any homophobes in the area, but you never know.
The other problem with Trick or Treating was that we lived so far away from the other houses. So we all piled into my SUV to drive instead of walk. Our closest neighbors were the Johansens. When we knocked on their door, their boy Henry greeted us in his skeleton costume. He passed out some candy to each of our kids, but before we left, Mrs. Johansen came to the door. "Oh good! I was hoping you would stop by Carlisle. Your Edward looks so cute I could just pinch his little cheeks. But listen, my middle child Katie is sick with a cold, so I can't take the kids out this year. Molly is too little to know the difference, but would you mind taking Henry?"
Mrs. Johansen always did way more favors for me, mostly watching Edward, than I had ever been able to repay, so I really wanted to agree. But at the same time I was worried that Jasper might freak if yet another stranger joined us. So I looked over to Esme to silently ask if this was alright with her. She nodded so I replied, "I would love to Mrs. Johansen! We are just going to drive around about a dozen houses and then head back to my house. I'll drop him off when our celebration ends."
"Thank you so much for this Carlisle. And you know Edward is welcome here anytime," she replied.
"Well, while we are all here, I would like you to meet my girlfriend, Esme Platt, and her nephew Jasper. And you know Charlie and Bella Swan."
A round of hellos went out from my crowd, and Mrs. Johansen said what a pleasure it was to meet Esme and Jasper. While the adults were talking, Henry grabbed his football and his bag and went to stand with our children. I had not really been paying attention to them, but when I turned around, Jasper and Henry were tossing the football back and forth.
I was not sure what had possessed Henry to bring a football with him Trick or Treating, but I was sure glad he had, because he and Jasper seemed to bond instantly. Jasper and Henry climbed in the very back seat and talked about sports the whole way, while Bella, Edward, and Charlie sat in the back and talked about Barbies.
After about ten houses, we called it a night. All four kids got half a bag of candy, with only a few relatively healthy items, like popcorn, crackers, and juice. And after we got back home, we allowed them to each choose five pieces of candy to go with their pie. They were so excited that they ran around the house sword fighting and tossing the football back and forth. They got so rowdy that Charlie and I even made them take it outside. But it was a school night, thus we had to cut our celebrations short.
Once everyone left, I took Henry back home and told Mrs. Johansen just how much fun Henry had had playing with Jasper. Henry backed up my story by saying that Jasper had a good arm, so Mrs. Johansen said that Jasper was welcome over anytime. This was really good for me, because it now meant that Esme and I had a sitter for the little guy when we wanted a romantic night to ourselves.
So Halloween worked out well, but Esme and I both already had plans for Thanksgiving. Esme was going to visit her family in Texas, while I was taking Edward to visit my cousins in Alaska for Thanksgiving. I could tell Edward was nervous about the trip, but I hoped he would loosen up once he got to know my family better. And I was hoping most of the nerves were just because this was his first time taking a trip since the one that had killed his parents.
His father had taken Edward and his mother with him on a business trip to Hong Kong when the SARS epidemic broke out. The entire family caught the disease before flying back to the States. Because of that trip, Edward had lost both of his parents and nearly died himself. So I could understand why Edward might be apprehensive about flying.
But Edward was even more nervous after we landed than he had been while on the plane. He held my hand tightly the whole way through the airport to the baggage claim. My cousins, Tanya and Kate, were waiting for us there, and as soon as Edward spotted them, he clung to my leg and would not let go.
"It's okay Edward; they are not going to hurt you. They are my family. Why are you so scared?" I asked trying to pry his arms from my legs.
"They have strange yellow eyes, sharp teeth, and weird reptilian skin," Edward replied. Ah the things children say… "Please don't make me stay with them!"
"I'm going to be with you the entire time. I promise I will not leave you alone. But we are going to their house to spend two days with them. Then we will go back to Forks, just the two of us. I promise. And you can wear dresses the entire time," I offered.
"Can I change now?" he asked, looking up from where he had buried his face in my jacket.
"No, it is very cold up here in Alaska. You can change just as soon as we get to their house," I replied.
"Okay," he choked out, trying not to cry.
As if on cue, Tanya and Kate approached us and greeted me. "And look at how much your Edward has grown!" Kate exclaimed, but held her distance knowing he was scared.
"He is the cutest little thing ever!" Tanya added, inching closer. "And I bought you the most gorgeous ball gown ever. Will you dance with me my sweet?" she asked doing a little twirl.
"No thanks," Edward squeaked out his replied. Refusing a dress was not like him, so he must really not have wanted to dance with her.
"Give him some time, he will warm up to you eventually," I reassured her. Edward could not refuse a dress forever.
