The Twilight Twenty-Five

thetwilight25 dot com

Prompt: #23

Pen Name: bigblueboat

Pairing/Character(s): Rosalie

Rating: T

Word Count: 462

Photo prompts can be found here:

thetwilight25 dot com/round-eight/prompts


I don't know who put the irrational idea in Esme's head that we should plant some fruit trees and donate the food, but when I figure out which imbecile did it, I'm going to dismember them and put them back together again only to dismember them once more. I don't see the point in going onto the roof to pick the remaining fruit either. So what if it is overhanging the roof? It's not like we can't easily scale the tree branches. They are more than capable of holding Alice's weight.

Which reminds me, why am I the lucky soul who is stuck up here? Wouldn't it look better if it were one of the guys rather than me? And who put the trees this close to the house? Someone could have easily planted the trees farther out!

Through the branches I see a couple of kids walking down the block toward me. One little girl with a brown sash skips along, her blond pigtails bouncing with each step. The other girl, decked out in an uncomfortable-looking khaki vest, patiently listens to the little one babble.

They bypass the boarded up house next door—one of the reasons we agreed coming back to this Connecticut home would be all right—and head directly to the ladder propped against the side of the house.

"Hey, lady!" The young one shouts up to me.

I walk to the edge and crouch down. Leaning far enough over to spot her, I open my mouth to respond, but the words get caught in my throat. Huge dimples and bright blue eyes are all I see. She could easily pass for my child with Emmett.

"Wow. You're pretty." The words are whispered. They drift up to me; words that have graced my ears over a hundred times, yet when they come from the mouth of a child they mean more to me than from anyone else. "Whatcha doing up there?"

My mouth imitates a fish in response. The other girl walks into my field of vision. I shake the awkwardness from my bones and reply, "Just getting the last of the fruit off the tree. What are you doing down there?"

"Selling cookies. You want some?"

"Can you tell me about them? What's your favorite?"

She starts to ramble about camping and chocolate. The older girl just rolls her eyes; I'm completely entranced. I slowly make my way down the ladder as she continues on.

The older girl shoves the clipboard and pen at me, her eyes alight with glee. Apparently she can see how much of a sucker I am.

Damn Alice! She knew I'd be the only one to end up purchasing enough cookies to get both girls to all the camping trips this year.


Thanks to Hummingbirdff and Tiramisue84 for their help with this fluff.