"Okay my darling boy, I'll wait for you to dance with me," Tanya replied tapping her index finger to her chin.
"There are their bags!" Kate exclaimed before dashing off to retrieve our luggage. She must have recognized my luggage from my last visit.
A few minutes later we were loaded in the car, with Edward snuggled into my side in the backseat. He gripped my arm tightly for the entire half an hour drive, despite the fact that both women were in the front seat and could not possibly harm him. And while we drove, Tanya and Kate chattered on about the feast they were preparing, as if they actually might eat some of it this year.
I was quite glad when we arrived and the car ride was finally over. I went to grab our bags, but Irina was already there saying, "I've got them. You just get that boy of yours."
Edward did seem unusually sluggish, so I figured he was tuckered out from the long flight, and picked him up to carry into the house. Eleazar and his wife, Carmen, were waiting for us on the porch. They greeted us and walked us inside, without asking for hugs. Somehow they must have known they were not going to get them from Edward today.
I was about to suggest to Edward that I put him to bed when he asked, "Can I change now Daddy?"
Edward had asked in such a quiet voice that I still thought he must be exhausted, so I decided to go ahead with my earlier notion and suggested, "Why don't we put you in your new nightgown?"
"I wanted to wear my new green dress," he replied.
"Are you sure you are not tired? Are you hungry then?" I asked.
"No, I'm not tired or hungry. I just want to change: these clothes are too hot for in the house," he replied but laid his head down on my shoulder anyway.
"Well if you are not too tired Edward, maybe you could open up this present I got you," Irina suggested setting down our suitcases by the stairs and grabbing a present from the coffee table. Now that I looked, the coffee table was full of presents.
"No, he should open my present first," Kate insisted retrieving a second present from the table.
"Well I already know he is not ready for mine," Tanya said pointing to a rather large box that was taking up half of the table. "Oh, and those were the accessories to match Edward, in case you were wondering." She pointed to a large circular box and several smaller boxes that were piled on top of the larger box.
"Well of course he would not want that dress Tanya! It has way too much lace and ribbon and pouf for my boy. He would prefer what is in my box," Carmen insisted picking up a flat rectangular box and the pair of powder blue child sized heels on top.
"Those heels are a death trap, my present comes with flats," Kate replied picking up a shoe sized box from the table.
"You women are over whelming the poor boy with your dresses! He would probably much rather have this box of Barbies I picked out for him," Eleazar said indicating the final box on the table, which was a large cardboard box filled with smaller packages.
"What do you think Tink? Do you think you feel up to opening any of those presents?" I asked as I watched him drooling at the blue shoes Carmen was holding up. "Maybe just Carmen's?"
"Yes," he replied, still staring at the shoes.
I sat down on the couch, placed Edward right next to me, and Carmen set her present, complete with shoes, in his lap. "See ladies, I told you my shoes were the best," Carmen teased her sisters.
"Only because he has yet to see mine," Irina replied.
Edward spent an inordinate amount of time caressing the shoes before setting them to the side and opening the dress-box. He delicately picked up a powder blue satin gown cut in a long and slender style. It was simple elegance with embroidered dragonflies running along the bottom edge.
"It's beautiful. Thank you," Edward told Carmen. "Can I put it on now?"
"You're welcome sweetie! Anything for my favorite little man. I had it made especially for you," Carmen replied.
"You really shouldn't have, you know that right?" I asked smiling at my cousins.
"Yes, but what else have we to do than spoil our only relation?" Eleazar answered. "And you can use the bathroom right down the hall, Edward."
"Here, I'll help you: that dress looks like it will take two to put on," I suggested.
Edward nodded handing me the dress as he picked up the shoes and we went into the bathroom to try to figure out the most elaborate gown I had ever seen. Instead of a zipper in the back, there were zippers on each side. The front was cut high and proper, but the back dipped down low to the small of his back, while the left side was slit up to his knee. And there was nothing but a string of beads across the right shoulder for a strap.
Five minutes later I was fairly certain Edward had the dress on correctly and was helping him put on his first pair of heels. Luckily the heels were only half an inch high or he probably would have tripped on the way back to the living room. But as it was, he walked elegantly back to the couch and returned to his previous spot by my side.
"Let me just get a few dozen pictures of you Edward: you look so handsome in that gown," Carmen said pulling out her camera. Edward stood up and gracefully gave the gown a twirl for her before returning to his seat.
The evening went on like that, with my cousins showering Edward with presents in the hopes that he would warm up to them. Tanya gave him a beige ball gown with such a large skirt that it looked like it was straight out of the eighteen hundreds. The gift came complete with a matching hat, necklace, stockings, and period pair of shoes. All also custom made just for him.
Irina gave Edward a dress made of beautiful white fur with snowflakes embroidered over the right hip. The fur pouffed out along the collar, cuffs, and hem and I tried not to think about what animal the fur must have been from. But at least the matching white boots did not have much fur: they were made out of white leather, but were lined and trimmed with white fur. The matching jacket was also made of white leather and lined with white fur. The entire ensemble looked rather warm and toasty.
Kate's gift was a bright green and yellow Chinese style gown with a high neck and a red dragon embroidered along the bodice. She had paired it with simple red oriental style shoes. Edward's eyes lit up when he saw it and Kate explained that she had picked it up last month in China: it was also made specifically for the purpose of spoiling Edward.
But by the time he had finishing fawning over all his new dresses and shoes, Edward was too tired to open his box full of Barbies. I could tell he was fading on us because his eyes kept drooping. So I put him to bed and told him he could finish opening all of his presents in the morning.
"Can I wear the Chinese gown tomorrow?" Edward asked.
"You can wear anything you want. And that white dress looked warm enough that it could even be worn outside," I replied kissing him goodnight.
The next morning Edward woke me up to ask for help buttoning up his Chinese gown. But he was much more reluctant than usual about leaving the room, especially considering there was still an entire box of Barbies left to open. So I let him hold my hand in encouragement as we descended the stairs. Carmen, Kate, Irina, and Tanya were already setting the dining room table with breakfast, while Eleazar was sitting in the recliner in the living room next to his enormous box of un-opened presents.
"You can open the presents after you eat," I told Edward as I watched him eyeing the box of presents.
"But I'm not hungry," Edward whispered.
"Humor me. I'm starving," I said leading us to the table.
Edward sat down next to me and put a few slices of melon on his plate, but he mostly just cut them up into smaller pieces and pushed them around his plate while I ate. When I finished my meal, I decided to give the kid a break, thinking that his stomach might be bothering him from the plane ride.
"Okay, let's go see what Eleazar got you," I suggested clearing our plates.
Instead of running into the room and going straight to the presents like usual, Edward stayed right by my side until I was ready to go into the living room. I sat down on the couch in my same spot from the day before, while Edward sat down right next to me and waited for Eleazar to bring the presents to him.
Eleazar complied and sat the entire box of presents in front of Edward, before retreating to his chair. Edward slowly picked up and unwrapped each present. Just as Eleazar had said, there were several dozen Barbies in the box along with hundreds of spare outfits and accessories. There was even a human sized Barbie themed sled in the box.
"In case you get tired of playing inside and want to go sledding," Eleazar said when Edward looked up from opening the sled, which was the last item in the box.
"Thank you," Edward replied smiling. Maybe the bribery had worked and he was finally opening up around my family.
"You are welcome young man," Eleazar replied.
Edward spent the rest of the day playing Barbies, while the women spent the day in the kitchen, and Eleazar and I caught up on old times. Thanksgiving dinner was served at three, and Edward ate a few bites, while my cousins each sat with a plate of food in front of them and pretended to eat. I noticed that every time Edward would look at one of them, whoever he was looking at would take an actual bite: it was the first time I had ever seen them actually eating before.
But despite the fact that I was the only one who legitimately enjoyed the food, we got through the meal. Afterwards Carmen suggested that we all go sledding, so I borrowed one of their sleds and took my boy sledding for the first time. But not before he changed into the white fur-lined dress and matching boots and jacket. And Irina surprised him by pulling out four more packages from by the fireplace: a matching hat, wool stockings, scarf, and gloves set.
So Edward was warm and fashionable in his sledding attire and we all had a lot of fun. Edward even started to loosen up a bit. But before long, the sun set and we had to go back inside. And this time Edward changed into the ball gown Tanya got him, although he still refused to dance with her. He did however agree to dance with me, so I went a round or two twirling him around on my toes.
After that I put him to bed and by the time I woke up, my cousins had already packed all of our stuff for us. Edward changed back into the blue gown from the first night, and he spent the morning sitting quietly by my side as I spent our last few hours in Alaska talking to my last remaining relatives. I always worried that they would die of old age without me getting a chance to see them again, because despite their young appearance, I knew that they were all getting on in years.
And after a nice leisurely morning, Edward changed into the warm fur outfit. Then Kate and Irina drove us back to the airport and we returned to Forks with several extra suitcases full of gifts and a sled in tow. And I was pleased to discover that although Edward was still scared of them, he was not nearly so reluctant to see my cousins again. He even asked me when the next time we would get to see them was: I had a sneaking suspicion he was looking forward to more dresses.